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Sheng Siong Supermarket only targets PRC customers?[/h]
June 9th, 2012 |
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Contributions
I don’t normally listen to radio. About some weeks ago, I decided to switch to 95.8 while doing a routine task in the early evening between 7 to 8 pm.
Sheng Siong Supermarket’s advertisement would then fill the air a number of times: obviously it had to be about the good things of Sheng Siong Supermarket – nothing wrong with that.
However, what I found it strange was that the supermarket chain, based and operates in Singapore, chose all three characters in its advertisement to speak in strong and unambiguous northern PRC accent! Even the way of expression was perfect “northern PRC”! I asked myself, was that a “smart” marketing move, given the current general public sentiment in Singapore? Or was Sheng Siong only interested in drawing PRC customers, rather than local Singaporeans? Perhaps, it was a result of the supermarket chain went extreme on its cost cutting in its marketing budget? I did not have the answer, and I couldn’t be bothered to ask them.
But a week or two later, I heard a woman (probably a house-wife) called the radio station to query the appropriateness of using strong PRC accented advertisements in a market that was mainly supported by Singaporeans. Starting from that evening, I have not heard of that heavy northern PRC accented Sheng Siong’s advertisement broadcasted in the air. Has anyone heard of it on 95.8 these days? Or the supermarket had chosen to broadcast in another time slot?
Anyway, I would like to thank the Singaporean woman or ‘auntie’ for raising the query. Thank you, Madam!
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Celia Lim
