Thursday, April 30, 2009

HITTING THE RIGHT TARGETS AT THE RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE AND TIME






By Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer, April, 2009


Want to be seen by more than 1.5 million people every day? Want to be exposed to 12 meto Manila cities in just 26 days? Do the OOH.

Countless articles have been written about billboards and how advertisers can maximize their selling potentials. On Google, the phrase “Billboard Advertising” alone gets you almost 5 million search results in one click.

Down the road, in a coffee shop at the corner street, for instance, the most repeated things people say when you ask them about billboards or any form of outdoor advertising can certainly be music to advertisers’ ears. Here are a few:

“They remind me to buy my favorite shampoo or soap before going home.”

“What I hear on car radio and see on tv at home, I also see on the road. That’s great!”

“Moving vehicles with advertising are cool.”

“It’s like a giant tv screen with my favorite movie star.”

“A newspaper round-the-clock.”

“Because of true-to-life images they show, I am convinced that’s the car I want to buy!”

“A city without billboards is dead and boring.”

Called Out-of-Home advertising, in general, and one of the most exciting media categories today, outdoor advertising continuously evolves as technology moves.

In the Philippines, out-of-home advertising is getting to be synonymous to “advantage,” allowing advertisers to sell more and spend less. And if some of the biggest (and happiest) advertisers will tell you, it might as well be called OOH.

OOH stands for Out-Of-Home, the outdoor advertising specialist that is first on the list of smart advertisers like Globe Telecom, Del Monte Pineapple, Philips, Greenwich, Ayala Land and some of members of PANA (Philippine Association of National Advertisers).

Why do some of the country’s most dynamic of marketers choose OOH?

“We have innovative products – all works of art that are converged by science and technology, packaged with utmost convenience for busy advertisers,” says a proud Astrid Cecille Lee, Marketing Manager of OOH.

Unlike other outdoor advertising companies, OOH is a One-Stop shop with a billboard site inventory numbering thousands in metro Manila, Luzon and key urban centers around the country.

On its website, (www.ooh.com.ph) advertisers looking for a preferred site would find the task very fruitful and rewarding. Because of an electronic billboard locator that automatically gives prospects a wide range of choices, including immediate calculations on costs, advertisers always find it easy to close a deal with OOH.

Not only that. OOH is conscientious. “Due to economies of scale, our mark-ups are very low. We want our clients to advertise more and spend less,” Lee says. “By giving advertisers an advantage through low-cost but highly effective media is also advantageous for us. With these schemes, clients prefer us and loyalty is always built,” Lee emphasizes.

THREE INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS

The Philippines’ first with the only B2B portal boasts of its star products: “Bus Ads”, “Outdoor Exchange” and “Roving Villboards” aside from mini billboards, lamp post banners, light boxes and other out-of-home media. All three always surpass the most discriminating advertiser’s expectations.

“Bus Ads” provide highly effective advertising for buses, jeepneys, taxis and other mobile vehicles. They go beyond merely plastering large format stickers but are equipped with a scientific and systematic approach - maximizing consumer eyeballs that hit the right target at the right place at the right time.

“Outdoor Exchange” is a revolutionary OOH product that uses highly sophisticated softwares. Like an online mall offering best buys in billboard advertising, it has an inventory of more than 2,000 sites across the Philippines. If you are an advertiser, all you need to do is type the area on its search engine and it will provide locations and corresponding budgets immediately.

“Roving Villboards”. In Out-Of-Home advertising, the name of the game is not only market penetration – but how deep you make the mark and how you do it consistently. Where public vehicles seldom ply, OOH’s scientific routing schedules and patented V-type “Roving Villboards” provide increased visibility with a delightful “wow.”

Using ”Metal-Hallide” lamps instead of fluorescents at night, OOH’s “Roving Villboards” give outdoor advertising a stunning 3-dimensional visual experience, magnetizing consumers in a trance-like fashion, giving advertised brands that “unique and big feel” image.

Thinking of reinforcing your traditional media? Arm yourself with a breadth of network, one that can pierce deeply into your target with desired results. OOH is your best bet -for value-added, state-of-the-art products that give you a solid, huge advantage.

SCENE & NOTED:

Emotional but effective - this new Camella Homes tv ad is getting unsolicited plaudits on Facebook, much more through word-of-mouth. In the spot, a little girl gestures the physical discomfort of living once in a cramped, almost shoe box world. Alas, she’s found a new home and as she stretches her little arms by the sofa, thrilled by her family’s dream now fulfilled: “Ganito na kami ngayon sa Camella,” says the father’s voice over. If only each Filipino family can have a home like the one being sold in the commercial. Refreshing, good casting, great acting. 4-Stars

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One business paper wrote about highly visible politicians who have seemingly started campaigning on broadcast media. The article bannered a headline saying” if you don’t like their ads, don’t vote for them.” It’s almost exactly one year before the national election and we’re already feeling the heat. Brace yourselves when voting time is just around the corner.

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Dennis Garcia of the legendary Hotdog Band ventures once again to another McCann agency after McCann Jakarta. Dennis assumes an ECD role in the U.S. territory of Guam - Glimpses McCann this time, the island’s biggest.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

PHILIPPINES TO GIVE BIRTH TO ASIA'S NEWEST JEWEL





By Roger Pe
Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 2009


(Photo by Cheena Liao-Pe)

What global recession? Most recently chosen as the Most Preferred Destination in Asia by Shanghai’s World Trade Fair, the Philippines is experiencing an unprecedented tourism boom. Last week, it was also the best performer among Asean nations on the stock market index, surprising everyone.

When Asia’s newest and brightest tourist marina opens in 2012, 5-star deluxe Diwaran Marina Resort will be one of the Philippines’ biggest advertising surprises to the world, auguring well when the Tourism Bill is signed any time this month.

Imagine: Dugongs, dolphins, whales, giant clams, pearl bearing shells, a riot of fish cavorting with you just a few steps from the shore, hundreds of limestone islands - each charmingly smiling at you, revealing the whitest sandy beach you ever saw. Only the presence of a real mermaid is lacking to make this experience incredibly perfect.

When God scattered thousands of rocks, big and small, in this northern Palawan town, you’d probably think He’s an Art Director. Strewn around are island gems you’d want to put in your jewel memory box, each within striking distance with the other, geographically designed perhaps to make it as the province’s crowning glory.

Where on earth would you find a hair-raisingly unmoving bluish-green water lake you can almost walk through it?
From an airbus flying more than 30,000 feet above the ground, Calamianes not only ignites the imagination but dazzles like no other. In one of these islands is enchanting Cayangan Lake, a Hall of Famer in the country’s annual cleanest lake search.

Among these islands, too, is Coron, where Diwaran is located- site of the next big thing for Asia. In two years time, a US240 million dollar tourism development project (around 11.5 billion pesos) would have been completed – intended to overshadow Phuket as Asia’s tourist hideaway playground.

According to Ho Kwon Ping, Singaporean executive chair of Banyan Tree Holdings, big developer of resorts, hotels, spas and residential homes in Asia Pacific, this 55-hectare uninhabited island on Coron Reefs, famous for its diverse marine life, sunken Japanese warships during World War 2 and eco-parks, will be transformed into the “single largest integrated island resort in all Asia.”

Earlier this month, Philippine President GMA, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano,Trade Secretary Peter Favila and local officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony on the island.

On mid-western side of the mainland is one for the books. The newly discovered San Vicente Beach – stunning with its perpendicularly straight, kilometric long white sandy coastline is another world wonder if developed to its full grandeur.

The province already boasts of two World Unesco Heritage sites – the Underground River and Tubbattaha Reefs.

At its full occupancy, all three hotels with villas, marina and recreation facilities including a modern town center in Diwaran can accommodate more than 1,500 tourists on a single island, providing jobs to at least 12,000 people in one of the most mystical island groups in Palawan.

Banyan Tree Holdings has hotels in some of the world’s most exclusive and popular holiday spots like Seychelles and Maldives.