Singapore, Brand That Nation!
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 09.10.07 | 3:26 PM ET
Photo by Alex.ch via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
The latest focus of Brand That Nation!—our tip sheet for countries that may or may not be considering new branding campaigns and that just might want to improve their image in the U.S. travel market, where simple, easy-to-remember slogans are key: Singapore.
Location: Southern tip of the Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia
Capital: Singapore City
Noteworthy factoids: Durian fruit is not allowed on public transportation. Also, Singaporeans hold the world record for the most people exercising simultaneously while wearing green.
Quick travel take: “Singapore has traded in its rough-and-ready opium dens and pearl luggers for towers of concrete and glass, and its steamy rickshaw image for cool efficiency and spotless streets, but you can still recapture the colonial era with a Singapore Sling under the languorous ceiling fans at Raffles Hotel.”—Lonely Planet
Nearly random quote from travel blogger in Singapore: “Singapore is so freaking SMALL and so easy to travel around in, it is impossible to get lost in Singapore.”—YumiOntheCoast
The problem: Singapore is known among Americans almost exclusively for two things. It’s the place where an American teenager was once caned for committing vandalism, and it’s the nation that famously banned chewing gum. In fact, Calvin Trillin is not far off when he wrote in a fine story about Singapore’s food in the Sept. 3 New Yorker (abstract here): “If Singapore tested a nuclear device tomorrow, the stories in American newspapers would mention the gum ban by the second paragraph.”
Important overlooked gum-ban factoid: The government loosened the gum ban three years ago, as Trillin points out. You can now buy prescription nicotine gum.
Branding strategy: When the government gives you branding lemons, make branding lemonade.
Potential slogans:
* Singapore: Your Prescription for Fun
* Stroll Singapore: Only Memories Will Stick to Your Shoes
* Follow the Rules and the Only Cane You’ll See is Sugar
* What is Singapore Banning? What Do You Got?
* Singapore: So Freaking Small, Only an Idiot Would Get Lost Here
Now get out there and Brand That Nation!
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Mala Mukunda 09.10.07 | 5:52 PM ET
Durians aren’t allowed on trains or hotels because of its pungent smell so as not to offend people who are not used to it. But most Singaporeans love the fruit, make ice creams, cakes and smoothies from them and they are openly sold near tourist spots like Chinatown.The Esplanade in Singapore is modeled after the fruit, but open one aboard a train, and well, you know what happened to the teenager!
All in all, a sunny, hassle free country to visit.
Mala Mukunda
Singapore 10.26.07 | 4:26 AM ET
Visiting Singapore is like visiting China, India, and Malaysia with the best of the west included. The Hotels beat anything on offer in the UK for their price and standard. The MRT is pristine, cheap and safe. Taxis are regulated and cheap and friendly. Buses easy to get around on and they have TV’s on board.
See u there.
Singaporean.
Rani 02.25.08 | 4:52 PM ET
I traveled to Singapore in October 2006 for work and I second the comments posted by, ‘Singapore.’ The city is very clean, a melting pot of several different cultures and while riding the MRT I felt more clean and safe than in the DC Metro and the NYC Subway. Kudos!
And let’s not forget the food. FABULOUS food!
agoda 08.06.08 | 5:05 AM ET
I also agree with ‘Singapore’s’ previous post. Just got back from a weekend break there and had a great time staying in the Marina Bay area. Very clean and a nice break from Bangkok where I live. Enjoyed the new Singapore Flyer, which beat’s my hometowns London Eye hands down IMHO.