Tokyo
Auto Salon Singapore targets 100,000 visitors over three
days.News that Tokyo Auto
Salon (TAS), the world's largest auto exhibition, was
coming to Singapore was released two weeks ago, and the official
press conference was held Thursday.
This is the first
time that MediaCorp is organising an automotive exhibition and one
of the reasons why they agreed to do it was the high viewership
ratings during the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
With a 70 per cent
stake in this initiative, MediaCorp is co-organising TAS Singapore
with MUSE Group.
Tobe Hidetaka,
head of sports segment strategic marketing at MediaCorp elaborated,
“We looked at the TV audience on Channel 5 and the Formula 1
Singapore Grand Prix had the highest ratings. This confirms that
there is an underlying motorsport- or motoring-related desire in
Singapore.”
Coming on 12–14
April at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Expo and Convention Centre, Halls A
to B will be occupied by mouth-watering showcases of cars,
including some prominent ones from Japan.
Expect at least 20
of the top Japanese tuners to be at TAS Singapore, such as Mugen,
Tommy Kaira, Top Fuel and Amuse among the targeted 200 cars on
display.
There will also be
Japanese race queens, an autostyling competition, Japanese anime
cosplay showcase and more.
Organisers are
ambitiously aiming for 100,000 visitors over the three days.
Speaking to Tobe
and Chung See Liang, president of MUSE Group, in an interview after
the press conference, they told me that one of the initial thoughts
was to bring TAS and D1 Grand Prix (D1GP) to Singapore
together.
That would have
been a Japanese power combination – TAS is the popular automotive
aftermarket exhibition and D1GP is the professional drifting series
from Japan.
However, both
parties decided to take things one step at a time and focus on
bringing TAS to Singapore first.
“It is important
to position TAS properly first and hold it at the right venue,
hence we selected MBS. We are positioning TAS as a premium product
and the decision was made to just work on TAS first. Holding TAS at
MBS also means not having an outdoor arena to hold D1GP,” said
Tobe.
Chung added,
“Usually convention halls have nothing much around it, but MBS
offers many things to do. We are not targeting just the typical car
fans, but we want to reach a wider target, including those tourists
who are visiting Singapore.”
The plan to bring
D1GP has been put aside, but only temporarily. In future, there may
be a possibility that it might come to Singapore, with or without
TAS.
Chung (C) and Tobe
(T) then shared more about how the idea of TAS Singapore came
about.
Q: How did
the idea of bringing TAS to Singapore come about?
C: Discussions to
bring TAS to Singapore started sometime in June last year. San-Ei
Shobo Publishing (organiser of TAS) has always had a very domestic
approach and is not proactive in expanding outside of Japan.
However, they are open to bringing their products outside of Japan
if presented with the right opportunity. Through my contacts and
knowledge of the product, I approached them with this idea and we
started talking. MUSE Group works closely with San-Ei as we are
involved in D1GP in Japan as a consultant, helping to take it
outside of Japan, and D1GP is under San-Ei as well.
Q: How did
MediaCorp get involved?
T: MediaCorp and
MUSE already had a working relationship, putting together Sasuke
Singapore and RaceMe, the soap box derby. MUSE shared this idea
with us and around November, we all came to an understanding to
bring TAS to Singapore.
It took a long
time to work out the logistics and decide for sure if we should
bring this to Singapore. It is not just about shipping cars over to
display, but we have to work out the venue, the transport and the
fringe activities. We have to think if the format will work. It is
a complete package of exhibition and entertainment. It cost a lot
of money (an amount we can’t disclose) to do this and hence we
needed to have in-depth discussions. We had to find a suitable
venue and then check its availability.
Q: Why
call it Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore and not coin a local brand
instead?
C: We decided to
bring TAS as it is, on a compact scale, instead of just licensing
the rights and making it Singapore International Auto Salon or
something. Anyway, there was a Singapore Auto Salon once and we
didn’t want to confuse with it. Our intention is not to create a
Singapore product but to bring a Japanese product to Singapore.
We want to bring
the TAS experience to Singapore, to those who have not had the
chance to see it. We wanted to re-energise the local automotive
market as there are not many car shows in Singapore these days. We
don’t want to just borrow the TAS name but we have to be careful
and ensure that we correctly portray what the brand represents.
Q: How has the response been so
far?
C: The response
has been very good so far from both the general public and people
in the industry. While I can’t give you exact numbers, I can say
that a large part of the booths have been sold. We have at least 20
Japanese show cars coming, along with Japanese tuners and race
queens, but we also have local companies and even businesses from
around the region are keen. The signs have been very
encouraging.
Q: What is
the advertising budget like?
C: I daresay no
car shows in Singapore will be going out this big. The A&P will
be on a scale impossible for any event organiser to achieve on
their own. Only MediaCorp can do it and they can go out full force
since this is their own project.
T: You can expect
a significant amount of exposure across all our platforms. I’m not
at liberty to reveal how much advertising dollars we are putting
in, but we will be promoting this event on all our media assets,
including TV, newspapers, magazines, radio and digital platforms.
MediaCorp artistes will be making appearances too. As you can see,
we had Yasminne Cheng from Class 95FM to host our press conference.
That’s the kind of involvement you will see from us as well.
Q: The
authorities have been clamping down hard on illegally modified
vehicles in Singapore, causing many to give up their passion for
vehicle modifications. Will holding TAS Singapore be encouraging
vehicle modifications?
C: If you to go
TAS, you will see that there are street legal cars and non-street
legal cars. There are some cars that are done up so outrageously
that they are purely for showcase and not for road use. The show is
about creativity. Japan has strict rules on vehicle modifications
as well.
We are not asking
you to do outrageous things to your car, but there are other legal
things you can do. A lot of people get excited and the general
mindset is that modifying your vehicle is bad. Modifying of
vehicles need not be illegal, but can be done within a safety
framework. People tend to misunderstand things – I mean at a
fashion show with models half naked, the designers are showing
their works and not encouraging people to walk around half naked.
Likewise, this is a showcase of creativity and technical
prowess.
Q: It’s a
huge investment, what returns are you hoping to get?
T: Audience
engagement. This is a good platform to engage people interested in
cars and motorsports. Motorsport events require a circuit and
Singapore has none, hence limiting the options to engage people in
motorsport. This is not a motorsport event and it can reach out a
far broader audience. It’s not just about fast cars, but also about
personalisation.
Q: What
are the future plans?
C: It is not a
one-off event and we are hoping to keep bringing it back. The TAS
franchise is on a renewable contract. Like any investment, it is
not about making a quick buck. There are no firm plans to take it
to the region but it is within our view.
Our targets, apart
from money, are visitor numbers and local participation. We want
people to come as that is a good indicator of success. We also want
local participation to be high, such as having the garages and car
distributors in Singapore involved. Ideally, we want everyone in
the car industry involved.
T: It’s too big an
event to be one-off. We want this to be a long-term project and it
will be hard to be long-term if the local people do not support. It
is not about the dollars and cents, but about creating something
that will last forever.
Passionate
about cars and motorsports, Cheryl Tay is a familiar face in
prominent local, regional as well as international automotive
titles. More of her at www.cheryl-tay.com.
