BMW's one of a kind

Some 20 senior executives from BMW and 40 financial journalists convened at The Fullerton Singapore for the annual BMW Group press conference last month. BMW Group Asia corporate affairs regional manager for Asia Ramesh Divyanathan says: "We are the only car company that has such an annual press conference to announce corporate results in Asia. As Asia ranks as one of BMW Group's fastest growing sales regions, we feel the event is very important and the directive to hold such an annual event comes from top down. "Also, the fact that we bring down so many senior management executives from Germany allows the media to have access to them all in one venue. They can ask any question and someone would be able to answer the question. The BMW Group has three brands, BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce. Often, these brands are handled separately by journalists and we wanted to reinforce the brands more effectively together." With BMW Group deliveries in Asia rising 19 per cent to more than 93,000 cars last year, the group wants to reach its medium-term goal of doubling sales to 150,000 units by 2008. The journalists were fully hosted during their two-day stay in Singapore, accommodated at the five-star Fullerton Singapore, which also hosted BMW senior staff who had flown in from various subsidiaries and BMW's Munich headquarters. The group occupied the hotel's Quay Rooms, Heritage Rooms and a Palladian Suite. Last year, the event was also held at The Fullerton. Says Divyanathan: "The reason we chose The Fullerton Singapore is its heritage. Its overall design is a beautiful blend of old and new, which is similar to BMW's own corporate culture." The hotel, distinguished by its Doric columns, used to be called The Fullerton Building and once housed a number of notable occupants, such as the General Post Office, The Exchange, The Chamber of Commerce and The Singapore Club. All played important economic roles in ensuring that Singapore remained the trading hub of Southeast Asia. More recent occupants include Singapore Post and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Divyanathan explains that BMW has held the event in Singapore since 1996, as the city-state is its regional corporate office: "So, that is why it has been in Singapore every year — except for one year, when we moved it to Hong Kong. However, we came back to Singapore again in 2003 and 2004. "We did not want to do it in Hong Kong because it was more difficult to organise the event without a BMW office there. Also, we found out after some feedback from the Hong Kong experience that journalists prefer Singapore, as it is attractive especially for the Chinese journalists. They are already quite familiar with Hong Kong." On the first night, mini-buses shuttled participants to a fusion, four-course dinner and live jazz music at Burkill Hall. Situated at the highest point of the National Orchid Garden, Burkill Hall provides a panoramic view of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The venue was once home to many generations of the Gardens' directors, including Isaac Henry Burkill. It was built in 1866, and has been restored to be an event hall and is popular for VIP dinners and cocktails. Model showcase Two of BMW's newest cars were showcased outside the venue, the BMW Z4 Roadster and the BMW new 5 series. After dinner, the buses brought the group back to Fullerton Hotel's Post Bar for drinks. The guests were given a chance to mingle, to savour the gins, vodkas, rums and tequilas — and swing to the beat of contemporary jazz and new age musical repertoire in the music room. "The BMW Group management always has a very good impression of Singapore. Singapore is custom-built for such events. The facilities are world-class and now it has become more attractive because of additional attractions such as Burkill Hall, as opposed to bringing people to a hotel. Also, the new Asian Civilisation Museum in Empress Place was an interesting venue for the guests who had time to visit it. Then there is the nearby Esplanade Theatres on the Bay as well," says Divyanathan. With serious work to be done soon, adequate overnight rest was given to the participants and the press conference started at 11am in the Straits Room the next day. Says Divyanathan: "The Straits Room was a great space to hold the conference as it is broad and offers natural daylight. The colour of the room, white, was also suitable for our corporate logo, which is white, blue and black. And as the room was wide, the guests were not seated too far from the speaker." Following two speeches by the BMW AG chairman, Dr Helmut Panke and BMW Group sales division senior vice-president Luder Paysen, there was a question and answer session. The conference was over in less than 90 minutes. To mark the gravitas of the occasion and to increase BMW's corporate image, three new cars were displayed in the hotel's VIP parking area: a BMW, a Rolls-Royce and a Mini. "This generated quite a lot of interest from members of the public. The Rolls-Royce was especially popular — we had people peering closely at it as the model was a very new one, which is not seen frequently on the street," adds Divyanathan. An afternoon interview session lasting 45 minutes was scheduled for the media. It was conducted in the hotel's unique venue, the Fullerton Lighthouse. Perched atop the ornate façade of the original Fullerton Building, the Fullerton Lighthouse's lamps once guided mariners to the safety of the port. The Lighthouse has been transformed to hold private events such as corporate luncheons, dinner parties or cocktail receptions. "In terms of the location, it was right on the top of the hotel and it was exclusive. It was only accessible via one lift and no one else would use that lift unless they were coming up to the Lighthouse. If we had held the meeting in the basement, it wouldn't have been exclusive as there could be several groups having different meetings in the same area and you can't tell if they are in your group or not, and they might even be knocking on your door when they are the wrong group," says Divyanathan. After the meeting ended, the group had a farewell dinner in Chinatown' Smith Street. A small section of the street was reserved for the media with assistance from the Singapore Tourism Board, which also provided complimentary give-away orchids for BMW subsidiary heads.