Welcome to Sourvinur-Singapore.com Check out our webstore here The Singapore girl Who and What is the Singapore Girl? According to the UK's Chartered Institute of Marketing's Glossary, a brand is defined as: "The set of physical attributes of a product or service, together with the beliefs and expectations surrounding it - a unique combination which the name or logo of the product or service should evoke in the mind of the audience." And according to About.com's Marketing Terms and Definitions, a brand is: "A name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item, a family of items, or all items of that seller." And according to Dictionary.com defination, brand is: "A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer." To put simply, the Singapore Girl is a brand, a brand icon and personilfies SIA's brand How it begin On October 1 1972, the Singapore and Malaysian government jointly owned Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) was split into Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Within a year, SIA had caught up with other major international airlines in all functional aspects. They had proficient and experienced pilots and engineers, the world's most modern aircraft...and was now in search of a product/service differentiation strategy that would distinguish it from its competitors (Chan, 2000). The decision was made to focus on differentiating its in-flight services and the Singapore Girl, a symbol of its attentive Asian hospitality, has come to be synonymous with SIA. No other airline has had as a strong a brand image, immortalized in wax and displayed in 1994 at Madame Tussaud’s Museum in London. This is not surprising given SIA’s annual advertising expenditure is over 80 million Singapore dollars, or US$48 million. According to a ex-Singapore girl, who has served SIA for 25 years beginning as a steward, “the Singapore Girl is the image that makes or breaks us”, and passengers love it. The Singapore Girl is the brainchild of Ian Batey of Batey Ads, Singapore’s largest advertising agency. Batey took a risk when he proposed that advertising should focus on service at a time when other airlines were selling their tickets on the theme of safety, but service was the only way an airline could go beyond function to differentiate themselves from others. Specifically, Batey meant luxurious and attentive in-flight service offered by beautiful young women, to please male business travelers (Shenon, 1992). training The chosen potential Singapore Girls undergo four months of training, the longest of any airline in the industry. For the sake of comparison, U. S. carriers train their flight attendants for two weeks for commuter airlines to eight weeks. In SIA, three weeks are devoted to safety instruction which includes mock crashes, fire fighting and life saving. Most of the time is spent on teaching service: poise, deportment, wine connoisseurship, hair cutting to match their faces, smiling at any passenger of any temperament, what make-up matches their skin tones, how to sit, walk and climb stairs. Here is a taste of what they do in training (Clark, 2002): Deportment “Stand straight; maintain eye contact; never point; and smile, smile, smile.” Selection A recruitment advertisement lists the requirements for applying to be a member of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew, the Singapore Girl (Arnold, 1992, pp. V3):
It is no surprise that many enthusiastic candidates come in person to apply for the job. The first screening is usually a height and weight check, to ensure proper fitting into the figure-hugging sarong kebaya uniform. They go through four interviews including a swim test in which they must prove they have no scars and blemishes that the sarongs do not hide (Arnold, 1999). Yet only a small percentage pass the tests. According to Glory Henriette, SIA’s public relations manager, the Singapore Girl epitomizes Asian hospitality and Singapore Airlines' tradition of friendly service,” and she adds that therefore the Singapore Girl must have a certain look. They cannot do anything that will downgrade the Singapore Girl image (Mariani, 2005). Stewardesses work under renewable five-year contracts and must retire after 15 years, even after they have reached the highest rank of In-flight Supervisor. It is the custom to work for 5-10 years and then settle down elsewhere in a more stable occupation. They may be married while employed but once pregnant, they must leave. There are also a small portion of stewardess from China, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia, many of whom are recruited for their language skills to tailor for international passengers (Mariani, 2005). In order not to neglect a single passenger, SIA provides more flight attendants than aviation regulations require, the highest ratio in the world at 1 flight attendant per 22 passengers (Chan, 2000) The uniform The uniform was designed by French couturier Pierre Balmain (www.balmain.com) in 1972, and is an inspiration from the traditional Malay evening gown. The trademark uniform is a long batik skirt and traditional kebaya (blouse), together called a sarong kebaya, which we will always see the stewardess in any SIA advertisement. Each uniform is custom-tailored for each stewardess and has said to be the airline’s way of making sure the girls stay slim, which they do by exercising. Their weight is regularly monitored to avoid weight gain.
Singapore Girl in commercial ads
Singapore girl in Printed ads The Singapore Girl has extremely high visibility. She is identified directly with the company, and this identification developed out of repeated presentations of the Girl's face right next to the company logo or name. Note how in the following illustrations, she may take up just a corner box, but the fact that the box is the same size or has similar dimensions as the adjacent box in which the company logo is placed, impresses on the viewer a visual equation: Singapore Airlines = Singapore Girl (Figures (1)-(4)). They are not literally, physically equated, but the constant bombardment of the two side by side have led to the automatic association between the youth, beauty, serenity, grace and vigilance captured in the image of the Singapore Girl and the airline itself. What constitutes the Singapore Girl's image formulates Singapore Airlines' brand personality, and the Singapore Girl gives concrete and graphic form to the personality. The size and ubiquity of the boxed images of her in Figures (1)-(4), and its appearance with the company logo and/or name makes her part of the Singapore Airlines logo itself, except that the exact person who is presented as the Singapore Girl varies across different advertisements and sites. That is actually a refreshing concept--to pair a slightly varying image to the constant name and logo keeps the audience interested. The ubiquity coupled with small size suggest that they are amongst many cabin staff working hard behind the glamorous experiences presented in the advertising. It is a beckoning, "This way sir/madam, please. Welcome aboard." What helps immensely also is that there is little cluttering of imagery. The Singapore Girl is the only real human face of Singapore Airlines presented to the customer. Because of that, her image is the only one that remains in people's minds and that makes it even easier for people to associate the the Girl and the airline, since all the customer can remember of the airline is the Girl. Singapore Airline Achievement In just over the last two decades, the US$ 5.7 billlion carrier Singapore Airlines has grown from a regional carrier to an international one with a route network spanning over 90 cities in nearly 40 countries. It has one of the youngest and most modern fleet and continues to set the standards for inflight services. Singapore Airlines has consistently ranked tops in the United States' Fortune Magazine's list of Global Most Admired Companies (GMAC), and it did not fail in the latest 2004 survey either. It ranked 32nd in Top 50 of the 2004 All Stars Listing, and ranked 2nd in the airline category (Our Achievements, n.d.), making it both a world and industry leader--for a country that hardly makes a dent in the world. In 2002, it was at 50th position, the highest ranked Singapore representative, and is one of only two Singapore companies to have made the list. Outside of Japan, SIA is the top ranked Asian company in that list, according to the sources. Criteria for evaluation include quality of management, quality of products and services, innovation, long-term investment value, financial soundness, responsibility to the community and the environment, wise use of corporate assets, global business men, and the ability to attract, develop and retain talent (Nepal news, n.d.). In the Conde Nast Traveler Magazine Reader's Travel Awards 2004, Singapore Airlines was ranked second in popularity (89.91%) after Air New Zealand (90.08%) for the Leisure Travel--Long Haul category. British Airways (87.90%), Virgin Atlantic (87.46%), Emirates (87.40%) came after amongst the top five. As for the Business Travel category, Singapore Airlines is the business traveller's favourite, with scores above 80 for all criteria, and above 90 for lounge/pre- & post-flight facilities and in-flight entertainment. It scores 88.50%, ahead of British Airways (88.40%), Emirates (87.75%), Cathay Pacific (86.65%) and Air New Zealand (86.47%). A full list of awards and accolades that Singapore Airlines has won can be found here: Singapore Airlines (2001-2004). Our achievements: Singapore Airlines presents our awards and accolades. Retrieved on May 2, 2005 from: http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/app/saa?dynamic=OurAchievements/ourachievements.html A380
A double bed suite on SIA A380
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