River Festival boosted by F1

Singapore - Clarke Quay's marketing and publicity efforts to promote its inaugural River Festival, which was held in the last two weekends of September, have paid off with a final footfall figure more than double the expected turnout of 100,000.

As part of a joint promotional effort, Clarke Quay publicised the various promotions its numerous F&B tenants offered during the Festival period which also coincided with the Singapore Formula One weekend.

Clarke Quay's assistant centre manager, Jo-Anne Loi, said: "To ensure the right target audience were made aware of the CQ River Festival and its stellar line-up, we strategically placed and disseminated Festival information through the right publicity media."

"For example, key local dailies and broadcast channels were targeted to reach out to the local community and expats, while lifestyle, travel and entertainment magazines were the best media to reach tourists. The internet was also a tremendously useful tool in publicising the CQ River Festival, as it helped spread information on the CQ River Festival across cultural and geographical borders," she said.

According to Clarke Quay numbers, 230,000 patrons turned-up for the River Festival and while the inaugural event held on consecutive weekends was surely boosted by the Formula One weekend (the Singapore F1 attracted around 40,000 visitors to Singapore) close to 90,000 caught the first weekend of the Festival which was held a week before the famed night race.

"The selection of local and international artistes who performed at the Festival was a major draw, especially the headlining acts," Loi said.

Headlining acts such as The Brand New Heavies from the UK, and Quasimode from Japan were flown in for performances while other publicity efforts included a collaborative effort between local music industry big-wigs Najip Ali and DJ Aldrin, to produce the theme song for the Festival titled ‘Rentak Oonik' or Unique Beats in English.

Loi adds that, "With the anticipated surge in the number of tourists coming into Singapore to catch the first-ever F1 Night Race, it was imperative that we position Clarke Quay as a key entertainment destination and highlight the diverse F&B offerings available."

Clarke Quay also tied up with Singapore Pools to provide a betting booth for F1 fans at the Clarke Quay Central Atrium. 

In 2007, Capitaland appointed Strategic PR Group and Saatchi LAB to strengthen Clarke Quay's positioning as an integrated F&B entertainment and lifestyle venue in Singapore. Local shop, Communications DNA now handles publicity for Clarke Quay.