Pearl Centre Out of Home Advertising Spectacular - Site Review

TPM Outdoor has been marketing one of the best billboard spectacular displays in Singapore since 2003 till today. This Out-of-Home Advertising site had been the stronghold of APB's Tiger Beer during the "It's Tiger Time" hay days. Tiger Beer was then strongly featured as the fun beer to have during good times - which was close to the hearts of many locals.

Corny tagline, but many of us (then) did look at our watches after 5pm weekdays and shouted out in glee that It's Tiger Time". The beauty of great marketing is proportionate to recall rate, not an art degree... =)

I am surprised to still find records of these comments by Edmund Ng via the Marketing Magazine in a 2007 interview which reviewed this spectacular outdoor advertisement showpiece. I also blogged about this neon display before. A copy of the interview in its entirety as follow:

Published: Apr 16, 2007

Name: Edmund Ng

Position: Marketing Manager for Tiger Beer

Company: Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS)

"We installed a neon billboard at Pearl Centre in December 2005 as part of Tiger's rebranding campaign launched in October 2005, which featured a TVC starring Hollywood IT-girl, Jessica Alba.

"The fully-animated neon billboard, comprising the vibrant mix of the brand's trademark colours, gold, blue and orange, showcases our enhanced logo with the signature Tiger icon striding forth, along with the new campaign tagline, ‘It's Time'.

"The idea of installing a neon billboard at Pearl Centre was a collective decision by APBS and its agencies, MindShare Singapore and BBDO Singapore, with the neon billboard developed to create stronger brand recall and encourage consumption of Tiger among the target audience.

"MindShare Singapore worked with Posterscope SE Asia who in turn liaised with Pearl Centre's building management to finalise the details and set-up of the neon billboard. Poster Publicity subsequently worked with a hardware/software supplier from Italy who produced the neon billboard and the lighting sequence.

"Pearl Centre was selected for its high-profile location in the Chinatown vicinity and its location at a high traffic junction ensures high visibility of the billboard among our target audience -- mainly the PMEBs/white-collared crowd working in the CBD and the Chinese-speaking consumers who live/work in and around Chinatown, both of whom enjoy drinking beer.

"In addition, there are numerous food and beverage outlets in the surrounding areas, and we want to target our key audiences at the right moment, especially in the evenings when most beer is consumed. At night, the neon billboard stands out due to its flashing sequence, and ties in well with the ‘life after dark' concept where drinkers enjoy Tiger with friends after a hard day's work.

"Tiger has the contract for the site for two years, till December 2007. As an outdoor media vehicle, the billboard is able to withstand the various weather conditions in Singapore and require minimal maintenance by the media owner, Posterscope SE Asia."

How much did it cost? Ng could not disclose figures but an out-of-home industry expert estimated the execution would have cost Asia Pacific Breweries "somewhere between $150,000 to $250,000, depending on the amount of neon used".