Site Home > Michael Shanks - site 2006 > The basics of "Who and What is...
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."
In short, the Singapore Girl is a brand, a brand icon and encapsulates SIA's brand personality.
Let the story begin...
Origins
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 Suan Seng Tan, 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).
Creating the Legendary Singapore Girl: Basic Characteristics
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):
In response to these local newspaper advertisements, it is not surprising that over two days 450 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 10% pass the tests and upon becoming established employees make $17,000 to $20,400 a year and get a chance see the world (Clark, 2002).
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.
About a third of the cabin crew are male stewards in jackets and ties but they tend to be less visible as it is the stewardess who serve the beverages and meals. The latest data shows that SIA has about 6300 cabin crew, 90 percent of whom are either Singaporean or Malaysian. The remaining 10 percent are 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).