Enterprise Singapore urges businesses to rethink standards

Enterprise Singapore is challenging long-held perceptions of standards with a new campaign that positions them as a catalyst for business growth rather than simply a compliance requirement.

Created in partnership with The Secret Little Agency (TSLA), the campaign, titled "Growth comes to those who have standards", coincides with the launch of Enterprise Singapore's "Standards & conformance 2035 roadmap", which sets out the country's vision for helping businesses compete and grow in an increasingly complex global marketplace.

Rather than encouraging businesses to adopt standards through traditional messaging, the campaign takes a more provocative approach. Its hero film opens with the line, "Don't adopt standards. Unless you're ready," inviting businesses to reflect on the opportunities and responsibilities that come with embracing standards.

The campaign is rooted in the insight that standards are often viewed as a burden associated with paperwork, compliance and costs. Instead, it seeks to reposition them as a competitive advantage that can help businesses build trust, unlock innovation and expand into new markets.

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Beyond the film, the integrated campaign includes out-of-home, digital and print executions highlighting the opportunities standards can unlock, from building credibility and enabling innovation to opening doors to international markets.

It also features the stories of Singapore businesses including HOPE Technik and Jurong Cold Store, illustrating how standards have supported their growth and expansion.

According to TSLA, the campaign was designed to tackle the negative perceptions often associated with standards by reframing them as an aspiration rather than an obligation.

"Year after year, we've tried to explain what standards are and why they matter," said Alethea Nah, executive director of corporate communications at Enterprise Singapore. "We realised the bigger challenge wasn't awareness, but perception. Many businesses see standards in relation to tedious paperwork, cost and compliance. We wanted to showcase standards for what they really are: one of the most powerful enablers of growth." 

In tandem, Nicholas Ye and Mavis Neo, co-chief creative officers at The Secret Little Agency said "Standards have a perception problem. The word alone conjures checklists, audits and compliance, not ambition. So we leaned into that tension and flipped the narrative on it." 

"'Growth comes to those who have standards' shows that growth is aspirational, and with the right provocation, so are standards," they added. 

The latest campaign builds on Enterprise Singapore's broader effort to reshape how businesses think about growth. Earlier this year, the agency partnered with The Secret Little Agency to launch its first integrated creative campaign, "For where you're growing", which challenged traditional notions of business success by spotlighting the often unseen moments of resilience, reinvention and perseverance behind Singapore enterprises.

Through a series of films inspired by classic fairytales, the campaign highlighted the non-linear journeys of local businesses including Lucence and Tankfully Fresh, encouraging audiences to view growth as an evolving process rather than a single milestone. 

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