Pan Pacific Hotels Group snags Team of the Year Award for Hospitality and Leisure

Their sales and marketing team spearheaded a brand refresh for the company and strengthened its global positioning.

Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) earned the Team of the Year Award for Hospitality and Leisure at the Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards 2019.

Back on its fifth year, Singapore Business Review honours the country’s most outstanding business leaders, including trailblazing teams and individuals whose initiatives have resulted in substantial business gains for their company’s operations.

Based in Singapore, PPHG is a wholly-owned hotel subsidiary of Singapore-listed UOL Group Limited, one of Asia’s most established hotel and property companies with an exceptional portfolio of investment and development properties.

The Group owns and manages nearly 50 hotels, resorts and serviced suites, including those under development in 29 cities across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.

To position PPHG for the future, their sales and marketing team spearheaded an extensive brand refresh for the company. Through an integrated, digital-led marketing strategy, the team set out to create a stronger and clearer positioning for their brands. These efforts won the industry and customers’ vote of confidence, which resulted in PPHG being named the “Best Regional Hotel Chain” for two consecutive years by leading industry publications.

In response to changing customer behaviours and preferences, the team revamped what was previously three separate websites into a single brand website, panpacific.com. This website was re-designed with an understanding of how customer needs and booking habits have evolved, mapped against the entire customer journey.

Today, the website is mobile-optimised across various platforms and devices. Bookings on the new website can be completed in three easy steps, which has resulted in a 19% uplift in bookings.

In addition, strategic PR events and activities increased brand exposure in key markets across Southeast Asia, China, and Australia. More than 80% of media coverage were in top titles, which included The Shanghai Times, China Daily, Toutiao.com, Sina in China; Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and Escape in Australia. Travel titles Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and Robb Report were also part of the integrated media campaign. Through these publications, the Group had a greater share of voice amongst their targeted and desired readership.

The Group also acknowledged China’s importance as its second largest and fastest growing market. Placing the country on the core of its digital marketing push, PPHG became the pioneer in launching a WeChat Mini Program for its global portfolio, thereby directly reaching millions of Chinese consumers via the super app. The Mini Program provides users with city guides and essential travel information such as attractions and dining and shopping options around PPHG destinations.

PPHG has made community engagement the centre of their marketing goal. To date, the brands’ Instagram and Facebook pages have reached more than 14 million users and engaged some 1.5 million users at an industry-leading rate of 9.5%. This year, the team was awarded not just one, but two accolades for its best-in-class influencer marketing.

The Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards was held on 26 November 2019 at the Conrad Centennial Singapore.

The 2019 winners were judged by a panel consisting of Henry Tan, Group CEO & Chief Innovation Officer at NEXIA TS; David Chew, Executive Director, Risk Advisory at Deloitte Southeast Asia; Lim Wei Wei, Partner and Practice Leader, Governance and Risk at Baker Tilly TFW; Yang Eu Jin, Partner and Co-Head of Capital Markets Practice at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing LLP; and Pardeep Singh Khosa, Director at Davinder Singh Chambers LLC.

If you would like to join the 2020 awards and be awarded as one of the most outstanding management executives of Singapore, please email Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected]