Event of APEC Singapore 2009

IN THIS ISSUE... 1//APEC Singapore 2009 2//60th International Astronautical Congress 2009 3//FDI World Dental Congress Social Events 4//Ferrari Showroom 5//Bahrain National Day Ceremony 6//Bahrain National Day Festival Event 7// Branding and Entertainment Mix it up at Sony Conference 8//Michael Jackson Artefact Exhibition 9//Three of the Best at Cityscape Dubai 10//16th ITS World Congress 11//Mubadala Increases Stature at Dubai Airshow 12//Surviving the Recession at GITEX 2009 13//Swarovski Boutique 14//Is Sponsorship an Effective Brand Activation Strategy? 15//2009 Pico Group Annual Awards Presented

Imagemaker// JAN 2010

APEC Singapore 2009 ... Pico and MP International handled the prestigious meetings at Suntec Singapore and the Istana

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IMAGEMAKER // JAN 20102

APEC Singapore 2009 a Resounding Success

Singapore was the host for the Asia-Pacific

Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in

2009. This is also a significant year as it marks

the 20th year of APEC’s inception. APEC is

the inter-governmental group that promotes

economic growth, cooperation, trade and

investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Pico and

its subsidiary MP International handled the

prestigious meetings at Suntec Singapore

and the Istana. The meetings were a huge

success and the project team was lauded for

its professionalism.

The APEC Leaders’ Week is the culmination

of a series of key meetings, including the APEC

Ministerial Meeting, Finance Ministers’ Meeting,

APEC Business Advisory Council Meetings,

Concluding Senior Officials Meetings and

ABAC CEO Summit. A total of 25,000 sq. m.

of temporary offices and facility offices,

including media centre, transport and operations

hub, were created to support this event. Pico

delivered seamless planning and execution of

soundproof rooms within basement car park

areas and existing facilities of Suntec Singapore

International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

APEC branding banners and signage were also

provided throughout the venue.

The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting,

held at the Istana – the official residence of

the President of the Republic of Singapore, is a

“retreat” for all the APEC leaders. Pico

created temporary infrastructure and tentages

to accommodate some 180 aides from 20

economies and the operational hub/police

force required for top-notch security. Other

facilities provided were meeting rooms/areas

designated for Leaders Declaration and

Dialogue sessions. In addition, the project

team undertook the hospitality programme

which included the F & B arrangements for the

World Leaders and members of the media.

Singapore Evening at the Esplanade is an

event melding indigenous entertainment, cui-

sine, decoration/display and gifts to showcase

the country’s creative capabilities in the global

arena. The event presented Singapore’s

multi-faceted allure as a modern and cosmo-

politan city that is steeped in tradition and rich

ethnic diversity, thus reflecting and reinforcing

the spirit of APEC cooperation and integration.

To mark the closing of the APEC meetings for

21 APEC World Leaders and invited guests,

Pico conceptualised and planned the entire

evening’s programme. This included the crea-

tion, production/delivery of a 25 minute multi-

media show for 1,300 delegates and curating

the food experience and entertainment.

The 14th APEC Women Leaders Network

(WLN) Meeting was held in August 2009 and

successfully concluded in ten policy

recommendations for proposal to APEC

Leaders. Over 600 women delegates from

government, business, academia and civil

society from 21 APEC economies met during

a two-day period to discuss issues regarding

Women and Sustainable Development. The

Ministry of Community Development, Youth

and Sports (MCYS) of Singapore appointed

Pico for a total solution including event

management, design, fabrication, show

production, performance management and

AV support. This high profile event was well

received with a high delegation turnout.

Despite the short turnaround time and

numerous ad hoc changes, strong

management delivered a smooth execution.

IMAGEMAKER // JAN 2010�

60th International Astronautical Congress 2009Pico was appointed by Japan Aerospace (JAXA)

to design and produce media/exhibits as well as

project manage at the 60th International

Astronautical Congress 2009. On-site presen-

tation through live transmission via satellite,

called “JAXA Portable VSAT Project”, realised

mutual communication between Daejeon,

Korea; Tsukuba, Japan and Singapore. Through

the development and application of space tech-

nology, efforts culminated in “a dream come

true”. Pico was awarded the 60th International

Astronautical Congress 2009 Best Exhibitor.

“It stood out in contrast to other booths, it

was a beautiful booth!” Mr. Eiichi Isayama,

Associate Senior Administrator, Public Affairs

Department, JAXA. – Daejeon, Korea

FDI World Dental Congress Social EventsFDI continues to be the main organisation

representing dentists worldwide. Since its

inception, the group has organised a yearly

global forum to involve dentists worldwide in

the discussion of current issues.

Pico was appointed as the event manager for

the Welcome Reception, Singapore Night and

the Gala Dinner. Pico provided full-suite services

including conceptualisation of the entire event,

design and build of the stage set, as well

as, managing the talents for the Welcome

Ceremony – an extravagant experience with

multi-media projection and the best singers and

dancers of Singapore.

The Singapore Evening created the perfect

opportunity for delegates to get to know

Singapore at the Iconic Giant Observation

Wheel – The Singapore Flyer. Delegates were

treated to various traditional and cultural

entertainment and savour local specialties and

delights such as chicken rice, satay and roti prata.

The Gala Dinner took place at an orchid nursery

that was decorated to capture the essence of

fine dining in a unique ecological environment

unique to Singapore.

All three social events have very different

requirements, challenges and objectives.

“I would just like to take this opportunity to

thank you and your team for the fantastic

efforts you put in to all three events. We had

a great deal of positive feedback and I think

that you managed to be creative and efficient

right up to the events!” Ms. Heather Sheppard,

Congress Manager – Singapore

Ferrari ShowroomItal Auto Pte Ltd. was recently granted the

Ferrari dealership for the Singapore market.

The company is also the distributor for Harley

Davidson, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Hyundai

and is majority-owned by Ong Beng Seng,

Singapore’s famed hotelier and Formula One

race promoter. Pico was subsequently

commissioned by Ital Auto to execute the

interior works for the new Ferrari showroom.

This had to be fully compliant with the prancing

horse’s global corporate identity standards.

Additionally, the team had a challenging time-

line of three weeks to complete the showroom

for its Singapore Grand Prix opening. In the

end, Pico triumphed down to the last detail,

Ferrari’s renowned image was successfully

expressed throughout the 14,000 sq. m. new

showroom. – Singapore


Bahrain National Day Ceremony

The Bahrain National Day Official Ceremony

was held on the parade square outside the

Royal Sakhir Palace on 16 December 2009. His

Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa attended

the event. He was accompanied by members

of the Royal Family, Government Ministers and

citizens who were presented medals during

the event. Pico designed and constructed

the Royal Stand as well as provided marquee

grandstands for the guests, lighting, sound

systems, large outdoor LED video screens and

the film/photography crew for the ceremonial

event. – Bahrain

Bahrain National Day Festival Event

The Bahrain National Day festival event took

place on 17 December 2009 on a massive

70 m. span outdoor stage in front of the

Bahrain World Trade Centre (BWTC) where a

musical show with over 300 performers wowed

audiences. Pico supplied the stage lighting,

sound system, lasers, flame special effects

including rigging and operational crew. For this

event alone, over 80 tonnes of equipment were

flown in from Europe. – Bahrain

Sony Gulf FZE was bowled over by Pico’s unique

entertainment proposal for the 2009 BMP

Event. The proposal consisted of a “Sony” mix

of branding and entertainment by 15 dancers.

Pico planned and executed eight sequenced

performances in only 15 days. Catering to a

diverse audience, the entertainment programme

included five languages such as Hindi, Russian

and Arabic. Upon entering the ballroom, guests

entered an atmosphere of dramatic lighting and

fresh tunes. Dancers engaged the audience with

performances peppered with Sony brand props.

Event guests were overwhelmingly impressed,

naming it the best BMP event they had ever

attended. – Dubai, UAE

Branding and Entertainment Mix it up at Sony Conference


The world premiere of the Michael Jackson

Exhibition was unveiled at the O2 Arena in

London. This exhibition showcases a range of

extraordinary artefacts from the late singer.

These artefacts, some never seen by the public,

illustrate various highlights of his life: from

his rise to fame with the Jackson 5, to his

barrier breaking solo career as the King of Pop.

The exhibit also includes MJ’s display of his

costumes and a model of the “This Is It” stage

planned for 50 dates in London’s O2 Arena,

all cancelled due to his ill-timed death.

Pico managed the installation of the entire

event: lighting, projection, audio, showcases,

graphics, drape and cabinetry and much more.

The project was completed – from project

liaison to the complete installation and public

opening within a challenging time frame of

less than eight weeks. – London, UK

Visitors to this year’s Cityscape Dubai ob-

served the after-effects of the global recession.

Property companies and real estate developers

received very clear signals regarding the market

from this long-standing event. Abu Dhabi Tourism,

Development and Investment Company (TDIC)

is the property developer responsible for many

of the ambitious projects in Abu Dhabi. The

firm has worked with Pico on similar calibre

events to showcase projects to potential

investors. TDIC was voted one of the top four

stands at Cityscape Dubai by local newspaper

Gulf News. Similar accolades were received for

Hydra Properties and Mubadala which were

also built by Pico. In addition to building three

out of the four best exhibitions, Pico assisted

Malaysian property developer Iskandar, Al

Arabiya, Reality Capitol and Durrat Al Bahrain.

Many local companies have expressed interest

in working with Pico for Cityscape Abu Dhabi

in April 2010. We look forward to working

with them! – Dubai, UAE

Michael Jackson Artefact Exhibition

Pico was also appointed by ITS Japan As-

sociation to take up all administrative work

on-site.“I would like to express my apprecia-

tion for the hard work Pico put in to set up our

stand at the ITS World Congress at Stockholm.

Our stand felt welcoming to many visitors, thus

making it a success thanks to Pico.” Ms. Maria

Downs, Events Coordinator of ITS (UK)

– Stockholm, Sweden

ITS World Congress (Intelligent Transport

Systems), an exclusive event for transport

specialists worldwide, demonstrates the latest

transport systems and solutions. This year it

was held in the Stockholm, Sweden. Pico was

responsible for the design and build of various

organisations’ booths including ITS Canada, ITS

France, ITS Japan, ITS UK, ITS USA, Forum 8,

Kapsch and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry.

Three of the Best at Cityscape Dubai

16th ITS World Congress


A trade exhibit that has managed to hype a city

into frenzy was the latest installment of the

Dubai International Airshow. Mubadala made

sure its representation was more prominent

than ever, increasing its stand size 12 times to

that of 2007. Much of the company’s success

at the 2007 edition was due to the iconic stand

delivered by Pico. Mubadala and Pico height-

ened their profile with this year’s hospitality

chalet – a futuristic space with white finishing,

cool lighting and top-of-the-line finishing.

Visual art professor Martin M. Pegler selected

Mubadala as the Most Innovative Design. “The

Mubadala Aerospace does capture the ‘move-

ment of flight’. Without actually entering fully

into the exhibit space, the visitor is caught up

in the sense of excitement -- the flow -- the

sweep of activity yet to be experienced.”

Mubadala expressed appreciation and plans to

participate at the Singapore Airshow in 2010

with the assistance of Pico. Pico excelled at

the Dubai Airshow, which represents many

local brands such as Emojet (Emarat), Higher

Colleges of Technology (CERT), Offset Program

Bureau (Tawasun), Midex Airlines and Jordan

Group.“A special thanks to Vina for the hard

work she put in to make the Chalet and Stand

look as beautiful as it did. We received a lot of

compliments. Pico really did an excellent job for

us.” Yvette Fernandes from Emarat. – Dubai, UAE

Panasonic Marketing Middle East achieved

maximum brand exposure through its

strategic decision to participate at GITEX

2009 during the recession. The massive

1,000 sq. m. stand executed as full turnkey

project by Pico was a prominent factor in

attracting media attention. Other industry

leaders that relied on Pico’s expertise

included FVC, Cisco, Rittal, Datacard, etc

just to name a few.“I would like to thank

you and the entire Pico team that was

involved with our booth.” Dharmendra

Parmar, General Manager-Marketing of FVC

– Dubai, UAE

Swarovski is an industry leader when it

comes to design, innovation and commit-

ment to precision and excellence. This is

readily apparent in its stylish and vivacious

red/blue Swarovski stores located through-

out India. Pico was appointed design and

build of 100 sq. m. of Swarovski Retail area

in New Delhi. Coordinating with the client

and mall management proved to be one

of the critical factors. In an effort to meet

both corporate identity and mall require-

ments, Pico created solutions that bridged

the differences between client and mall

management. – New Delhi, India

Swarovski Boutique

Surviving the Recession at GITEX 2009

Mubadala Increases Stature at Dubai Airshow


In less than 100 days, Shanghai World Expo

is set to open for six months targeting to

attract 70 million visitors. In the last expo, there

were only 22 million visitors. The 50 million

dramatic increase in visitor number will come

from China. For brands who are eying the huge

potential in China, World Expo will provide a

face-to-face platform for brand exposure and

activation.

Many people will compare the expo with 2008

Beijing Olympic Games. Olympic sponsorship

is not merely for sport brands. According to

a survey studying 2008 Olympic sponsor-

ship effectiveness, it was found that Bank of

Communications and Siemens are the top two

brands who benefited most from the sponsor-

ship, followed by China Eastern Airline and

Lenovo. Two other giant brands – Coca-Cola

and China Mobile ranked only ninth and tenth

respectively. The survey measured sponsor-

ship effectiveness by means of comparing the

purchase intent of those aware of the brand’s

sponsorship with the purchase intent of those

unaware of the sponsorship. It did not compare

the amount spent on the sponsorship. Sponsor-

ship effectiveness is a result of on-target

sponsorship with optimum coverage and

appropriate engagement. For Coca-Cola and

Lenovo, Olympic sponsorship is just part of

their global brand activation initiatives to

sustain brand position over a three-year-plus

perspective. Therefore, they probably will

look at a number of other perimeters in

addition to this.

World Expo sponsorship can be two-fold. On

one hand, sponsorship provides an associa-

tion with a high profile event supported by the

state. Many first tier state-owned enterprises’

brands will be put on a world stage alongside

with many other global giant brands. On the

other hand, sponsorship of pavilions will allow

brands to showcase themselves in depth to a

relatively captive and engaged audience over a

six-month period.

On what occasions should a brand use

sponsorship as a marketing tool? Effective

sponsorship can offer significant opportunities

for distinct marketing and competitive advan-

tages. While advertising delivers quantitative

exposure, sponsorship delivers qualitative

exposure. The brand name, associated with the

subject of the sponsorship, results in emotional

impacts.

Amongst a wide variety of events to sponsor,

marketers should look for associations and

brand exposure to a targeted group of the

event programme. Through the sponsored

event, marketers can reach specifically targeted

niche markets with less wastage. It is also

a powerful complement to other marketing

programs with an objective to influence

existing and potential customers.

Successful sponsorship will result in improve-

ment brand perception by target audience.

McDonald’s, for example, is always keen to

support healthy family and kids’ events in

order to generate a positive image regarding

its products. Even though there is non-stop

criticism regarding the nutritious value of its

products, the positive feelings generated by the

company’s many charitable and educational

programmes have almost neutralised most of

the negative comments. McDonald’s corporate

image is enhanced and consumer attitudes are

somehow shaped.

There are some sponsorships which can

generate leads and revenue. Many credit cards

pledge to donate one dollar for every dollar

spent by the cardholder. This act associates

the sales of the credit card company with

supporting a charitable organisation. Customers

feel better using this card instead of others.

Other sponsorships generate brand exposures.

Some of the popular TV programmes are title

sponsored by big brands. The brand names

are seen on TV together with the sponsored

programme. Take the coming East Asian Games

in Hong Kong as example. The sponsors, namely

Bank of China, Cathay Pacific, BMW and

Canon etc, will have their logos seen every-

where at competition venues as well as on TV.

Some sponsorships are for enhancing business

and customer relations. In 2009 Formula 1TM

SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, Pico has built

many corporate hospitality suites for sponsors

to entertain their guests and for networking.

Pico has also built and provided interior fit-out

services for sponsors and corporate hospitality

suites in many other events like HSBC Golf

Open and Barclays Golf Open in Singapore and

the Qatar Golf Open. The bank sponsors

consider the events attractive to their targeted

and VIP customers and therefore make use of

the hospitality suites and facilities to entertain

their clients. If the programmes are managed

well, the attendees will have a unique experi-

ence which result in long-lasting impressions.

For best results, marketers should make

sure that the event ties into their marketing

objectives and the opportunities to meet key

customers and solidify business relationships

can be achieved. These experiences can

accumulate and contribute to positive word of

month, repurchase intention and brand loyalty.

In short, sponsorship by itself will deliver

message and brand exposure only. But if

executed well, the face-to-face communication

opportunities will achieve experiential marketing

goals effectively. You should start by defining

clearly your event sponsorship objectives. You

might be surprised to see that many corpo-

rations participate in events out of routine.

Unfortunately, these are not sound business

reasons for participating and there is often a

great deal of wasted money and resources that

yield no return as a result. – Capital CEO #066

Is Sponsorship an Effective Brand Activation Strategy?

Pico Chairman’s Column in Capital CEO #066 Monthly Journal

*Mr. Lawrence Chia, Chairman of Pico, was invited by “Capital CEO” monthly journal to share his view on running a successful enterprise with sound corporate and marketing strategies during recession times. His column which was released in May received very positive response from readers and is now running in a series in the journal. Permission to publish a translated copy in ImageMaker was obtained.


2009 Pico Group Annual Awards Presented

The 26th Pico International Conference

was held in Bangkok in December. More

than 200 delegates from Pico’s worldwide

network attended the event to exchange

view, corporate tactics and strategy

development. During the three-day

conference, attendees also participated

in social activities such as the SL Chia Golf

Challenge and the Pico Group Bowling

Challenge. The conference closed with

a number of awards presented at the

finale gala dinner.

Best Exhibition – Single-Stand Category

Sichuan S&T Pavilion at Western Expo,

Pico Chengdu

Kohler at Bauma, Pico Chicago

Best Exhibition – Multi-Stand Category

SIBOS 2009, Pico Hong Kong &

Pico Singapore

Best Event

London Singapore Day 2009, Pico Singapore

Best Museum & Themed Environment

Daqing Oil Museum, Pico Beijing

Best Conference & Show Management

14th APEC Women Leaders’ Network

Meeting, Pico Singapore & MP Singapore

Best Interior & Retail

Midea Kitchen & Bath Division

Shop-in-Shop Upgrade, Pico Guangzhou

Best Mega Project

National Science & Technology Fair 2009,

Pico Thailand

World Events Organisation –

Outstanding World Event

Organising Award

19th International Congress of Nutrition,

AsiaCongress

Pico Board of Directors –

Project of the Year

APEC Singapore 2009, Pico Singapore

& MP Singapore

Most Innovative Design

Mubadala Aerospace at Dubai Airshow

2009, Pico Dubai

Bayer at China Coat 2008, Pico Shanghai

Y&M Jewelry at Shenzhen International

Jewellery Fair 2009, Pico Shenzhen

Outstanding Account Servicing

Adora Chong, Pico China

Alfonsos Koh, Pico Singapore

Jed Mok, Pico Singapore

Aman Leung, Pico IES Hong Kong

Chris Wu, Pico IES Shanghai

2�-Year Distinguished Service Award

Pised Chungyampin, Pico Thailand

Lee Chee Seng, Pico Singapore

Jaswant Kaur DO Pritam Singh, Pico Singapore

Pico Far East Board of Directors –

Awards for Excellence

Chan Nga Man and GMC Dongguan Team

Best Manager

Rita Lui, Pico Shenzhen

Best Office

Pico Singapore

Please visit www.pico.com for more information.Edited, coordinated, designed and published by Pico Group. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording without the written permission of the publisher. For information, please contact us at Pico House, 4 Dai Fu Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, NT, Hong Kong SAR, or call us at 852 2665 0990, or email to [email protected].