How Alpha Story Built Media Visibility for AXS Singapore

Context

AXS is one of Singapore's most established payments brands, built on decades of bill payment infrastructure and a kiosk network that most Singaporeans have used at some point. But the payments market has shifted. Mobile-first fintechs, digital wallets, and rewards-driven platforms now compete for the same everyday transactions that AXS has handled for years. The company needed PR that reinforced its relevance through what it was building, not what it had already built.

Challenge

Two problems made this harder than a standard product launch campaign:

• Newer payments companies (GrabPay, DBS PayLah!, Revolut) dominate the "modern fintech" perception. AXS had strong consumer trust but risked being filed under "legacy infrastructure" rather than "active innovator." The communications job was to close that gap with proof, not claims.
• AXS was launching several initiatives at once: a rewards programme (AXS Coins), facial-recognition kiosks, and personal loan services. Each of these was a story, but none of them individually would shift the broader perception. The PR strategy had to tie them together.

What Alpha Story Did

We ran two distinct coverage strategies in parallel: product-led PR and leadership profile PR. Both contributed to the same goal, but reached different audiences through different editorial formats.

Product and innovation PR: We pitched AXS's new product launches as a single transformation story rather than separate announcements. The facial-recognition kiosks, AXS Coins rewards programme, and personal loan services were framed together as evidence that AXS was investing in its next phase. That gave editors a business transformation angle instead of three isolated product updates. We targeted both broadsheet business desks and specialist fintech publications to cover different reader segments.

Leadership profile PR: Separately, we pitched AXS co-founder and CEO Jeffrey Goh for The Straits Times' "Me and My Money" column. This was a deliberate strategy choice. Profile pieces build leadership visibility and humanise a company in ways that product coverage cannot. Goh's perspective on payment habits, drawn from observations at hawker centres, connected AXS to everyday consumer behaviour. The column positioned him as a founder still grounded in the payment problems real people face.

Running both tracks simultaneously meant AXS appeared in business news for its products and in lifestyle/finance columns for its leadership. Two different editorial contexts, both reinforcing the same brand.

Results

3 media placements across 2 Tier 1 Singapore publications:

1. The Straits Times (English) — AXS personal loans, facial-recognition kiosks, and AXS Coins rewards rollout
2. The Edge Singapore (English) — AXS Rewards launch and competition for user loyalty
3. The Straits Times (English) — CEO profile: Jeffrey Goh on payment habits and hawker-grounded leadership