31 January 2015:
Wrapping up
Our experience
In all honesty, before our assignment to PSA Corporation Ltd (PSA), we had close to zero knowledge about the brand! We were able to obtain some knowledge on PSA with the help of Google and the company’s webpage. We found out that they are actually a B2B (business to business) company and this means that there is a distance between the public and the company as PSA does not directly involves Singaporeans. This distance was our initial impression of PSA and it was the first challenge we were met with as it is difficult to inform and garner interests from the public. As potential marketers and entrepreneurs, lack of brand awareness was tantamount to a lack of exposure the brand receives. This drives us to raise awareness on PSA, a brand hardly discussed over coffee. This SG50 project is not only a platform to showcase the brand’s achievements and history, but also to educate and inform the public about the brand.
Initially, we made the same mistake just like any man on the streets would, in which we held the assumption that PSA owns ships, containers and cranes. Today, we understood its core business processes and have worked with great individuals who took time off their busy schedules to tour us around the port. Our understanding of the brand deepens along with new insights that we wouldn't have gain if not for this rare opportunity. With the guidance and enthusiastic attitude from the people of PSA whom we worked with, our perspective of PSA improved greatly and we are able to further appreciate the nature of the company.
The people is at the heart of PSA business. This core principle inspired our group members and this inspiration took form in our theme - Building Blocks of Our Nation. Through the port tour, we saw how different sectors of the business come together as one to provide a service that is fast, efficient and reliable. These people are the building blocks of PSA and they have helped to build our nation’s reputation till today. Now, we salute the people who have walked alongside with our nation and contributed immensely to our daily needs behind the scenes.
The research and production project was a bittersweet but fulfilling experience. Numerous meetings were solely dedicated to the discussion and preparation of the exhibition booth. Despite the process of rejection and refinement of ideas, we continued to improve our ideas through insightful comments. Ultimately, these ideas evolved into the products that we are delivering to the public. It has been a valuable experience for all of us and we are glad to have worked with PSA.
Our finished product
As the lack of brand awareness stood out, we took the opportunity to work our ideas that revolves around raising brand awareness among the members of the public. Seeking the opportunity to fill in the gap and distance, we aim to create content that are less technical and corporate, while gearing it towards being more emotional. We took a light-hearted stance through the creation of informative posters and brochures, creative tote bags, questionnaires and emotional video.
Deviating from the corporate approach, this deliberate move interweaves into a nexus of mutual benefits for both PSA and the customers. These posters were aimed at providing information not only about PSA’s historical achievements, but fun facts as well. As the name suggests, fun fact posters aim to evoke positive feelings while educating the public in an engaging manner.
A background poster of Pasir Panjang Port Terminal was also deliberately chosen to give a sense of realism to the public. It is the closest they could feel to being in a port. The background poster serves its purpose in the online community, where the public could take photos and upload them on Instagram where attractive prizes could be won. The questionnaires serve as an interactive point with the public, where the answers to the questions can be found on our posters. It aims to educate rather than to inform.
Additionally, our video carries the emotional aspect of the project as it depicts scenes of a typical working class family. The story between a father and daughter paints a picture of a young girl being unable to understand the reasons behind her father going to work on her birthday. The father further explains his job (in PSA) while hoping that his daughter can better understand how important he is not only to the family, but to his workplace as well. Likewise, the video highlights the importance of the people in PSA, which incorporates our theme - Building Blocks of Our Nation. This heart-tugging storyline aims to evoke one’s emotions in hopes that the brand stays in the public’s mind emotionally.
1. by going to this link, click vote and log in with your facebook account or signing up with your email add & phone #
2. by liking this photo on Facebook
Post by SPRING Singapore.
Why vote for us?
Our group represents one of the leading pioneer companies that was formed when Singapore became independent. Yet, many Singaporeans today are still unaware of the contributions of PSA and what PSA has actually done for Singapore. Some may have misconceptions about PSA being a port or a shipping company. However, it is a transhipment company and provides service to over 50 countries. It is important to our group to highlight these features and service excellence that helped build Singapore to its current state as a viable trading hub in the region.
While other companies are unique in their own way, the differences in their values and business areas comes together to celebrate the jubilee year for Singapore. However, our group stands out more in comparison to the other groups as we are promoting the company story of PSA, a company that has grown alongside with Singapore over the years and is a major contributor to the construction of Singapore’s long standing of being a viable hub. In addition, our role is crucial as the public needs to be informed and educated of the achievements of such a successful Singapore company, alleviating our nationalistic pride for our country.
Top 5 interesting facts that we have learned about PSA:
- The container throughput at the port of Singapore crossed the 30 million TEUs mark for the first time in 2012. This number of containers, when placed end-to-end, cover twice the distance between the Earth and the Moon!
- PSA has a quay length of 17,350m, equivalent to the length of 1,458 single-deck SBS buses placed end to end.
- Singapore Terminals handles an average of 60 vessels daily, interconnecting more than 85,000 Containers – a logistical tour de force unprecedented for ports!
- 30 million TEUs of containers can build 230,297 Burj Khalifas, the tallest building in the world!
- The total area of Singapore Terminals – Brani, Keppel, Tanjong Pagar and Pasir Panjang (6,000,000 sqm) = 845 Football Fields.
- PSA is no longer known as the Port of Singapore Authority but rather PSA Corporation Ltd after its corporatisation in 1st October 1997
- The word PSA is no longer an acronym and does not stand for anything.
- The terminals of PSA operate 24 hours a day throughout the entire year without rest.
What does SG50 mean to us?
To conclude this blog post, SG50 represents not only the past but also the future. It gives us the opportunity to reflect, give thanks and think of the journey ahead for the next 50 years.
To the team, SG50 is a platform to show our appreciation towards different groups of Singaporeans. The Pioneer generation package was introduced to acknowledge the pioneers’ sacrifices and honour their contribution towards Singapore nation building process. The government reward newly parents with a SG50 Baby Jubilee Gift. It represents the collective best wishes to the next generation of Singaporeans.
To Singaporeans, with challenges ahead such as intense global competition, SG50 serves as a reminder about the unlimited potential possessed by Singaporeans as Singapore has transformed from a small dot into an international trading hub.
27 November 2014:
An introduction
We are a group of university students representing SIM University for the SG50 Competition on “Local Champions, Global Leaders”. Our group members are Jasmine Christian, Ng Pui Ling, Ng Mei Ying Amaris, Kelvin Kho Hock Meng and Yu Zheng Hong Leon (left to right in the photo below). All of us are currently full-time students, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Marketing.
There are several reasons why we are participating in this competition. We wish to play an active role in the celebration of a momentous year that marks Singapore’s 50th year of independence. Since it is a major milestone for Singapore to have made it so far, we strongly believe that Singaporeans should come together to reflect and commemorate our country’s journey. Other than that, we would also like to use this opportunity to display and improve our marketing abilities, to gain experience for future projects.
The company that we are assigned to is PSA Corporation Ltd (PSA). PSA was founded back in 1964, hence making it a year older than Singapore. It was formerly known as Port of Singapore Authority but after corporatizing in 1997, the company’s name stopped being an acronym and became PSA Corporation Ltd. The port operator that has been running ever since our country became independent is indeed a cornerstone in Singapore's history. As one of the world’s leading port groups, PSA functions across the globe in continents like Asia, Europe and the Americas. Known as a port that never sleeps, PSA operates 24 hours a day and handles more than 90 thousand container transfers. It also accounts for one-seventh of the total transhipment for containers in the world. With its connections with 600 ports around the world, there are sailings to major ports daily.
There are staff who have been in the company for decades and had invited their family and relatives to work alongside them. The connection between the different generations working in PSA shows how the pioneer generation has helped establish Singapore as a leading port in the world for the past 50 years, and how the next generation is going to help further their hard work.
Through this competition, our team hope to learn more about Singapore’s history and how corporates play a part in building our nation. We also want to gain recognition, along with exposure as we work together with the corporate to promote the SG50 competition. This is a valuable experience for us and can be used as a foundation for our future work life.
To learn more about the company beyond what their information package provided, we met up with people from PSA to gain more information for our research. This was followed by a series of interviews with the employees to understand the work culture in PSA. The main focus is on their brand story, as we take note of their historical milestones and their generational workforce. We would like to thank Mr Daniel Lim, Mr Jeffrey Sim and Mr Mike Sargent from PSA for providing us the information we need along the way in this competition. We are also thankful for the guidance that Dr Yap and Prof Leong from SIM University have provided us in this competition.
We will be displaying PSA’s remarkable contribution to Singaporeans through various methods and platforms to promote their brand story. By gathering public awareness on important values of the company, we hope to bring attention to who they are, what they do and how they should be considered the “building blocks” of our nation.
