The Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS) marked its 35th anniversary at Raffles Town Club on 13 March 2008 with a night of glamour and snazzy razzle and dazzle.  Graced by Mr Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary of Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, and attended by dignitaries including the who’s who of the international marketing scene, guests were entertained by a host of celebrity performances.

The pageantry of the evening to celebrate the significant achievement would surely be a far cry from the modest beginnings of the Institute, which was founded in 1973 with the purpose of advancing the cause of marketing. 

As a strong testament to its success, Mr Lee Cheok Yew, President of the Marketing Institute of Singapore, said, “We are the recognised professional body for marketing and sales practitioners. Our membership has grown to several thousand and we have trained more than 40,000 students and professionals in our Diploma, Degree and Masters programmes as well as our professional seminars.”

Mr Lee also chronicled the Marketing Institute’s evolution through the years and affirmed that the Institute is ready to take on future challenges.  He said, “Our new vision of ‘Creating Marketers’ is a simple yet powerful one.  We believe that marketing is an important life skill whoever you are and whatever you do in life.”

In his congratulatory speech, Guest-of-Honour Mr Teo Ser Luck remarked, “The Institute has achieved many milestones since its founding 35 years ago by a few like-minded individuals with the passion for marketing. The 40,000 marketers whom the Institute has trained are playing a pivotal role in Singapore economy in marketing the Singapore brand.”

Amidst the fanfare that evening, the Marketing Institute of Singapore paid the ultimate tribute to Ms Fanny Lai, Chief Executive Officer, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, with the presentation of the inaugural ‘Marketer of the Year 2008’ award. 

This prestigious ‘Marketer of the Year’ award is to be presented annually to a distinguished leader with exceptional accomplishments in the field of marketing.  Ms Lai, and her enviable list of achievements for bringing the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong BirdPark to worldwide acclaim, is the most deserving first recipient of the award. 

The Institute also conferred Fellowship to five veteran members: Mr Johnson Goh, Vice President, Marketing, SPH Search; Mr Edward Liu, Managing Director, Conference & Exhibition Management Services; Dr Moh Chong Tau, President & CEO, Makino Asia; Associate Professor Tan Soo Jiuan, National University of Singapore; Mr Kenneth Woon, Business & Marketing Consultant.  The new Fellows were recognised as outstanding individuals who have made impactful contributions to the Institute and the marketing community as leading professionals in their respective industries.  

The Marketing Institute also took the opportunity to launch its new portal, www.i-marketer.org. Designed as an extended platform to reach out to members, the new website promises to inform, engage and bring marketers everywhere together.