Poh Heng marketer on same-sex couple ads and evolving a heritage brand

Last week, Marketing ran a story on Poh Heng’s new ad campaign featuring couples of the same sex. A quick look at our analytics showed that many of our readers were intrigued by the ad, and many were keen on finding out about the brand pushing its boundaries.As such, we sat down with marketing and communications manager of the brand, Pamela Seow to understand the psyche behind the ad. Seow, who has been with the brand for over 11 years, plans the yearly and long term branding and marketing strategies, and oversees day to day advertising, press relations, distribution channels and internal communications.She explained that the brand has been in business for seven decades since per-independence Singapore, and that in itself is a major milestone.“As a Singapore heritage brand, we believe in constantly challenging ourselves in every aspect of the business to remain relevant,” she said. This ranges from jewellery innovation, to offering the best customer service, to “valuing and respecting every individual as the foundation for building business success."“When we set out to identify and select personalities to participate in the exhibition, we were mindful that the group of people should reflect and represent a wide cross-section of Singapore – people who demonstrate the value of trust based on their personal journey,” she said. That included anyone and everyone who called Singapore their home.As such, the brand curated a list of personalities which included people of various races and descent, religions, ages, as well as relationships – siblings, spouses, mixed-race couples, multi-generation families, and of course, same-sex couples.“We remain steadfast in our belief that we can continue to evolve and stay relevant in an ever-changing marketplace, and doing so without compromising on time-honoured tradition, belief, and values,” she added. Moreover, being in the market for this long, the brand has seen the nation evolve into a regional hub, and a melting-pot of people from all walks of life and background, each with diverse life’s experiences.“We have weathered various triumphs, challenges and change throughout these 70 years; and have always looked to the wisdom of our founder, Chng Tok Ngam. [For us] nothing is quite as precious as trust, as it is the key driving force in our growth and success,” she said.That value still holds true to Poh Heng until today, and is reflected in every aspect of the company from internal processes, talent development, jewellery innovation, and engagement with customers, and the community at large - and is also clearly reflected in its latest ad campaign, she explained. The brand has also enlisted R3 to aid with its creative pitch to push its marketing to the next level, Seow had earlier confirmed to Marketing.