BusAds



Singapore Infopedia

by Nanyang Girls' High School

Background

BusAds is a family-run company that provides printing and advertising services. The company has received several honours at the Asian Print Awards between 2012 and 2014.1

Background
Founded in 1983 by Matthew Yapp, BusAds started as a small operation painting single-use advertisements on buses.2 BusAds eventually expanded its portfolio to produce other forms of outdoor advertisements.3 Today, BusAds specialises in the production and installation of large-format outdoor advertising, serving both local and overseas clients.4 Matthew Yapp’s son, Alvin Yapp, is currently the director of corporate affairs, while the elder Yapp is managing director of the company.5


Vision and mission
BusAds aspires to be leading player in the large-format printing industry, respected for its “sincerity, professionalism, unsurpassed quality and superior customer service”.6

BusAds aims to meet the needs of the advertising industry by providing high-quality large-format print and production services. The company also strives to provide a positive working environment that gives employees opportunities for personal development to contribute to society.7


Corporate social responsibility
BusAds started a corporate social responsibility programme in 2009. The company donates to charitable organisations such as the National Kidney Foundation and employs people with disabilities.8

Services

The range of products and services that BusAds provides includes:9 large-format and digital printing; bus and fleet advertisements; aircraft and building graphics; posters; banners; and Mass Rapid Transit advertisements.

Notable projects
In 2008, BusAds set up a bus-shelter advertisement for Colgate’s anti-cavity toothpaste. Two to three hundred ants were released into an ant farm featured in the bus-stop display. The ants dug tunnels through specially manufactured gel, creating the image of a tooth with cavities. The project was recognised by the Guinness World Records for being the largest ant farm habitat in Singapore.10

Four years later, BusAds was reported to be the first in Singapore to use 3D printing as a publicity tool when the documentary, To The Arctic, was launched at the Science Centre Singapore. The 3D advertisement allowed the public to “[step] on ‘floating ice’ and [picture] themselves with polar bears in the Arctic”.11


In 2014, BusAds created Huamin Primary School’s heritage gallery as part of the National Heritage Board’s Heritage Corner Programme. The interactive gallery allowed students to learn more about their school’s history.12

Selected awards and accolades
2010: Singapore Work-Life Achiever Award, Ministry of Manpower13
2011: Singapore HR Award (Leading Employee Relations & People Management), Singapore Human Resources Institute14
2012: ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality management system15
2012: Asian Print Award (Large-format and Outdoor Signs) – Silver16
2013: Asian Print Award (Large-format and Outdoor Signs) – Gold17
2013: EFI Platinum Sponsor Award – Best in Digital Wide and Super-wide Format Printing, Asian Print Awards18
2014: Asian Print Award (Digital Outdoor, Large-format and Signage) – Gold19



References
1. BusAds. (n.d.). Awards and achievements. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/awards-achievements/; Sha Jumari. (2014). BusAds flies high at Asian Print Awards 2013. Print World Asia, (1), 46–47. Retrieved from Issuu website: http://issuu.com/cpublish/docs/pwa_issue_1_2014/
2. Yapp, M. (2006, January). Reminiscing down memory lane. AdLIB, 2. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/pdf/@DLIB%20BusAds%20article.pdf
3. BusAds. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/profile/
4. BusAds. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/profile/; Sha Jumari. (2014). BusAds flies high at Asian Print Awards 2013. Print World Asia, (1), 46–47. Retrieved from Issuu website: http://issuu.com/cpublish/docs/pwa_issue_1_2014/
5. Singapore Human Resources Institute. (2015). Singapore HR Congress and Business-Connect Exposition 2014: Alvin Yap. Retrieved from Singapore Human Resources Institute website: http://www.shri.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/alvin.pdf; Nunis, S.-J. (2014). An honest look at a successful family business. Today’s Manager, (3). Retrieved from Singapore Institute of Management website: http://m360.sim.edu.sg/article/Pages/Successful-Family-Business.aspx
6. BusAds. (n.d.). About us: Vision mission & core values. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/vision-mission-core-values
7. BusAds. (n.d.). About us: Vision mission & core values. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/vision-mission-core-values/
8. Chay, F. (2014, March 25). Doing good. The Business Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
9. BusAds. (n.d.). Products. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/products/; BusAds. (n.d.). Services. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/services/
10. Guinness World Records. (2014). Largest ant farm. Retrieved from Guinness World Records website:  http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/7000/largest-ant-farm
11. Lee, C. (n.d.). 3D printing enters Singapore. Retrieved from Print World Asia website: http://www.printworldasia.com/component/k2/item/679-3d-printing-busads
12. BusAds. (n.d.). Shout outs: 2014: May – The magic of BusAds. Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/shout-outs/; National Heritage Board. (2014, October 10). Completed school heritage corners. Retrieved from National Heritage Board website: http://www.nhb.gov.sg/NHBPortal/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page1165.jspx
13. Ministry of Manpower. (2010). Annex A:Work-Life Achiever Award 2010 winners [Press release]. Retrieved from Ministry of Manpower website: http://www.mom.gov.sg/Documents/press-releases/2010/MEDIA%20RELEASE%20WLEA%202010%20-%20Annex%20A.pdf
14. Fransiskus, E. B. (2014). Managing family business. People Trends Magazine, 2.1, 22. Retrieved from Issuu website: http://issuu.com/peopletrends/docs/pt_issue_2.1_v3
15. BusAds. (n.d.). Shout outs: 2012: Oct: BusAds is now ISO certified! Retrieved from BusAds website: http://www.busads.com.sg/shout-outs/
16. Lee, C. (n.d.). BusAds wins its first medal at Asian Print Awards 2012. Retrieved from Print World Asia website: http://www.printworldasia.com/news/item/707-busads-wins-its-first-medal-at-asian-print-awards-2012
17. Sha Jumari. (2014). BusAds flies high at Asian Print Awards 2013. Print World Asia Magazine, (1), 46–47. Retrieved from Issuu website: http://issuu.com/cpublish/docs/pwa_issue_1_2014
18. 11th Asian Print Awards 2013. (2013). EFI Platinum Sponsor Award. 11th Asian Print Awards 2013, 25. Retrieved from Issuu website: http://issuu.com/cpublish/docs/asian_print_awards_catalog
19. Sha Jumari. (2014). BusAds makes waves with underwater decal. Print World Asia Magazine, (11), 24–25. Retrieved from Issuu website: http://issuu.com/cpublish/docs/11_pwa_2014




This article was written by students from Nanyang Girls’ High School as part of the “50 Schools, 50 SMEs” initiative held in celebration of Singapore’s 50th birthday. For more details, please visit http://www.singapore50-ei.sg/project-50schools-50SMEs



The information in this article is valid as at 8 May 2015 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.


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