GROUP : MEWX  
RESEARCH PROPOSAL SINGTEL 
 

 
 
 
Members: 
 
Nah Min Ning ​S0172472A 
 
Eunise Ng Yi Ning ​S10169980G  
 
Ho Wan Ying ​S10171658B  
 
Xavier Santimano ​S10155982B 
 
 
 
 

 
1. Define the opportunity 
 
Currently, Singtel is the largest service provider and has multiple outlets strategically placed 
around Singapore island wide, with three main types of service stores - Retail Shops, Exclusive 
Retailers and M-remit stores. 
 
Singtel also has a large number of services and plans to cater to various psychographics and 
demographics. Together with it being a mature brand that is well-established as one of the 
forerunners of the telco service competition, there is an existing opportunity to effectively 
maximise Singapore’s outreach to the problem category - youths, through playing on Singtel’s 
strengths. 
 
 
2​. ​Research Objectives 
 
● To find out TA’s brand perception of SingTel and their competitors 
● To identify why TA may change from SingTel to competitor telcos 
● To find out what unique telco services will appeal to TA  
● To find out the media consumption of the TA 
● To identify what incentives will appeal to the TA 
 
 
   
 

3. Research Design 
 
Primary Research: 
Methodology: 
● Research: Quantitative, Non-probability purposive sampling survey 
● Survey Instrument: Questionnaires 
 
Sample size of the survey: 
● 250 respondents  
● 50 from each region 
 
Qualifiers: 
● 18 to 25 year olds 
● Both Genders (Males and Females) 
● All Races (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian, Others) 
● Occupation: Tertiary education students, National Service Full-time (NSF), first jobbers, 
fresh graduates 
 
Data Collection: 
● Non-Purposive – Intercept Surveys 
● Shopping malls, residential areas and institutions around Singapore 
 
Geographical Coverage: 
North, Northeast, East, West and Central 
 
  CENTRAL  EAST  NORTH  NORTH-EAST  WEST 

Shopping  Orchard  Tampines  Causeway  NEX   Westgate 

Malls  Central  Mall  Point 

Institutions  Singapore  Singapore  Republic  ITE College  Ngee Ann 

Management  University of  Polytechnic  Central  Polytechnic 
University  
Technology 
and Design 

 
 
 
 
 

4. Primary Research Findings 

 
1. What is your gender? 

 
55.5% of our respondents are males and 44.5% of them are female.  
 
2. Which of following age range do you fall under? 

 
7.1% of our respondents are aged 18 and below, 76.8% of them are aged 18 to 25, 
10.2% of them are aged 26 to 35, 2.4% of the are aged 36 to 44, and 3.5% of 
respondents are aged 45 and above. 
 
 
 
 

3. What is your occupation? 

 
46.9% of our respondents are Tertiary Education Students, 20.1% of them are National 
Servicemen Full-time (NSF) and 23.2% of them are First Jobbers/Fresh Graduates. 9.8% 
of respondent indicated ‘Other’ as their choice and specified occupations such as 
Finance Executives, Accountants, Engineers etc. 
 
4. What is your monthly individual income level? 

 
57.1% of our respondents have an individual income level of $999 and below, 23.4% of 
them have an income of $1,000 to $2,499, 6.7% of them have an income of $2,500 to 
$3,999, 4.4% of them have an income of $4,000 to $5,499, and 1.2% of them have an 
income of $5,500 and above. 7.1% of respondents preferred not to state their 
individual income level. 
 
 
 

5. Rank which social media platform do you use the most. (1 being the most
used, 5 being the least used) 

 
 
Based on the results, 52.3% (148 respondents) of respondents ranked Instagram as their 
most used social media platform, 19.1% (54 respondents) of respondents chose 
YouTube as their most used platform, 15.2 % (43 respondents) of respondents chose 
Facebook as their most used platform, 7.1% (20 respondents) of respondents chose 
Twitter as their most used platform and 6.4 % (18 respondents) of respondents ranked 
Snapchat as their most used platform. 
 
 
 

6. Rank what is your most preferred way of receiving promotions from retailers on your 
device. (1 being the most preferred, 4 being the least preferred) 

 
Based on the results, 40.6% (103 respondents) of respondents ranked SMS as their most 
preferred way of receiving promotions, 39.3% (100 respondents) of respondents ranked 
social media as their most preferred way, 21.3% (54 respondents) of respondents 
ranked Email newsletter as their post preferred way and 9.1% (23 respondents) of 
respondents ranked website banner as their most preferred way. 
 
 
 
 
   
 

7. Rank which content category you view on social media the most. (1 being the most 
viewed, 7 being the least viewed) 

 
Based on the results, 25.6% (65 respondents) of respondents view music the most, 
20.1% (51 respondents) of respondents ranked comedy as their most viewed content 
category, 18.9% (48 respondents) of respondents view gaming the most, 8.7% (22 
respondents) of respondents view news the most, 10.2% (26 respondents) of 
respondents view beauty & style the most, 5.5% (14 respondents) of respondents view 
tech & tutorial the most and 4.7% (12 respondents) of respondents view sports & auto 
the most. 
 
 
   
 

Top 3 categories stated are: Music, Comedy and Gaming 

8. What/who influences your choices the most when it comes to selecting a telco 
service provider? 

 
Based on the results, 71.7% of respondents indicated that parents/family decisions are 
what influences them the most when selecting a telco service provider, 59.8% of the 
respondents indicated that friends influences them the most, 55.1% of respondents 
indicated that online reviews influence them the most and 39.8% indicated that 
personal research influence them the most and 1.2% indicated others and specified 
personal experience.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

 
9. Rank what is most important to you when subscribing to a telco service provider? (1 
being the most important, 7 being the least important) 

 
Based on the results, 42.5 % of respondents ranked price as the most important factor 
when subscribing to a telco service, 24.4 % of respondents ranked network speed as 
the most important, 11.5 % of the respondents ranked impression of brand the most 
important, 6.8 % of the respondents ranked ease of purchase the most important, 8.4% 
of the respondents ranked loyalty incentives the most important, 4.7% of the 
respondents ranked personalised customer service the most important and 1.6 % 
ranked celebrity endorsement as the most important. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

10. For each row, tick which service provider you think best fulfils the area. 

 
In this question, we seek to find out which service provider best fulfils the various factors 
that will motivate them in selecting their preferred service provider with the categories 
of price, network speed, (good) impression of the brand, loyalty incentives, ease of 
purchase, celebrity endorsements and personalised customer service. We also including 
an option, “I don’t have an impression/don’t know this brand” for respondents who are 
not familiar enough with a brand.  
 
Circles.Life 
In terms of prices, 58.7% (149 respondents) of the respondents said that Circles.Life has 
the best price. 14.9% (23 respondents) said that they were motivated by the celebrity 
endorsements and 13.8% (35 respondents) of the respondents said that they had the 
best personalized customer service.  
 

 
Singtel 
In terms of network speed, loyalty incentives and ease of purchase, 64.2% (163 
respondents) of the respondents said that SingTel has the best network speed, 21.7% 
(55 respondents) said that they have the best loyalty incentives and 16.9% (43 
respondents) said that it is the easiest to make a purchase. 
Starhub 
In terms of impression of brand, 45.7% (116 respondents) thinks that StarHub has made 
the best impressions.  
 
M1 
Ranked at second highest, 38.2% (97 respondents) for the brand with best impression. 
It is also the second highest in terms of price with 28% (71 respondents) however it is 
notable that Circles.life - the highest ranked in terms of price has over 2 times the 
amount of respondents compared to M1. M1 could be taken as a median all-rounder 
telco to compare and contrast against the other telco brands.  
 
Zero1, Zero Mobile and MyRepublic 
Majority of respondents indicated they did not have an impression of these brands at, 
86.2% (219 respondents) , 82.3% (209 respondents), 66.5% (169 respondents) 
respectively. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

11. Rank what kind of incentives appeal to you the most? (1 being the most 
important, 5 being the least important) 

 
Based on the results, 81.1% of the respondents ranked free data when streaming 
videos/music as the most appealing incentive, 29.9% of respondents ranked 
free/unlimited data on special occasion as the most appealing, 13.7% of the respondent 
ranked special birthday incentives as the most appealing, 12.9% of respondents ranked 
priority sales as the most appealing and 14.5% of respondents ranked discount codes 
appealing. 
 
Top 3 loyalty incentives: Free data when streaming music/videos, Free data on special 
occasion and discount codes. 
 
 

12. What is your current telco service provider?

 
 
51.2% of our respondent’s current telco service provider is Singtel, 21.7% of our 
respondents subscribe to Starhub, 16.1% of our respondents subscribe to M1, 10.2% of 
our respondents subscribes to Circles.Life. No respondents are subscribed Zero Mobile, 
Zero 1 and MyRepublic. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

13. Do you pay for your own phone bills? 

 
A majority rate of 66.9% of our respondents do not pay for their phone bills, while 
33.1% of respondents do.  
 
These results reinforced what SingTel already knows about their youth consumers, that 
majority of them are most likely not the key decision makers in choosing a telco.  
 
14i. If ‘No”, which service provider would you use if you paid for your own phone bills? 

 
27.8% of our respondents indicated that they would subscribe to Singtel, 24.1% of 
respondents would subscribe to Starhub, 17.1% of respondents would subscribe to M1 
and 31% of respondents would subscribe to Circles.Life.  
 
   
 

14.ii. Please share with us your reasons 

Singtel 

REASON  NO. OF RESPONDENTS 

● "I’m used to it"  19 

● "my family has been using it for a 
long time" 
● "I am familiar with Singtel" 

● "Network speed is fast and reliable"  4 

● "Appealing incentives"   5 
 
The primary reason respondents prefer to subscribe to Singtel is because of familiarity, 
incentives as well as the quality of its network. 
 
Starhub 

REASON  NO. OF RESPONDENTS 

● “They offer unlimited data on  10 

weekends” 

● "Cheaper compared to other  4 

telcos" 
 
The primary reason respondents prefer to subscribe to Starhub is because it offers free 
data on weekends and low prices of data bundles. 
 
M1  

REASON  NO. OF RESPONDENTS 

● “M1 is affordable even for a  9 

student” 

● "Familiarity"  7 
● "I am loyal to the brand"  

 
 

The primary reason respondents prefer to subscribe to M1 is because brand loyalty and 
familiarity towards the brand, as well as it affordability. 
 
Circles.life 

REASON  NO. OF RESPONDENTS 

● "Circles.Life is the cheapest”  36 

● “most affordable" 

● "More data"   18 

● "unlimited data plan" 

 
The primary reason respondents prefer to subscribe to Circles.Life is because it offers 
customisable and increased data plans, such as the “Unlimited Data” plan, at a cheaper 
price. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

15. What is the first word that comes to your mind when SingTel is mentioned? 
  

 
46.4% (118) respondents expressed negative sentiments, with the main negative 
sentiment expressed being : 1. Singtel is too pricey (33% of those who expressed 
negative sentiments)  
 
26.7% (68) respondents expressed positive sentiments, with the most common positive 
sentiment expressed being Singtel has a reliable network (56.5% of those who 
expressed positive sentiments.  
 
26.7% (68) respondents expressed neutral sentiments, with the most common neutral 
sentiment expressed as “Red.” This suggests a strong brand correlation to the colour 
red.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

5. Secondary Research Findings 

Description of Singtel 
SingTel is Asia’s leading communications group with its headquarters in Singapore, and has 
more than 130 years of operating experience. They provide a diverse range of services 
including fixed, mobile, data, internet, TV, infocomms technology (ICT) and digital solutions. 
SingTel is one of the largest listed Singapore companies on the Singapore Exchange and has a 
vast network of offices throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and the USA, and boasts about 23,000 
employees worldwide. They work closely with their associates to leverage their scale in 
networks, customer reach and extensive operational experience to lead and shape the 
communications industry, serving over 685 million mobile customers around the world.  
 
In essence, SingTel has three main divisions of operations, namely, Consumer operations, 
Group Enterprise and Group Digital Life. Consumer operations focuses on serving consumers 
in Singapore, Australia and in the emerging markets through their regional mobile associates. 
Group Enterprise provides companies and governments with comprehensive and integrated 
ICT solutions which covers mobile, voice and data infrastructure, managed services, cloud 
computing, IT services and professional consulting. And lastly, Group Digital Life zones in on 
opportunities in digital marketing and data analytics.  
 
Target Audience 

DEMOGRAPHICS 

Age  18 to 25 years old  

Approximate pop​n  492045 (Singapore Department of Statistics) 

size of TA (15-24 
years old)  

Gender  Male and Females 

 

Race  All Races (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasians etc.) 

Individual Income  ​ elow $999 for students and fresh graduates, between $1,500 and 
b
$2,500 for NSF and first jobbers 
 

Education  Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and above 

Language  Bilinguals proficient in English and Mandarin/Malay 

Proficiency 

Occupation  Tertiary Students / Fresh Graduates / First Jobbers / NSF 

Marital Status  Single 

Dwelling  Living with parents: 3-room HDB flat to Freehold Properties (terrace, 
condominium, etc.) 

Family Size  3 and above 

 

PSYCHOGRAPHICS 

Lifestyle  ● Extremely technology reliant  

● Enjoys hanging out with friends 
● Working their first job or working part time 
● Takes pictures/streams their whereabouts often 

Attitude  ● Ambitious 
● Responsible 
● Humourous 

Personality  ● ​Outspoken 
● Adventurous 

Buying Influence  ● Friends and Family 

● Online Advertisements 
● Social Media Influencers 

Benefits Sought  Network speed and island-wide coverage 

 
Barriers to Entry 
Youths ranging from 18-25 years old do not usually specifically choose to continue their telco 
service with Singtel with the exception of the following factors: 
● Familiarity with using the brand and hence they do want to trial a new brand 
● Influence from family and friends to stick with a certain brand 
 
 
 

Unique Selling Points 

● Established/Recognised - SingTel has been around for 130 years, and is the leading 
communications group in Asia 
 
Marketing Mix (4Ps) 
Products  
Singtel provides 9 main categories of 
Products & Services as listed : 
1. Mobile 
2. Internet 
3. Cloud Services 
4. Data Connectivity 
5. International Calling & Roaming 
6. Telephony & Conferencing  
7. Managing Services & Hosting 
8. Singtel TV Business 
9. ICT Services 
 
 
   
 

Place 
Singtel has three types of brick and mortar stores each offering a different range / type of 
services. Singtel has multiple retail outlets and exclusive retailers islandwide, with a total of 71. 
Meanwhile. Singtel has only 2 MRemit Stores islandwide, limited to one each in the East and 
Central. 
 
The locations regarding the type of stores can be concluded as such. 
 

Singtel Retail  Exclusive Retailers  M Remit Stores 

East (2)  East (2)  East (2) 

North (3)  North (3)  North (3) 
Central (2)  Central (2)  Central (2) 
West (1)  West (1)  West (1) 
 
   
 

Promotions 

PROMOTIONS 

Limited Time  ● Up to $200 off selected phone models on a Combo 3 Mobile 

Promotions  plan or above. Get additional $30 off at checkout when you 
buy online. 
● Free Huawei Wireless Quick Charge worth $299 when 
purchasing Huawei Mate RS. 
● Win a 3 Night Genting Dream Cruise to Phuket (worth 
S$2,120) with SingTel Prepaid. (Top up $10 or more from 20 
April - 15 June 2018 and stand a chance to be one of the five 
lucky winners) 

Online Exclusive  ● Enjoy $30 off all phone when you purchase online 
● Get a free wireless charger worth $98 by purchasing Sony 
Xperia(TM) XZ2. In addition, enjoy free 4 months of Spotify 
Premium with no data charges 
● Free Caller ID and AutoRoam (worth $368.40) with a 
corporate individual scheme sign-up 
● Get free 4 months of data free Spotify Premium on Singtel 
Music when your purchase the new LG G7+ ThinQ. In 
addition, receive a BTS Smart Case or Wireless Charger 

Others  ● 12 free months of Data X 2 by purchasing a Huawei P20 or a 

Huawei P20 Pro on a Combo 2 Mobile Plan and above 
● Enjoy $200 off all phones when you switch to Singtel on a 
Corporate Individual Scheme plan 
● 1 year of Tripled Data Bundle Free with purchase of Samsung 
Galaxy Note8 on Combo 2 Mobile plans and above 
● Enjoy free 3 months of Data X 3 with Samsung Galaxy S9 and 
S9+ on a Combo 3 Mobile plan and above 
● Enjoy 5GB for only $20/month with SingTel’s SIM Only Plan 
 

● Get $200 off all phones when you switch to SingTel on a 

Combo 3 Mobile Plan and above. Get $100 off all phones 
when you get a Combo 2 Mobile Plan 
● 6 free months of Apple Music when you sign up or re-contract 
any mobile plans. Data-free music will be made available with 
SingTel 
● Enjoy unlimited data-free Spotify Premium, KKBOX Premium, 
Saavn or TIDAL Premium on a 12-month term, costing only 
$0.99 for the first 3 months 

 
 
 
 
 
   
 

Price Points 
POSTPAID PLANS​: 

NO.  PLAN  PRICE 

1  Combo Plan  ● $27.90/month to $239.90/month 

2  SIM Only Plan  ● 12-month term - $20.00/month to $73.50/month 

● No contract - $20.00/month 

 
Ability to upsize Data, Talk time and SMS: 
● Data: +$5.35 to +267.50 
● Talk time: +$5.35 to +16.05 
● SMS/MMS: +$5.35 to +10.70  

3  Youth Combo  ● $27.90/month to $95.90/month 

Plan 
 

 
 

4  Silver Combo  ● $22.32/month to $34.32/month 

Plan 

5  Easy Mobile Plan  ● $33.00/month to $105.10/month 

6  Mobile Share  ● $10.70/month 

 
 
 

POSTPAID ADD-ONS: 

NO.  ADD-ON  PLACE 

1  DATA X  ● DATA X2: $5.90/month + $10.70 set up cost 

● DATA X3: $9.90/month + $10.70 set up cost 
● DATA X INFINITY: $39.90/month + $10.70 set up cost 

2  DATA MORE  ● 12 months contract: $5.90/month to $24.90/month 

● 6 months contract: $6.90/month to $29.90/month 

3  Singtel Music  ● $4.90/month 

4  Mobile Swap  ● $9.90/month 

Unlimited 

5  2018 FIFA World  ● $112.35 Upfront fee 

Cup Russia ™  

6  Cast  ● $4.90/month 

7  Singtel  ● Magzter Gold: $49.90 Upfront fee 

Newsstand 
● News: $4.90/month 
● Magazine: $2.30/month 

8  Zone Alarm  ● $2.00/month 

9  Office 365  ● $6.90/month to $9.90/month 

10  Auto Roam  ● $10.00/month 

 

11  Caller ID  ● $5.35/month + $10.70 set up cost 

12  Free V019  ● $8.56/month + $10.70 set up cost 

13  Security Suite  ● $5.00/month 

14  TV GO  ● $6.90/month to $9.90/month 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

6. Past Iconic Local Campaigns 

YEAR  TITLE  DETAILS 

2018  We're not satisfied until you  Key Message: Singtel takes the time to provide 
are  customers with personalised customer service 
   
● Promotional comedic videos with a 
touch of historic/colloquial element  
● Contest (Win by sharing examples of 
exemplary customer service provided by 
SingTel on their social media platforms) 

2017  You Make The Call  Key Message: Singtel has a reliable and 
  consistent network 
 
● Promotional video that encompasses all 
the aspects of SingTel’s data network 
and new data plans (speed, optimisation, 
capacity and coverage) 

2017  Ready Set Roam!   Key Message: SingTel ReadyRoam data plans 
  allows one to travel freely and with ease 
 
● Series of travel video logs that follows 
two local celebrities Jade Seah and 
Jaime Two on their journey across 
Malaysia and Thailand while using 
SingTel data roaming services 

2016  Goodbye, Hello  Key Message: SingTel Fibre offers a reliable and 
fast data network 
 
● A short film project by Boo Jun Feng 
that describes the power of connectivity 
over a long distance relationship 
 
 
 
   
 

7. Market Segments 

DEMOGRAPHICS 

Age  18 to 25 years old  

Approximate pop​n  492045 (Singapore Department of Statistics) 

size of TA (15-24 
years old)  

Gender  Male and Females 

 

Race  All Races (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasians etc.) 

Individual Income  ​ elow $999 for students and fresh graduates, between $1,500 and 
b
$2,500 for NSF and first jobbers 

Education  Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and above 

Language  Bilinguals proficient in English and Mandarin/Malay 

Proficiency 

Occupation  Tertiary Students / Fresh Graduates / First Jobbers / NSF 

Marital Status  Single 

Dwelling  Living with parents: 3-room HDB flat to Freehold Properties (terrace, 
condominium, etc.) 

Family Size  3 and above 

   
 

PSYCHOGRAPHICS 

Lifestyle  ● Extremely technology reliant  

● Enjoys hanging out with friends 
● Working their first job or working part time 
● Takes pictures/streams their whereabouts often 

Attitude  ● Ambitious 
● Responsible 
● Humourous 

Personality  ● ​Outspoken 
● Adventurous 

Buying Influence  ● Friends and Family 

● Online Advertisements 
● Social Media Influencers 

Benefits Sought  Network speed and island-wide coverage 

 
 
 
   
 

8. Media Lifestyles 
 
Traditional 
According to the business times, those under 20, (Generation Z), prefer traditional forms of 
advertising such as TV and outdoor over digital advertising (Teo). 
 
While TV consumption for younger consumers decreased, there was still a increase 
receptiveness to TV advertisements as compared to digital formats. 
 
OOH Advertising 
Cinema 
With a captive audience rate of 97% and 1 in 2 millennials enjoy watching movies, Cinema 
advertising would be a good medium to advertise to Singtel’s target audience (Jcdeaux). 
 
Public Transport  
With 6 of 10 Singaporeans taking public transport (Lee), Singtel could advertise on public 
transportation like banners on bus , window stickers, wallscapes on the MRT. Singtel could also 
advertise at bus stops near tertiary educations and areas with large public flow using creative 
forms such as augmented reality or touch-screens ​ (Moove Media)​. This allows Singtel to ride on 
technological trends to reach to their target audience. 
 
 
   
 

Digital Media 
Digital Media defines as electronic communications that stems from the innovations in 
computer technology. This can involve websites, online video/audio streams, e-mail, online 
social platforms, online communities and forums, blogs, web advertisements, online education 
and more. New media brings about user interaction into the usual consumption of media, and 
is highly customisable (technopedia). 
 
In 2017, out of Singapore’s population of 5.74 million, 4.40 million people were internet users. 
There is a 3% increase in number of mobile subscriptions in 2017 from 2016, which entails a 
whopping 223,000 new subscribers. In terms of devices usage, 95% of Singaporeans uses a 
mobile phone while 91% of them uses a smartphone (We Are Social Singapore). 
 
 
 
 
Social Media 
The population of active social media users stands at 4.40 million, which means a penetration 
rate of 77% of the entire population (We Are Social Singapore), therefore putting Singapore as 
the second highest in social media penetration within Southeast Asia (Kemp). 71% of the 
population uses a smartphone to visit social media platforms (We Are Social Singapore).  
 

 
 
 
 

In the following table, we are focusing on our target demographics of ages 18 - 25. 

NO.  PLATFORM  RELEVANT INFORMATION AND STATISTICS 

1  YouTube  The top social network platform actively used by Singaporeans is 
YouTube, at 4.31 million people, making it 75% of the 
population.  
 
● 65% of Singapore’s population prefers content from 
YouTube over TV, with the young people ages 16 - 34 
leading this finding. 
 
● Within this population of active YouTube audience – 
- 90% of users ages 16 - 34 watches at least once a month 
- 87% of users ages 35 - 60 watches at least once a month 
(Tandon) 
 
● More than 60% of the YouTube preferring population 
uses their mobile phones to access YouTube content.  
 
● Every three out of five of the Singaporean YouTube 
audience finds YouTube useful in the search for products, 
and 41% are actually successfully influenced on which 
products to purchase (Cher). 

2  Facebook  The second most active social network platform used by 
Singaporeans is Facebook, at 4.13 million people, making it 72% 
of the population.   
 
● Within this population of active Facebook users – 
Women makes up 48% (1.90 million) of population  
- Ages 18 - 24: 17% (322,000)  
- Ages 25 - 34: 34% (645,000) 
- The rest of the population of ages 35 - 65+ makes up the 
remaining 49% (930,000) 
 
Men makes up the other 52% (2.15 million) of population  
- Ages 18 - 24: 17% (365,000) 
- Ages 25 - 34: 37% (795,000) 
- The rest of the population of ages 35 - 65+ makes up the 
remaining 46% (988,000) (Anspire Consulting) 
 
● Data from a British survey noted that young people 
below age 24 are starting to leave Facebook for other 
social media platforms as older people above age 55 
start to move into it. The phenomenon is said to be 
caused by younger people wanting to move to other 
platforms that are harder to navigate for the older 
 

generation to avoid scrutiny of their content, which is 

more inclined to be “edgy” (Chin). 

3  WhatsApp  The third most active social media platform is a messenger 

application, WhatsApp, is used by 3.85 million people, making it 
67% of the population.  
 
● Within the population of active Whatsapp users – 
- 98% of users ages 18 - 34 uses WhatsApp currently 
- 94% of users ages 55 - 69 uses WhatsApp currently (EY) 

4  Instagram  The fourth more active social media platform is Instagram, used 
by 1.89 million people, putting it at 43% of the population.  
 
● Within this population of Instagram users – 
- Ages 18 - 24: 25% (473,000) 
- Ages 25 - 34: 36% (680,000) 
- The rest of the population of those ages 13 - 17 and 
those ages 35 - 55+ makes up the remaining (737,000) 
(NapoleonCat) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

9. Analysis Of Findings 
Demographics and Psychographics 
Our main target audience are people aged 18 - 25 years old, who are mostly tertiary education 
students and national servicemen. Hence, their income falls under $999 and below.  
 
63.7% of our respondents viewed price as the most important factor in subscribing to a telco 
service followed by network speed at 36.6% , this suggests that that the main target audience 
is looking at cost-effectiveness as compared to simply quality. Hence, Singtel must be able to 
advertise their service by increasing its brand equity to make consumers want to continue with 
their brand, even amidst competitive pricing offered by other brands.  
 
Our respondents ranked SMS as their preferred way of receiving promotions followed by social 
media. An article by the straits times in 2017 found that Singaporeans spend over 12 hours on 
their digital devices with 95 percent utilising smartphone as their main device (Lin and Toh). 
Thus, it can be concluded that people will act upon their digital habits to be more engaged 
with digital advertising that ties in with their mobile lifestyle such as using social media as an 
active form of communication as compared to static banners. 
 
Our respondents ranked Instagram as their most used social media platform, followed by 
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and finally, Snapchat. A Straits Times article (Chin), found that 
younger demographics are making a move from Facebook to other platforms such as 
Instagram to avoid having their more “edgy” content be scrutinised by the older generation 
who resides mainly on Facebook. The primary data shows that the younger generations prefer 
to be disassociated with the older generations, and a platform or content where the older 
generation have difficulty gaining access to would appeal to them better.  
 
51.2% of respondents voted Singtel as their current service provider but when asked what 
service provide they would choose if they paid for their own phone bills, the number dropped 
to 27.8%. Based on the primary data, our target audience do not currently have brand loyalty 
and are willing to try out new brands. 
 
 

Our target audience’s top three genres of content that they view on social media are music, 
comedy and gaming. It is noted that with the launch of SingTel’s latest “We’re not satisfied 
until you are” advertisement that SingTel is attempting to use content with humorous elements 
to appeal to their audiences. This finding ties in well with the fact that comedy remains to be a 
genre that is favoured by our target audience, and thus, we can be assured that comedy will be 
an effective means of drawing consumers to the brand.  
 
In totality, the target audience is experimental, adventurous and value price-efficiency. They 
ride on digital trends that tie in with their meida lifestyle and consumption habits with a 
preference for interactive and engaging content over static advertisements 
 
Consumer Decision Making Process & Promotions that appeal to target audience 
The top 3 incentives that appeal to consumers the most is free data when streaming 
videos/music, unlimited data on special occasions and discount codes. This selection 
corresponds with Singtel’s range of incentives offered - free data when streaming on Spotify, 
unlimited data on occasions when broadband is down and occasions like Chinese New Year 
and discount codes. 
 
However, such promotions are not just limited to SingTel but also the other telcos such as 
Starhub, which provides unlimited weekend local data. Hence, should other telcos provide 
more frequent promotions, it could be a threat as it may increase their brand value in 
comparison with Singtel. 

 
Based on our primary survey, it was found that parents/family decisions, friends, and online 
reviews were the top three motivators in our consumer’s decision making process. 71.7% of our 
respondents indicated that their parents or family’s decision to use the services of a certain 
telco influenced their decision to pick the same telco, which affirms prevalent belief that the 
 

reason why youths use a certain telco is because of their family’s use of it, rather than personal 
preference.  
 
Meanwhile regarding infrastructure, ​SingTel owns 24.99% of Netlink Trust, which is a 100% 
owned associate that own, install, operate and maintain the infrastructure for Singapore’s 
high-speed fibre network (Chong), and other telco competitors in the Singapore scene rely on 
this very network (Siew). 
 
In conclusion, while Singtel has a stronghold of the target market now, Singtel must be very 
targeted to cater to the preferences of the target market on top of finding an emotional reason 
to connect with the market to “transcend” their brand preference from their family’s 
preference.  
 
Identifying new opportunities 
Singapore is an increasingly tech savvy nation. With the chance of riding on digitalisation 
trends like augmented reality and the Singtel application to enhance service, Singtel needs to 
integrate such trends with consumer preferences. 
 
This ties in with a study conducted by the Straits Times in 2016 which found out that 8 in 10 
Singaporean consumers prefer human interaction over digitalisation for consumer service 
issues (John), albeit the fact that the client mentioned that such services were rolled out to 
increase efficiency. 
 
This supports our primary research findings that there is a need to differentiate between riding 
on trends and riding on trends that align with target audience preferences.  

 
 
 
 
 

10. Secondary Research (Environmental Scan) 

Emotional  
According to a 2016 study, it was found that emotions have a positive correlation with brand 
loyalty as they increase people’s openness to new products by the brand and are more likely to 
influence others to use the brand (Jenblat). 
 
With Singapore ranked as 36% less happy than the world, Singaporeans are more stoic and 
less likely to respond to emotional advertising (Hicks). However, Singaporeans are more likely 
to respond to advertisements that invoke national pride (Griffiths). 
 
As emotional advertising can make an advertisement more viral, Singtel as the most 
established telco service provider in Singapore, could ride on this trend by utilising emotional 
advertisements that gear towards national pride.  
 
Shorter Attention Spans 
According to a study by Business Times in 2018, the attention span of youths, especially those 
under 20s have become shorter, making it harder to capture their attention, especially on 
digital advertising platforms (Teo).  
 
In 2017, BBC gauged human attention span at 8 seconds (Maybin). It was also revealed that 
those under 20 were more receptive towards humorous ads with jokes specifically targeted at 
their generation. With Singtel’s target audience being those 18-25, should Singtel want to 
target the entire youth section, singtel may have to produce 2 different ads that gear towards 
the seperate groups rather than aiming to reach out to as many people as possible. 
 
Technological 
Digital Nation 
In 2017, Singapore had a 70% active social media penetration rates and YouTube, Instagram 
and FaceBook being the most commonly use social media platforms (Statista). Singtel is 
following in the right direction with it being active and using the 3 platforms to frequently roll 
out new promotions. 
 
 

However, with youths being less receptive towards digital advertising advertising as they find it 
less favourable, Singtel has to find a way to push out its promotions without overstating their 
role in consumers lives.  
 
This is especially so ​as research revealed that even with a storyline, advertisements with explicit 
product or service messages turned those below 20 down. This is a problem Singtel has to 
tackle as even their frequent ads such as “We’re not satisfied until you are” may put off youths 
as it is an advertisement with a storyline that pushes out Singtel's service, albeit it showing its 
value. 
 
Augmented Reality 
With worldwide expenditure on augmented reality (AR) increasing roughly twofold from 2016 
(6.6 billion) to 2017 (12.8 billion) (Statista), AR is a game changer in advertising. 
 
Even for service based industries like the Telco Service, AR could work to increase brand equity 
and awareness through engaging consumers directly. This is by letting consumers enjoy a 
“store experience” without having to visit stores physically.or experience how Singtel manages 
their network through a more in-depth experience rather than simply viewing a video (Jorner).  
 
Economical 
Consumer Confidence  
Despite consumer confidence increasing in the second quarter of 2017, Singaporeans are 
reducing their discretionary spending (Nielsen). 
 
With focus on first jobbers in the youth category, in 2016, amid an economic slump, Singapore 
recorded the smallest proportion of fresh graduates finding full time jobs since 2012 (Mokhtar). 
It was also found that the median full-time pay for fresh graduates were increasing more slowly 
(Mokhtar). 
 
Hence, with concern regarding an economic downturn, fresh jobbers in the target audience 
who are starting to pay for their own phone bills might reconsider cheaper alternatives and 
telcos who may offer cheaper bundles and promotions, at the expense of more vast networks 
that Singtel has to offer. 
 

 
Competitive 
Oligopolistic Market 
In Singapore, w​hile there are smaller mobile data service providers like Circles.Life , My 
Republic and Zero Mobile, the providers that tend to dominate the industry are Singtel, 
Starhub and M1.  
 
With high barriers to entry price promotions are similar and the main difference often lies in 
products offered (e.g. more data) and advertising. Hence, Singtel has to able to identify what 
draws the target audience and provide advertisement, products and market their service in a 
distinct manner that stands out and ties in with consumer’s 
emotional reasoning when choosing a brand. 
 
With FaceBook allowing users to review organisations, Singtel 
needs to be able to organise campaigns with ownable 
messages that promote their brand value and relate to 
customers, along with better social media engagement. This is 
as negative reviews could be detrimental to brand equity and 
image.  
 
Partners and Collaborations 
Singtel frequently collaborates with partners like Spotify to offer 
better value for customers. Also, Singtel uses celebrity 
endorsement such as KPOP idols e.g. Nam Joon from boy band 
BTS , which are popular with the youth to promote certain 
products along with their services. 
 
These collaborations add value to Singtel by increasing its brand 
equity and giving consumers, especially through celebrity 
endorsements, an emotional reason for using brand, increasing 
brand loyalty.  
   
 

11. Key Insights 

1  The main target audience ​(MTA)​ is Singaporean youth aged between 18 to 25, 
primarily tertiary students, NSFs and first jobbers 

2  MTA’s monthly income falls in 2 main categories : under $999 and $1000 - 
$2499 

3  MTA’s most preferred way of receiving promotions are SMS and Social Media 
while their least preferred is website banners at 9.1% 

4  MTA is most influenced by parents/family decisions followed by friends and a 

brand’s impression. Hence, our target audience is susceptible to peer pressure 
and word of mouth influence 

5  Price of a network followed by network speed is at the top of consumers minds 

when selecting a network 

6  The MTA is most attracted by incentives offering free data for certain services, 
unlimited data on special occasions and birthday incentives. This suggests that 
the target audience value data and brand exclusive promotions, which Singtel 
could emphasise on 

7  MTA is likely to try new brands and things that appeal and engage with their 
needs and lifestyle 

8  MTA is more savvy with social media - with their top three preferred platforms 
being Instagram, YouTube and FaceBook 
 

9  MTA prefers engaging with content that is under the genres of music, comedy 
and gaming 

10  MTA quotes familiarity and family usage, network reliability and speed, and 
appealing incentives as some of the more common reasons why SingTel was 
their choice telco. 
 

11  MTA quotes unlimited data and affordability as some of the more common 
reasons they choose other telcos over SingTel 

12  The top two OOH advertising platforms that Singtel could utilise would be 
Cinema Advertising and Public Transport Advertising 

13  The top most viewed TV Channel is Channel 5 and the most read newspaper is 
The Straits Times. However, the top most read newspaper with the clost 
demographics to the target audience would be Lianhe Wanbao 

 
   
 

12. RECOMMENDATIONS 
Based  on key insights, we have come up with a few recommendations that SingTel could use in 
maintaining brand loyalty of the target audience after they start paying their own bills. 
 
Direction of Campaign 
Our  target  audience  enjoys  fresh  concepts  and  switching  things  up,  and  they  are  heavily 
susceptible  to  the  influence  of  their  friends  and  family.  It  is  recommended  that  Singtel 
implements  a  new  innovative  and  most  importantly,  highly  engaging campaign that integrates 
with  the  target  audience’s  lifestyle  and media consumption habits. The campaign should come 
with  an  ownable  message  that  serves  to  emotionally  connect with the target audience so as to 
hold their attention and engage with them to increase their brand equity. 
 
Focus 
Primary  research  conducted  (Q9)  highlights  the  key  factors in our consumer’s decision making 
process,  of  which  our  top  three  factors  are  in  price,  network  speed  and  impression  of  the 
brand  .  That  said,  these  factors  could  be  highlighted  in  our  advertisements and promotions to 
emphasize that our brand has what our target audience are looking for in a service provider. 
 
Results from primary research (14i) show that there is an almost even distribution of our 
respondents across the four telcos, but it appears that Circles.Life seems to have the largest 
number of potential converts. We could seek out what seems to appeal to our youth 
demographics from Circles.Life and implement some of the elements in our own 
advertisements and campaigns.  
 
Relating to how Circles.Life focus on data promotions have highly appealed to the target 
audience (youth), with a strong network infrastructure, Singtel could tie this in with their target 
audience concern and preference for data incentives to push out a campaign that emphasises 
on their network reliability. The focus on reliability over speed is due to the fact that consumers 
are already aware of the strength of Singtel’s network speed. Hence, the aim would be to 
convince more target audience to switch over to Singtel by emphasising that Singtel’s provides 
the best network in all aspects - both speed and reliability.  
 
 
 

Media Platforms 
With  public  transport  being  a  main  mode  of  transport  used  by  the  target  audience,  it  is 
recommended that Singtel uses OOH advertising in the form of public transport advertising.  
Hence,  this  suggests  that  even  as  the  target  audience  spends  more  time  on  digital  channels, 
traditional  channels  are  still  essential  and  the  key  lies  in  advertising  in  locations  and  a  format 
which they would be more receptive towards. 
 
With our target audience of youths being more technologically savvy, Singtel needs to 
leverage on social media platforms for any social media 
marketing activities that we plan. Instagram is the most 
frequented social media platform, and hence, would be a 
good window for any social media marketing opportunities.  
 
Instagram’s main features are their photos and video sharing 
functions, thus the content we create should cater to that 
medium. It is recommended to utilise hashtags, location tags, 
the “stories” function to further promote any plans we have in mind. A unique aspect of the 
app that is currently popular is the “stories” function that allows users to interact with each 
story post via a poll, as shown above, allowing SingTel to garner responses from our audience.  
 
The reason for including Instagram in the top social media platforms used in Singapore is that 
our target audience of 18 - 25 is reflected to be heavy users of the platform. Among those ages 
18 - 34, Instagram is the third most popular social media platform (EY). 
 
New Segments and Placement Opportunities 
With a range of promotional tactics offered by Singtel, it is recommended that Singtel narrows 
down to look into the target audience’s preferred incentives and provide only incentives that 
are catered to their interests. 
 
To promote brand loyalty, it is recommended that Singtel attempts new contact points and 
styles of outreach to their target audience such as augmented reality and Instagram Stories, to 
engage them in a more active manner. 
 
 

Word of Mouth Marketing 

Based on our primary research conducted (Q8), there is an indication that parents/family are 
vital in the decision making process of their choice of telco service provider. This emphasises 
what Singtel already knows - parents play a huge factor in the decision of choosing the telco 
service provider. However, it is to be noted that interestingly, almost 60% of our respondents 
also indicate that friends are a big influencer in their decision making process. With that in 
mind, we could leverage on word-of-mouth as a way to increase engagement with our 
promotions.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. APPENDIX 
Survey Respondent 1  
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Hence, this suggests that peer pressure and brand impression can negatively affect Singtel as it 
decreases their brand equity and customers may not see an emotional reason to continue (lack 
of brand loyalty among target audience) with their brand even if Singtel does provide quality 
service.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Survey Respondent 2 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Thus this shows that Singtel needs to recognise what incentives appeal to their target audience 
and roll out promotions and advertisements in accordance​. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Survey Respondent 2  

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Singtel must integrate the needs and wants of their target audience in a way that 
promotes their brand to be the brand of choice among their target audience (youths) 
as compared to competitor brands. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Survey Respondent 3

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Singtel needs to increase its brand equity and provide an emotional reason for being to its 
customers and to attract customers from other telcos so as to stand out among the other 
service providers as the brand of choice.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Survey Respondent 4  

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
This survey suggests that even though Singtel may have a good brand impression to some, 
other factors such as pricing also play a part in brand loyalty. Hence, if Singtel is to remain its 
pricing strategy, Singtel needs to improve its brand equity and connect emotionally to their 
customers in a way that aligns with their values and belief system so that consumers will 
continue to use Singtel as they see value in it, regardless of its price. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Survey Respondent 5 

5 
 
 
 
 
 

 
This survey suggests that despite SingTel’s efforts to connect with the youths on a more 
relatable level through giving youth-centric incentives, perks and advertisements , some 
consumers felt that SingTel was “[trying too hard]” and that has turned them away from the 
brand. This is especially so since SingTel is an older and more established brand and hence 
would not be seen as “hip” or “edgy”, and by attempting to be what they’re not seen as, it is 
considered “try-hard” to the youths. An analogy to explain this would be a comparable 
situation whereby an older adult attempts to blend in with the younger generation through 
sharing an interest in a similar activity e.g. . Mothers infiltrating Instagram to catch up on what 
the youths are up to. Therefore, Singtel could instead embrace their strength of being an 
established brand and take on themes in their advertisement suited to them such as “vintage”, 
“retro” which are also becoming increasingly popular among the youth. 
 
 

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Information on SingTel, StarHub, M1, Circles.Life, Zero, Zero1, and MyRepublic were found on 
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M1 - https://www.m1.com.sg/home 
Circles.Life - https://pages.circles.life 
Zero - https://www.zeromobile.com.sg 
Zero1 - https://zero1.sg 
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