Dr Donald Ee,

President of the Institute of Advertising, Singapore

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to be with you at the Inaugural Singapore International Advertising Congress this morning. It is heartening to see so many delegates from the international advertising and communications industry gathered here in Singapore and I applaud your enthusiasm. To participants and guests from other countries, let me warmly welcome you to Singapore and I hope that you find your stay here enjoyable and comfortable.

2 The theme of the Congress is "Forecasting Communications in the New Millennium and New Market Opportunities for Advertising". I hope that the Congress will set the stage for advertising in the new millennium and serve as a benchmark for many more congresses to come. The Congress represents an opportunity for you to share your experience and knowledge with your colleagues in various parts of the world. This cross-cultural experience will benefit all. You will learn that lessons learnt in overcoming challenges faced in one part of the world can also be applied in another.

3 While the advertising business may had been viewed as a particularly American institution in the first half of the 20^th century, this is certainly no longer the case. Today, advertising can be found in every part of the world. Hence, this Congress is a timely one as it addresses the challenges of the advertising industry and look at new opportunities that lie ahead.

4 All of you will be the 21^st century practitioners in the advertising and communications industry. We know that social and technological developments have affected advertising and communications and sometimes profoundly. Marshall McLuhan, with great foresight, said that "The medium is the message". He saw the connection between technology and communication.

5 New technologies have brought new ways of obtaining information and knowledge. In the last two decades, new technologies have affected advertising considerably. Cable and satellite penetration and dawning of the Internet have led to fragmented audiences, thus, making the selling of messages more difficult and challenging. This trend will become more evident in the new millennium. At the same time, new technologies have also raised consumers’ expectations and demands. For example, they expect information delivered to them in faster and more creative ways. As practitioners, you have to learn how to make use of the new technologies to sell ideas or products or you will be left behind in the 20^th century while the rest stride into the new millennium.

6 Nonetheless, new technologies will also bring about new opportunities. Advertising is a powerful system that announces not just availability and location of products but also expresses quality and value of products. New technologies encourage you to harness your creative potential by exploring different ways of selling your messages or products.

7 Although new technologies have led to fragmented audiences, they have also made the world a smaller place. With the Internet, you can cast your net to a wider sea of consumers. Your messages can reach not just thousands but also millions of people out there. In addition, Singapore has established a broadband cable network that is second to none. This will enable a myriad of advertising applications such as interactive ads and personalised-ads. We hope the advertising industries will leverage on this infrastructure to push the industry to a new level.

8 Without further ado, I would like to wish you a fruitful congress. With great pleasure, I declare the Inaugural Singapore International Advertising Congress open. Thank you.