Brand: Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines and its iconic Singapore Girl are one of the most well-known
brands from Asia. The strong brand management is driven primarily by the
Singapore Airlines Board and top management, and the healthy brand equity as the
result of a dedicated, professional brand strategy throughout a diversified, global
organization.

Singapore Airlines decided on a fully branded product or service differentiation

strategy from the very beginning. Innovation, best technology, genuine quality and
excellent customer service were to become the major drivers of the brand.

Singapore Airlines has remained true to their brand attributes. They have
pioneered many in-flight experiential and entertainment innovations, and strived to
be best-in-class. SIA was the first to introduce hot meals, free alcoholic and non-
alcoholic beverage, hot towels with a unique and patented scent, personal
entertainment systems, and video-on-demand in all cabins. The company keeps
driving innovation as an important part of the brand, and the cabin ambience and
combined experience are key factors of their success.

Singapore Airlines recognizes that each innovation has a relatively short life span.
Once other airlines adopt it, it is no longer considered "innovative". Therefore, the
airline continues to invest heavily in R&D, innovation and technology as an
integrated part of the business strategy to further differentiate itself.

The personalization of the Singapore Airlines brand is the mixed male and female
cabin crew, where especially the flight stewardesses commonly referred to as
Singapore Girls have become very well-known. SIA engaged French haute-couture
designer Pierre Balmain at the inauguration of the airline in 1972. He designed a
special version of the Malay sarong kebaya as the uniform which later became one
of the most recognized signatures of the airline. The Singapore Girl strategy turned
out to be a very powerful idea and has become a successful brand icon with an
almost mythical status and aura around her. The Singapore Girl encapsulates Asian
values and hospitality, and could be described as caring, warm, gentle, elegant and
serene. It is a brilliant personification of SIA's commitment to service and quality
excellence. The icon has become so strong that Madame Tussaud's Museum in
London started to display the Singapore Girl in 1994 as the first commercial figure
ever.

Singapore Airlines has been as consistent in its communication vehicles as in its

brand strategy. The primary message "Singapore Airlines - A Great Way to Fly"
has been consistently conveyed in exclusive print media and also in selected TV-
commercials of very high production value to underline the quality aspirations of
brand. All communication messages are featured through the iconic Singapore Girl
in different themes and settings.
When Singapore Airlines recently launched their comfortable Space Bed seats in
business class, they ran a 60-second commercial of a highly emotional and mythical
character to underline the aspiration of the brand and the Singapore Girl, and to set
their airline brand apart from competition.

SIA has been able to maintain their brand advantage by not wavering from their
brand strategy. This is a particularly difficult position to maintain in a highly cyclical
industry where the competition seems to react on a daily basis to changes in
performance. TSingapore Airlines has been able to deliver some of the best results
in the industry by avoiding this type of reactionary behaviour.

Singapore Airlines has maintained its position as one of the best-known and best-
performing brands in Asia, and remains one of the few consistent performers in an
industry where established brands are struggling to stay alive. SIA has followed a
very simple management formula to achieve outstanding results:

Revenues: Command a price premium through consistent brand benefits and avoid
reactionary pricing behaviour in order to condition the customer not to wait for price
matching.

Costs: Tight control of costs though ownership of the most cost-efficient aircrafts,
hedging against fuel price increases, and agile management of the entire company
etc.

Profits: Run the business with a long-term outlook. Be consistent. Stay true to the
brand.

The last three years has seen a dramatic shift in the airline industry. There have
been major shakeouts and loose consolidation amongst premium, full-service
players and a wide expansion in the low-cost carrier market - also in the closely
regulated Asian airspace. Air travel has become a commodity and most major
routes are saturated with fierce competition. The low-cost carriers have significantly
influenced consumer behaviour for cheap price bargains among leisure travellers
and increasingly among business travellers.

Singapore Airlines has already jumped ahead, launching their own carrier for local
and short-haul routes, Tiger Airways, to stay at the forefront of competition. The aim
is to avoid dilution of the core premium brand, Singapore Airlines.

In most industries, there are always segments willing to pay for quality brands.
Therefore, the question is not whether there are customers in the market, but rather
the ability for Singapore Airlines to constantly nurture the brand promise, keep
innovating and capture the overall value of the brand in the minds of the customers.

Singapore Airlines is among the top companies globally that is truly able to control
the brand through every interaction and experience. SIA has become a hugely
rewarded innovator and industry leader: A great way to fly.