Singapore Girl

Singapore Airlines Girls, icons of SIA to reflect its warmth and friendly services.

The Singapore Girl is a marketing strategy used by Singapore Airlines (SIA) to market the quality of its services. The branding icon personifies the flight stewardesses, who have become renowned for being "symbols of service excellence and quality passenger care". Singapore Airlines's marketing strategy has proved successful as the warm hospitality and quality services has garnered many awards from magazines, travel and tourism industries, which includes one of its award achievements as 'World's Best Cabin Crew Service' by the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2006 for 17 consecutive years.

Origin

The term Singapore Girl was first established in 1968 during the era of Singapore Airlines' predecessor, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) when the airlines of Malaysia and Singapore joined together to develop and expand a intercontinental network. The elegant "Sarong Kebaya" uniform was first introduced by MSA and worn by the flight stewardesses, which later develop to become the symbol of Singapore Airlines' corporate image.

Global Icon

After Malaysia-Singapore Airlines ceased operations on October 1, 1972 and Singapore Airlines took to the skies as its successor, the term was birth forth in 1972, whereby Pierre Balmain, a French haute couture designer, was hired by Singapore Airlines to construct and update the "Sarong Kebaya" as part of the cabin crew's uniform. Since then, the uniform has gained worldwide recognition and along with Singapore Airlines reputable services, the uniform became part of SIA's recognizable signature brandings.

There are 4 colors that represent the ranking of the Singapore Girls:

• Blue - Flight Stewardess
• Green - Leading Stewardess
• Red - Chief Stewardess
• Brown - In-Flight Supervisor

Symbol of SIA

SIA's marketing strategy has been proven successful. Since its product and service innovations are not the only elements contributing to the kind of service 'that even other airlines talk about'. Of all SIA's visible assets, the almost legendary Singapore Girl is perhaps the best known among travelers and even non-travelers. For many people, she is SIA.

The Singapore Girl was conceived as a personification of oriental charm and friendliness, which the airline made real thorough careful recruitment and painstaking training. The flight stewardess has become very much the symbol of SIA's philosophy. As a symbol, she has come to represent everything that the airline holds dear in terms of service, warmth, friendliness, efficiency and professionalism. Effective and original advertising, together with word-of-mouth acknowledgement from satisfied passengers contribute to the creation of an aura of superior service and style. This aura is sustained through enhanced training, clever advertising and ingenuity in the cabin that makes her the symbol of SIA. Dolls of the Singapopre Girl were created by Mattel in early nineties for commercial purposes. Its unique branding of 'A Great Way To Fly' also embraces quality services and willingness to go the extra mile. The image of the Singapore Girls has become so strong that travellers all over the world would associate them as ambassadors for the company.

A wax figure of the Singapore Girl is created and represented at the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London since 1994, as the first figure to represent a commercial undertaking.

Visual Impact

Since 1972, the image of the Singapore Girl has appeared in countless advertisements in all media forms and promotions worldwide. It is constantly used to promote the airlines' unique branding. Such as the billboards and TV commercials are seen around the world of different SIA girls in various themes and settings. The most recent TV commercial was seen promoting the new Boeing 777-ER Business Class and the upcoming promotion of the Airbus A380, which will be released as early as February 2007.

In March 2004, the Singapore Girl won the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for the 18th Singapore Tourism Board (STB)'s Tourism Award.