Singapore's MTI appoints agencies for ASEAN 2027 campaign

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has appointed GOVT VCCP and We. Communications to support Singapore's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027. The mandate covers communications for the ASEAN Economic Community pillar.

Selected as a consortium after a competitive pitch, GOVT VCCP will lead the integrated campaign and creative work, while We. Communications will handle earned media and public relations throughout the chairmanship year.

The assignment centres on the ASEAN Economic Community, one of the main pillars of ASEAN cooperation. The brief covers regional economic integration, trade facilitation and competitiveness across ASEAN's eleven member states.

MTI has tasked the consortium with shaping how the chairmanship is communicated to audiences in Singapore and across the region. The work includes campaign strategy, creative assets, media engagement and communications tied to key milestones.

Under the arrangement, GOVT VCCP will oversee the campaign's creative and strategic direction, including key visuals, video, social content and experiential activations linked to the chairmanship year.

We. Communications will lead media relations and broader public relations activity. Its role includes planning engagement around major campaign moments and maintaining outreach as the programme develops.

The appointment underscores the government's focus on the economic strand of Singapore's turn as ASEAN chair. The ASEAN Economic Community agenda is designed to strengthen commercial links within the bloc and improve conditions for trade and competition among member states.

Economic brief

Singapore's chairmanship presents a communications challenge as well as a policy one. The ASEAN Economic Community agenda often involves technical subjects such as market access, trade processes and regional competitiveness, which can be difficult to convey to a broad public audience.

The agencies said the work would aim to present that agenda in a way that resonates both domestically and across Southeast Asia. The campaign is also expected to reach regional business audiences as Singapore prepares to take on the role.

Khoo Kai Qi, Client Service Director at GOVT VCCP, outlined the scale of the task: "ASEAN 2027 is one of the most significant platforms Singapore will host in a generation. But the hard part isn't the scale. It's making something as big as a regional economy feel personal and real for people, whether they're here at home or across the region. That's the work we're setting out to do, where creativity, commerce, and conviction meet."

The remit reflects a combined model that brings campaign development and media outreach under one structure. That approach is increasingly common in large public communications assignments where governments and institutions want more consistency across paid, owned and earned channels.

For We. Communications, the brief adds a high-profile regional government assignment to its Singapore operation. Daryl Ho, Managing Director of We. Communications Singapore, said the work would focus on broadening the reach of the chairmanship story beyond official settings.

"Singapore's ASEAN Chairmanship presents an opportunity for the region's priorities and progress to resonate beyond the room, and we are grateful for MTI's trust in us to help amplify that story," Ho said.

He added: "This creative and communications collaboration with GOVT VCCP strengthens our ability to offer clients an integrated model that combines creative thinking with communications strategy, helping ideas move seamlessly from concept to conversation."

Singapore will assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027, with communications for the ASEAN Economic Community running in the lead-up to the role and throughout the year. The focus remains on regional economic integration, trade facilitation and competitiveness across the bloc's eleven member states.