Run tourism clips by focus groups first

While I commend the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) efforts to attract Filipinos to visit Singapore, its latest promotional video can easily pass off as an amateur work ("Tourism video to promote S'pore in Philippines slammed"; Wednesday).

Yes, I see effort put into the aerial shots but the narrative throughout the three-minute clip was weak and tried to sell attractions rather than the destination.

Even if the STB gives a logical explanation as to why the video was pitched this way, it made the assumption that viewers would be interested in finding out the story of a couple holidaying in Singapore.

I hope the STB will screen future promotional videos to focus groups first, and consult media experts, before releasing such material for public consumption.

Jeremy Cheong Weng Kee

This article was published on April 12 in The Straits Times.

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