WHO BUTTERS YOUR BREAD?

by Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 25, 2014 issue

Digital technology is mindblowing, intimidating to some, overwhelming to others. Has it rendered you obsolete yet? It won’t if you keep on churning big ideas.

Technology often distracts audiences from the real thing. But with all the razzmatazz, it still cannot replace content. The idea is still king. Form or execution cannot sugarcoat it, a lame one or the lack of it.

“Digital is just distribution, a channel to disseminate big ideas,” says recent Manila visitor John Zeigler, DDB Asia-Pacific, Japan and India markets Group Chairman and CEO.

Zeigler says new media is sounding like a new age of confusion. “We’re getting distracted by the new genre, and forgetting the fundamentals of bringing solutions to clients to build their business.”

A 2014 Cannes jury member for Creative-Effectiveness Lions, Zeigler laments: “We’ve forgotten the consumers, the very people who make decisions. We are making it complex for them.”

Zeigler is proud of how the DDB network in Asia has turned around and cites what the DDB group of offices in Manila have achieved - from just one of the many, to landing on top of Asia’s most creative agency rankings to winning formidably in global effectiveness awards.

The “Global Marketer of the Year” (chosen by the Academy of Marketing Science in the latest edition of World Marketing Congress), Zeigler has been in the business for almost 30 years.

He started his career on the client side with Nabisco, Carnation, Nicholas Kiwi and Campbell’s Soups. He launched Kuczynski & Zeigler in 1986, which was acquired by DDB Worldwide in 1992. Since then, he has held leadership roles in the DDB network in Australia, New York, Dallas and Singapore.

As a former client, Zeigler loves the word ‘connect’. “Brands must know how to endlessly connect to the ‘unchanging man’, the consumer” as what DDB founder, Bill Bernbach referred to years ago.

“A communicator must be concerned with the unchanging man. A man’s desire to achieve, to survive, to thrive, to look after his own, that’s the person we need to understand,” he says.

To Zeigler, connecting also means not forgetting the people who butter the agency’s bread: The client. “The client is the integrator. If he does not buy your ad, you lose the connection,” emphasizing the importance of relationship in business building.

In today’s cutthroat competition, ad agencies have varying degrees of connection with clients. Either they are allies, yes-sir-kind, one-sided, short-term or business partners through thick and thin.

“Agencies must live and breathe the client’s business if they want the relationship to last,” Zeigler says.

“We must reach out to our clients and ask the right questions. Do the ‘coffee strategy’. Call and ask them out for coffee. Don’t wait for them to give you a brief. Ask: “how is your business?” What keeps you up at night? Then shut-up and just listen,” he says.

Creativity, the hard currency

Someone has said that creativity is good karma for agencies and clients, and it’s great for building team spirit. Truth is, everyone wants to belong to a winning agency.

Zeigler believes that agencies with big ideas for creativity “can drive any business forward.” While some clients still don’t understand the value of awards, Zeigler says they can be educated to creatively think for the good of the business.

He says a creative agency will always have the edge over one that is not. An agency that has been consistently recognized for the quality of its work can be an important factor in their decision making process to select an agency it wants to engage with.

When he was a client, Zeigler only cared about motivating his sales force to achieve financial targets. Having been to both sides of the fence and seen the big picture, he says clients should produce category-breaking work and engage with ad agencies known for their ideas and creativity.

In Mumbrella Asia, Zeigler stresses the importance of creative campaigns as a way to differentiate brands from their competition and to generate better business results.

“Great creativity will help clients keep their jobs longer, enable them to be paid more and be promoted to higher levels. It is a client’s secret weapon,” he says.

He points to a 2-year old research from a UK ad industry body that proved award-winning work is 12 times more effective than non-awarded work. “Ideas should be bigger than media plans,” he says.

He challenges clients to reduce their media spend and reallocate precious resources to the development of better ideas and creative thinking, dramatizing the famous Bernbach line: “A great ad can do the power of ten.”

Stop thinking like an ad agency

Asked on how he wants to see DDB Asia five years from now, Zeigler says he wants DDB to be known as a powerful network that not only develops effective and world-class creativity but also invents products for humanity.

He mentions how DDB Singapore invented an app to make visually impaired people to ‘see’ and praises a DDB Sydney-made app to make people arrive home safely.

Zeigler is proud of the fact that the DDB Asia-Pacific region has become the role model for DDB worldwide because of its “Creativity for Humanity” mantra.

“Today is an exciting time to deliver long-term value and do fundamental changes to influence clients better,” he says.

Zeigler says agencies should go beyond traditional ad agency work. He advises young ad people not to talk about the ad, but talk more about the business.

Why? “Because it is an opportunity for the ad industry to reinvent itself as we are in the business of finding creative solutions. We’re here to make their business grow, not just to make ads,” he says.

On why DDB Asia is making a dramatic comeback in the region, Zeigler says it’s because of the DDB heritage of creativity that works.

“We have the best people in every local market. We are truly global not only in structure, but also in perspective. Our creative rating and reporting systems are stringent. Culturally, we are strong,” he says.

His parting shot to local DDBers: “We all have to go through the daily grind to pay for our bills, but never forget that we all want to achieve greatness, because nobody goes to bed at night and think, “Thank, God, I’m average.”

Good isn’t good enough, Zeigler says. “Push yourself to do more with your talent. With our limited time on this planet, write down three big ideas you want to own then go forth and change the world.”

CELEBRITY ENDORSERS: WHO'S THE HOTTEST?

by Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 11, 2014 issue


When the World Cup, watched by 1 billion televiewers all over the globe ends in Rio de Janeiro, there will definitely be new soccer superstars. Not only will they be revered as heroes in their home countries, they’ll be first thing on marketers’ agendas. They’ll be offered juicy endorsement contracts on a silver platter.

American goalie Tim Howard is one of them and he is destined to become a millionaire.

Advertisers are now chasing Howard though USA didn’t make it to the quarterfinals. Reason: Howard turned back 16 shots blasted by Belgian booters in their do-or-die game, the most saves ever recorded in a single World Cup match.

Second, the USA-Belgium face-off was the highest rated soccer game in the history of U.S. cable TV, registering 21.6 million viewers. Third, Howard’s name was tweeted 1.8 million times on Twitter. He was also named “Man of the Match” at the end of the game and voted as World Cup’s Best Goalie halfway through the tournament.

Rodriguez of Colombia, Messi of Argentina, Muller of Germany, Robben of Netherlands, Neymar (before his fractured vertebra) of Brazil are just some of the players now being relentlessly hounded by endorsement agents. The new poster boys of soccer, half of them good-looking, are enjoying a global following because of their incredible skills. So who needs Beckham and Ronaldo?

Back home, how many brands have the Younghusband brothers endorsed? Quite a few and for sure, more brands will be knocking on their doors now that the world’s most watched tv event is reaching the final stage.

In her latest tv commercial, Kris Aquino walks in a fastfood restaurant and is served a new dish on the menu. She picks up a chicken drumstick, fried Chinese-style, and chomps nonchalantly. She then mouths her favorite line uniquely her own: “Bongga!”

In another, she portrays a glamorous girl endorsing a phablet, big enough to type letters on touchscreen and conveniently small enough to slide in a purse. Prior to that, she, too, promoted a handset that sold like hotcakes. The former endorser of a major telecom brand is now also brand ambassador of its main competitor.

Aquino’s adography would probably list a number of product categories. Love her or hate her, the stats wouldn’t lie. She is the country’s undisputed top celebrity endorser.

You see the presidential sister morning and night on television. She is likewise omnipresent on outdoor advertising all over the metro. The “Queen of Talk” or “Queen of All Media” is now gliding her way to “Queen of Endorsements” grand slam title.

Kris was once dubbed as “Queen of Horror Movies” but is all set to reclaim the tiara when she sinks her acting fangs into the new sequel of “Feng Shui”, one of the country’s all-time blockbusters. Can she annex another crown? The “Queen of Box-Office” title is not farfetched.

Philippines’ top research company Nielsen, Starmometer, the total entertainment blog and StratPolls, a private national consulting firm specializing in quantitative and qualitative research-analysis, confirm Aquino’s number one ranking.

Last year, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Kris Aquino was the top celebrity endorser for 2011 and was also the No.1 taxpayer for the same year. She was the 6th biggest taxpayer for 2012 and remitted P49.87 million and P44.93 million in taxes for the same years, respectively.

In StratPolls 2013 survey, conducted among 500 respondents and included Inquirer’s above-mentioned report, Aquino once again topped the list. The Top 10 are as follows:

1. Kris Aquino 2. Vic Sotto 3. Anne Curtis 4-5. Sarah Geronimo, Coco Martin 6. Judy Ann Santos 7. John Lloyd Cruz 8-9. Kim Chiu 8-9. Richard Yap 10. Daniel Padilla

What makes Kris Aquino tick? Why do advertisers trust her? Why is she consistently on top? Here’s why marketers use celebrities to market their brands before Business Friday answers that.

One need not read marketing books to know that ads with celebrities easily get people’s attention. All things equal, an ad with a celebrity can make your brand more noticeable.

PR is also one of the most invaluable benefits advertisers get from celebrity endorsements. The celebrity becomes brand ambassador and with strong credibility, influence and positive attributes, he or she can induce saleability.

An endorsement makes brands real. It shows that brands exist. As people, especially the ‘masa’, are impressionable, they readily would want to identify with their favorite celebrities. Advertisers that are smart usually take this advantage, striking while the iron is hot, making hay while the sun brilliantly shines. Some literally hitch their wagons to star.

Business Friday randomly interviews students, marketing, communications and ad industry people on celebrity endorsement, why they think Kris Aquino is on a roll and her endorsement power. Here are some interesting insights:

Don Rapadas, PhD student, UP College of Mass Communication:

“The way it is done in the Philippines is largely influenced by a majority of the population that is star-struck. We love teleseryes as much as we love basketball and beauty pageants. We tend to believe celebrities because they are beautiful, famous, and because they ‘connect’ to us by the characters that they become, whether on or off screen.

It is this psychological ‘connection’ that advertisers and marketers exploit. After all, isn’t advertising all about persuasion? “I use this shampoo because Sarah Geronimo uses it or I prefer San Marino over Century Tuna because Kris Aquino likes it. Never mind that those commercials had bad copy or poor logic. The celebrity factor always sells to most of us.” On Kris Aquino: “Let’s give it to her - she can sell even the wind.”

Mila Marquez, ASC (Ad Standards Council) Executive Director:

“Kris Aquino has talk value. Even if she is polarizing (either you like her or hate her) people like to follow what she is up to.”

Elaine Mapa, Director for Operations,
Essential Philippines

“She is brutally frank, that makes her popular. She has balls to even share about her latest heartache even if it is so out of the rack but people watch her.”

Adee Caluag, Managing Partner, Crafty Pig Creative Services

“I think she continues to be a top celebrity endorser because of the market she caters to. C and D, in my opinion, see her as what they can be in another life.

She talks like them, dwelling on the same subjects: her love life, sex life, her sons, friends, etc. At the same time, she has what they don't have but wish they have like money, fame, etc. She functions as both a representative and an aspirational person for them.

I think what they trust is really her popularity and not her, per se. You ride on the coat tails of someone popular so that her fans will see you as her ally, thus theirs. Ad agencies get her because she's popular. She's always on the news, for better or worse.”

Ja Sioson, Industrial Design Graduate, Young Entrepreneur:

“Using celebrities is a good marketing strategy. They can strongly influence people because of their popularity. Since people idolize them, it is easy to win them over.”

Mercie Terana, former McCann and BBDO Art Director, now successful global exporter of Pinoy handcrafted items:

“She is very honest in so many ways. She tells all, to the extent that she could be tactless most of the time. The No.1 factor I think why people like her is the image of her parents. It makes her popular.”

Millions of money in talent fees, business deals, perks, more fame and accompanying fortune, so is it always a bed of roses for celebrity endorsers?

Not quite. Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Sharon Stone, Kate Moss, Michael Phelps, Zhang Ziyi, LeBron James and others lost big endorsement contracts when they got into scandals. That’s the gloomy side of using celebrities but it’s an entirely another story.

MORE PHILIPPINE BRANDS SHOULD GO REGIONAL

by Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 13, 2014 issue


Have you read about Joeri Van den Vergh’s “How Cool Brands Stay Hot”? If you haven’t, fret not. You can see the author in the flesh and hear him talk more about his bestselling book. Right here in Manila.

Along with Van den Bergh will be marketing luminaries from other parts of the world, rounded off by the Philippine Marketing Association on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. They will speak in the first Asian Marketing Congress to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center from July 17 to 18.

The event also ushers in an era of unprecedented cooperation and marketing brilliance in the Philippines as the PMA ushers the ASEAN region to be more globally competitive when the Asian Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) takes full effect next year.

The Asian Marketing Federation-supported event will have case studies relevant to telecom, banking, retail and real estate business. Topics such as launching and promoting Filipino brands across Southeast Asia to how brands in ASEAN countries can cooperate to become global contenders will be in the program.

“We want to advocate an attitude of synergy in the region, continuously inspire the local marketing industry by providing cutting edge marketing trends from across the globe,” current PMA President Yayu Javier says who will deliver the welcome remarks on this Asian milestone.

In a landscape of 600 million opportunities where geographical borders are being relentlessly torn down by new media platforms, Javier will pose the challenge: “Is your brand ready to go regional?”

“This is a different time and what passed off as a gospel in the past needs to be reassessed,” Javier states.

Business Friday interviews Javier, also President and Chief Operating Officer and Board Director of Avanza, a pioneer CRM (consumer relationship marketing) company on the significance of the coming Asian Marketing Congress.

Business Friday: Briefly, what is the Asian Marketing Congress?

Yayu Javier: The trailblazing congress is part of PMA's diamond jubilee celebration. It incorporates the Asian Marketing Conference of the AMF, the premiere regional body that promotes and advances the professional practice of marketing in Asia.

This collaboration manifests PMA’s efforts of bringing world-class marketing experts to our shore to prepare the marketing industry for the 2015 Asean Integration.

Plenary sessions and break out topics like how to launch and promote Filipino brands across the region, and how brands in ASEAN can work together to become global contenders will be discussed.

BF: What good will it bring to the local marketing industry?

YJ: The sharing of insights and learnings on how to launch a local brand in Asia, marketing trends from across the globe, points of view from across the globe on the Asean Integration, branding in Asia, marketing after disaster, social media trends, clicks to bricks customer experience are some of the major topics that will prepare the Philippine industry on how to maximize the opportunities of the 2015 Asean Integration.

Delegates will discover the 5 key themes in the lives of Millennials and how to use them in marketing. We will have a special breakfast forum with the Senior Trend Strategist, Maxwell Luthy.

Maxwell will share the Consumer Trend Canvas: an easy-to-use framework that not only helps marketers unpack and understand consumer trends, but also guides them to launch successful consumer-facing innovations.

In one hour, a participant can go from identifying changing consumer expectations, to identifying the opportunities for your business to exceed them!

BF: What is the new paradigm PMA is espousing?

YJ: To become regionally and globally competitive, it is always important to look at all the marketing disciplines and not just one on particular aspect or channel of marketing.

Strategic marketing is something that a marketing professional should always focus on so as not to miss out on the big picture. PMA continues to take this important position that is critical in making a brand successful locally as well as outside of the Philippines.

BF: How can PMA help local marketers achieve cross-border success?

YJ: This year, PMA provides new trends to better equip the marketer for the coming Asean Integration. These learnings are being cascaded through talks by renowned speakers at its General Membership Meetings, Marketing Seminars and the Asian Marketing Congress.

The Asian Marketing Congress will discuss specific topics on how to launch your brand in Asia, marketing trends across the globe, how to use branding, digital marketing, disaster marketing that will help the Filipino marketer achieve cross-border success.

BF: Why will collaborating with competition bring faster growth?

YJ: Collaborating cuts short the learning process. It also reduces costs and losses that may happen due to lack of knowledge in local marketing. It provides an immediate understanding on the legalities of the business in the region such as trade practices, government regulations and industry regulations.

This is quite evident with foreign brands that have made headway in the Philippines.

Uniqlo and Forever 21 entered the local market through a strategic venture
with retail giant SM. They did so to leverage on SM’s retail expertise and
wide geographic coverage.

In just a few months of operation, the third largest convenience store in Japan, Family Mart, has opened several outlets in the Philippines through a partnership with the Ayala and Rustan’s group by utilizing the expertise of the Tantoco family in the retail business.

BF: Why is "Synergy" important when engaging with foreign brands?

YJ: In the same way that is important for foreign brands to collaborate with its competitors when entering a new country, it is also important for brands to synergize with local entities to become successful entering into the local market.

There are several Filipino brands that have become global, such as Bench, Oishi, Jollibee, San Miguel, Max’s, Goldilocks, Figaro, Ginger Snaps, and many more.

Oishi entered China through local manufacturing and establishing networks through local dealers. From China, it was able to expand to various parts of the Asian region such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.

These are examples of Philippine brands that took on the challenge of going beyond our shores with a focus on synergy. They were able to make inroads in new markets abroad. Tying up with local companies can increase a Filipino company’s chances of being successful as it can then quickly immerse with the culture and local market conditions.

BF: Common challenges by local brands in marketing their goods abroad?

YJ: Knowing the local market. A brand may be highly successful in its country but this will not guarantee success in other countries.

It is very important to understand the behavior and profile of your consumers or customers in the country so that you would know if there is a need to change your product/service to suit the local market. Oishi, for example, continues to introduce various flavors of its snacks based on taste preferences of the local market.

BF: Challenges by foreign brands entering the local market?

YJ: Foreign brands entering the local brand would have the same challenge as a local brand entering a foreign country. If a foreign brand, however, is a large corporation it would have the advantage of looking at best practices from other similar regions as well as global processes that it can utilize in entering the local market.

Tying up with local companies can increase the company’s chances of being successful as it can quickly immerse itself in the culture and local market conditions. Family Mart, for example, would have food products from Japan but also local food products that Filipinos love on their shelves.

BF: Your formula for making our GNP continue to rise above 6% annually

YJ: The government’s role in various aspects of the economic growth such as infrastructure and education of course will play an important role but the marketing industry can play an important part in boosting the growth in our country.

Continuous learning, keeping abreast with trends across the globe, knowing the tools that are available for faster communications, deriving insights from data analytics of your consumers or market, should remain to be the responsibility of a marketing professional to make his/her brand competitive in the region and help contribute to the GNP of the nation.

BF: Who is Yayu Javier when not as PMA president and COO of Avanza?

YJ: Marketing is my passion and I live that passion even in my personal life. Marketing is all about making life more inspiring that is why I always look at different experiences in my life as source of insights.

As a mother of two boys (or rather men), who now live their lives their own way, I have now taken on a different role to mentor them not just on the new challenges of grown-up life but also the challenges of a career and business.

One of my sons has decided to take on a career in the corporate world while my other son has taken on his passion in the culinary arts.

I find myself talking to them more as friend rather than just as a mother as they are now in that stage of being able to make decisions by themselves and hope and pray each day that they make the right the decisions with the help of God.

As a grandmother, I have realized how different the children are today, how technology is fast tracking their knowledge skills but at the same missing out on the other social skills. That is why I try to bring back the activities I used to do with my sons when they were little such as egg painting during Easter.

My grand daughter, Natalie enjoyed it so much that she candidly said: “This is more fun than watching TV.”

As a person, I live by the basic principle of always doing good to others and making time for advocacy. With these basic principles, God continues to provide blessings to the tasks that is given to me and my family.

With my busy schedule in PMA and Avanza, my husband has been most supportive. He understands the passion that drives me to be part of these challenges that I have committed to undertake.

Despite that, I put aside time for them during weekends. One of best ways to show I care for them is by cooking their favorite dishes, which they say is the best they’ve ever tasted. Who else but your own family would be your best fans? We always make sure that we have time together even during dinner (when I am not in meetings), to share what has happened during their day.

About PMA:
The Philippine Marketing Association is the country’s leading organization in promoting marketing as a science and profession.

About Avanza:
More than 20 years of experience has made the company most equipped to comprehend, quantify and predict the actions and change behavior of its target market through its customer and trade relationship marketing and loyalty programs. The company’s extensive experience across a range of industries and product categories in several countries has resulted in the development and implementation of a proven systematic approach that successfully drives revenues and increases the lifetime profitability of its customers.

'TELESERYE' BOOM, BOON TO MARKETERS

by Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 30, 2014

It used to be only the ‘bakya’ crowd loved soap operas. Now that they have evolved into teleseryes or telenovelas and are produced with a ‘Hollywood’ feel, the demographic divide has narrowed.

It is now common for white-collar workers to talk about teleseryes in the office or wherever they hang out. Even ‘donyas’ in gated villages don’t squirm anymore when conversation gravitates towards them.

ABS-CBN’s “The Legal Wife” is currently trying to break GMA 7’s “My Husband’s Lover’s” record as the Philippines’ highest rating teleserye.

Admit it, Filipinos love dramas especially if they’re good. The fondness for the genre reaches dramatic proportions during primetime – when most household members are at home, glued to the television set, eagerly waiting for what’s going to happen to their favorite hero or heroine.

Primetime is considered the most important part of the day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment to reach more consumers efficiently.

Teleserye hits have spawned memorable lines that turned into monster hits, quoted and parodied by rabid fans that could mouth them at the drop a hat.

“You want war, I’ll give you war”, “Sinira mo ang kanta, binaboy mo pa. You’re nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat”, “Nagsi-swimming ka lang naka-diamonds ka pa”, “Baka nakakalimutan ninyo, kung hindi sa akin, hindi kayo makakakain ng corned beef” are just some of the most brutal, bitchy and howlingly funny lines delivered by local telenovela divas.

As technology became digital, teleseryes also became glossier and more polished, production became slicker, camera-work reached cinematic levels. And celebrities? Their star-value also increased and the semi-retired found a new lease of hope for their flickering career.

In the mid 90s, drama on tv became more acclaimed. By 2000s, they became even more powerful, and over the last three years, teleseryes were enough reasons for millions of Filipinos to stay nowhere but home.

Teleseryes have became even more popular than locally produced movies, devoured by millions of Filipinos, which average four to six members per household.

The phenomenom has produced dramatic results - they now command the highest advertising rates on Philippine television, a boon to the networks, a magnet to advertisers. They last anywhere from three months to a year, or even longer, depending on its rating.

Ratings, the magic word

Without a good rating, a teleserye may not exist. Ratings are the lifeline of a tv program and commercials make them breathe.

For advertisers to come in, the country’s two major networks, ABS-CBN and GMA 7 whose rivalry, incidentally, is also worth watching, go on a round-the-clock race for excellent programming. The goal is to entice audiences, build critical mass and top the ratings game to hook advertisers.

Which brings us to the question most marketers and ad agencies ask - which programs and network are the most watched by Filipino televiewers?

Business Friday interviews Gabby Buluran, Country General Manager of Kantar Media Philippines, a non-partisan media analyst, part of Kantar Worldwide, one of the world’s largest research and information networks today.

But before that, here’s a quick look why Kantar is currently the toast of advertising and media networks in the Philippines.
Owned by WPP with 28,500 employees in 100 countries worldwide, Kantar derived its name from the word bushel, an official Egyptian measuring system.

Kantar offers a whole range of business-media insights and audience measurement services through the analysis of print, radio, TV, internet, cinema, mobile, social media, and outdoor advertising.

Later this month, it will release a valuable industry initiative, the latest outdoor advertising expenditure report via OMAG (Outdoor Media Advocacy Group) headed by President Darmo Castillo and one of its founding members, Bing Kimpo.

For television audience measurement, Kantar has a total of 6.315 million homes in rural areas and 8.820 million homes in urban areas across the Philippines, bringing the total of 15.135 million homes nationwide covering 75 million individuals as of the latest census.

Business Friday: Why is research very important in hitting the right market?

Gabby Buluran: Research lessens the guesswork in the market. Properly implemented, research gives a reflection of the true universe. Much like a Cook tasting his soup. He need not finish the whole pot to tell if it tastes good.

BF: What makes Kantar different from long established ratings companies?

GB: Kantar Media is just as experienced as other established research companies in the Philippines. TNS our more known sister company has been doing research in the Philippines for more than 30 years. Kantar Media on the other hand has a management team that has experience with audience and media research since 1995.

Having said that, our biggest difference is our technology called audio matching. It allows Kantar to track digital broadcast and report audiences watching via digital platforms. This segment is growing in the Philippines.

BF: How do you establish credibility in this business?

GB: A long track record of delivering on commitment is what makes one credible. Accurate and timely data over a long period establish credibility.

BF: Why should ad/media agencies and networks rely on Kantar?

GB: Kantar has the right tools, the experience and the commitment to provide the service required by the fast changing media environment. This is true both locally and globally. Modesty aside, Kantar Media has the most seasoned media research team in the country.

BF: How do you penetrate the remotest part of the Philippines to be able to conclude a reliable survey?

GB: It starts with out establishment survey. This study ensures that our sample is comprehensive and spread out (safety of researchers considered) to the remotest area in the Philippines.

BF: Is there any way that a research can be rigged?

GB: Research results can always be influenced by people who intends to do so. Researchers have the responsibility to prevent this from happening. Kantar Media has quality controls in place to monitor unusual viewing patterns and behavior.

BF: It is used to be AC Nielsen that marketers and ad agencies have dealt with in the past. What can you say now that Kantar is making headway?

GB: The past 2 years have been very exciting. From 2 major networks subscribing to the service, we now have more than a dozen paying networks, media agencies and cable content providers subscribing to Kantar data. PANA gets monthly ratings data from Kantar Media.

BF: What is the future of research business in the Philippines?

GB: The fast changing consumers and audiences in the Philippines will ensure a good future for research. They are fragmenting and are becoming more sophisticated. With this changes, research will develop more tools and methods to provide more accurate, timely and relevant insights to their subscribers.

Based on Kantar’s April 2013 data, ABS-CBN, the country’s largest and leading multimedia conglomerate, continues to dominate TV viewing across urban and rural homes nationwide with an average total day audience share of 42% or 12 points higher than GMA’s 30%.

ABS-CBN also ruled the hotly contested primetime block (6PM-12MN), with an average national audience share of 46% vs. GMA’s 29%.

CLIMBING THE AD SUMMIT

By Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 16, 2014

When you get there, you get a better view of the advertising landscape and come down with a bagful of enlightenment.

True to its promise, organizers of Ad Summit delivered rock star speakers at the Subic Exhibition and Convention Center last May 7 to10. The topics indeed, rocked your senses and the reaction of audiences, always thunderous. Each one inspiringly lived up to expectations.

Each session was filled to the rafters. On hallways, coffeeshops, convention lounges, lunch and dinner halls, conversations always veered on “who delivered the most interesting topic for the day.”

And the most mentioned names? Philippine basketball coach to World Championship: Chot Reyes and JWT Regional President and China CEO: Tom Doctoroff.

In a gathering of brand experts, hard-to-please creative people and digital geeks, what’s basketball got to do with advertising? Plenty.

The advertising war has many similarities to basketball. If you listened closely to Reyes and got his the drift you would know that playing basketball is not just wearing a jersey and you shoot the ball. You need a strategy and more.

“You need trust, execution, accountability and motivation (TEAM),” Reyes said in his engaging storytelling.

Reyes drew a lot of criticisms when he picked Jimmy Alapag, the oldest and the shortest, a no-no if you’re aiming for the best in Asia and want to barge in to the world’s elite in basketball. But he dealt with them head-on and the rest is history.

“I chose Jimmy Alapag to be part of my team because I trust him. I know that when the situation calls for it, he will deliver,” Reyes said as he made a lot of people in the audience teary-eyed.

In his wonderful narrative delivered heartwarmingly, Reyes said: “The first foundation of teamwork is trust. The coach should trust his players and vice versa. In In business, people talk about return of investments. “We should talk about return of relationship,” Reyes said matter-of-factly.

Unknown to millions of Filipinos who watched the crucial Philippine-Korea game during the FIBA-Asia Championship, Reyes had a strategy worth retelling. The team had focus and went to the court with unwavering mindset: “Beat Korea”.

Using analogy to score advertising three-pointers, Reyes was uncovering a scientific coach in him, saying, no one is an accidental player and one has a role to play and need to follow a specific game plan.

In his speech, Reyes said the most touching part, the Mark Pingris “no-skills-and-cannot-shoot story.” He repeatedly said, “the guy cannot shoot” but quickly made the turnaround by saying: “… but he can hustle like no other. His calling card is effort.”

Players who have natural ability to work hard are the best players, according to Reyes. “The best players are those who are willing to play their roles. Effort beats God-given talent or educational background.”

“Mark Pingris cannot shoot but he can steal market share,” Reyes said. In the heart-stopping game against Korea, Alapag made the winning shot because Pingris blocked Alapag’s defender.

“You may be the best player in the team, but do you have the humility to allow another player to make a play?” Reyes related how Jason Castro, one of the country’s best players, allowed another player to take a shot.

In the dying minutes of the Philippines-Korea game, Reyes replaced Alapag with the team’s best defenders. “Alapag didn’t care even if he was the highest shooter at that time. It was because he knew how a team should work,” Reyes said.

“As head coach, my job is not to make a shot but to put my people in the right position to make a shot. Leaders are head coaches.”

Reyes’ was easily Day One’s best speaker.
Doctoroff on the other hand, ended the 4-day summit with a big bang. Undoubtedly, his presentation was the best, very well researched and beautifully art directed.

An expert in the greater China market, Doctoroff spiced up his speech with Mandarin, lectured with fire and thunder, a master preaching brand advocacy like the gospel.

If Reyes talked about ROR (return of relationship) Doctoroff spoke about ROI (return of involvement) in branding.

He shared how the Internet is making China the world’s biggest economy because it is now “more powerful than Buddhism.” The author of the book "What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism & The Modern Chinese Consumer" said, “the speed with which China's citizens have embraced all things digital is one sign that things are in motion in the country.”

Inspite of some glitches and short amount of preparation time, the Philippine 4A’s (Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies), through its President Norman Agatep, put on a great show. Ad Summit made a rousing start, triumphant in regaining its foothold on the country’s biggest ad festival. If only for that, people are already talking about the next.

“The Ad Summit is our own little version of Cannes and that’s good. I just hope they’ll make ghost ads scamper away,” one ad agency copywriter said.

“The next Ad Summit should have more rock star speakers, a plenary hall that can make you can see speakers from any vantage point, flawless shuttle bus service, blazing speed wifi, more tables and electricity plugs at the media room, generous sponsors, bigger loot bags, more interesting trade shows that offer new technology,” says a top agency head.

Lito “BoyP” Pangilinan, co-chair of Programs Committee says, “the industry is back together again.” Ways and Means co-chair Lito Yabut adds, “we were thought to be a crazy bunch to persist with it. It takes “puso” to make it run. I have been very privileged to be in the same company who share the same aspirations.”

No one could be happier than the person who determinedly pushed it to happen, and that is Matec Villanueva, Ad Summit chair who said it all: “We’re glad we got back what is rightfully ours.”

A GREAT BRAND DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT

By Roger Pe

How many brands are there in the market across all product categories? Just going to a supermarket near you can be overwhelming.

Brands are all over us – on the road, when you go to a bank, beauty salon, stay in a hotel, frolic in a resort, dine out with the family, hangout with the gang in a coffee shop, cook dinner at home, enjoy a weekend trip or simply just by going to a barber shop.

From automobiles to banks, from household items to telecom services, from appliances to mobile phones, from beverages to fastfood, from soaps to apparel, the list is never ending.

Some people are brands, too. Celebrities, personalities, sport heroes, inventors, artists, professionals in different fields, people who have earned stripes for what they have achieved.

Even cities and nations are brands. When we think of a city that never sleeps, we think of New York. Paris comes to mind when we think of fashion and chic lifestyle. Samba and mardi gras? Most of us will think of Rio de Janeiro.

When we think about ancient civilizations, Greece and Italy come to mind. When we think about chocolates and watches we associate them with Switzerland. And without a doubt, Germany will be the first thing on our lips when we think about cars.

In his “What is Nation Brand?” article, marketing guru Simon Anholt, emphasized the importance of nation branding and wrote why nations should take control of its brand image in a highly competitive marketplace.

He said: “a national brand is national identity made tangible, robust and useful. It is without a doubt, the single most valuable item of intellectual property, which any nation can possess.”

According to Anholt, brands of countries reflect the kind of nation its marketing sectors are building. What kind of brands does our country market? Innovative, hygienic, exportable, can transcend borders, world-class? It would be good to ask that question to Philippine marketers, or better yet, the global arbiter and people who have the final say – the consumers.

Good, Better, SuperBrands

A great brand is like an athlete preparing for the Olympics. It does not plunge right into action when it is not ready. It spends years of hardwork and spartan training to meet definitive qualifying standards.

Great brands know their consumers.
“Their manufacturers usually invest in market research, understanding as much as they can about the human psyche and how to be as useful and relevant to their audiences,” says Karl Treacher in his “Ten Things Great Brands Do”.

Good brands know who they are and why they exist. A brand that doesn’t know its purpose is a disaster waiting to happen, Treacher says. “Those that become top brands consistently demonstrate their purpose and value through consumer experiences,” he adds.

Treacher also mentions that great brands are not different for the sake of being different. Everything they do has meaning and relate back to their core purpose, according to him.

A good brand doesn’t happen overnight. It takes good people with undying passion to make it perfect. In the Philippines, Ronald Mascariñas, President of Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. is one such. He challenged the poultry industry and introduced a breakthrough product like Chooks-to-Go to be relevant. As a result, the brand today is holding its own against competition.

The brand of the future goes under market tests and painstaking research. It doesn’t settle for ‘the good enough’ until the desired results are met. If needed, a product must be reformulated for the demands of the market.

Chooks-To-Go challenged the conventional way of selling roasted chicken and offered the first-ever oven roasted chicken in the Philippines. It also challenged the traditional lechon manok with sauce by offering pre-marinated roasted chicken that is good even without the sauce.

All these efforts, plus a delivery service in Metro Manila, made Chooks-to-Go the dominant brand in the market. It was also the first to advertise heavily and is now introducing its first ever celebrity endorser, Richard Yap.

All over the world, great brands are not different for the sake of being different. Everything they do has meaning and relate back to their core purpose.

Which brings us to the elite segment, the SuperBrands and why marketing experts worldwide recognize them for their efforts in nation branding.

Superbrands, an independent global arbiter on branding recognizes the world's leading brands. It is not your typical dime-a-dozen award-giving body creeping out of the woodwork where one can buy it. It has awarded over 10,000 brands based on quantitative or qualitative truths over the past 18 years.

Together with selected industry experts and consumers, it defines what a SuperBrand is, based on the following stringent criteria: Market dominance, longevity, goodwill, customer loyalty and market acceptability.

The organization also publishes a series of brand-focused books in over 88 countries including the Philippines. Brands that are rated highly by its council and consumers are eligible for inclusion.

A little backgrounder: SuperBrands came to the Philippines in 1997, making the country the first in ASEAN to be honored with the expanse of its worldwide award seal. It was also a validation of the Philippine’s increasing reputation as makers of quality brands.

The first series of SuperBrand publications in the Philippines was launched in 1998. It featured over 200 models of flawless branding. Because of its improving economy and rise to the ASEAN community, the country caught the attention of Superbrands International Organization in 2010, thus assimilating the Filipino market into the network of key markets where Superbrands operates.

Today, SuperBrands is a confirmation of the position held by powerful international brands on the local market, as well as a celebration of Philippine brands that now participate in a universal circuit enjoying consumer confidence and preference over competing brands.

Philippine SuperBrands

The very best of Philippine brands are listed in the SuperBrand books, all from trusted companies with a heritage of creating quality products proudly made in the Philippines.

The latest to join the august list is Chooks-To-Go, a brand that has become popular among Filipino chicken lovers with its unique selling proposition of being “masarap kahit walang sauce!” - its main differentiator that has led to the overwhelming enthusiastic acceptance of consumers.

The brand offers ten (10) delicious chicken favorites: Sweet Roast, Pepper Roast, Fried Chooks, Juicy Liempo, Chooksie’s Dressed Chicken, Chooksie’s Chicken Cut-Ups, Chooksie’s Marinado, Chooksie’s Spicy Necks, Mickey and Disney Princesses Chicken Nuggets and Disney Chicken Hotdog.

One of the many surprising facts about Chooks-to-Go, aside from it being delicious even without the sauce, is that it is the only roasted chicken brand that offers two flavors– Sweet Roast and Pepper Roast. Aside from oven-roasted chicken, it also offers fresh chicken bought per kilo and fresh and marinated chicken cut-ups.

What is now known as Chooks-To-Go is a successful brand that emerged from a pilot-test in November 2007 with only ten roasted-chicken outlets in the Visayas (Central Philippines) and later embarked on a full-scale expansion by the second half of 2008, and finally sporting the Chooks-To-Go name a year after.

The new brand was officially launched nationwide with a tri-media campaign. By 2010, it gained market leadership with a network of more than 500 stores.

Fast forward, the brand has close to 1,000 stores all over the country today, enjoying word-of-mouth popularity from millions of satisfied consumers. Sales growth has been phenomenal, making it the dominant leader in its category.

With a trailblazing brand like Chooks-To-Go, the Philippines is strengthening its market maturity, proud nation of many world-class brands.

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE, 2014 AD SUMMIT PILIPINAS

by Roger Pe

What will be Ad Summit Pilipinas’ biggest come-on when it unfolds this coming May?

Matec Villanueva, chair of the ad industry’s biggest event this year, quickly tells Business Friday: “We are bringing the movers and shakers of our industry to make the Summit a world-class gathering of the creative, the curious, and the wise.”

Villanueva says attendees will experience a no-nonsense program, precision-quick according to schedule, and most of all, the speakers will come only from the very best in the industry. “You may call them rock-star speakers and because of that, we expect 100% attendance,” she says.

With that, you can give it a long, resounding applause this early.

The Philippines’ first Ad Summit, hopefully a much better reincarnation of the defunct Ad Congress will be held in Subic Bay Convention Center from May 7 to 10. It hopes to showcase the very best creative work of the industry with market results and break existing attendance records. The format follows a bit of Asia Adfest and a little bit of Cannes with the awarding of the Best of “Kidlat” Awards on penultimate night.

Relevant speakers and luminaries in their respective fields will take centerstage on Day One.
As the theme goes, a good measure of “enlightenment” from what’s happening in the global marketing and ‘admosphere’ will set everyone’s excitement on fire.

The first batch of speakers:

Emily Abrera, the Philippine’s first jury member in Cannes (2005) heads a star-studded cast. Currently chair of CCI-Asia, the content-production company behind Living Asia Channel, Abrera is also the president of the Foundation for Communication Initiatives.

Abrera is both chairman of the board of Cultural Center of the Philippines and Children’s Hour Philippines, founding member of the Women’s Business Council and currently member of the Edsa People Power Commission and first woman president of a multinational ad agency in the Philippines. She last held the position of chairman emeritus of McCann WorldGroup.

Another local speaker is Merlee Jayme, ‘Chairmom’ and Chief Creative Officer of DM9 Jayme-Syfu. Jayme was Executive Creative Director at BBDO Guerrero before she started her own agency more than 6 years ago.

She was previously vice president and executive creative director of Ace Saatchi & Saatchi. As head of DM9 Jayme-Syfu, Jayme catapulted her creative shop to the number one spot in the Philippines (2010 Campaign Brief Asia Ranking) and was awarded Campaign Asia- Pacific Creative Agency of the Year for the Philippines in 2012.

Last year, Jayme’s work (“TXTBKS”) for a telecom brand won the Philippines’ first ever Cannes Grand Prix Lion. Advertising bible Ad Age headlined the news that was also picked up by most trade magazines worldwide.

Jayme’s team idea was simple: Solve the issue of decreasing use of textbooks in a country where many people cannot afford tablets or e-readers and where most families own analog phones. Jayme and her team collaborated with textbook publishers to condense books into text messages. Those messages were then put into old SIM cards, which were repackaged and created a new brand of textbooks.

Another is Cheuk Chiang, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Asia-Pacific whose career spans across account management, strategy planning and agency management roles in creative, direct marketing, digital and media agencies.

Chiang has a 23-year year experience working on a number of high profile brands such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Heinz, Hennessy, HP, Holden, HTC, Kraft, Mars, Myer, Motorola, Nestle, Nikon, Tiger Beer and Unilever. He was named Agency Innovator of the Year by Internationalist Magazine in 2010 and sat on the Cannes jury in 2013.

Also on the marquee of speakers is Tom Doctoroff, JWT Asia-Pacific CEO, a much sought keynote speaker who has graced speaking engagements at the International Advertising Association’s global symposium and University of Chicago’s Global Management Conference. He has authored two best-selling books on Chinese consumers: "Billions: Selling to the New Chinese Consumer” and "What Chinese Want”, published in 2012. He was was selected as an Official Torchbearer for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and lives in Shanghai.

Dick Van Motman, chairman and CEO of Dentsu Network Asia too, is on the line-up. Motman spent over 20 years in senior account and regional management positions at DMB&B, Leo Burnett and DDB in various European and Asian markets.

He joined Dentsu Network Asia in 2012 as the first non-Japanese head of the region helping in the transformation journey towards building the first ever Global Communications Group born out of Asia.

Following the acquisition of Aegis Media by Dentsu Inc., Motman was asked to lead Southeast Asia operations for the newly formed Dentsu Aegis Network, built specifically for the digital age. He heads both the former Dentsu and Aegis assets, comprising 35 operations across Southeast Asia.

Prior to joining Dentsu Aegis Network, Motman spent 9 years at DDB Worldwide, leading the business in the Greater China Group, which went on to become the Campaign Creative Agency of the Year in 2010, Campaign Digital Agency of the Year and the Adage A-list Agency of the Year.

Joining them is Sandipan Roy, Isobar Asia-Pacific Regional Strategy Director, who is known to be “a multi-dimensional marketer with a passion for uncovering deep human insights and developing big business building ideas.”

Roy is deeply experienced in developing brand, advertising, digital, Customer Relations Management, data, and shopper marketing strategies. He has also held senior leadership roles at global, regional as well as in-country levels working on clients like Citibank, McDonalds, Stanchart, P&G, Kellogg’s, Land Rover, Jaguar, Samsung, Unilever, American Express, and Singapore Tourism Board.

“Our vow is to create programming that will definitely enlighten our attendees on the things that they have been wanting to discover about advertising and marketing,” says Villanueva.

Addition to this list include Louie Morales, assistant vice president for HR and Corporate Services of Meralco Subsidiary, Chot Reyes, head coach of Philippine National Team and head of TV5 Sports5, Marius Rebeschini, CEO of Y&R Asia Pacific, Simon Kemp, managing director of We Are Social; Ariel Fermin, executive vice president and head of PLDT’s Home Business, Charles Cadell, regional president of McCann Worldgroup, APAC and TV host/ entrepreneur Boy Abunda.

“It remains our vow to create a programming that will definitely enlighten our attendees on the things that they have been wanting to discover about the ad and marketing scene,” Ad Summit chair Matec Villanueva said.

Interested participants may contact the 4A’s secretariat at 813-4397 or 893-1205, or e-mail: 4asp@pldtdsl.net. Registration may also be done through the summit’s official websitewww.adsummit.phfacebook.com/AdSummitPHtwitter.com/@ADSummitPH