Singapore Tourism Board declares winners in global pitch

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced that BBH and Zenith will be its global agency partners for creative and media, respectively.

The appointment is for two years and three months starting January 21, with options for the contract to be renewed on an annual basis for three years after that.

Over the five years, the account is worth S$98.5 million (US$73 million), according to award documentation obtained on Singapore's GeBiz website. This breaks down to S$62.6 million for BBH and S$35.8 million for Zenith, the documents show. 

STB received a total of seven submissions to its request for proposals, issued on October 15. BBDO, VMLY&R and BLKJ were in contention for the creative part of the tender, while Mediacom and Havas were in contention for the media prize.

BBH and Zenith joined with fellow Publicis agencies Digitas and Prodigious in a consortium known as 'The Shophouse'. This integrated approach, including Digitas' digital and data capabilities and Prodigious' production power, proved to be the winning strategy. 

STB cited the agencies' "strong strategic thinking, creative ideas and agile application of insights in their strategy development and execution plans" as reasons for the selection. 

“The opportunity to craft the next chapter of the communications experience for audiences global and domestic for the iconic nation of Singapore is an incredible honour, especially given the incredible history that Singapore Tourism Board has," said Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia. "Ian loon [CEO of media and digital, Publicis Groupe Singapore], Sid Tuli [MD of BBH Asia Pacific] and I thank everyone at STB for placing their trust in the integrated Power of One offer comprising BBH, Zenith, Digitas and Prodigious that we have dubbed The Shophouse @ Publicis. We are humbled, excited and can’t wait to get started on the strategic challenge of helping STB navigate tourism recovery in the coming years.”

Chang Chee Pey, assistant chief executive of the marketing group at the STB, thanked all the agencies who participated. "We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our incumbent creative agency, TBWA, for their valuable contributions for the past six years," he added.

"As travel gradually resumes, we are excited to work with The Shophouse to recapture demand and strengthen Singapore’s appeal as a safe, vibrant and forward-looking destination. Together with our new partners, we look forward to delivering agile, bold and creative marketing that will support Singapore’s tourism recovery.”

Chang took over as STB's marketing head in November upon the departure of Lynette Pang.