365 Cancer Prevention Society Celebrates the Resilience, Unity and Unwavering Spirits of Cancer Fighters at Bloom with Hope 2024

More than 1,200 participants came together at Bloom with Hope 2024’s annual community walkathon on 2 March 2024 to celebrate the resilience, unity and unwavering spirits of cancer fighters in Singapore. Organised by 365 Cancer Prevention Society (365CPS) in collaboration with Tampines Central Community Club and Tampines Central Community Sports Network, the walkathon at Our Tampines Hub kicked off two days of exciting activities geared towards empowering members of the public to gain a better understanding towards cancer prevention, cancer fighting and cancer education. The event was graced by special guest and honorary patron to 365CPS, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and Ministry of Manpower.

365CPS Launches Free Cervical Cancer Screening to Eligible Members of the Public

In conjunction with Bloom with Hope and International Women’s Day, 365CPS celebrates the launch of #My1stPapTest, a free cervical cancer screening campaign for eligible members of the public from 1 March 2024 to 31 May 2024. This marks the 7th addition to 365CPS’ annual line-up of health and cancer screenings for lower-income individuals since the launch of its free health screening campaigns in 2021.

365CPS is the first and only social service agency to offer free colonoscopy, low-dose CT lung cancer screening, and the upcoming liver disease screening in support of the Healthier SG initiative. The complete line-up of 365CPS’ health screening campaigns in 2024 includes breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer, and liver disease.

Members of the public who are interested in finding out more about 365 Cancer Prevention Society and the free health screening campaigns can visit https://www.365cps.org.sg.

For press enquiries, please reach out to the team at hello@baskcomm.com.

What is Public Relations?

According to the Public Relations Society of America, public relations (PR) is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics. Most times though, people who are unfamiliar with PR tend to confuse it with advertising and being a media reporter.

While some people may refer to PR as a Persuasion Business, we find ourselves likening it to the business of building relationships. Regardless of whether it is a corporate communications or a product launch strategy that we are tasked to work on, we are ultimately working on connecting the business with its stakeholders.

What is the difference between public relations and advertising?

With a budget of $20,000, you may be able to afford three to four pieces of full-page full-colour advertisements in magazines. This is what we classify as paid media. The same amount of money can also go towards engaging a public relations team to work on a communications campaign over a fixed term to help you land publicity and feature articles on multiple media platforms and in the format that best suits the story you are telling. This is what we define as earned media. PR firms take the information given by the client and find the best way to package the story so that it gets the maximum exposure. It can take multiple formats, including interviews, press tours, product samplings and more, across traditional media platforms, social media, and digital outlets to in-person activities to maximise engagement.

Compared to paid media, earned media is usually perceived to be more credible as they have been independently verified by a trusted third party, as opposed to being purchased. 

Is public relations the same as corporate communications? 

Depending on what the communications campaign is about, PR can fall under the sphere of marketing or as a standalone. According to Edelman’s The Future of Corporate Communications Report, only 34% of Corporate Communications Officers reported directly to the CEO in 2014, with the vast majority reporting to the CMO. This number has increased to 46% today. More than ever, communications is increasingly being recognised as a strategic business driver for organisations.

COOs are seeing their organisations shift from singularly focused expertise to a multidisciplinary function of complementary capabilities. Leading teams are now balancing traditional skills like writing, storytelling, and media engagement with expertise in new areas like social purpose, risk management, creative and content marketing underpinned by a CommsTech stack providing data science, actionable insights and measurable outcomes.

-The Future of Corporate Communications, Edelman

The main difference between corporate communications and PR is that the former drives communications within an organisation, while public relations drives engagement and outreach with external stakeholders. Both streams of communication leverage similar skill sets. 

At Bask Communications, we are not just pros at supporting businesses with strategic public relations programmes with media and the public. We have also built and supported organisations with internal communications programmes to foster employee engagement and build a strong company culture at work.

If you’re curious to find out how we can partner together, get in touch now at hello@baskcomm.com. 

Bask Communications wins PR retainer for Chinatown Business Association

SINGAPORE, 15 September 2023 - Bask Communications is pleased to announce the win of a one-year PR retainer for Chinatown Business Association (CBA) following an open pitch. The agency will be supporting CBA for all communications duties in Singapore to boost awareness and engagement at Chinatown Street Market with both locals and international visitors.

Ng Lay Peng, Director of Bask Communications shared, “We are looking forward to our partnership with Chinatown Business Association. Through our strategic communications pillars, we aim to add more vibrancy to the preserved rich culture and heritage of the area, as well as attract more footfall and increased visitorship to the landmarks and businesses along Chinatown Street Market.”

For more information and media queries, please reach the team here.

Driving Change and Evolution in Communications

The world has undergone a collective trauma and shared experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’ve all emerged from it with new lessons and changes in the way we feel, think, and act.  Our team at Bask Communications is welcoming this new era of the post-pandemic world with a reenergised and deeper understanding of the world around us, and the nuances gained in the world of communications, staying informed with the latest trends and observations to convey on-the-nose touchpoints and relevant dialogues to our community. 

The core of who we are as an organisation has not changed. The work with our clients through the pandemic years has further reinforced to us the importance of building authentic communications and meaningful interactions. It might seem counterintuitive to shed the frills, but when consumers are constantly bombarded with so much noise across all media platforms, they are looking for what is real. Rather than only a few seconds of “visibility” through a quick swipe or scroll on the phone, we aim to build successful brand affinity and lasting connection between brands and consumers.

Over the past seven years, we have successfully strategised and executed many impactful public relations program in partnership with our clients, and we want to do more.

Building more engaging content

We are placing a greater emphasis on creating holistic communications programs for clients on their owned platform through content marketing across editorial, photography and videography and podcast production services. 

Podcasting has grown to become a highly relevant tool for amplifying reach, gaining significant popularity and importance in recent years. 31% of adults in Singapore and 44% globally listen to more than an hour of podcast weekly. The growing number of users on this platform creates a wide accessibility to new audiences, providing brands and companies the opportunities to build communities and foster stronger connections.

Fostering stronger employee communications

Through the pandemic and beyond, we are seeing more organisations looking inward to grow outward. Beyond the standard fare of internal communications, we designed a spectrum of offerings to be a partner in helping you build your organisation’s culture and employee engagement.  The mainstreaming of workplace models such as hybrid and remote work have pushed organisations to relook how employees can remain connected and engaged. As companies continue to strive for growth and success, the employee experience has become a new and key consideration of their structure.

We understand that every business’s needs are different, and we look forward to creating new and exciting ideas together for your business. Get in touch with us now. 

We are here to support you

Dear clients and friends,

When I was gearing up to re-open Bask Communications after a brief hiatus to restructure the business, I never would have expected the twist and turns we will be presented with in 2020.

Like many people out there, I had grand plans for 2020. I must admit, ever the optimist, I waited for the pandemic to blow over and for life to carry on as we knew it. But it didn’t take much time at all to become clear that normal as we knew it was not coming back. We had unknowingly taken that last holiday, attended the last wedding, enjoyed the last buffet for the last time in a long time.

We are bearing witness to some of the quickest pivots that businesses have to make to survive in the post-COVID-19 world. In the last four months, many businesses suffered the full brunt of the pandemic and ceased operations. At the same time, we are also seeing many successful examples of businesses that have sprouted and thrived in these times.

Many of you know us for the work we’ve done in the areas of strategic public relations consultations and media relations. To serve you better, we are launching new services to provide you with a more holistic and tailored approach.

Together with our partner, Justin Fernando, we are launching content marketing, photography and video production services to help you with your digital transformation. Whether you are selling products, a service provider, or an advocate, speak with us and let us come up with creative storytelling ideas to connect and engage with your audience. For new businesses looking to create new websites, we have developed two affordable web design packages for you, including one that includes free photography services so that it’s one less thing on your checklist.

As companies navigate change, employees are also experiencing a challenging time managing their new work and collaborative styles. We have partnered with Veldhoen + Company, an integrated consultancy firm and pioneers of activity-based working to support companies who want to take an active lead in guiding their organisations through this period of change, ranging from guiding employees to work more effectively in distributed teams, building a strong company culture, to employee communication, advocacy and engagement programs.

Have questions, or just looking for someone to bounce off ideas with? Schedule an introductory chat with us now or drop us a note here. We are here to support you.

Warmest,
Lay Peng