Singapore Government Press Release
Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 6837-9666

SPEECH BY MR CEDRIC FOO, MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE AND CHAIRMAN, SPRING SINGAPORE, AT THE OPENING OF ASIA BRAND FESTIVAL 2003 ON 25 SEPT 2003 AT 10.00 AM AT THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Mr Lawrence Leow

President of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises

Mr Raymond Wee

Chairman, Asia Brand Festival Organising Committee, ASME

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning.

I am very pleased to join you this morning at the Opening of the Asia Brand Festival 2003.

Let me start with a look at branding in Singapore. In a recent survey* of 100 local companies, half of them take a holistic approach towards branding. The other half still associate branding with "name" or "identity" of products. Although more Singapore companies are expanding overseas, few realise the importance of branding to help them penetrate overseas markets. Many still think that branding is an unnecessary expense and do not invest in it. In overcoming the notion that branding is an expense, it is important to understand the power of branding as a business strategy.

A brand represents a set of expectations. It identifies a product or a class of products. With global competition and e-commerce on the rise, consumers will have more choices than ever. Companies, therefore, must see a brand as a valuable, even if intangible, asset. It can create a distinctive competitive advantage and help a company break into new markets. However, the success of branding depends on the quality of the underlying product or service. To sustain the brand image, companies must consistently meet or exceed customers’ expectation.

Local companies have also leveraged on their brand names to expand; often through franchising. Informatics and OSIM are two very successful examples. Each has more than 400 corporate and franchise outlets worldwide. Old Chang Kee and Bee Cheng Hiang, both very established household names in Singapore, have some 30 outlets each in Singapore. They are now expanding to tap the global market.

Likewise, companies in the same value chain, or producing a similar range of products, can also come together to build a common brand name. A good example is a group of seven restaurants at The Esplanade under the common brand name "Colours by the Bay". They came up with the innovative concept of offering selected items in a common menu so that diners at one restaurant can 'cross-order' from any of the other Colours restaurants.

Singapore, too, has a strong brand name. Unfortunately, it is an under-leveraged asset. SMEs should leverage on our strong national reputation and come up with good branding strategies to establish a firm foothold in both local and overseas markets.

One good example is Sakae Sushi. It leveraged on its reputation as a listed Singapore company to expand into countries like China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The good name of Singapore is an important factor for Sakae Sushi's potential regional franchisees. They recognise the uncompromising quality and reputation that comes with a Singapore brand.

To further promote branding in Singapore, IE Singapore recently launched the Brand Network. This is a one-stop platform for companies to access a wide range of information on branding trends, brand research, branding courses and directories of local and global brand players. The online Brand Assessment Toolkit also allows companies to do a self-check on the state of their brands. To date, more than 180 companies have used this self-diagnosis. I encourage more companies to take advantage of such services to build up their brands and source for information on branding.

SPRING Singapore is also strongly encouraging local enterprises to focus on product development and branding. The Premium Food Gift programme is one good example. A joint project between SPRING and the Singapore Tourism Board, the programme helps local food manufacturers to develop and package their products into food gifts for visitors to Singapore to take home with them, and for Singaporeans to share the taste of Singapore with their friends overseas.

The Asia Brand Festival 2003 builds on the success of the Singapore Brand Festival last year. The larger scale of this year's event is encouraging. It shows that Singapore companies have come to recognise the importance of branding. I commend ASME for providing this platform for local brands to showcase their products. This year’s event will also showcase some regional brands. It will provide opportunities for local and regional players to share experiences and perhaps forge business alliances for mutual benefit.

Also at this event, local enterprises will be able to benefit from a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by ASME, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. This agreement will bring about greater cooperation among business, academia and government to promote branding in Singapore. By working together, these parties will be able to share intellectual property and transfer technology with local SMEs.

In conclusion, I congratulate ASME for their efforts in promoting branding in Singapore as well as in the Asian region. I wish all of you success, and, to our visitors from overseas, an enjoyable and fruitful visit in Singapore.

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