KUALA LUMPUR, May 2012: Dubbed the Grammy Awards for Branding, Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) was recently presented with The BrandLaureate Country Branding Award 2011-2012 for playing a pivotal role in promoting Sarawak and Malaysia as a leading destination in the area of business events, tourism and business investments.
“Through its various initiatives, SCB has promoted the attributes of Sarawak to the world as a modern and progressive State and at the same time maintaining its heritage and culture,” commented Dr KK Johan, President of the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation (APBF).
The BrandLaureate BestBrands Awards, organised by APBF was held on the 8th of May 2012 at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Selangor that aims to honour brand excellence amongst the best of brands in Malaysia and the world.
“On behalf of SCB, we are truly honoured to be receiving this award and it is a wonderful stepping stone to further showcase Sarawak as an internationally renowned destination for business events”, commented Dato’ Sri Dr Muhd. Leo Michael Toyad Abdullah, Chairman of SCB.
Last year, Kuching earned its place, for the first time ever, in the 2010 International Convention & Congress Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific & Middle East city ranking, sharing the 42nd spot with Nara and Guangzhou, bettering the performance of many established second tier cities such as Adelaide and Canberra in Australia and Bangalore in India.
Mr Mike Cannon, Managing Director of SCB added, “SCB’s marketing core and re-branding exercises have put Sarawak on the international map and increased business opportunities for the State. These are evident through the many awards and conference bids that the Bureau has won over the years.”
Since 2006, SCB has won 9 international destination marketing awards which have been recognised as best practice the world over; particularly in 2008 when SCB won the ICCA Best Marketing Award, after competing with 80 business events destinations from around the world, becoming the first Asian destination to enter the finals, let alone win the award. Furthermore, over 180 conference bid wins have been secured to Sarawak that are estimated to bring in over RM 204 million in direct delegate expenditure- a great boost to the State.
SCB’s destination marketing efforts have paid off, thanks to the strength of the Bureau’s marketing core; Dare to be Different, Harnessing the Power of Storytelling and Leveraging on the Borneo Brand. This was then executed through a series of re-branding exercises that started in early 2008, from the clean cut business look to a more adventurous, grunge Indiana Jones style that can be seen today. For more information on SCB and how to enhance your business events, please visit www.sarawakcb.com.
