28 April 2009, Singapore – The Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) today launched Orchard Road – A Great Street as the new brand positioning for Orchard Road and announced details of a three-week line-up of events, Orchard Reloaded, that will highlight various multi-sensory experiences that Orchard Road presents. Fresh from the recently completed infrastructure works, Singapore’s prime shopping belt embodies all that is future forward, stylish, inventive, engaging and youthful spirited.

Over the years, Orchard Road has developed organically into a multi-dimensional lifestyle destination that offers not only great shopping but exciting lifestyle experiences as well. Orchard Road has a distinct personality strengthened by signature events that include the Christmas in the Tropics, Great Singapore Sale, Singapore JewelFest as well as late night shopping on Saturday nights, concerts, parties and street performances. With the recently completed infrastructure enhancements which have widened pedestrian malls to create spaces like the urban green rooms and provided state-of-the-art lighting to highlight the characteristic greenery along Orchard Road, Orchard Road is set to become a unique events arena. The foundation is set for more street-level vibrancy. The works have also catalysed the rejuvenation of existing malls like Paragon and Mandarin Gallery. New developments like the ION Orchard, Orchard Central, 313@Somerset, *scape as well as 111 Somerset will bring new variety and experiences to the precinct within these two years.

A place management committee comprising of various government agencies, precinct champion ORBA and other private stakeholders has also been convened to spearhead and drive initiatives to develop Orchard Road into a distinctive precinct and a great street.

“ Orchard Road is more than just a shopping precinct. Unlike other shopping streets in the world, Orchard Road also offers great dining and entertainment experiences to provide a complete lifestyle experience. Always changing and ever interesting, Orchard Road is a great street that is already the epicentre for locals and the top visitor attraction for visitors seeking the best buys for a unique and holistic experience,” said Mr Andrew Phua, Director of Tourism Shopping and Dining at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) who noted that shoppers can also look forward to the opening of three new shopping malls offering more differentiated experiences.

Orchard Road – A Great Street

With “a great street” as the positioning statement, the new Orchard Road identity sets an aspiration for Orchard Road to be one of the world’s greatest avenues. Aside from the great selection of retail options, Orchard Road offers savvy gourmets a delectable spread of culinary choices - everything from provincial Italian fare to Singapore's perennial local favourites. Dizzying choices of accommodation from a variety of hotels, signature annual leisure events and the enchanting Christmas light-up, sets Orchard Road apart from many other shopping avenues around the world. ' A Great Street' captures these attributes unique to Orchard Road.

Commenting on the rationale behind the positioning, Mrs May Sng, ORBA Chairman said, “The key objective of a positioning is to evolve the expression that would differentiate Orchard Road from other Singapore shopping precincts and global shopping destinations. Orchard Road should not be shy about making a statement - it is indeed a great street. There are places and there are destinations. There is more to Orchard Road than enviable shopping. This compact and cosy destination is both exclusive and inclusive, as we weave Shop, Dine, Stay and Play elements together, offering exceptional experiences to both locals and tourists alike. Today, you have to be unique, different and exciting to stay up-to-date. ' A Great Street' expresses flexibly all that Orchard Road has to offer."

“ORBA will work closely with STB to promote this new positioning to international markets. At home, we’ll be working closely with our stakeholders, marketing partners, corporations and media to deliver a wide variety of exceptional experiences that will make Orchard Road a great street; to live up to the promise of delivering exceptional multi-variate experiences. Promotion collaterals and signature events on Orchard Road will also carry the mark of the new Orchard Road positioning,” added Mrs Sng.

The Orchard Road Business Association spent close to five months working with a brand consultancy in the process of development. The decision to re-position and create a visual identity for Orchard Road was a thorough process that included studying other famous shopping destinations and looking at Orchard Road’s real differentiators. Many factors were taken into consideration – the positioning had to be flexible and inclusive, and that it was something the stakeholders believe they can live up to. It also had to be supported by unique brand experiences. More importantly, the positioning needed to be aspirational as well as inspirational. There was active participation from stakeholders of ORBA, with the final positioning and identity receiving strong support and buy-in from them.

With the Orchard Road positioning targeted to increase recall rate and encourage repeat visitors, Mr Phua added, “It is heartening to see the individual private sector players come together under the ORBA flag to push this positioning out. The launch of the brand positioning articulates simply what many people already feel about Orchard Road. With the exciting line-up of events presented by Orchard Reloaded, visitors are set to experience just how great Orchard Road is.”

For more details on the Orchard Road branding, please refer to Annex A.

Orchard Reloaded – A Great Programme Line-up

Orchard Reloaded is an exciting three-week programme from 1 to 22 May that will launch the new Orchard Road to Singapore residents and visitors. Showcasing an exhilarating line-up of lifestyle events and promotions, Orchard Reloaded will kick off with a visual spectacle on 1 May – the Female & Nuyou Longest Orchard Catwalk 2009.

Following the success of last year’s catwalk collection, Female and Nuyou, published by SPH Magazines, will present to the audience a dazzling show this year. The Orchard sidewalk in front of Ngee Ann City and Wisma Atria will be transformed into a glamorous outdoor catwalk where models will strut wearing the hottest collections from international fashion brands such as Banana Republic, Coach, Diesel Blackgold, DKNY, GAP, Jimmy Choo, Paule Ka, Sonia Rykiel, Vivienne Tam as well as Singapore’s very own Lee Hwa Jewellery.

Raising the bar for other fashion shows to come, the event is the first multi-label catwalk show on a stage of more than 100 metres in length on Orchard Road. A VIP hospitality tent will host invited guests including celebrities, socialites, foreign media and the who’s who of Singapore’s fashion and beauty scene.

Mr Loh Yew Seng, CEO of SPH Magazines, said, “Female and Nuyou are the fashion authorities in Singapore. We are very delighted to present our signature catwalk collection in a spectacular manner, not only to our exclusive guests, but to the audience in Orchard Road. The newly refreshed Orchard Road will surely provide a special backdrop that will add to this year’s show. It is also a special way to mark Female’s 35^th anniversary.”

Besides the catwalk, Orchard Reloaded will feature the Raffles Designers Blossom in Orchard on 2 May, where Raffles Design Institute graduates present their collection. In addition, special retail promotions from many Orchard Road malls have also been lined up. Shoppers who spend $30 and above in a single receipt at participating Orchard Road stores and malls stand to win prizes worth a total of $20,000. These will be complemented by weekend street activities like performances, makeover sessions, fashion shows by up-and-coming brands, body art painting demonstrations as well as outdoor shows by radio stations Radio 91.3FM and Radio 100.3FM.

For the Orchard Reloaded programme, ORBA is partnering Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to engage the public through multi-media platforms – from print, radio, online to out-of-home media. Mr Geoff Tan, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Marketing at SPH, said: "We are privileged to partner ORBA, and to play a part in delivering a highly-integrated activation involving a comprehensive suite of our media propositions - SPH Magazines, ST Razor TV, Rednano.sg, Divaasia.com, Radio 91.3FM and SPHMBO screens and events. This cross-media effort seeks to engage the public via multiple communication touch points, and bring Orchard Reloaded to life!"

Beyond the three-week Orchard Reloaded programme, ORBA is also planning a series of upcoming themed events to be introduced throughout the year. Details of these events will be shared once they are ready.

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Annex B: Details on the Orchard Reloaded programme
please click here