3 mistakes to avoid during Singapore’s event season

By Louise Veitch, Head of Southeast Asia

There is an event to attend almost every day in Singapore, but for our core sectors: finance, energy and technology; October-November is peak season. For any business looking to make their mark in the APAC region, events will likely be a key part of their marketing and sales strategy, so it’s important to get right, but very easy to get wrong.

Tech Week Singapore delivered another great event, consisting of seven simultaneous shows – Cloud Expo Asia, DevOps Live!, Cyber Security World, Data Centre World, Big Data & AI World, eCommerce Expo and Technology for Marketing – and attracting nearly 25,000 senior IT leader attendees and 500+ exhibitors.

However, there will be many exhibitors, sponsors and delegates who found they didn’t achieve the expected ROI on their investment – and here’s why:

1) Making a Lasting Impression at Singapore Events

Spread across two exhibition floors in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Tech Week is vast. While that means lots of attendees and potential prospects, it also means a lot of brands competing for attention.

While eye-catching booths will help you stand out, it’s also crucial that your messaging used throughout collateral resonates and encapsulates your brand, while also distinguishing it from competitors.

At the event there were many companies that had ‘accelerate your digital transformation’, or a version of, as their tag line. Already a relatively vague phrase, it becomes completely indistinguishable when so many use it.

Are you confident that your messaging is truly delivering for your brand and cutting through noisy markets?

Are you aware of how your competitors are positioning themselves?

Are there white spaces that exist that you can claim?

2) The message is loud and clear: the Importance of Sustainable Data Centers in Tech

Of the key topics that were explored throughout Tech Week Singapore, data centers and all associated tech dominated the conversation. APAC’s data center market is currently experiencing incredible growth. With it predicted to reach $54.67 billion by 2028 and 7 of its cities ranked in the top 10 for fastest growing connectivity infrastructure, it’s no real surprise that it’s one of the hottest trends.

Data centre deployments that can support the massive and ever-increasing data requirements of society is the outcome of an ecosystem of providers, but while everyone has their own corporate narrative, one message came through loud and clear – running data centers as sustainably as possible is now a key factor in decision making.

For brands to showcase how their operations and solutions can deliver greener workflows, it’s imperative their ESG communications are on point.

Are your ESG communications a fair reflection of your practices?

Do they understate how you can support sustainable development? Or, are you too far the other way and concerned that you’re overstating them?

3) Maximize ROI with an Expert Communications Agency

Events like Tech Week Singapore form an important cornerstone of communications plans. However, attending is a big time and money investment, so objectives need to be set earlier and then supported by activity at the event. When these aren’t in sync and resources are used in the wrong places, that’s potentially big chunks of annual marketing budgets wasted.

Work with an agency like Aspectus that can support – or drive – your event strategy. Tell us what your business objectives are, and we can work with you so all your activity, including speaking slots, messaging, collateral, social media and media interviews, complement each other to deliver a successful event.

Aspectus is a global all service communications agency, which means  we partner with technology brands of all sizes to achieve their strategic goals. So, whether you’re looking to sell more, position your brand differently, improve ESG comms or break into a new market, let’s have a conversation.

You can reach Louise at louise.veitch@aspectusgroup.com