Changi Airport Group clarifies 'unlimited reviews' clause in Jewel Changi project

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has clarified a recent “unlimited reviews” clause raised by a netizen for one of its upcoming Jewel Changi projects which involves the development of marketing collateral images.This happened when a designer who shared a screenshot of the tender details, highlighting the line “CAG shall be granted unlimited reviews of the render, until it is satisfied with the final product.” The designer also expressed disappointment at the clause in his post.In a statement to Marketing, a CAG spokesperson said that the highlighted clause “should not be viewed in isolation”.“While CAG aspires to always achieve the best results with our vendors, the intention was never to pay a fixed price for ‘unlimited reviews’,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that within the same quotation specifications, there was also a clause that requested for suppliers to provide a schedule of rates (SOR) for each rendered image and associated unit cost of services involved.The statement added that vendors are to submit costing based on the proposed scope of work, with any additional variable costs payable in accordance with the rates in the SOR. Before appointment and commencement of work, CAG also always discusses to reach a mutual agreement with shortlisted vendors on the detailed scope of work involved and associated fees. The spokesperson added:CAG works with many creative agencies and in all cases, we believe in compensating fairly for services delivered.That being said, the spokesperson added that the organisation notes the feedback given and will review the language it uses for future RFPs.Marketing understands the project is for an agency to develop images to be used for Jewel Changi’s marketing collaterals. This includes visuals of an event space meant for conferences, weddings and launch events for the property.The incident comes in a wake of backlash from the design and marketing community over the term “unlimited changes”. This saw the Ministry of Finance (MOF) publicly agreeing that it is unfair to expect suppliers to agree to unlimited changes.This was after a brief by a local school asking for “Unlimited Changes” on its creative design made it rounds online, sparking criticism. Following the incident, MOF said it would issue a circular to remind all government agencies of standing procurement principles, which includes ensuring that all procurement specifications are reasonable and fair.Last year, a brief from the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) also garnered attention for stating there would not be “any limit on the number of reworks required before approval of the finished artwork”. Eventually, DSTA replaced the original tender posting and replaced the tender with one which did not contain the line. MOF said to Marketing at the time that it maintained its stance on the matter.Read also: Shake Shack and A&W: Jewel Changi’s secret weapons to lure in customers? Jewel Changi Airport picks PR partner to assist with opening Changi Airport hands Ogilvy creative duties, retains Goodstuph for social