How would you access the health of the Singapore ad industry? Do you see it growing or has it been stable?

At best, the growth for the ad industry is marginal if not currently stable. I foresee some significant growth in the next three to five years when the two integrated resorts (with casinos) are ready and operational. Also, Singapore's largest shopping mall, Vivo City, is due to open within the next 12 to 18 months.

Coupled with the recent opening of a budget air terminal and a third main terminal, due to be operational soon at Changi International Airport, the local business outlook seems bright as tourist arrivals are expected to increase significantly. Disposable income of local consumers are also expected to rise as employment situation improves. The median salary of the average worker will also increase in tandem with economic progress. This can only augur well for the Singapore ad industry.

Has the fragmentation of media channels affected agency billings substantially?

Yes, it has certainly affected agency billings which, I suspect, would be between 20 percent to 30 percent. Unless an ad agency can adapt and embrace new media practices, especially digital media technology, they will continue to see some erosion in their billings.

Who are the Singapore’s top three advertisers? 

The top three advertisers in 2005 were Starhub, Procter & Gamble, and M1. Both Starhub and M1 are telco providers.

Which media channel has the biggest share of the pie? Do you see this changing in the next five years?

In Singapore, which is made up of one single cosmopolitan market and where literacy is over 90 percent, newspapers will continue to dominate and enjoy the biggest share of the advertising pie, even though their share may have eroded a little in recent years due of the emergence of new media channels.

How do you think Singapore is performing on the creative front compared to previous years?

Singapore is still keeping its reputation as a center for print creative excellence. Our agencies still keep the flag flying with recent awards from Cannes, D&AD, Clio, London Festival, New York Festival, Mobius Awards, AdFest, etc. With the inception of a creative award show for local creative students called the Crowbar Awards, we hope to nurture young talents and groom them into world class creatives. The only set back for Singapore are TVCs. Without a thriving local movie industry, we are unable to compete with countries like Thailand and India.

What are the challenges facing the Singapore ad industry today? 

The erosion of gross income, deriving mainly from media commissions. It may have been good to consolidate media planning and buying functions into a single media independent outfit. But when agencies report to a common holding company, it has inevitably led to diminishing media commissions as clients tend to demand greater return (media commission rebate) on their media investments—especially when their business is on AOR terms. The increasing demand by clients on ROI has also created new challenges for some agencies as this would mean step-ups in research tools and applications to determine customer contact points and KPI's. The emergence of new media channels also pose challenges to agencies slow to move with worldwide trends.

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About Anthony Kang
Anthony Kang, President of the Singapore 4As and Dentsu Singapore. He also serves as a governor in the Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS), a council member of the Advertising Standards of Singapore (ASAS) and a Board member of the Media Circulation Services (MCS). Before Dentsu, he was with CAM-Asatsu Advertising and Saatchi & Saatchi. He started as a copywriter and switched over to account management and planning and has since been in key management roles.