Nation Branding - Focus on Singapore!

Nation Branding - Take two

Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EBD) has issued a tender for a creative and media agency to develop and implement a marketing campaign with the goal of positioning Singapore as a premier business location.

Singapore is already known as a business hub in South East Asia with many MNCs calling it the home of their Asian headquarters. Their government has been putting lots of effort into establishing Singapore as a financial hub and is also heavily investing into the Biotech sector. With a shortage of natural resources and land they have been clearly focusing on their strengths by promoting a knowledgebased culture and emphasize education in order to create a highly skilled workforce. In basic terms it is all about knowing the strengths of your "product", exploit them, and build your campaign around it. Marketing 101!

High rankings in expat surveys already prove that Singapore is on the right track and I am curious to see if the new campaign will bring up a few more highlights of the South East Asian Tiger.

The link to the EBD site

Natural Branding!

Today´s post might not be in a particular cultural context, but nevertheless I think it might interest you. When it comes to placing a companies brand there are many options media agencies can draw from. Be it a billboard, magazine, webpage, or even somebodies body, those are all well known tools marketers use. However, London based media agency Curb has found another medium where to place a logo or slogan. They specialize on low impact advertising with natural materials as sand, snow, or even grass. A cool and creative way of using the resources available at any given moment and location while leaving a mark on the consumers mind. I surely will keep my eyes open the next time I walk along the beach or watch a soccer game. Have you seen any examples?

Here is the link to their website

Pictures Courtesy of Curb

Urban Culture is Hip!

I just found this new fashion brand and think the concept behind it is pretty interesting and worth sharing. Akufunctures design is based on Chinese mythical characters as the Monkey King, creating a brand that is targeting the urban market. Combining culture and urban fashion is defenitely worth a try and I am curious to see if this brand will leave its mark on the market. I like the idea and look forward to see some of those tees on the street. A brand with a strong cultural touch, way to go.

Here is what they have to say about themselves:

A fusion of Chinese culture and urban fashion is at the core of Akufuncture. For many years, Japanese fashion has taken over much of the urban scene with its creative ideas and clever artwork. It has utilized many Japanese cultural icons, figures, styles, and legends to great effects. The wildly popular Japanese fusion suggests that there has always been a thirst for the "oriental mystique" in the west. With 5000 years of history, China is rich with cultural mystique, ancient heroes, and romantic mythology. However, the West has yet to experience the irresistible essence of true Chinese culture. Our goal is to get you in touch with the "essence of the East" through a new trend of "fusion fashion".

Therefore, Akufuncture wants to spark your desire to explore the essence of the orient while strutting avant-garde fashion. Our product descriptions include a short background of the artistic style and mythical figures that have inspired us to create this line. Hopefully, the more you read, the more you will be interested in the culture that has lasted many centuries. After two years of rigorous effort and planning, Akufuncture was finally established in November of 2008. We really appreciate the hard work of every individual involved in our journey and thank all of you for your support in getting us one step closer to our goal.

The link to their site