Honoured For High Standards Of Excellence

Source : The Business Times, May 21, 2008

SINGAPORE BUSINESS EVENTS AWARDS

THE recipients of last year's inaugural Singapore Business Events Awards were already winners in their own fields (see full list on the right). That they were eventually chosen pointed to the high standards of excellence attached to the awards and the benchmarks set by industry players.

Ringing endorsement: The awards have enhanced the credibility of Suntec Singapore (left) and placed Novotel Clarke Quay (next) as one of the top deluxe hotels in SingaporeThe winners told BT that the awards had bestowed on them prestige and international recognition, especially as the endorsement came from an international panel of esteemed judges who were themselves leaders in the business events industry.

'Winning the top award for the Singapore Business Events Awards has further cemented Kingsmen's good reputation in providing clients with innovative designs and excellent service,' said Anthony Chong, executive director of Kingsmen.

The firm, which won the Service Partner Excellence award, said the award would further propel it to achieve world-class standards.

'It helped us gain the trust of new global clients as it reflects on the capabilities of the company as one of the leading communications design and production group in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,' said Mr Chong.

Suntec Singapore, which won awards for both Business Event Venue Excellence and Most Innovative Marketing Initiative, said the awards have been enhancing its credibility and value in a competitive environment.

'These awards have helped and in the long term, will help raise the profile of Suntec Singapore to a new level, with enhanced visibility and added business value,' said its chief executive, Pieter Idenburg.

Both Kingsmen and Suntec Singapore are already heavyweights in the region. Kingsmen has, over the years, been involved in prominent projects such as aerospace exhibitions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India and South Korea, including Asian Aerospace, one of the world's largest airshows. Suntec Singapore has hosted world-class events, including the mega IMF-World Bank annual meetings in 2006.

Propelling Singapore-based companies and events onto the global stage has been one of the aims of the awards. Singapore has consistently ranked as Asia's top convention city and is among the top three cities in the world. It's no secret that competitors in Asia and elsewhere have emulated Singapore's business events strategies. Being headquartered in a top MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) capital has given Singapore-based business events players the edge in winning business overseas. An award on top of that is indeed a feather in the cap of these winners.

'The awards have successfully highlighted the high standards of the various segments within the business events industry in Singapore, from the organisation of events and venues to business suppliers and marketing initiatives,' said Stephen Tan, chief executive of Singapore Exhibition Services, which received the Exhibition of the Year award for its Food&Hotel Asia 2006 show.

Mr Tan said that by focusing on these world-class achievements, 'the awards have certainly heightened Singapore's profile as a global MICE hub'.

Last year's award recipients certainly added to the buzz about Singapore as an ideal business events destination. In fact, that aspect will now provide bonus points to those vying for this year's awards.

One winner who splashed the colours of Singapore during its award-winning event was Novotel Clarke Quay Singapore.

The relatively new hotel took home the Corporate Meeting of the Year award for its Accor Asia General Managers Conference held in 2006.

It used the umbrella theme 'Textures of Asia', branding all aspects of the event as Asian as possible - from food and costumes to activities and themed events.

'Winning that award really puts us at the forefront of being one of the top deluxe hotels in Singapore. It's really a demonstration and a clear distinction of how good Novotel Clarke Quay can be in terms of delivering a world-class meeting event,' said Heinz Colby, general manager of the hotel.