Asia-Pacific Power List 2021: Lynette Pang, Singapore Tourism Board

Lynette Pang

Assistant chief executive (Marketing Group)
Singapore Tourism Board
Singapore
Member since 2018

Over 19 million tourists visited Singapore in 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic shuttered international borders and forced the city-state into self-enforced seclusion. For Lynette Pang, the marketing chief for Singapore Tourism Board, 2020 and much of 2021 has been about keeping the location top-of-mind as global travel was practically frozen, even as she unveiled a slew of campaigns to promote Singapore’s charms to its own residents. 

In terms of her international audience, Pang has led the development of a ‘SingapoReimagine’ campaign that was tailored to fit fast-evolving conditions while noting travel restrictions for each market. When most countries were in lockdown, STB’s global and local teams were encouraged to work with different partners to create fun social-media content encouraging audiences to pursue their passions at home. 

Examples of work Pang has overseen include ‘Try this at home, tips from Singapore’, a six-part edutainment series that reached 30.3 million viewers across six markets; STB Americas partnering with Condé Nast Traveler to promote Singapore as a safe travel destination to US and Canadian audiences, which delivered over 20 million press impressions and two million views; a collaboration with the National Arts Council on ‘Dance to a New Beat’, featuring the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) performing to music by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO); and virtual media tours organised by STB and Korean tourist guides, which took South Korean consumers on an engaging journey around town. The four videos garnered 1.3 million YouTube and nearly 100,000 Facebook views.

Pang was able to flex STB’s considerable marketing muscle to also tailor campaigns to a domestic audience that was homebound for much of the past 18 months. STB and the Singapore Brand Office, with support from Enterprise Singapore, in November 2020 jointly launched ‘Made With Passion’, a national marketing initiative to promote local lifestyle brands. Then, with Sentosa Development Corporation and Enterprise Singapore, STB launched the SingapoRediscovers campaign in July 2020 to support lifestyle and tourism businesses by encouraging locals to explore different sides of Singapore, especially with a film that drew 65 million impressions. 

Besides these campaigns and partnerships, Pang has been at the forefront of using her marketing skills and budget to help the community at large. STB’s S$20 million Marketing Partnership Programme supports the marketing initiatives of hotels, attractions, inbound travel agents and the MICE sector. The board also introduced the SG Stories Content Fund in April 2020 to support tourism enterprises, content creators and individuals in the development of stories that capture the strength and resilience in Singapore. 

In addition, Pang keenly supported DEI not only within STB but also across the marketing industry and indeed Singapore-wide. For instance, STB collaborated with its ‘Passion Ambassadors’, such as singer-songwriter Nathan Hartono, indoor skydiving champion Kyra Poh, and the late wildlife conservationist Subaraj Rajathurai. 

Pang’s team also promoted stories that showcase Singapore’s multicultural heritage. These include Tan Wei Tian, who has been in the local Teochew opera scene since she was three years old, Jahan Loh, who is known for contemporary pop art, and dance veteran Santha Bhaskar, who has kept traditional Indian dance alive with innovative choreography that fuses Malay and Chinese dance elements.