Exit interview: Departing STB marketer Lynette Pang on great marketing and agency relationship

Last month, long time marketer of STB Lynette Pang (pictured) made the announcement that she will step down from her role as assistant chief executive, marketing group of the organisation. Succeeding her to helm the marketing of STB, will be Chang Chee Pey, assistant chief executive, International Group.

Pang shared with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that she will be taking on a new role at the National Arts Council (NAC) as deputy chief executive from 1 December. In the role, she will be responsible for developing arts and culture policies to nurture Singapore’s creative ecosystem, and positioning Singapore arts globally through international collaborations and partnerships. 

As a veteran marketer, and in her 18 years at STB, Pang has contributed to "destination Singapore" across numerous fronts. Pang said in a statement confirming her departure: "I’ve had the best time in STB, in the company of talented global and local colleagues who are constantly pushing the boundaries in their respective fields and inspiring me with their innovation, drive and passion.”

She added that while marketing and tourism will always hold a special place in her heart, she was equally excited to be given the opportunity to pursue her love for the arts, and to continue to work with the dynamic creative sector in a different capacity at the National Arts Council.

In a recent interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Pang said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to take on the secondment at the National Arts Council and view it as a continuum of the work at Singapore Tourism Board.”

Pang explained that both organisations place an emphasis on the importance of working with and developing local talent in the creative, culture and lifestyle sectors – just that the views come from different perspectives. While STB’s mandate is to drive tourism, NAC’s is to develop a thriving arts sector as well as to grow an appreciation for the arts.

“There is a nexus between the two and that is to develop a Singapore we are proud of and want to live in,” she said. Pang added that while she would miss her colleagues at STB dearly, she was equally excited to learn about the new developments in the arts scene and hope to contribute meaningfully to the growth of it.

The arts is a passion point of mine and I look forward to working with my new colleagues to champion the talented local creative scene.

Her departure announcement came shortly after STB's launch of a global creative and media pitch. While Pang and the STB team declined to answer any questions pertaining to the pitch and shift in marketing management, Pang shared that she has always held a lot of “respect for the talented and dedicated professionals” STB has worked with.

At present, STB’s core partners are TBWA\, Zenith and Edelman. TSLA was part of the early journey in developing the brand, while STB also worked with BLKJ Havas and Tate Anzur for the SGBO work. MEC (now known as Wavemaker) was also a partner for STB during the critical developmental period of Passion Made Possible, Pang shared.

“They have all been great partners and have made significant contributions to marketing Brand Singapore. Personally, I have also learnt a lot about marketing from them and am grateful for that,” she said.

When asked what makes a great client-agency relationship, she shared: “Like any good relationship, it takes time and effort to build trust, develop camaraderie and foster team spirit. I believe in being upfront and honest. As such, we talk a lot. When it’s good, we laugh and rejoice. When we hit a rough spot, we chat.”

She added:

I do not believe that clients are always right and it is important to listen to feedback or differing opinions. At the back of my mind, the question is always, how do we bring out the best in our partners?

Modern-day marketing and what makes it great

Pang added that STB is a firm believer of the ABC approach - Agile, Bold and Creative.

Agility, she shares, is critical in today’s day and age given technology moves at 5G speed. Moreover, the pandemic has driven home the point that marketing teams need to possess high adaptability and flexibility to refine plans to deploy people, technology and resources to where it is needed. Pang shared that STB’s marketing team really showed its agility when it had to drive domestic demand, pivoting from the roadmap it had previously laid out for international tourism.

“STB had to pivot to drive domestic demand, reaching out to our local audiences on a scale that had never been done before,” she said. During this tumultuous period, the organization learnt to quickly establish key partnerships to support the industry and lifestyle brands through its SingapoRediscovers campaign with Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG), and the “Made with Passion” campaign with the Singapore Brand Office.  As such, marketers must have the proper investment in technology and the right process to enable agility.

Nonetheless, despite the headwinds thrown at companies today, they must remain bold and dream big. This is vital to remaining competitive and brands need to have strong point of differentiation, Pang explained.

“In marketing, this boils down to the brand,” she said. Destination marketing, in particular, usually centres around the physical aspects of a destination. In 2017, STB made a big shift to focus on people as it believed that authenticity was critical in the long run, and that it was the local people that made Destination Singapore unique. While this might have been considered a bold and unusual move in 2017, Pang shared that the move has allowed the STB brand to showcase its diverse talent from all walks of life.

Of course, walking hand in hand with being bold is the need to be creative and embrace working with different types of creative partners, from established brands to small brick-and-mortar shops and entrepreneurs. Each partner has an interesting story to tell, and brands today need to be open to that. “As marketers, we should also learn how to manage the creative process as it requires conceptual thinking, a discussive approach and constructive criticism undergirded by technical competency in the language of creative work,” she said.

Beyond meeting business goals, Pang shared that great marketing today also means “Marketing for Good” where brands take an active role in highlighting social issues, promoting diversity and making an impact beyond commercial gain, said Pang.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What were some of the learning lessons throughout your time at STB?

Pang: There are three memorable projects that have taught me important work lessons.

1. Have a vision, be bold, work hard

A major highlight for me at STB before switching to marketing was definitely working in experience development and on the Singapore Grand Prix. The inaugural event in 2008 was especially memorable but the journey there was a great learning lesson in having a bold vision and working hard to bring it alive.

From day one, we’ve always wanted to develop an event that went beyond a race - both on and off track. I was not in charge of the race, my then-colleague Yue Kheong was and he ran it with military precision.

However, as the officer in charge of entertainment then, I was tasked to look into how we could develop activities to complement the race in order to deliver a unique visitor experience. There were discussions referencing the Edinburgh Festival where the entire city comes alive when the festival hits. In starting up the Grand Prix Season Singapore (GPSS), which was envisioned to be a vibrant mix of lifestyle events around the race, we had to work hard to first explain the race as it was new then, followed by explaining our vision for the GPSS and then convincing stakeholders on the value of developing experiences!

I remember those early days when we were all pounding the pavement, selling a vision, it was really tough. At the last race in 2019, the city was filled with parties, events, special retail pop-ups and more - exactly how we had all envisioned it to be. It took a village, much explaining and definitely tremendous effort.

It is important to have a vision, be bold and to work hard.

2. Fight for what you believe in

Some things take time and shouldn’t be rushed. One of the most meaningful endeavours has been to launch the Passion Made Possible brand, Singapore’s first unified country brand in 2017.

It began as a branding exercise but we soon realised it was more than that – it became a conversation on what makes Singapore special as a destination and as a country.

Every single part in the development of the brand and campaign involved conversations with many different parties from all walks of life. Many provided fresh new perspectives on Singapore which we wouldn’t have discovered if we hadn’t set aside important time for the extensive engagement.

Passion Made Possible signalled a shift towards an authentic view of Singapore through the voices of locals.  Instead of showcasing tourists (our target audience) experiencing Singapore in the campaign, we placed our local talent front and centre.

It was considered an unusual approach back then and we faced resistance, but I am glad we fought for it. The journey to showcase local continues with “Made With Passion”, a national marketing movement celebrating local lifestyle brands and their unique stories.

The lesson for me here is that sometimes, to do things right, we need to take time and that if you believe in something, fight for it.

3. Sometimes, fast is better than perfect

When COVID-19 hit, and travel came to a halt, our marketing mantra of “agile, bold and creative” kicked into high gear. The marketing team, together with colleagues across the organisation, adapted with speedy agility to develop innovative ways to support our industry and local lifestyle brands. No one stopped to ask “why” but the question was “what can we do to help ASAP?”

Together with our colleagues at SDC and ESG as well as with various community groups, the team launched SingapoRediscovers, STB’s largest-ever domestic tourism campaign to support lifestyle and tourism businesses during the pandemic.

A campaign that would normally have taken four to six months to develop was done in half the time. It went against the grain of how we usually work where nothing begins without a detailed strategic analysis requiring significant data and research, extensive planning and creative development - an effort that takes time. We adapted. Along the way, the team and our agency partners worked at a brisk pace and turned out significant pieces of content, big and small across the world.

A few months into the pandemic, the team partnered Voices of Singapore, a choral organisation to film a beautiful and heartfelt version of HOME with a virtual choir made up of Singaporeans from all over the world. For the team, it was a case of a great idea and partner and it was fulfilling to have been able to give a small artistic organisation a big platform.

With this, we realised that sometimes, it is better to be fast than perfect and that small projects can have a big impact.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What were some of your greatest accomplishments in STB?

Pang: Marketing in STB is about #Team. We have different roles for different talents and specialists, just like an orchestra - where the whole is larger than the sum of its parts. Therefore, it’s not my accomplishments, but the collective blood, sweat and tears of the amazing STB marketing team.

There were many projects that we’ve worked on through the years but some were especially meaningful to me both as a Singaporean and as a marketer. I will look back and be proud of the following work that we have done as Team STB!

1) Joined forces with EDB and MCI to launch a nation brand, Passion Made Possible, based on the determination and drive of Singapore to always turn possibilities into reality.

2) Anchored, as part of STB’s marketing DNA, to always feature and celebrate the diverse talent in and the authentic stories of Singapore.

3) The multi-faceted creative activations and marketing work of our offices from around the world, especially for the global brand and passion tribes campaigns from 2017 to 2019.

4) Forming the STB Marketing College to help us be disciplined in honing our craft as marketers.

5) Partnering Warner Bros. to market Crazy Rich Asians and HBO to feature Singapore in West World.

6) As part of the strategic partnership, co-created with Singapore Airlines the on-board Safety Video showcasing the iconic Singapore Girl in and around the sights of Singapore for the very first time.

7) Developed Made With Passion with ESG and the Singapore Brand Office, an initiative and movement to highlight the amazing local lifestyle retail brands.

8) The SingapoRediscovers campaign urged locals to rediscover the nooks and crannies that they never knew existed in Singapore and to view Singapore in a totally different light!

 Most of all, I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to serve a driven, talented and passionate team of marketers.

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