Singapore Tourism Board launches tender for creative, media and digital agencies

The long-awaited tender is open from 8 November to 13 December 2012 on GeBiz, the procurement portal for the government. The STB said incumbent agencies BBH, XM Asia and MEC are welcome to participate in the pitch.

The tender is for agencies to become partners in STB’s destination brand-building efforts for a two-year contract beginning April 2013, with an option to extend the contract for a further two years subject to satisfactory performance.

As revealed in an interview with Campaign Asia-Pacific earlier this year, the STB is looking to attract agencies that, in their respective fields, can deliver solutions based on in-depth market knowledge and consumer understanding, have proven track records in building global brands, possess a strong network and presence in STB’s key markets, and have the commitment to develop a mutually beneficial long-term partnership with STB.

The STB said the tender does not dictate a specific agency model or structure, as priority will be on appointing a team of agencies with the required combined expertise that can support the full range of STB’s brand building and marketing needs. In an interview with Campaign Asia-Pacific, STB said it did not rule out agencies forming a consortium to pitch for the accounts.

It added that the requisite creative expertise includes developing inspiring big ideas, innovative media-neutral concepts, and the ability and experience to play the strategic leadership role in integrating the work from each of the appointed agencies and the existing PR agencies in the respective markets.

Media expertise includes having an in-depth knowledge of traditional, new and emerging media, and the ability to develop holistic and integrated media plans to deliver against the communications objectives to the target consumer.

The digital agency will be expected to lead in all aspects of digital marketing, working together with the creative, media and digital production agencies. It will lead the conceptualisation and development of digital assets such as the YourSingapore destination website.

STB said in the past year it has made a deliberate shift towards consumer-centric marketing, developing market-specific strategies and campaigns to address the evolving needs of consumers from Singapore’s key tourism markets.

Sophia Ng, assistant chief executive, marketing group of the Singapore Tourism Board, said STB sees the appointment of agencies as a partnership that extends beyond planning and executing campaigns and focuses on building a strong Singapore destination brand.

“We have deepened our understanding of consumers in our key markets, allowing us to develop relevant and appealing campaigns according to the needs of our visitors,” she said. “Partnering strong creative, media, digital and digital production agencies will thus enable us to continue this emphasis on visitor-centricity in our marketing efforts.” 

Agencies intending to participate in the tender must sign a non-disclosure agreement and submit it to the Board via e-mail before 19 November 2012.

The complete set of requirement specifications will be released via e-mail to the agencies that have submitted the signed non-disclosure agreement from 14 November.

Agencies are also required to attend a compulsory tender briefing on 19 November 2012 to ensure clarity on the expectations and requirements of each role.

Agencies which fail to submit the signed non-disclosure agreement and attend the tender briefing will be ineligible to participate in the tender, the STB said.