Destination: electronics
Now in its seventh year, the Digital Connection IT fair has become a staple of Singapore Changi’s annual calendar. David Davies finds out more
Appealing to travellers with exclusive offers on the latest photographic equipment, computers and lifestyle products, IT fair Digital Connection has become an integral part of Singapore Changi’s annual events calendar.
Taking place every October, Digital Connection is organised by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and is staged in the Departure Transit Malls of Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Now in its seventh year, the event is able to draw on the involvement of major name brands like Casio, Panasonic and Sony Vaio as it reaches out to travellers with eye-catching product showcases, special offers and competitions.
“The objective of Digital Connection is to promote Changi as the airport that offers the latest IT products. Electronics is one of the major categories at Changi Airport,” a Changi spokesperson tells Frontier.
Elaborating on the objectives of Digital Connection at the time of the official launch of the 2008 event, Mr Lim Kim Choon – the director-general and chief executive officer of CAAS – commented: “Changi Airport’s shops offer a diverse range of computer and electronics products. This annual IT Fair is part of CAAS’ efforts to constantly revitalise and introduce value to our retail offerings. Our ultimate objective with these promotional efforts is to enhance passengers’ shopping experience at Changi Airport. We encourage shoppers to take advantage of these exclusive deals offered only at Digital Connection.”
Product showcase
The strengths of the Digital Connection IT fair are many and varied. Firstly, it represents a valuable opportunity for passengers to get up close and personal with the most exciting new gadgets and gizmos. By way of example, this year’s event provided a showcase for Apple’s iPod Nano Chromatic range of lifestyle electronics, and Samsung’s new and sleek line of digital cameras and camcorders.
Secondly, it plays host to a host of tantalising special offers that complement those taking place in the Departure Transit Malls. This year, Acer, Casio, Panasonic and Sony Vaio were among those to package special offers available only at this event. For instance, shoppers were able to purchase a Casio Ex-Z9 digital camera at the special price of S$233, against the average downtown price of S$299 – representing a saving of 22%.
And that wasn’t all. “With this purchase, shoppers were also entitled to gifts like a 4MB memory card and packaged freebies that included a mini-tripod, camera case, lanyard package, lens cleaning kit and card reader,” says the spokesperson.
Thirdly, the fair attracts the kind of eye-catching and high value competitions that can help to encourage footfall – and, with any luck, sales – at departures stores throughout the airport. The focus for the prize giveaway element this year was the Sure-Win Instant Draw, which ultimately made winners of many thousands of Changi passengers.
“Shoppers had to spend either S$80 with their VISA credit card or S$120 using other forms of payment to qualify for the Sure-Win Instant Draw,” explains the spokesperson. “There were more than 66,000 instant prize winners. They won prizes including card readers and some of the latest gadgets, including the Samsung Omnia Smartphone and Apple MacBook laptop. The attractive prizes drew many shoppers and helped to increase awareness of the fair and the brand featured.”
In addition to the Samsung and Apple products referred to by the Changi spokesperson, Sure-Win Instant Draw also gave away Casio EX-F1 DSLR cameras and JVC video cameras, among many other attractive items. In total, more than S$500,000 worth of top-flight prizes were given away during the Digital Connection event.
Key category
As has already been alluded to, Digital Connection is regarded primarily as an awareness-raising endeavour intended to position Changi as a leading airport destination for the latest electronics products. In truth, it’s a status that is not in any doubt as Changi currently houses a grand total of 12 electronics/IT stores across three terminals.
Leading electronics outlets at the airport include Digital Lifestyle and Sony Style. Collectively, the electronics/IT stores occupy more than 2,200sqm of retail space.
The centrality of electronics to the retail offer at Singapore Changi Airport is not in question, therefore – and neither is the ability of airport operator CAAS to devise an attention-grabbing promotional event that will encourage interest in the entire category and help to drive sales in this key category.
With electronics assuming an ever-higher profile in the overall travel retail category mix – a trend that is readily apparent in the Category Overview feature elsewhere in this issue – it seems reasonable to expect Digital Connection to remain an important component of Changi’s annual events calendar for many years to come.
FACT FILE
Digital Connection 2008
Location: Terminals 1, 2, 3 at Singapore Changi Airport
Main components: product showcases, special offers, prize giveaways
Objective: “To promote Changi as the airport that offers the latest IT products. Electronics is one of the major categories at Changi Airport,” says an airport spokesperson
Product highlights: Panasonic FX-180, Samsung NV100HD, iPod Nano (Chromatic range), etc
Sure-Win Instant Draw: more than 66,000 travellers became instant prize winners
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