Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Think about one of the strongest brands from Asia, and chances are that
Singapore Airlines and its long-serving, almost iconic Singapore Girl easily
come to mind. Singapore Airlines has consistently been one of the most
profitable airlines globally, and has always had the reputation of a
trendsetter and industry challenger. There are several good reasons for this.
Most relates directly to the strong brand management driven primarily by the
Singapore Airlines boardroom and top-management, and the healthy brand
equity as the result of a dedicated, professional brand strategy throughout a
diversified, global organisation. The Singapore Airlines brand has been
instrumental for the airline from the early start. It serves as one of the
leading brand cases from Asia for other established brands as well as any
aspiring brands. The Singapore Airlines brand is unique in the sense that the
boardroom takes dedicated leadership of the brand strategy unlike many
other Asian companies.
Background
The personalization of the Singapore Airlines brand is the mixed male and
female cabin crew, where especially the flight stewardesses commonly
referred to as Singapore Girls have become very well-known. SIA engaged
French haute-couture designer Pierre Balmain at the inauguration of the
airline in 1972. He designed a special version of the Malay sarong kebaya as
the uniform which later became one of the most recognized signatures of the
airline. A very designated and visual part of the entire brand experience. The
Singapore Girl strategy turned out to be a very powerful idea and has
become a successful brand icon with an almost mythical status and aura
around her. The Singapore Girl encapsulates Asian values and hospitality,
and could be described as caring, warm, gentle, elegant and serene. It is a
brilliant personification of SIA's commitment to service and quality
excellence. The icon has become so strong that Madame Tussaud's Museum
in London started to display the Singapore Girl in 1994 as the first
commercial figure ever.Singapore Airlines also runs one of the most
comprehensive and rigorous training programs for cabin and flight crew in
the industry to make sure the SIA brand experience is fully and consistently
delivered.The social status of the Singapore Girl has also reached near-
celebrity in Asia. This has allowed Singapore Airlines to be highly selective
in the recruiting process for talent which has added further to the strength of
the brand icon and the myth around it.
While other airlines have also pursued high service/quality brand strategies,
none has been able to match Singapore Airlines in consistency, commitment,
and true permeation of the brand in every facet. SIA has been able to
maintain their brand advantage by not wavering from their brand strategy.
This is a particularly difficult position to maintain in a highly cyclical
industry where the competition seems to react on a daily basis to changes in
performance. This type of commitment takes dedication from the board,
CEO and senior management team, and strong faith in the brand's ability to
pull through bad times. The management team and shareholders must
maintain a longer term outlook to avoid making short-term, reactionary
decisions which dilute the brand.
The last three years has seen a dramatic shift in the airline industry. There
have been major shakeouts and loose consolidation amongst premium, full-
service players and a wide expansion in the low-cost carrier market - also in
the closely regulated Asian airspace. Air travel has become a commodity
and most major routes are saturated with fierce competition. The low-cost
carriers have significantly influenced consumer behaviour for cheap price
bargains among leisure travellers and increasingly among business
travellers. Singapore Airlines has already jumped ahead, launching their own
carrier for local and short-haul routes, Tiger Airways, to stay at the forefront
of competition. The aim is to avoid dilution of the core premium brand,
Singapore Airlines.Singapore Airlines strongly embedded positioning and
commitment to the brand has positioned it well to compete in the new
landscape. The challenge is to stay true to the brand and keep delivering on
the fairly high-cost promise of quality, innovation and service. This requires
heavy, on-going investments and healthy cash-flows which can only be
achieved though a continuous price-premium strategy and satisfactory
passenger load factors. In other words, customers' perception of the
price/value equation, their future buying behaviour (partly to be influenced
by the low-cost carriers) and loyalty among other factors are crucial for the
future. In most industries, there are always segments willing to pay for
quality brands. Therefore, the question is not whether there are customers in
the market, but rather the ability for Singapore Airlines to constantly nurture
the brand promise, keep innovating and capture the overall value of the
brand in the minds of the customers.The strong brand equity of Singapore
Airlines is one of the most valuable assets for the company and its cash-rich
balance sheet. Singapore Airlines is a leading business case from Asia
demonstrating the importance of strategic branding, and they should serve as
great inspiration for other Asian boardrooms trying to build and manage
their own brands. Singapore Airlines is among the top companies globally
that is truly able to control the brand through every interaction and
experience. SIA has become a hugely rewarded innovator and industry
leader: A great way to fly.