TANGS Goes Back to the Future

Singapore retail icon, TANGS, has appointed TBWA\Singapore to handle all above-the-line communications, beginning with a major brand overhaul designed to reinforce the legendary store’s dominance on the Singapore retail scene and position it for future growth.

 

The appointment follows a presentation initiated by TBWA\Singapore supporting TANGS view that consumer spending is shifting online, putting the relevance and attraction of shopping malls to the test.

 

Focused on ‘redefining the laws of life, style and everything in between’, TBWA\Singapore’s winning blueprint covered all communications touch points, from print to outdoor to in-store.

 

“Many major retail stores, both locally and internationally, have lost their brand identities due to an increasing trend towards product-driven communications,” said TBWA\Singapore general manager, Lou Dela Pena.

 

“TANGS’ S$45 million, three-year strategy designed to ‘bring back the soul into retail’, presented a great opportunity for TBWA to demonstrate how our ‘disruption’ methodology could support this exciting transformation,” she said.

 

The consumer communications campaign kicked-off last week with a print and outdoor campaign to launch the new TANGS Beauty on Orchard Road.

 

“TBWA\Singapore’s strategy reflected our view that TANGS is ‘going into the future by stepping back’, a view that also underpinned the physical changes that are being made in-store,” said Gerry Rezel, Vice President, Communications, C.K. Tang Limited.

 

“In terms of merchandise, we will become more involved in the selection and curating of products sold and in some instances will get back into creating.  So the merchandise mix of the future will be a combination of new creations and specially curated items,” he said.

 

Rezel added that TANGS will become a hybrid store taking the multi-brand experience of malls and marrying it with the intimacy, service and traditions of a department store.

 

“Hence, branding will remain crucially important. As the market becomes more fragmented, people will demand a type of store that they can trust and see as an expert in what they do, the experience they create, the products they offer and the way they are delivered.”

 

“The TANGS brand will represent these qualities,” he concluded.