Businesses focus on royal visit

Editorial, Normal
Source:

The Nationl, Thursday 13th September, 2012

By SHARANJIT LEYL
A LONE aeroplane engine stands centre stage covered in plastic and waiting to be unwrapped.
Workers around it are setting up a podium and re-painting the stage wall just the right shade of blue, in readiness for a royal visit.
This is the US$562 million Rolls Royce aeronautical production facility which opened earlier this year in Singapore, and the engine, a Trent 1000 Aero, is destined for an Airbus A380 plane.
Its plastic covers would be unwrapped as the engine is unveiled by Prince William, who is in town with his wife Catherine on a tour of Singapore, Malaysia and the Solomon Islands.
Jonathan Asherson, the head of Roll Royce’s Southeast Asian operations, says their visit will bring a number of benefits.
“The tangible benefits to the visit will include things like the buzz that the employees will feel and the partnership between Singapore and the UK,” he tells the BBC.
“The Duke and Duchess will be launching the first production engine and the first production fan blades from this facility.
“Intangible benefits are things like the coverage we get, those benefits are going to be for our own internal buzz, but we are hoping our customers will notice this as well,” he adds.
The Duke and Duchess are touring the region to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
According to the British High Commission in Singapore, the visit to the city was included in their trip as it is seen as an important trading partner of the United Kingdom.
They will be meeting key Singapore and British business leaders during their trip.
Some $40 billion is invested in Singapore by UK businesses while the UK attracts two-thirds of Singapore’s foreign direct investment into Europe.
One of the first stops on their tour saw them visiting the nation’s Orchid Gardens on Tuesday where they had an orchid named after them.
The gardens, set within the larger botanical gardens, charge for entry and are 70% self-funded.
They have been naming hybrid orchids, created by their horticulturists, after famous people since 1957.
According to Nigel Taylor, the director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, there is almost always an uptick in visitors after an orchid is named after a well-known person.
“There is clearly a marketing effect that benefits Singapore and the gardens,” he says.
“There is also a more immediate local effect, for some of the locals who haven’t visited the orchid gardens for a while, they may be reminded that it exists and that it’s an opportunity they shouldn’t miss out on.
“When someone like the Duke and Duchess come to visit, which is something that happens very rarely … the quid pro quo is definitely the publicity we get.”
The British monarchy is a very valuable brand.
One study published before the Queen’s jubilee celebrations in June, found that this value amounted to US$70 billion.
But more than half of that is intangible. Rather than creating value by producing goods, the monarchy’s brand value lies in association.
Samir Dixit from Brand Finance, who carried out the research, says the British monarchy is the world’s second most valuable brand after Apple, with Apple valued just slightly higher at US$70.6 billion.
The firm has measured the value of the Royal Family in part by looking at companies who have been issued Royal warrants and coats of arms.
Royal warrants have been issued for centuries for goods or services that are supplied to the sovereign or to a member of the royal family.
These, according to Brand Finance, have made those brands associated to the Royal Family more successful. – BBC