LECTURER: PATRICK SONG

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Research and Recommendations:

NTUC CLUB
Prepared for: AD206, Branding
Prepared by: Jolynn Tan
19 August, 2014

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COMPANYS DETAILS
History
NTUC Club was founded in 1986 as the leisure and entertainment division of NTUC
(National Trades Union Congress). Its goal was to provide affordable alternatives for
union members and the public. NTUC Clubs first clubhouse was along Shenton
Way and opened in 1987. The then Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Ong
Teng Cheong, remarked at the opening that the Club symbolises the beginning
of a new spirit, a wider horizon in the labour movement. We are embarking on a
new phrase of revitalising the labour movement1.

This was followed soon after with the NTUC Pasir Ris Resort in 1988 which was
billed as the country club for the masses. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was quoted as
saying whether middle, lower middle, or low income, no one needs to be
excluded from enjoying the facilities which the successful can enjoy, whether they
be resort hotels, golf courses, country clubs, saunas or discos2

From 1989 to 1997, NTUC Club continued to expand, advancing its goal of
bringing clubhouses to the heartlands. This led to the opening of more facilities
such as J Springs, Paradigm, Celebrations, Happy Days, Jest DPlace and the
NTUC Sentosa Beach Resort. Of the afore mentioned, only the latter three are in
operation today.

In 2000, NTUC Pasir Ris Resort went under an extensive renovation and was rebranded as NTUC Lifestyle World - Downtown East. Downtown East encompassed
a range of entertainment, recreational and dining options and was even described
as Singapores Disneyland by The New Paper. As a whole, this endeavour arguably
became NTUC Clubs greatest success to date with over 11 million visitors annually.

Downtown East made nation-wide news in 2010 after the fatal slashing of teenager,
Darren Ng, in a gang-related fight. This led to a total of 12 youths being charged in
court for involvement in the crime.
1

The Straits Times, 20 February 1987, Page 32

Prime Ministers speech at the official opening of the NTUC Pasir Ris Resort, 29 October 1988

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Around this time, NTUC Club also began improving on its other facilities even as
Singaporeans started to have higher expectations due to the improving standard of
living. It realised that in order to stay relevant, prices had to remain low while the
quality of its recreational and entertainment had to be upgraded.

More recently, NTUC Club has been focusing on engaging its members in order to
promote a sense of connection and camaraderie. This led to the addition of four
new communities, known as, nEbO (for youth), U Live (for the elderly), My Golf Kaki
and U Sports. Each seeks to serve the needs of people at different life stages.

Mission Statement
To build, engage and strengthen communities of the labour movement by providing
affordable recreational experiences of choice on a sustainable basis.3

Vision
To touch the lives of everyday workers of all collars, ages and nationalities. We do it
through a 4Ps approach: help them enjoy a fair workplace (Protection), guide them
upwards in their careers through skills upgrading (Progression), match them with
the right job (Placement), and add meaning and quality to their daily lives through
membership benefits (Privileges).4

Core Values
Care
We believe that caring comes from the heart and is extended to all whom we serve.
Service Excellence
We go the extra mile to create memorable and pleasant experiences for all.
Passion
We simply want to be the best in everything we do.
Trust
We value integrity and are sincere in all our dealings with others.5
3

Direct quote from http://www.ntucclub.com/about/mission_statement

Direct quote from https://www.ntuc.org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/aboutntuc/organisationprofile/ourpublications/

labourmovementannuals/
4

Direct quote from http://www.ntucclub.com/about/core_values1

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Promise
To offer high quality recreational facilities and services that are affordable and
conveniently located, for working people of all ages.6

Local Presence
As mentioned in the history section, NTUC Club is itself a sub brand of NTUC
(National Trades Union Congress). It is considered a social enterprise of NTUC.
There are three goals of NTUCs social enterprises: to stabilise prices of services, to
strengthen workers purchasing power, to give union leaders management
experience.

NTUCs other social enterprises include NTUC Enterprise, NTUC First Campus,
NTUC Foodfare, NTUC Income, NTUC LearningHub, NTUC Link, NTUC Health,
NTUC Choice Homes, NTUC Thrift and Loan, NTUC Fairprice.

Out of these eleven NTUC social enterprises, the most well-known locally is
arguably NTUC Fairprice, its supermarket division. A recent report by Interbrand
concluded that NTUC Fairprice is Southeast Asia's most valuable retail brand with
an estimated brand value of US$1.52 billion.7

Locally, NTUC Fairprice is commonly referred to as simply NTUC which further

complicates NTUCs brand recognition situation.

Positioning
The NTUC brand is generally seen as a budget brand for the masses. It is
positioned as a low price, mass quality choice.

Target Audience
NTUC Clubs target audience is working people of all collars, all ages, and all
nationalities.8
6

Direct quote from https://www.ntuc.org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/aboutntuc/organisationprofile/aboutus/

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/ntuc-fairprice-ranked-most-valuableretail-brand-southea
7

https://www.ntuc.org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/aboutntuc/organisationprofile/aboutus/aboutusdetails?

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Sub Brands
Below is a compilation of NTUC Clubs sub brands and when they opened. Sub
brands that have since been discontinued are also mentioned below.

1987 NTUC Club Shenton Way - since closed

1988 NTUC Pasir Ris Resort
1989 NTUC Club Jurong - since closed
1994 NTUC Sentosa Beach Resort
NTUC Club Paradigm (Orchard Road)
1995 Happy Days Clubhouse (Bishan)
1997 Celebrations Clubhouse (Hougang) - since closed
Jest DPlace Clubhouse (Choa Chu Kang)
2000 Union Square Clubhouse (Tanjong Pagar)
Escape Theme Park - closed 2011
2002 Costa Sands Resort (East Coast & Pasir Ris) - closed 2006 & 2014
respectively
2004 Wild Wild Wet
2005 DXO Clubhouse (Esplanade) - closed approx. 2012
2006 Marina Bay Golf Course
Orchid Bowl
2007 nEbO
Scarlet City Clubhouse (AMK Hub)
2008 eXplorerkid

2009 U Live
U Sports
Costa Sands Resort (Bintan)

As of August 2014, the following are the sub brands still in operation.
Downtown East

Happy Days

nEbO

Costa Sands

Jest DPlace

Marina Bay Golf

Wild Wild Wet

Union Square

eXplorerkid

Scarlet City

U Sports

Orchid Bowl

U Live

My Golf Kaki

Course

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Brand Architecture

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Comments on Brand Architecture

Looking at NTUC Clubs brand architecture, it is not surprising that the parent brand
lacks awareness. For one thing, as mentioned before, NTUC Club is a parent brand
which itself has a parent brand - NTUC.

Also, NTUC Club has a variety of sub brands which seem to have further sub
brands themselves. For example, Downtown East (a sub brand of NTUC Club)
houses Wild Wild Wet and Explorer Kid which are further sub brands that are only
available at that location. Finally, some of NTUC Clubs sub brands such as
Downtown East are places you can visit while others are communities, making it
even more complicating.

Recently in the News

Last year, NTUC Club celebrated its 25th
Anniversary. It released a special anniversary logo
and a new tagline, Its about your fun-being, to
mark this milestone. The newly coined term, funbeing, is a combination of the words fun and wellbeing. A series of events, activities and promotions
were also held throughout the year in honour of the
occasion.9

An NTUC Club executive was sentenced to two years in jail in 2013 after he used
his position to trick companies to contribute money to fictitious NTUC Club events.
The $238,500 scam involved several accomplices and went on for about three
years. He doe not work for NTUC Club any longer.10

In July 2014, the Costa Sands Resort in Pasir Ris closed after twelve years of
operations.11 This is likely due to the expansion of the Costa Sands Resort at the
nearby Downtown East.
9

http://www.ntucclub.com/news/ntuc_club_turns_25

10

11

http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ex-ntuc-club-exec-jailed-over-238500-scam

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/pasir-ris-costa-sands-resort-closedown-july-20-20140517

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CURRENT SITUATION
Define the Problem
NTUC CLUB IS NOT WELL-KNOWN AS A BRAND
NTUC members and the general public are not aware of NTUC Clubs existence as
a parent brand. For example, people might know that Downtown East is owned by
NTUC but few would know that the exact subsidiary that manages Downtown East
is NTUC Club.

SUB BRANDS ARE DISCONNECTED FROM THE PARENT BRAND

Many of NTUC Clubs sub brands are relatively popular on their own. However, for
those that are lesser known, they lack credibility because of the insufficient
association with the parent brand. An improved NTUC Club brand can act as a seal
of quality across the sub brands.

Also, because of the lack of a strong NTUC Club brand, members are not in the
know about the range of sub brands that they can enjoy and a part of. NTUC
members will probably be glad to be more aware of NTUC Clubs sub brands as
they can definitely benefit from buying across the parent-brand's portfolio.

MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM IS NOT COHESIVE

While the name NTUC Club would suggest a club-type membership exclusive to
the brands services, this is not the case. All union members of NTUC are in effect
members of NTUC Club. This is made even more confusing by the fact that NTUCs
union membership program is called NTUC Plus! which does not seemingly
connect with NTUC Club in name. NTUC also has a membership program simply
named Plus! in which the member does not join the union but receives some
discounts and benefits.

Further complicating the membership program is a youth membership program

launched in 2007. Going by the name nEbO, it targets youth between the ages of
12-25. The membership offers similar benefits to the Plus! program, though tailored
for the younger age group. It is confusing as to whether this membership program

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is a sub brand of NTUC Club or NTUC itself as though its launch is stated as one of
NTUC Clubs milestones, it is very much connected with the Plus! program.12

Basically, the problem is that due to the way the membership program works,
members will likely see themselves as members of NTUC, not NTUC Club. Hence,
the NTUC Club brand lacks cohesion with its target audience.

SUB BRANDS SERVE WIDE SPECTRUM

Lastly, while NTUC Clubs sub brands all fall within the category of entertainment
and recreation, they are varied in appeal and cater to a wide age range. This makes
it challenging to define a clear target audience in the branding of NTUC Club.

Current Marketing

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A quick survey of promotional materials as seen on their website reveals that NTUC
Club does include their logo on sub brand event promotional material. However, not
surprisingly, there are also promotional materials that have so many different NTUC
sub brands already listed that the NTUC Club logo has not been included.

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12

http://www.nebo.sg/nebo-card/

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On-site Marketing

Out of curiosity, I dropped by at NTUC Clubs largest endeavour, Downtown East, to

see how widespread NTUC Club branding was. I wanted to know how obvious it
would be to someone visiting Downtown East that its parent brand was NTUC
Club.

After some observation, I concluded that other than what looked like the equivalent
of a NTUC Club office at the entrance of Downtown East (pictured above), NTUC
Club branding was not entirely evident. Even on the promotional advertisements put
up, there were few that listed NTUC Club as a sponsor or co-organiser.

I was surprised to see advertisements encouraging downloads for a new NTUC

Club app as there was not any similar information encouraging app downloads on
NTUC Clubs website. I managed to find a screen shot of the app online but it
seems like the app has since been discontinued as it is no longer available on the
app store.13

Elsewhere at Downtown East, there was a booth encouraging sign-ups for NTUC
union membership (named NTUC Plus! or Plus!). The booth showed examples of
gifts that came with membership or could be redeemed with membership points
earned.

13

http://download.cnet.com/NTUC-Club-Leisure-Lifestyle-contains-age-restricted-material/
3000-31713_4-75728525.html

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Competitors
ENTERTAINMENT HUB COMPETITORS
Singapores two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa,
which opened in 2011 and 2012 respectively are NTUC Clubs main competitors.
Not unlike NTUC Club, they both offer a wide variety of entertainment and
recreational options. However, their offerings tend to be of a higher quality which
also reflects in a higher price. It seems that if NTUC Clubs mission is to provide
affordable recreation, it has nothing to fear from its competitors in this sense.

Just across the causeway, a recent indirect competitor of NTUC Clubs Downtown
East is LegoLand. However, just like Singapores integrated resorts, LegoLand
cannot compete with NTUC Club in terms of pricing. LegoLand has an added
deterrent of requiring a trip across the border to visit.

Thankfully, NTUC Club is keeping up with the times with Downtown East currently
undergoing a 200 million makeover. As the aspirations of Singaporeans change,
we understand that there is a need for us to update our offerings so that members
and the public can continue to enjoy top-notch standards of affordable recreational
facilities and leisure options," said Yeo Khee Leng, Chief Executive Officer of NTUC
Club.14

WATER PARK COMPETITORS

NTUC Clubs Wild Wild Wet has two main competitors when it comes to attracting
the local market. Unfortunately, though Wild Wild Wet is the most attractively priced,
it loses out to its competitors when it comes to novelty as Adventure Cove and
LegoLand are relatively newer, opening in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Wild Wild Wet

Adventure Cove

LegoLand Water Park

SGD$14

SGD$26

SGD$30

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14

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-club-refurbish-downtown-east-200m-105947488--sector.html

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RECOMMENDATION NO.1
Summary
A more interconnected NTUC Club online identity.

Details
JOIN THE WEBSITES OF NTUC CLUB SUB BRANDS

The new interconnected website can be modelled after Gap Inc.s website which
has a top navigation link bar which joins the sites together.

CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS FOR NTUC CLUB

NTUC Cubs online presence is limited to its own website and a Twitter account. Its
interesting to note that NTUC Clubs Twitter account while providing interesting
content is focused on Downtown East and the happenings there. As noted in the
table below, Downtown East does not have a twitter account so it seems like NTUC
Clubs twitter account tries to make up for that.

NTUC Club

Downtown East

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

NTUC Club should create social media accounts on the various platforms and post
unique content on the happenings at each of its sub brands. If possible, NTUC
Clubs sub brands should also have a more streamlined approach when it comes to
each sub brands online presence.

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Rationale
WHY JOIN THE WEBSITES?
In todays internet-obsessed world, a brands web design has a big impact on a
consumers view of the brand. According to WebDAM, a leading digital asset
management platform for marketers, visual data is processed 60,000 times faster
by the brain than text.15 Having the websites of NTUC Clubs sub brands joined will
remind people on a subconscious level that they are all interconnected.

INSPIRATION
NTUC Club will do well to learn from the successes of its sister brand, NTUC
Fairprice. Interbrand, a worldwide branding consultancy, said: In a largely pricedriven sector, FairPrice competes strongly on value, but also continues to
strengthen its brand image through efforts such as an online video channel...These
initiatives, on top of continuous efforts to stay relevant by offering more convenient
payment options and passing along the savings from self-checkout counters and
warehouse automation - the first of its kind in Asia-Pacific - are cementing the
brand's positioning.16 Its interesting that the two things Interbrand mentions that
strengthen NTUC Fairprices brand image are an online video channel and continual
efforts to stay relevant.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social media marketings strength is in its low cost. However, at the same time,
effort has to be put into maintaining a well-updated account with interesting content
in order for it to be effective. Having a more active presence on social media will
make NTUC Club more relevant to the times. Also, more cross-advertising among
not just NTUC Club brands but NTUC brands on social media might also help to
increase each brands awareness.

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16

http://beingyourbrand.com/2014/01/05/20-marketing-statistics-that-will-influence-decisions-in-2014/

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/ntuc-fairprice-ranked-most-valuableretail-brand-southea

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RECOMMENDATION NO.2
Summary
Promote the NTUC Club brand story.

Details
LEVERAGE ON SINGAPORES 50TH BIRTHDAY IN 2015
Have an advertisement campaign and TV commercial released in conjunction with
Singapores 50th birthday celebrations, telling the story of NTUC Club. The
advertisement campaign will tell the story of families who have benefitted from
NTUC Clubs services and how having affordable entertainment has changed their
lives. The campaign can also tie in an element of gratefulness to Singapore.

Rationale
WHY?
Using brand stories to highlight NTUC Clubs contributions to society will hopefully
endear the brand to its target audience, and increase brand awareness.

This advertisement campaign will be consistent with NTUC Clubs brand positioning
as a brand that provides affordable recreation for everyone.

INSPIRATION
In 2012, P&G released an advertisement campaign in conjunction with the Olympics
titled Thank you, Mom. It was an unusual move for P&G, seeing that the company
had before focused largely on promoting its sub brands and not the parent brand.
However, this campaign, in which P&G sponsored Olympic stars moms to attend
the olympics, achieved a good amount of success. The TV advertisement improved
on P&Gs brand story and established the brand as one that moms can trust and
depend on.

WHY SINGAPORES 50TH BIRTHDAY?

Since NTUC Clubs 25th Anniversary is now over, the next good opportunity for
NTUC Club to promote its brand story is Singapores 50th birthday. Since NTUC
Club is brand that would want to identify with Singaporeans, this will also be a way
to be relevant to the target audience.

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WHY A BRAND STORY?

People are drawn to brands for their story. It is said that without a compelling story,
our product, idea, or personal brand, is dead on arrival.17 Kaira Rouda, the author
of bestselling business book Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women
Entrepreneurs, says For your business brand to resonate with customers, it must
be based on something truly genuine: your reality, your passions..18 Especially
since NTUC Club is meant to be a social enterprise, it should do more to highlight
its contributions to society.

EXECUTION DETAILS
In 2005, NTUC Club started the Family Recreation FUNd (it seems this later
became part of the U Care Fund) which provides the resources for lower income
families to have fun at NTUC Club facilities. It seems likely that this initiative has
many moving stories yet to be told of children who have benefitted. With this
beneficiary system already in place, it would not be difficult to use these existing
stories in order to make NTUC Club look good.

RECOMMENDATION NO. 3
Summary
Separate NTUC Club membership from the NTUC union membership.

Details
OPT-IN SYSTEM INSTEAD OF BY DEFAULT
NTUC union members will have to opt-in and sign up for the additional privilege of
being an NTUC Club member. If so, they will be issued a NTUC Club membership
card on top of the existing NTUC Plus! or Plus! card. Possibly, people might be able
to choose to be members of NTUC Club only, without having an NTUC union
membership.

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17

http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon

18

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/203748

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ORGANIZE MEMBER ONLY EVENTS

NTUC Club members will also enjoy even greater savings and benefits than before.
There will also be member exclusive events and activities that will make NTUC Club
more exclusive.

Rationale
WHY OPT-IN?
It goes without saying that any club has to have its members. As mentioned before,
currently all NTUC union members are in a sense the members of NTUC Club. As a
result of that, NTUC Club membership just becomes one of the many benefits of
being an NTUC union member.

Separating NTUC Club membership and making it something that NTUC union
members have to opt-in to, instead of being a part of by default will make it more of
an exclusive membership. This might seem like a drastic step but it would really
help the most in establishing the NTUC Club brand.

WHY MEMBER ONLY EVENTS?

Organizing member only events will hopefully strengthen the bond between
members and NTUC Club. People who are not yet members will also have added
incentive to join NTUC Club in order to attend the events.

CONCLUSION
NTUC Club has great potential as a parent brand due to the success that its sub
brands already enjoy. The NTUC Club brand will benefit from being associated not
just with budget recreation but with a better lifestyle for all Singaporeans. Using
brand stories to highlight NTUC Clubs contributions to society will hopefully endear
the brand to its target audience, and increase brand awareness.

The above recommendations could be used in conjunction or separately to increase

NTUC Clubs brand awareness. These recommendations can be deemed as
successful if they improve on NTUC Clubs branding and increase its brand
awareness.