Instilling Pride in Singapore’s Economic Achievements Among Singaporeans

THE CLIENT

SG50 Economic and International Committee

WHAT WE DID

Stakeholder consultation & engagement
Audience research & engagement
Storytelling & strategy
Experience & interpretative strategy

Experience and interpretive strategy for Singapore’s Economic Miracle exhibition

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence, the SG50 Economic and International Committee commissioned a large-scale exhibition to tell the story of the nation’s economic development.

The exhibition also aimed to pay tribute to the workers and companies that had contributed to Singapore’s growth and to instil pride in the nation’s economic achievements among Singaporeans.

With our experience strategy and storytelling expertise, we shaped the exhibition’s vision, strategised an experience and told stories that connected emotionally with its audience.

IMPACT

exhibition visitors

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Heartfelt

experience for the visitors

Pride

instilled in visitors, for Singapore’s economic achievements

Through personal stories and features on iconic brands, we made it clear that Singapore’s economic success was not only a miracle but also not an accident. The success arose from Singaporeans’ foresight, determination and courage to dream.

The exhibition, supported by both the public and private sectors, saw the participation of over 50 Singapore and international companies. Its opening ceremony was attended by the many CEOs of these companies and their staff.

Over 200,000 people visited the exhibition. Many took photos with the exhibits and shared them on social media, while others expressed their pride in Singapore’s economic achievements.

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SUMMARY

Proud to be part of Singapore’s economic success

Visitors related to the personal anecdotes shared in the exhibition and felt proud to be Singaporean. They went away knowing that as Singaporeans, they would continue to be the backbone of the nation’s economic success.

ABOUT THE CLIENT

SG50 Economic and International Committee

The committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, was set up to engage the business community in celebrating Singapore’s 50th anniversary.

Through its activities, it paid tribute to companies that had contributed to Singapore’s economic growth.

CHALLENGE

The same old economic story?

The story of Singapore’s economic success has been repeated countless times, such that Singaporeans might have become desensitised to the message and take the country’s success for granted. Many were born after the struggles of independence and might not feel a personal connection to Singapore’s economic story.

How could we pay tribute to the businesses that made Singapore’s economy while helping Singaporeans see that the country’s economic success was their success too? How could we make them feel proud to carry the can-do spirit and resilience of earlier generations into the future?

INSIGHTS AND STRATEGY

Singapore’s economic success = Singaporeans’ stories

Singaporeans can see the fruits of Singapore’s economic success in everyday life. They hear about how life has improved from their parents and grandparents. They read in the news about Singapore being a model for other countries.

However, even though the success is evident, it’s safe to say many Singaporeans attribute it to the government. If they don’t see themselves in the success, it’s hard for them to own it and envision themselves in the country’s future.

Additionally, in a success-driven society like Singapore, successes are celebrated in the media, but failures and struggles are often hidden from view. So much so that Singaporeans might have taken the country’s success for granted – that success “just” happened. Yet, we recognise that success comes only from the lessons learned from struggles and failures.

Moreover, as humans, we relate to and love stories of underdogs who have fought the good fight to rise to the occasion. Our strategy then was to bring individuals’ stories to the fore. These would be personal stories of ordinary Singaporeans contributing to this success, as well as those of their struggles and failures. These stories would resonate with visitors, as Singaporeans would identify with other Singaporeans more than government agencies.

Solution

Resonant storytelling

Visually arresting experience

Illuminating the future with the past

If we were to talk about Singapore’s economic development the expected way – with cold facts, dry statistics, unstimulating timelines and boastful achievements from the government’s perspective – visitors would tune out.

So, we identified personal stories that would resonate with Singaporeans. These stories humanised Singapore’s success by featuring the failures, struggles and successes of ordinary citizens like you and me. They also pointed to the Singaporean traits visitors could identify with – resilience in bouncing back from setbacks and optimism that would shine a light towards the future.

These stories connected emotionally with our visitors, grabbed their attention and prompted deeper engagement and dwell time.

The exhibition was held at two of Singapore’s biggest shopping malls with high foot traffic and Changi Airport. It was designed to be visually arresting to vie with retail shops for shoppers’ attention.

From oversized Khong Guan biscuit tins to a life-sized Raffles Hotel doorman cut-out, we stopped preoccupied shoppers in their tracks by using human images and quirky Instagrammable structures. The result was shareable stories and memories that visitors posted on social media.

We consciously avoided a historical walkthrough. Instead, we evoked a sense of pride for the past, and optimism and possibilities for the future, through personal stories and company features. We inspired visitors with the earlier generation’s stories and instilled confidence in them that Singapore’s future was theirs to create.

Thanks to you and your team for the great support in working tirelessly with the team towards the successful launch of the SG50 exhibition.

Ted Tan

Deputy CEO, Enterprise Singapore

I had a very pleasant working relationship with your team throughout this engagement and would like to commend the effort your team put into this project and the professionalism shown. All the best for your future endeavours.

Mr Liang Qiao

Deputy Director, Technology & Adoption, Enterprise Singapore