The purpose of this report is to provide a first hand account of visiting the National Museum of Singapore, to identify the type of event under observation and its characteristics, to critic on the marketing strategies of the organizers for the chosen event and to recommend alternative strategies for effective marketing, to reflect and critic on the programme and management of the event and lastly, to consider the values of the event to Singapore’s tourism economy.

The background of the report is to scrutinize the successfulness of an event through the public, media and their sponsors. Therefore, it is important to gain insights into the best practices by some of these events while at the same time be aware of the problems faced by them. The report is commissioned by the tutor, Miss Sandra Goh and will be submitted to her for assessment.

Research was conducted through the internet and books available in the various libraries, as well as making a personal trip to the National Museum of Singapore.

The report looks into different areas which includes the background of the organizer, the role of events to the organizer, the stakeholders in the event, the target market, the marketing strategies employed by the organizer, the organization of the event, the potential of the event by the organizer to meet tourist demand as well as the value of the event to be align with the tourism mission of Singapore.

2. The background of the organizer (or attraction/venue)

The history of National Museum of Singapore dates back to 1887, the opening of Raffles Library and Museum, by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Frederick Weld, when Singapore was still part of the British Straits Settlements. It was known for its natural history collection of Southeast Asia as well as its ethnology and archeology collections.

During the Japanese Occupation period, the Raffles Library was under the charge of Japanese vulcanologist Professor Hideko Tanakadate, who was on friendly terms with General Yamashita, the commander of the conquering Japanese Army.

In 1960, the Museum was separated from the library. Following independence in 1965, it was renamed National Museum to reflect its new pivotal role in nation building.

In 1993, the National Museum became part of the National Heritage Board (NHB). The Singapore History Museum is housed in the historically-rich National Museum building.

2003 was the year of the commencement of the National Museum of Singapore’s redevelopment project. The Rivertales exhibition at Riverside Point was launched in August to help the Museum maintain its presence.

In 2004, the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the new Museum was held at the National Museum site on 25 November. It was the first public announcement of the redeveloped museum as National Museum of Singapore.

On 28 November 2005, the structural completion of the building was celebrated through the Topping-Off Ceremony.

Closure of the Rivertales exhibition and the Singapore History Museum at Riverside Point started from 6 March 2006, followed by the preview season from April to November 2006, and lastly, the official opening of the National Museum of Singapore in December.

3. Discuss the roles of events to the organizer (or attraction/venue)

Within the National Museum of Singapore are the four Singapore Living Galleries which are Fashion – Shopping for Identity, Film & Wayang – Scripting for a new life, Food – Eating on the street and Photography – Framing the Family.

These events play an important role in the museum as they celebrate the creativity of the Singapore society through time, each with a lifestyle theme close to the hearts of Singaporeans. Without them, the museum loses their identity and would not be able to attract as much tourists and visitors.

4. Identify the stakeholders in the event

The stakeholders include Mr GK Goh from GK Goh Holdings Ltd, Mr Eli Manasseh (Nash) Benjamin from FJ Benjamin Holdings, Mr Chia Teck Keng from Whyte-by-Design, Mr Chia Tze Yee from Southeast Community Development Division, Mr Christopher Shaw from Shaw Organization Group of Companies, Mr Dick Lee, Ms Tan Sushan from Citigroup Private Bank and Mrs Vivienne Tan from Far East Retail Consultancy Pte Ltd.

The sponsors include SONY, HUGO BOSS, SENNHEISER, PANASONIC, with STARHUB as their Official & Exclusive Info-communications Partner and CISCO as their Offical Security Supporter.

5. Identify the target market

The National Museum caters to all target markets, including families, adults, children, teenagers and senior citizens as it brings education to the youngsters about the olden days, as well as bring about fond memories to the elderly.

6. Critically discuss the marketing strategies employed by the organizer.

Marketing events is the defined as the process of employing the marketing mix to attain organisational goals through creating value for customers and other stakeholders. The organization must also adopt a marketing orientation which stresses the building of mutually beneficial relationships and the maintenance of competitive advantages.

There are 8 "P's" in the marketing of the events in National Museum of Singapore. The first P is Product. The National museum itself is a product that is sold to the visitors when they visit the museum. Also, the experience of going back to olden days by the visitors is also a "product" offered by the National Musuem.

The second P in marketing event is the Place. The National musuem is located at Dhoby Ghaut area in Singapore and thus is a very accessible and popular place to be in. Moreover, being a busy place around that area, the museum defnitely attracts passers-by. The interior of the museum also clearly provides enjoyment through the even distribution of product that they sell to the visitors. The event sitemap that the museum provides also give visitors clear explanation about what is happening at which part of the museum.

The third P of the marketing of the events is Programming. There are many different programmes available for different target audience. For example, the Mozart : a child prodigy, is targeted for children who are interested in music and the life of Mozart as a musician. The programme schedule that the museum has planned also allows visitors to be clear of the timing of the exhibition and when they can be admitted into the hall.

The fourth P of the marketing of the events is People. The national museum provides guided tour to the visitors, but normally they only cater to a big group of people. My personal interacting experience with the staff there suggests their good hospitality to the visitors which therefore shapes my most enjoyable experience in the museum.

The fifth P of the marketing of the events is Promotion. In this area, i personally think that the national meseum did not do much of advertising and Public Relations to the public. A word-of-mouth interview is being conducted and it shows that people are not really aware of what is going on in the museum and what activities are being held there. Sales promotions are also not attractive and distinct enough to attract visitors into the museum.

The sixth P of the marketing of the events is Partnerships. There are little partnerships in the national muserm as they are just showcasing the different galleries as an individual. It only happens when the museum invites guest and speakers to give talks or performances to visitors who are interested. However, they also do have sponsors whom they are in partnerships with and they include examples like Hugo Boss, Starhub, Cisco, Sony and etc.

The seventh P of the marketing of the events is Packaging. The national museum offers travel packages to travelling tours coming to Singapore and visiting the museum. This will come attractive to the tour groups as it will be cheaper compared to going there on their own as individuals. Intermediaries offered by the museum are not known up to date, and this is what is required from them if they are to make the museum a more well-known place.

The last P of the marketing of the events is Price. The national museum requires an admission fee so as to get the ticket to access into the galleries of the museum with the amount depending on the situation. The museum also provides ticketing information to the public either on their website or in the brochures available in the museum.

7. How would you rate the organization of the event? Why?

Personally, I would rate the organization of the event as excellent because the four Singapore Living Galleries showcases the difference between activities that happened from 1950s to 1970s and activities in this 21^st century.

An example would be the Fashion Living Gallery, visitors would be able to learn about the changing social, economic and political roles of women and explore the shifting identities of women in Singapore from the 1950s to 1970s. Moreover, the gallery provides a ‘making of’ set from a textile factory, which allows visitors to feel the selection of fabrics on display and admire the intricacies of the embroidery found on the kebaya as well as learn the different ways of draping a sari.

In the national museum, there are no crowds, therefore there is no need for the staff there to practice crowd control. For registration, visitors have to go to the reception and purchase the tickets in order to gain access into the galleries. It is an effective system as they can manage the human traffic that goes into the museum and also provide necessary information to visitors about the museum. For Logistic and Staging wise, as they are not a mobile event, their logistics are a one-time-off action unless they relocate the museum.

8. Discuss the potential of the event by the organizer to meet tourist demand.

The event held by the museum has great potential in meeting tourist demand in Singapore. It has been researched that tourists going overseas are mostly people of the modern days. Therefore, by exposing the opportunity of discovering how people lived in the olden days in Singapore, it will definitely spark the curiosity in them. This curiosity will thus attract them to the National Museum for a guided tour.

Moreover, as technology improves, people tend to forget how difficult lives were in the past, with things getting done by their bare hands. Therefore, it is important that the museum keeps records of the past, which allows modernized people to be grateful of what they have now, and also, increase the potential of increase tourist demand.

9. Suggest how the value of the event could be raised to be align with the tourism mission of Singapore?

The tourism mission of Singapore based on the Singapore Tourism Board is to develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. Also, STB aims to differentiate and market Singapore as a must-visit destination offering enriching experiences through the “Uniquely Singapore” brand.

With this in mind, the National Museum of Singapore could raise the value of the event to reach this tourism mission by emphasizing on the benefits of being equipped with the knowledge and understanding of the past. With the stories of the past so enriching, it is no doubt that Singaporeans would be proud of the National Museum of Singapore. This reputable site would then be spread across the world thus attracting millions of visitors over to Singapore which in turns market Singapore as a must-visit destination.