CITY OF POSSIBILITIES

TitleCITY OF POSSIBILITIES
BrandSINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD
Product / ServiceSINGAPORE
CategoryA07. Travel / Leisure
EntrantTBWA\SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Idea Creation TBWA\SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Production TBWA\SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Production 2 AIRBAG Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Hagan de Villiers TBWA\Singapore Executive Creative Director
Gary Steele TBWA\Singapore Executive Creative Director
Anam AS TBWA\Singapore Creative Director
Marvin Liang TBWA\Singapore Senior Art Director
Lena Paik TBWA\Singapore Copywriter
Toby Thurston TBWA\Singapore Head of Techonolgoy
Mandy Wong TBWA\Singapore Managing Partner
Ellen Tan TBWA\Singapore Brand Director
Jerine Lee TBWA\Singapore Brand Manager
Sariyanti Sannie Sixtoes Agency Producer
Nash Tan TBWA\Singapore Project Manager
Adrian Bosich Airbag Managing Partner
Steven Nicholson AIRBAG Productions Technology Director
Aaron Wilson AIRBAG Productions Director
David Curry AIRBAG Productions Executive Producer
Nick Venn AIRBAG Productions Producer
Aaron Wilson Airbag Productions Ofline
Janice Tay SixToes.TV Offline
Amos Tan SixToes.TV Offline
Edel Rafferty Airbag Colour Grading
Ryan Brett Airbag Online
Daniel MacNish Airbag Tech Assistant
Nick Pledge Airbag Model Maker

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

Technology is enabling new ways in which we tell the Singapore story and delight potential visitors. With City of Possibilities, we created an interactive showcase which allows users to experience Singapore without being there—through the use of tactile and technology. Users get to explore a colourful diorama of Singapore using an avatar, and be instantly transported to iconic locations where they can discover the sights, sounds and stories which make Singapore a city of possibilities.

Background

Every year, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) participates in key leisure and MICE trade shows around the world involving over 10,000 exhibitors such as airlines, hotels, travel agents, online travel platforms and other national tourism organsations. This is done with the aim of helping to connect and foster collaborations between Singapore tourism stakeholders and overseas potential partners as well as raise Singapore’s profile as a choice leisure and business destination. Against this context, we were challenged to find a way to stand out in the hyper-distracting context of trade shows and attract people to actively engage with us, within a 3m by 3m space. Our key objectives were as defined: 1. Drive engagement at trade shows with an experience that brings Singapore to life 2. Strengthen the positive perception of STB’s brand positioning - “Passion Made 3. Position STB at the forefront of bold and creative storytelling

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Singapore is innovative, modern, progressive, artistic. So when it came to showcasing it to the world, it had to be well, innovative, modern, progressive, artistic. So we created the City Of Possibilities (CoP)—an entire country packed into a suitcase, and shipped around the world. How? By harnessing the world of tactile and technology. We reimagined the Singapore map. Distorting its scale to pack the entire city into a 1.8m by 1m table, and reinterpreting its landscape to create a whimsical representation of the city. With a physical avatar, you could navigate and explore around the city through immersive 360 location spheres. Hop around, hang out with locals, catch a concert, chill on the beach, marvel at the Supertrees or wander through an aquarium—over 40 mixed-media content showcased the sights, sounds and stories of Singapore.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

STB’s brand positioning of “Passion Made Possible” was created from the country’s history and ambition of imagining new possibilities and creating new realities - be it housing the world’s species of plants in a lush futuristic garden risen from the sea, or building and sustaining the first and only peaceful yet entertaining airport, right through to the rapid transformation of the city from third-world to first-world in a single generation. To create an experience that was true to this brand essence of Singapore, we had to find a way to make our event presence punch above its weight, like all the amazing that happens on our tiny red dot. More critically, we had to find a way of bringing to life the richness of travelling and experiencing a place in a sterile environment of trade shows, miles away from the destination we had to talk about.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

To arrest the attention of delegates mindlessly grazing through hundreds of event stands, we introduced them to their personal avatar, enticing them to discover the many surprises hidden in the CoP. Upon landing on landmarks, they were served up a 360 visual feast of the location that they could control and navigate. This was broadcasted live on a large screen to facilitate a larger shared experience with other event attendees. We featured a total of 40 mixed media content, in each landmark to enrich each explorer’s journey in Singapore. These hotspots drew explorers further into the sights and sounds of Singapore Singapore with various techniques such as the clever use of spatial audio, characters that seem to be making an intimate conversation with the viewer, as well as camera approaches that simulated a first person’s experience.

List the results (30% of vote)

Across 4 trade shows, we achieved an average of 1min 41s per player session. 95% agreed or strongly agreed that CoP provided greater appreciation of our brand purpose and how it can be relevant to travellers with different interests. Qualitative data obtained from the various shows indicated that Partners and clients were particularly impressed with COP saying it helped to position Singapore as a “cutting edge” and “innovative” destination.” The deliberate combination of technologies, visual audio content and the mash up with the physical act of exploration to simulate a first person’s experience, enabled event attendees’ miles away from Singapore to feel the richness of travelling and experiencing Singapore. This helped Singapore stand out from a sea of beautiful, albeit wallpaper, floor-to-ceiling visual displays. All of these led overseas viewers to enjoy an immersive and true Singapore experience, without needing to be there physically.