Mr S Iswaran at the Singapore Prestige Brands Awards 2010, 9 Dec 2010

SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY AND MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, AT THE SINGAPORE PRESTIGE BRANDs AWARDs 2010 ON THURSDAY, 9 DECEMBER 2010, AT Grand Ballroom, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

Mr Lawrence Leow,

President, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises;

Mr Robin Hu,

Senior Executive Vice President

Chinese Newspapers/Newspaper Services

Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Mr Chan Chong Beng and Mr Peter Ong

Chairman and Co-Chairman

SPBA 2010 Organising Committee

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Good evening. It is my pleasure to join you this evening at Singapore Prestige Brands 2010 to celebrate the success of Singapore’s prominent brands.

Promising Economic Outlook for Singapore and Asia

As we approach the end of 2010, it would be apt to take stock of recent economic developments and what lies ahead for businesses in Singapore. What a difference a year makes.Last year, the world was grappling with the deepest economic recession since the great depression. As an open trade-dependent economy, Singapore was hard hit by “the great recession” as some now refer to the downturn.But we have proven to be resilient and have emerged stronger from the financial crisis, with the collective and concerted response from workers, enterprises and the government. Our economy has since rebounded significantly, and it is likely that we will hit the top end of our forecast this year and achieve 15 per cent growth.

Likewise, most of Asia is also recovering strongly. Indeed, the crisis has seen Asia becoming the key catalyst for global economic growth, given the challenges in the US and Europe. As emerging Asian markets like China and India grow and urbanise rapidly, the rising middle class will drive the demand for quality products and services. It will also augment the demand for infrastructure development. There is, therefore, great potential for further growth and our companies should be prepared to seize these exciting opportunities.

Importance of Branding

As Asia begins the transformation from the factory of the world into an immense consumer driven market, there will be a proliferation of emerging brands in the vibrant Asian consumer markets. The clamour for recognized quality products and services will be resounding.And, for Singapore companies, the key challenge will be to keep growing their businesses in the face of growing competition. That means the ability to differentiate one’s products and services from the ever widening array of choices available to consumers.And, the solution lies in branding and innovation.

Physical and virtual proximity to markets, a finger on the pulse of consumer trends, a deep understanding of consumers’ evolving preferences and needs, and product innovation – these are key elements of any robust business strategy.

But, these elements are not sufficient to sustain success.Companies must claim “mind share” by imbuing their customers with the unique ideas and values behind their products. Today’s increasingly sophisticated consumer base and crowded market place demand products with a distinctive brand and unique value proposition. It is widely acknowledged that a well-executed brand strategy enables companies to grow their market share beyond that implied by the mere functional attributes and pricing of their products and services.

Government Support for Branding and Innovation Initiatives

In this regard, the Government has introduced various schemes to encourage and help SMEs in their branding and innovation journey.BrandPact, an IE and SPRING Singapore initiative, provides businesses with incentives and resources to help them develop and strengthen their brands. Since the launch of BrandPact in April 2005, over 9,000 companies have benefited from various BrandPact initiatives such as brand workshops, assessments and consultancy, incentives and online resources.

In October this year, the Innovation Improvement Initiative Programme was launched by the Workforce Development Agency. It aims to enhance companies’capabilities in innovation and productivity, and enables companies to send teams comprising top management and line operators to be mentored and trained by productivity experts from Motorola University. 

The government has also been working with trade associations and chambers through the Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) programme to promote industry branding initiatives that will help build mindshare. Industry brands such as Singapore Mozaic and Tasty Singapore have successfully raised the visibility of Singapore companies at international trade shows and drawn in key buyers.

I strongly encourage companies to take full advantage of these resources, and invest in branding and innovation as key growth strategies for your business.

Success Stories

Tonight, we honour Singapore companies who have successfully established their brands in the international market place.

One successful brand I would like to highlight is Kee Song Brothers, which has been supplying top grade poultry products in Singapore for more than 3 decades. You have probably enjoyed their products, as they are a major supplier to wet markets, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels. Kee Song has been innovative in product development, winning food science awards for products that are tasty and offer health benefits. To realise the full potential of their innovation, the company embarked on a project to build a differentiated brand identity for their products - Sakura Chicken and Imperial Cordyceps Chicken. Within a year, they have seen growing consumer awareness, with specific requests for their products at retail points, and enquiries from neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

Another successful Singapore brand is Cherie Hearts, which started in 2001 as a one-stop childcare service provider. It has since expanded rapidly to more than 60 centres in Singapore and Asia. Very early on, Cherie Hearts recognised the importance of building a strong brand to support their expansion plans in an intensely competitive market. Their consistent delivery of their brand promise of quality and innovative childcare throughout their network of centres has enabled the company to secure a strong foothold in the region.

Cherie Hearts and Kee Song Brothers are not alone in recognising branding as a strategic investment of time and effort. The 2010 SME Development Survey tells us that in the next 12 months, two in five SMEs intend to build a competitive differentiation for themselves by strengthening their brand image, rather than compete on the basis of cost and price. It is heartening to note that Singapore companies are putting significant effort into building their brands, and I look forward to hearing of more of their success stories in future.

Conclusion

I would like to congratulate all the winners of this year’s Singapore Prestige Brand Award. I hope that many more Singapore companies will be inspired by, and seek to emulate, your achievements and strive to build iconic and successful brands in Singapore and overseas.I would also like to congratulate ASME and Lianhe Zaobao for organising this event which recognizes and underscores the importance of branding as a business strategy.

I wish you all a pleasant evening.