Television Advertising : Trends & Direction (From The ...€¦ · Television Advertising : Trends &...

This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg)Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Television advertising : trends and direction (fromthe Singapore perspective)

Chia, Lawrence

1994

Chia, L. (1994). Television advertising : trends and direction (from the Singaporeperspective). In AMIC Seminar on Television Development in the Asia‑Pacific Region:Jakarta, Dec 8‑9, 1994. Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre.

https://hdl.handle.net/10356/93425

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Television Advertising : Trends & Direction (From The Singapore Perspective)

By

Lawrence Chia

ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

. SEMINAR ON TELEVISION DEVELOPMENT IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

JAKARTA - INDONESIA, 8-9 DECEMBER 1994

TELEVISION ADVERTISING :

TREND & DIRECTION

(FROM THE SINGAPORE PERSPECTIVE)

Lawrence Chia Asst Vice President

Ai r t ime Sales & Market ing Television Corporation of Singapore

9 December 1994


Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Television Advertising : Trend and Direction from a Singapore perspective would

have been a very boring topic if not for what has taken place in the last couple of

years as well as in the next 2 years or so.

The last few years have seen a sudden increase in the pace of development in the

Singapore broadcasting industry which has given rise to the 'new' company I am

now working for. (This I am sure my colleague Mr Lim Eng Hai has shared with all

of you earlier.)

My discussion today would take you 'Back to the Future'. I mean back to the

formative years of the television industry, cruising to the present environment and-

then taking a peep into what direction the industry is heading towards. As we travel

on the time machine, we would see how TV advertising, vis-a-vis, expenditure

pattern, measurement method and the marketing approach have changed over the

past three decades.


of 15

TELEVISION ADVERTISING : THE GOCn OLD DAYS

Television broadcasting in Singapore first started on 15 February 1963 as a pilot

monochrome (black & white). It was carried out from a temporary studio centre at

Caldecott Hill and it is from this humble beginning that the new companies of the

Singapore International Media (SIM) Group grew up.

The inaugural transmission on that day was one hour and 45 minutes long and had

thousands gathering at community centres to watch the telecast as only 2,400

families own TV sets then. TV advertising did not arrive with them.

Though television transmission began in 1963, it was in 1961 that the Legislative

Assembly had decided that Television Singapura should operate on 2 or more

channels, broadcasting in all four official languages, and that the station should be

integrated into hadio Singapore, the existing broadcast service then under the

Ministry of Culture.

With the success o; the pilot project, tek /ision broadcasting cecame a regular

service on 2 April 1963. Daily transmission over Channel 5 was extended to about

five hours on weekdays and ten and a half hours on weekends and public holidays.

Sadly TV advertising was not introduced together.

While Channel 5 was pre-dominantly airing English and Malay programmes, a

second channel, Channel 8, was launched on 23 November 1963 with a daily

transmission of three and a half hours. This channel was to cater to the Chinese

and Tamil community. As you would have guessed, TV advertising was not

introduced.


of 15

Television advertising finaiiy arrived on 1 January 1964 over Channei 5.

Comr ercial breaks, even a the risk of dispieasi. g a viewership used ;o enjoying

uninterrupted programmes were introduced to offsei against the cost of running a

television service as. pointed out by the then Minister of Culture. Mr S. Rajaratnam

when he launched commercial service on television. When TV commercials were

first shown in Singapore, they met, with a ready audience. You see, television was

still such a novelty in those days that viewers, who even tuned in to the test pattern

before daily transmission began, saw commercials as part of the entertainment.

Six months later, slide advertisements were extended to channel 8 and film

advertisements were eventually aired over this Channel on 15 March 1966.

How was TV airtime marketed at that point in time? Unfortunately, I am unable to

track the rates for advertising on television in the early years of commercial service

as +here were no records available. However, ' managed to obtain the rates from

October 1970. Back then rotational spot in English with a duration of 30 seconds

would cost S$288. This was an increase of 25% over 1969.

You would have noticed that I said rotational spots. Yes, commercials back then

were booked on rotational basis, ie. advertisers do not get to choose the

programmes or time slot that they would like their commercials to appear in.

Another interesting point was that advertising rates were not pegged to viewership,

as we know of today, but the number of TV sets owned.

/


of 15

This was evident in a letter to all clients and agencies, sent by Mr Lee Hoong Fong,

Commercial Manager of Television Mngapura, when he : aid "The new rates

compare very favourably with our rates obtained in 1967 and the year before when

those rates were based on our television set-count of 45,000 compared to our

television set-count of 143,537 as at 30 June 1970". From this statement you would

also notice that TV set ownership has increased 60 times the number in 1963.

Sometime around the mid-70s after some lobbying from the advertising fraternity,

preferred spot buy was introduced. The rate was pegged at two and a half times the

value of rotational spot about S$750. -

Over the years, more facilities were added to the station. A new TV centre complex

was completed in 1966 and in October 1971, another milestone was achieved with

the inauguration of Singapore first satellite earth station on Sentosa Island. This

brought on satellite transmission, with the first 'live' overseas satellite transmission

on 14 July 1974 being the World Cup Finals between Holland and Germany. With

new and better facilities and equipment, more programmes were available to whet^

the appetite of the viewers.

On 1 August 1974, viewers were treated to colour transmission over television but it

was a year later that colour transmission became a regular service, and by the end

of 1976, both channels were fully converted to colour.

All these years, advertising on television was secondary to the development of the

product - television programming. In addition, the fact that the commercial service is

operated by a department of a Ministry naturally made it a non-market driven entity.

It was a case where advertisers were calling on the media owner more than vice-

versa. This/mood can also be seen in the almost non-existent records of advertising

rates, revenue and commercials aired.


of 15

INTO THE 80'S

Kicking c f the 80's was the seU ng up of Singapore B. ^adcasting Corporatio.i (SBC)

on 1 February 1980. It was established as a statutory board to take over the

functions of the Department of Broadcasting. The new establishment brought about

more advancements, ie. improved quality service like the introduction of SBC Text in

1983, and the launch of a third channel, namely Channel 12 on 31 January 1984.

The largest television studio was completed on 31 January 1985 and the

commissioning of its first TV Receive Only (RO) satellite dish on 31 July 1988.

All these meant more programme hours for the viewers, and advertisers were given

more avenues to reach out to their target audience.

What is important to the advertisers and agencies was that as a statutory board,

SBC was able to be more responsive as evidenced in an excerpt from the Foreward

in the 1980/81 Annual Report by Mr Ong Tu.ig Cheong, then Minister of

Communications, and Acting Minister for Culture cum Chairman of SBC.

(Incidentally, Mr Ong is now the President of my country) which said "The

Corporation was established larroly because of the neod to reduce the constraints

under which RTS had to operate. The Corporation would have greater autonomy

and flexibility in areas crucial for its effectiveness and development, namely in the

recruitment of staff and its financing."

The key word was financing or should I say more revenue to finance building and

equipment projects and recruitment of talents to improve quality and quantity of

programmes.


of 15

With this objective in mind, SBC began to slowly evolve itself towards a more

sales-odented company. T ib changes must be welcomed by advertisers and

agencies as we can see that television expenditure kept increasing over the years.

ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE IN THE 80'S

Year TV (%) S$M

Newspaper S$M

Total Media Adex S$M

1980 44.7 (20%) 144.4(64%) 224.3

1981 60.2 (27%) 122.3 (55%) 222.8

1982 71.5(27%) 144.2 (55%) 258.6

1983 77.7 (24%) 185.6(56%) 327.4

1984 81.7 (26%) 181.2(58%) 309.5

1985 81.4(28%) 162.1 (55%) 295.0

1986 103.8(35%) 147.3(50%) 295.6

1P87 109.6^3%) 169.2 (51%) 33°.6

1988 132.1 (32%) 205.0 (50%) 407.5

1989 140.7(30%) 243.0 (52%) 464.5

Source: SHS Adex

This decline has to be seen in the context of the overall advertising scene where

total advertising expenditure was down for the year 1984 and 1985 and remained

stagnant in 1986. These were the global recessionary years and it hit Singapore

badly when advertisers cut back on advertising expenditure by about 9% in 1984

and another 5% the following year.

/


of 15

SBC was quick to respond. The advertis ; K I loading factors for certain television

programmes were reduced and new packac,3s introduced. These efforts paid off as

evidenced in the improved performance in 1986 where TV adspent increased by

25% to S$103.8m in a total adex market that was stagnant at S$295m. This was the

year TV advertising market share broke the 30% barrier.

The need to respond to market environment quickly and in anticipation of an even

more competitive market led to the birth of SBC Enterprises Pte Ltd (SBCE), a

wholly owned subsidiary of SBC on 1 August 1986. It was to be the commercial arm

of SBC, responsible for the sales and marketing of TV and Radio airtime. With the

formation of SBCE, greater autonomy and flexibility were given and more market

driven approaches were adopted. Advertising contracts with attactive terms like

Early Bird Bonus and Volume Discount were offered to lure advertisers to commit

their investment upfront. Marketing research was also set up where synopsis of

programmes, ratings under the Diary Method, programme updates were provided

regularly to ensure advertisers and agencies were well informed of forthcoming

programmes and the performance of their investment.

These step-up marketing efforts by SBCE, the increase in SBC locally-produced

programmes which attracted more viewers, and the strong economic growth over the

late 80's helped to rake in a continuous growth in revenue for the station. At the

close of the decade, TV advertising expenditure was $140.7m with a market share

of 30%.

/


of 15

Before moving to the scenario in the 90'::, I would like to shift <~L ; attention to identify

our top s u p p o r t s over the years. Th ; following charts sho^' that McDonald's ant.

Kentucky Fried Chicken have consistently been the top advertisers on television

over the period of 1985 to 1994. KFC, has also managed to secure the second spot

consistently over 1986 to 1993. (Please refer to chart overleaf).

From the chart we can see that the belief that Fast Moving Consumer Goods

(FMCG) clients tend to spend more on television is re-inforced. The key reason

being television provides the mass audience and FMCG targets at the masses too.


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THE90'S AND BEYOND

The privatisation of SBC did not start in 1994. SBC emba.-ced on a privatisatioi.

study in 1990 in order to introduce competitiveness and flexibility into television in

Singapore. And on 18 March 1991, the first salvo was fired when a new post of

Chief Executive Officer was created at SBC Enterprises Pte Ltd. This was followed

by the restructuring of the TV & Radio Airtime Sales and Marketing unit into two

divisions with each being headed by a Vice President.

TV Airtime Division beefed-up its manpower by more than 200% immediately and

went on an aggressive stance to take on the industry leader, ie. the newspaper

medium. Innovative packages and new products were offered, flexibility introduced,

dialogues with agencies were conducted frequently to obtain feedback on services,

programmes and pricing. In addition, trade shows were organised to allow the

industry a first-hand feel of coming programmes.

The new team was clearly seen to be working with the industry and result was

imminent after one year. Revenue grew by 25% over 1991 to S$241m and market

share was increased to 32%. Advertisi g expenditure and nv rket share continued

to increase over the year.

ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE IN THE 90'S

Year TV (%) S$M

Newspaper S$M

Total Media Adex S$M

1990 173.5 (30%) 299.6(51%) 582.0

1991 193.0 (30%) 342.7 (52%) 650.0

1992 241.5 (32%) 375.9 (50%) 740.0

1993 260.7 (32%) 433.2 (53%) 824.3

1994 * 235.2 (34%) 348.1 (50%) 687.3

* January - September Source : SRS Adex Report


of 15

The advertising media industry saw a now player on 2 April 1992, when Singapore

CableVision was launched, 'subscription, or pay tr evision service was i ueduced

to Singaporeans to provide a Greater choice of pro. r.immes. The demai cis arose

from the growing affluence of Singaporeans who had travelled abroad and had

been exposed to the diversity of television programmes in other countries.

With the introduction of CableVision's 3 channels, a total of 9 channels were

available to the Singaporean viewers, namely, SBC Channel 5, 8 and 12, RTM 1, 2

and TV3.

In pushing for the privatisation of television broadcasting, the Minister of Information

and the Arts, Brigadier-General George Yeo said "SBC faces very challenging times

ahead. The broadcast industry is changing in a very dramatic way. If we do not

change with the way the industry is changing, we will be caught in a very difficult

situation." (Source : BG George Yeo speech at SBC's Staff Union's 9th Anniversary

Dinner & Dance on 18 December 1991).

And in October 1994, SBC was corporatised and a new holding company Singapore

International Media (SIM) was formed. The four mJ.n companies under SIM are

Radio Corporation of Singapore (RCS), SIM Communications (SIMCOM), Television

Twelve (TV 12) and Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) with the latter

inheriting the bulk of the operation of the former television station.

We at Television Corporation of Singapore are excited about the coming changes,

and look forward to the real battles ahead, as the broadcasting landscape will

change radically beyond 1995. To compete against the mostly foreign programmes

on Cable TV, we are positioning ourselves as the core dominant channels

p roduced and packaged by Singaporeans for Singaporeans. We are thus

investing heavily to turn Channel 5 and 8 into 24-Hour channels with a much higher

local programming content.


of 15

Why 24-hour and what are the local programmes? 24-hour programming is critical

for two reasons : namely, playing on a level field as cable, Video-On-Demand and

even satellite broadcasting as they would be on for 24 hours, and secondly, as can

be seen from the .graph in Appendix A, viewership numbers increase along with

more telecast hours though not necessarily proportionately.

While it can be argued that the telling of the human story is primarily universal, the

context and the background of the stoiy are the elements that will tug at the

heartstrings. At its best, local programming provides viewers with a reassuring

sense of belonging, a stabilising factor to the increasing pace of change in modern

society. Not unlike homecooked food - while the array of international cuisine may

entice the palate, it is the comfort of a homecooked meal that is delicious and yet

with its attendant security of hygiene, nutrition and familiarity that one has grown up

with, that will provide the staple. So, however intense the competition may be, local

programming will be the staple, while cable/satellite TV will provide a little more

spice now and then.)

Presently, Channel 5's transmission hours is about 20 and a half hours a day and

Channel 8 runs for about 18 hours a day. Local content now represents about 35%

over Channel 5 and 45% over Channel 8 and the bulk of these local programmes

are occupying the Prime Time belt from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm which is about 43%

for Channel 5 and 77% for Channel 8.

Over at Channel 5, local gameshow like Pyramid Games and Humdingers, local

variety show like Rollin' Good Times, Gotcha! (a la Candid Camera) and our latest

English Drama serial, Masters of The Sea, the first of its kind in South East Asia are

all getting high viewership rating. This premier English drama is produced and

scripted by world renowned writer/producer Joanne Borough who was also behind

Falcon Crest and Dallas.


of 15

We are also planning to launch a number of locally-produced programme in early

1995. These include 'Under One Roof - a situation comedy involving a typical HDB

family with 3 children, 'Beyond Our Shores' - a travelogue programme, 'Against All

Odds' - documentary with an uplifting message that would show how ordinary

Singaporean overcome the odds to achieve the extraordinary and a just approved

production 'Red Alert' - a programme that would rebuilt some of the emergency

(accident) cases in Singapore.

Throughout 1995, Channel 5 will also be bringing Roadshows to the various HDB

towns and telecast an edited version on the eve of a ethnic holiday.

Channel 5 is also committed to getting good first run dramas and movies from

overseas. Acquired drama include Tremors' (Action/Triller), Manhunter

(Police/Investigative) and blockbuster movies like Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold

Schwarzenneggar, the hilarous Police Academy 6 and the heart-stopping Aliens 3.

Incidentally, tonight back home, we will be showing Home Alone and last Saturday,

we have just concluded the last episode of the multi-million dollar mini-series

"Scarlett" based on the sequel to "Gone With The Wind".

Over at Channel 8, viewers are treated to 3 hours of local entertainment programme

from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm nightly, anchored by 2 news bulletins at 6:45 pm and

10:00 pm. Within this entertainment belt, 2 locally-produced Chinese drama serials

sandwiched a one-hour variety show.


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Our local drama serials have always been our top scoring programmes with

viewership in excess of 800,000 nightly. Where our top local artistes are in the main

cast, viewership has even surpass the one million mark. Once a month, Channel 8

will feature telemovie, ie. an hour-long 'movie' made for television which would pit

our top artiste with Hong Kong celebrities in the show. (Our drama serials and

telemovies are sold to many overseas countries and has a strong following.)

Bi-annually, TCS would organise a search for new drama artistes in a programme

called Star Search. The Finals ShowJn 1993 registered a viewership of over 1.3m

which was a record for the station. This programme will be back again next April.

Alternating with Star Search is our very own academy award programme, Star

Awards. This recognises the viewers' favourite male and female artistes for the past

years.

Viewers have their pick, so do advertisers as they find their investment with TCS

reaping better Tarps with all these interesting programme. To encourage viewers

not only to watch television programmes, but more so, television commercials,

Viewers' Choice was started in 1991. It is an annual contest where viewers vote to

determine the nation's favourite commercials. The top commercial stands to win

airtime and the usage of the Viewers' Choice logo and homeviewers gain attractive

prizes like cars (a costly commodity in Singapore).

With a present combine viewership of over 90% of all adults 15+, the new and

attractive programmes would not have problem to get more of Singaporean to glue

their eyes on the sets.

/


of 15

In the viewership war where audiences are buffeted by the likes of CableVision,

Video-On-Demand and satellite telecast, we are confident that Television

Corporation of Singapore's position as a Singaporeans station would see it being

the Lion King (as'in Walt Disney's latest box-office movie) of the advertising media

jungle.


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