GDS hunting for Singapore brands

Singapore - Italian branding agency, GDS has tied up with Huntington Communications to set up GDS Singapore with the aim of taking Singapore brands to Europe.

"We'd like to bring the Singapore brands a new approach to the European markets - to create a broad interest for these brands inside European markets, which we know  are still paying for their negative approach to Asian markets," Cristina Milani, vice chairman for GDS Group said.

GDS will look to target brands from the logistic, chemical, machinery, and ICT products and energy sectors while the partnership will see Huntington handle media relations matters.

When Marketing queried Milani on the choice of Singapore she explained that "the European customer has defined evaluation marks, his buying process is structured and the value of the brand influences his choice. Singapore is a place of origin that has quality guarantees and product safety, so the right mix between functional and emotional values would be a great choice for these exporting brands".

"We want to offer our services to those companies in Singapore that approach international markets - to sell a product made in Singapore to a CEO in Paris you should build ‘personally' a network for its distribution and for its values transmission. Trust should be built following the European or American point of view, and it's different from the Asian one; this partnership is important for the success of Singapore's brands. In the future, we'll grow with Huntington by offering a full service to those companies," she said.

In other news, GDS plans to open up shop in Hong Kong as well.