FIRST FOR THE PHILIPPINES, DDB PHILIPPINES WINS GOLD AT GLOBAL AME

by Roger Pe



Your ad is creative but is it effective?

Your ad won awards but did it display breakthrough marketing plan inventiveness?

At the prestigious AME (Advertising and Marketing Effectiveness) Awards in New York last March 22, the Philippines won gold for the first time for an ad created by DDB Philippines.

The agency’s entry “Pacquiao Positive” for PepsiCo’s Sting Energy Power Pacq Drink bested entries from 27 countries in the new product launch category. The ad used multi-titled world boxing champion Manny Paquiao as celebrity endorser.


In March of 2012, the campaign took social media by storm through fake articles that attacked Manny Pacquiao’s clean, steroid-free image.

What ensued was an online melee. Thousands of Pacquiao’s supporters and detractors took turns in hurling brickbats against each other.

Within 48 hours, Manny Pacquiao made a simultaneous appearance on major TV channels to answer all allegations.


Millions of Filipinos froze in disbelief as a somber Pacquiao admitted to testing positive - for “Malunggay”, a Moringa plant species that is, the nutritious key ingredient of Sting PowerPacq Energy Drink.

The effort led to 24 millions cases sold in just one month, and exceeded top-of-mind awareness expectations.

“This is a big win for the agency and the entire DDB network,” said Gil Chua, Chairman of DDB Group Philippines.

“Ever since our early beginnings, we’ve always believed in creativity that sells. It’s not just about being creative. We need to continuously strive for results that will propel our clients’ business, and in return ours as well.”



The campaign previously won two golds in “Tinta Awards” organized by UPMG (United Print Media Group) and a bronze in Spikes Asia.



Chua credits his hardworking team for the landmark achievement: Joey Ong, Executive Creative Director; Vina Henson, Client Services Director; Denise Banatin, Account Supervisor; Jackie Caruyan, Account Manager; Patrick Miciano, Mon Pineda, Cardy Santos, Associate Creative Directors; Denise Nicole Oyog, Copywriter; Kelvin Co, Art Director; Eric Salazar, Creative Director, Gomer Barce, Art Director.

McCann Worldgroup Philippines also bagged silver and 3 bronzes, all for its Coke corporate “The OFW Project” and TBWA-Santiago, Mangada and Puno brought home 2 bronzes for its Energizer and Boysen campaigns.

AME came into the picture in 1994 understanding that there is more to just making an ad and winning an award for creativity’s sake.

Since then, it has become the ad and marketing industry’s Oscars, honoring work from around the globe that demonstrates groundbreaking solutions to challenging marketing problems.

Unique awards show

Submissions for AME Awards require the following: entries must address a challenge in the marketplace, utilize outstanding creative elements, incorporate a thorough marketing plan to deliver a successful execution, exhibit specific marketing goals and objectives accomplished through creative execution and strategic planning.

The Grand Jury is comprised of top interactive and multidisciplinary marketers, media planners, strategy directors, social media experts, and creative directors from all over the world.

The first two rounds of judging is divided by regions, (North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific), allowing each entry to be reviewed in its social, economic, and cultural context to determine the shortlist and medal winners.



The Grand AME Award also went to another DDB agency – DDB Tribal, Germany. Other DDB countries like Canada and Hongkong contributed to the total medal, making DDB bag the Most Effective Agency Network of the Year.

A total of 27 countries submitted entries for brands including CNN International, Volkswagen, DuPont, Intel, Bench, Cornetto, among others.

This year, a robust number of entries were entered using celebrity interaction, interactive consumer participation, promotions, environment and cause-theme marketing.

Celebrity-focused campaigns propelled multiple entries to the medal round, punctuating once more that they work effectively in bringing sales.

Lady Gaga, Karl Lagerfeld, Sir Richard Branson, local stars Piolo Pascual and Coco Martin, Christopher Lloyd, Terry Crewes, Ashton Kutcher and British comics Stephen Fry and Jimmy Carr were some of the celebrity endorsers in the entries.

Entries in the Social Benefit categories concentrated on brand initiatives that contributed to the greater good including green-themed “The Donation Army” by Ogilvy Germany for OroVerde Rainforest Foundation; Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH’s “CNN Ecosphere”; and TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno’s campaign “KNOxOUT Project: EDSA” for Boysen Knoxout.

The United States had 15 shortlisted entries; the Philippines with 9; Hong Kong 7; England 5; Canada, and France each with 4; China and Sweden each with 2; and Denmark, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, and UAE were each recognized with 1.

How to make your ad effective

Ads are very expensive. It’s worth paying a professional ad agency with a great creative team to avoid waste of money.

A few tips on how to make them rise above the clutter:

1. Be single-minded. De-clutter
and focus on one proposition (key message). Avoid
repetitive, meaningless phrases that
make you redundant

2. Execute your message in an unexpected manner. Craftmanship is key. Be a wordsmith. Catchy lines make ads memorable

3. There are no hard and fast rules
in using short or long copy to explain
your product. As long as you
give it a kickass art direction, it will
fly.

4. Use the power of imagery to deliver
your message. Make it high
definition if possible. Remember,
a great picture speaks a
thousand words

5. Don’t beat around the bush.
Focus on what makes you distinct
from other similar products and
say why. Give compelling reasons why
consumers would believe you.

6. Be original. Don’t be a clone.
Don’t parrot what competition is
already doing.

7. Don’t over-explain that you sound
like a broken record.

8. Be definitive on who you are talking
to. Don’t talk down that you
may offend. Talk real based
on consumer insights.

9. Plan weeks ahead and know when and where your targets are most receptive to your ad campaign.

10. Make sure all things mentioned above take effect today and the rest will follow.

Recent changes in the advertising landscape have given a new definition to the word “effective” however.

“Effective” now means bombarding each ad with hard sell messages, the heavier product freights are, the more they think the ad would sell.

The word also dictates that creators of ads use big price bubbles to catch attention.

Sadly, it is not the case. The ad becomes cluttered, full of dizzying elements, suffocated by words and images that defy balance.

Eager to convince their target, the focus dissipates. With too many things filling up the ad from top to bottom, it is bound to produce neither well-intended goals.

Studies have shown that clutter in ads reduces effectiveness, insults the viewer and degrades brands. Is the consumer too dumb he doesn’t get it?

According to a survey made by Burst Media in the US, nearly 30% will refuse to read a cluttered ad and immediately turn to the next page of a newspaper if they see one.

It’s also true in digital media. Just as there are well-produced ads, there are also those that you don’t even bother to look at when you’re browsing.


The same number of respondents said they will leave a website if they perceive it to be cluttered with ads. More than 75% of those who remain on cluttered sites will also pay less attention to the ads unless they are entertaining and make sense.

It is not hard to spot a cluttered ad

“We see ads on newspapers everyday, saying too many things they compete with the news themselves,” says a marketing director known for his top-selling brands.

Some even camouflage a newspaper’s persona just to get attention. Some even make it appear that it is a section of a favorite broadsheet.

He advises admakers to sound real when they do an ad. “Be inventive, don’t write an ad like you lifted the messages straight out of strategy document of a manufacturer,” he says.

The Burst Media survey reveals further:

“Content clutter hurts the reputation of parties that produce them. The way an ad is produced has an impact on consumers’ perceptions of an advertiser’s products and services.”

Half of all respondents surveyed had less favorable opinion of advertisers that produced cluttered advertising and placed them on cluttered media.

“A cluttered ad is a waste of client’s money. Take a closer look and sweep unnecessary communication debris off them,” a 4A’s director says.

IS YOUR AD EFFECTIVE?

by Roger Pe




Tough question that is often asked but easy to do if you know how.

Who doesn’t want an effective ad?

Marketers will do anything to achieve their sales target. Ad agencies will do their darndest to be results-oriented, and that means, singing the same song. When targets are not met, threats of being fired hang like a sword of Damocles over their heads.

In trying to make their ads more effective, some clients go overboard, even ‘teaching’ ad agencies to do their jobs.

That’s where trouble begins, and more often than not, the results are disastrous.

There are many stories about clients and ad agencies cancelling each other out because of creative standoffs.

There are also stories about happy endings because parties have mutual respect, practice professional ethics, continuously nourish harmonious working relationships in order to be beneficial to each other.

Recent changes in the advertising landscape have given a new definition to the word “effective” however.

“Effective” now means bombarding each ad with hard sell messages, the heavier product freights are, the more they think the ad would sell.



The word also dictates that creators of ads use big price bubbles to catch attention.

Sadly, it is not the case. The ad becomes cluttered, full of dizzying elements, suffocated by words and images that defy balance.

Eager to convince their target, the focus dissipates. With too many things filling up the ad from top to bottom, it is bound to produce neither well-intended goals.

A cluttered ad, as in a print ad for example, has a long lead-in (introductory statement or premise), kilometric headline and equally long subhead (qualifier statement that reinforces the headline).

Add a voluminous body copy, aimed at over explaining, it is now ready to vomit. Not to mention the blurbs, violators and tagline, take cover and duck, it may explode any minute.



An overzealous marketing team, uncontrolled and powerful, can shape the destiny of your ad it thinks would be effective. A smorgasbord of photos and other extraneous elements gone berserk with no design sense, it will begin to look like a building - being erected without an architect.

Already choked like a goose prized for its foie gras, believe your advertising professor in college, it’ll have a bigger chance of being snubbed by your intended target.

Know the difference, doing a print ad is not doing a brochure material. It’s as basic as that.

According to adman Lance Lanslow, a cluttered ad does not work. “It is a sign of ego”. One can list all the great things he feels are important about his product on a piece of layout, “but that is an ad for him and not for the consumers. It will not likely convey the correct communication to them,” he says.

A cluttered ad can be likened to a noisy, cantankerous person, cacophonic and annoying an already bored audience.

There is nothing wrong with using hard sell messages. Crafted beautifully and creatively with wit, they can be endearing and become a potent weapon for convincing consumers to make them buy.

But when they fill every single available white space of a newspaper or magazine, every second of a radio plug or make a billboard look like a presentation deck, they can become horrific and a nuisance.



Studies have shown that clutter in ads reduces effectiveness, insults the viewer and degrades brands. Is the consumer too dumb he doesn’t get it?

According to a survey made by Burst Media in the US, nearly 30% will refuse to read a cluttered ad and immediately turn to the next page of a newspaper if they see one.

It’s also true in digital media. Just as there are well-produced ads, there are also those that you don’t even bother to look at when you’re browsing.

The same number of respondents said they will leave a website if they perceive it to be cluttered with ads. More than 75% of those who remain on cluttered sites will also pay less attention to the ads unless they are entertaining and make sense.

It is not hard to spot a cluttered ad

“We see ads on newspapers everyday, saying too many things they compete with the news themselves,” says a marketing director known for his top-selling brands.

Some even camouflage a newspaper’s persona just to get attention. Some even make it appear that it is a section of a favorite broadsheet.

He advises admakers to sound real when they do an ad. “Be inventive, don’t write an ad like you lifted the messages straight out of strategy document of a manufacturer,” he says.

The Burst Media survey reveals further:



“Content clutter hurts the reputation of parties that produce them. The way an ad is produced has an impact on consumers’ perceptions of an advertiser’s products and services.”

Half of all respondents surveyed had less favorable opinion of advertisers that produced cluttered advertising and placed them on cluttered media.

“A cluttered ad is a waste of client’s money. Take a closer look and sweep unnecessary communication debris off them,” a 4A’s director says.

Why do cluttered, ineffective ads happen?

When ads become cluttered, the natural tendency of people is veer away from them. It’s like seeing a room in disarray you wouldn’t want to linger there a bit. When people ignore your ad, it becomes ineffective right from the very start.

There are several factors that drive ad makers to do a cluttered ad:

A ‘yes sir, yes ma’m team with a take-the-money-and-run attitude, a second-guessing group that has not fully digested and crystallized the advertising task, creative wanabes who want to stamp their mark on the campaign, among others.

“Some ads are approved by brand owners’ wives, salesmen, kids, even secretaries. Some of them are practically written by them. Have you receive a brief that says: “Do anything as long as it is funny,” woes a copywriter.

Advertising book author Selena McIntyre, says: “Ads are very expensive. It’s worth paying a professional ad agency with a great creative team to avoid waste of money.

Here are a few tips on how to make your ads rise above the clutter:



1. Be single-minded. De-clutter and focus on one proposition (key message). Avoid repetitive, meaningless phrases that make you redundant

2. Execute your message in an unexpected manner. Craftmanship is key. Be a wordsmith. Catchy lines make ads memorable

3. There are no hard and fast rules in using short or long copy to explainyour product. As long as you give it a kickass art direction, it will fly.

4. Use the power of imagery to deliver your message. Make it high definition if possible. Remember, a great picture speaks a thousand words

5. Don’t beat around the bush. Focus on what makes you distinct from other similar products and say why. Give compelling reasons why consumers would believe you.

6. Be original. Don’t be a clone. Don’t parrot what competition is already doing.

7. Don’t over-explain that you sound like a broken record.

8. Be definitive on who you are talking to. Don’t talk down that you may offend. Talk real based
on consumer insights.

9. Plan weeks ahead and know when and where your targets are most receptive to your ad campaign.

10.Make sure all things mentioned above take effect today and the rest will follow.

Lastly, always remember that clean, uncluttered creativity is the new effectivity.

WORLD'S MOST AWARDED PRINT AD

by Roger Pe



It was a successful campaign in how to tell a story in a single picture, without words.

It also became the world’s most awarded print ad in history, created in Asia by Asians.

The task: communicate Samsonite’s ultra-durability in an interesting way.

How did JWT Shanghai do it? By showing a dramatic and vivid contrast of first-class passengers enjoying a heavenly experience in an airplane, while the luggage undergoes a hellish ordeal at the cargo, yet still emerges sparkling after the torture.

The result was unexpected and the ad agency that was not expected to do well in global award shows surprised the jaded.

Based on Gunn Report, the acknowledged global index of creative excellence in advertising, JWT’s highly acclaimed ‘Heaven and Hell’ ad for Samsonite became the most awarded print ad of all time, earning both agency and China a place in advertising’s history.



Last year, ‘Heaven and Hell’ took home 10 Grand Prizes, 38 gold awards and 3 Yellow Pencils, all of them accumulated from the world’s biggest, toughest and most prestigious award-giving bodies.

The ad removed “Wedding” (DDB London’s campaign for Volkswagen in 1999) as the most awarded print ad for the last 13 years.

The ad’s journey to glory began in Cannes, romping off with four Gold Lions and China’s first-ever Grand Prix. Since then, the campaign was unstoppable, striking another China first, with a Grand Prix at London International Awards and dominated every major award show worldwide over the next 12 months.

How the ad was born

The ad was the result of a long, hardwork by JWT Shanghai’s creative team led by executive creative director Elvis Chau. They focused on the idea of how heavenly it was for passengers up in first class compared to the hell their luggage experienced below.



Chau previously worked in two JWT offices, Singapore and Thailand. Today, he owns one of the biggest Chineses names in advertising.

"The ad is based on fears that every traveler might face. If I watch the con¬veyor belt, I wonder if my luggage will come up in one piece," he said.

JWT Shanghai’s Art Director Hao Xi started the idea with a sketch that essayed tales of a traveler with one suitcase through the heaven and hell experience in a first class flight.

His team engaged a Chinese oil painter at first to bring his sketches to life, a Renaissance-style rendition complete with angels and devils to capture the mood.

The painting however didn’t capture what they wanted, and because it was taking long to finish an oil painting, they decided to scrap the idea and tried another route.

The agency turned to Illusion Studio in Bangkok for its expertise in CGI (computer generated imagery). There, they supervised motion-capture photo sessions with live male models to get the look and feel of body anatomy.

Poses were tweaked, meticulously used to produce a sculpture-like effect. Attention to details paid off and the agency produced an ad that set a new standard for the entire creative industry.

‘Heaven And Hell’ emerged as the first ever ad to top the Gunn Report’s table for 2 years in a row, earning the most awarded print ad honors not only for year 2012 but for Gunn Report’s 14-year history.

Also worthy of note are two other Asian ad agencies making it to the tough three spots: Ogilvy Malaysia and Ogilvy Shanghai punctuating the breadth and power of Asian creativity on world stage.



The Gunn Report Honor roll:

Most Awarded Print Ads:

1. Samsonite “Heaven and Hell” (JWT Shanghai)

2. Pictionary “Quick Draw Wins” campaign (Ogilvy Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur)

3. Coca-Cola “Cokehands” (Ogilvy & Mather, Shanghai)

4. Ministry of Defence Colombia “Rivers of Light” (Lowe-SSP3, Bogota)

5. The Sunday Times Rich List “Rich List 2012” (CHI & Partners, London) and Volkswagen Park Assist “Nightmare Spots” campaign (DDB, Sydney)

The Gunn Report



The idea behind The Gunn Report is to combine the winners’ lists from the world’s most important award shows: D&AD, Cannes, Clio, One Show, Epica, London, Asia Adfest, Spikes Asia, New York Festivals, to name some of them.

For the year 2012, Gunn included the top 45 shows in the world encompassing sections for TV & Cinema, Print, Outdoor and Digital.

The Gunn Report also includes results from national shows for the 18 most important creative advertising markets –USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Spain, Australia (includes New Zealand), Greater China, Argentina, Canada, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand.

The level of awards that counts for a given show is “Cannes Bronze Lion Equivalent”.
1 point is awarded for each win at the qualifying level of a qualifying show, 2 points for a Best of Show, 3 points for a Cannes Gold, a One Show Gold or a D&AD Black or Yellow Pencil.

In the case of multiple winners at the same show for a single ad or campaign, the maximum points that can be awarded is two, (or three, if it wins a Best of Show).

Following are the highlights of the 2012 Gunn Report:

Most Awarded TV Commercials:

1. Canal “The Bear” (BETC, Paris), most awarded tv commercial in Gunn Report’s 14-year history

2. BGH Silent Air “Dads In Briefs” (Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires)

3. Doritos Dips “Dip Desperado” (AMV BBDO, London)

4. Chipotle “Back To The Start” (Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles)

5. John Lewis “The Long Wait” (Adam&EveDDB, London)

Most Awarded Digital Ads:

1. Intel “The Museum of Me” (Projector, Tokyo) The second time the agency topped the table (also for Uniqlo in 2008)

2. Google Chrome “OkGo– All Is Not Lost” (Hakuhodo, Tokyo)

3. Philips “Obsessed With Sound” (Tribal DDB, Amsterdam)

4. US State Department “Slavery Footprint” (Muh-Tay-Zik/Hof-fer (San Francisco) and American Express “Small Business Gets An Official Day” (CP+B, Boulder/Digitas, NY)

5. Chipotle “Back To The Start” (Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles); CNN “The CNN Ecosphere” (Heimat, Berlin) and Skittles “Touch The Rainbow” (BBDO, Toronto)

Most Awarded Countries:

Another year for USA and Australia captures its best ever ranking. A total of 58 countries scored at least one point. Tunisia makes it for the first time, joining the number of countries ever to appear in the Top 25 up to 40.

2. UK
3. Australia
4. Japan
5. Argentina and Brazil

Most Awarded Advertisers:

The top three on the list were the same as last year but in different order this time. Volkswagen goes back to the top for the 11th time in 14 years. Both Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz get their highest ever ranking.
2. Google
3. Nike
4. Coca-Cola
5. Mercedes-Benz

Most Awarded Ad Agency

Wieden & Kennedy (Portland, New York) moves up from 2nd to No. 1 spot. 3 of the top 5 have previously topped the list.

2. Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi (highest ever ranking)
3. BBH (London) (highest ever ranking)
4. AlmapBBDO (Sao Paulo)
5. Adam&EveDDB (London)
5. Dentsu (Tokyo / Fukuoka)

Most Awarded Digital Agency
Hakuhodo (Tokyo) is the first time winner from Japan Hakuhodo

2. AlmapBBDO (Sao Paulo)
3. R/GA (New York)
4. Tribal DDB (Amstelveen)
5. Party Inc (Tokyo)

Most Awarded Agency Network

Rankings from 1 to 4 are the same for the fourth year in a row. DDB closed the gap on BBDO, which won for the 7th consecutive year. In the 14 years of The Gunn Report, DDB has won in the Networks table twice, Leo Burnett and TBWA once each, and BBDO, 10 times.
2. DDB
3. Ogilvy
4. Leo Burnett
5. Y&R (highest ever ranking)



Donald Gunn says, “2012 has got to go down as one of the strongest years in The Gun Report ever. There is so much awesome work clustered at the top end of our four tables for the ads, not just for sheer magic in execution but also to brilliant, daring and differentiating strategies.”

In film, “The Bear”, “Three Little Pigs”, Chipotle “Back To The Start” and “Dads In Briefs” would all have been worthy Cannes Grand Prix winners in a normal year,” he says.

The book of The Gunn Report & Showreel of 2012 will be available in early March and will include the results of The Gunn Report for Media 2012.

Donald Gunn

Ad Age called Gunn “The man with the best job in advertising” and spearheaded the worldwide study on creativity and effectiveness: “Do Award Winning Commercials Sell?”

He joined Leo Burnett in London in 1962 as a copywriter, fresh from Cambridge University. He subsequently served as Burnett’s Managing Director in Netherlands and Switzerland and as Creative Director in South Africa and France.

He was Burnett's Director of Creative Resources Worldwide in 1984. In this job, based in Chicago, he created several Burnett institutions, which became the envy of the industry – including the World TV Update and Worldbeater reels, and Global Product Committee.

He served as Cannes Festival president in 1998 and 1999 then launched The Gunn Report & Showreel of the Year, which become the world’s official measure of competitive excellence for the advertising industry.

WHICH MEDIA WILL SURVIVE?

by Roger Pe

In the past, when marketers would like to advertise, ad agencies would readily say, “let’s make a tv commercial or a print ad or a radio ad” and that was it.

Media specialists were excluded from the picture from day one of the thought process. They only came in on implementation day.

They, too, were always in the last sequence of every imaginable presentation (brand campaign launches, pitches, reviews, etc). They only hugged the spotlight when ads were already in the can, ready to roll, be seen and heard by millions of audiences.

“If you think that is still the same today, you are in the wrong business,” says Lito “Boy” Pangilinan, organizer and chair of the first MSAP (Media Specialist Association of the Philippines) Media Congress that opened to a rousing start last Monday.

Pangilinan is also MSAP’s Vice-President and the congress, his brainchild - a lock, stock and barrel Philippine Ad Congress but single-minded in discussing solutions on the future of advertising media.

He is currently CEO of Carat Philippines, part of Carat Worldwide, the first and truly independent media in the world and under Aegis Media, the world’s largest independent group.

Formerly Managing Director of MediaCom and GM of Campaigns & Grey, Pangilinan was also media director for Dentsu, Young & Rubicam’s entire media operations in Asia-Pacific, Ad Standards Council and Adboard director, 4A’s and Agency of the Year Awards chair and wrote “Effective Media Planning” chapter of “The Science of Advertising”, a 2-volume book.

“The Media Congress seeks to be the answer to the industry’s need for revolutionary media ideas and focused perspectives shared on a frequent cycle,” he tells Business Friday.

The Congress is slated to take place every other year, its key function is to update media agencies, clients and suppliers on innovative media and other trends.

At Resorts World Hotel, all members of the association enjoyed a ‘media holiday’ as the theme, “Brave New World: Embracing the Media Revolution” unfolded.

The program was value-packed with learnings, as enriching as attending an overseas advertising festival. The price tag: far less than a fraction of what a regional conference of that sort would cost.

The Philippines’ first Media Congress covered talks from leaders in media and high profile clients on the latest trends and best practices in various touch points: OOH (out-of-home), print, digital and broadcast (radio and television).

A star-studded cast of speakers delivered relevant topics with experts covering traditional, new, innovative and future media.

Among them were Bunny Aguilar of Globe Telecom, Donald Lim, Managing Director of MRM (McCann Relationship Management) Manila, Santi Elizalde of Manila Broadcasting Company and former McCann-Erickson President and Chief Operating Officer Nandy Villar, now ABS-CBN Head of Customer Relationship Marketing.

The various forums focused on the noticeable shift in how media was being consumed – how consumers themselves are now having more control and how media agencies are keeping up with new challenges and demands.

The highlight of the congress was a discussion between heavyweight CEOs of media networks from Asia Pacific: Nick Waters, CEO of Aegis Media, Mark Patterson, CEO of GroupM and Ranganathan Somanathan, COO, Starcom Mediavest Group Southeast Asia.

Is death of traditional media forthcoming?

Every Pinoy Tom, Dick and Harry is talking digital nowadays. You’re not cool if you’re not. You’re a relic if your ad agency doesn’t have an adjacent room full of geeks existing in their webworld.

As the landscape continues to change, new broadband products emerge, smartphones double their figure usages, and consumer behavior supports the phenomenon, digital becomes a primary highway.

The growth of Philippine online advertising at 26% penetration level can be best described as rapid.

The figure is guaranteed to double in a short time, prompting observers to ask: will Digital cast its death knell on traditional media?

“Anyone in the field of media and communications, such as those in this group, are constantly pressured to “go digital and online,” almost suggesting that a bias for the more traditional media, like television, is a jurassic way of thinking,” Villar said in his “Beyond Television” speech.

Villar set the record straight. Using the Mayan calendar doomsday wildfire as an example, he said: “The world did not end on December 21, 2012 and it turned out, it was just good for a good laugh.”


In his speech, Villar mentioned about the supposed-to-be “death of tv”. On the contrary, he said “tv, that 32” screen in your living room, will be one of the surviving screens in the future.”

Villar noted that as smaller, ‘smarter’ screens are flooding the market, they get cheaper and cheaper to buy and becoming people’s default “screen” than the traditional tv, marketers would naturally get scared.

“But tv is not just about the screen, tv is what you watch. It is the teleserye that made you cry, the sitcom that made you laugh, the bit of gossip that made your jaw drop, the cute ‘artista’ that made you swoon,” Villar said.

He went on to say that today, “tv is accessible in every screen, big or small. The multi-screen phenomenon is not killing tv, it’s even making it more ubiquitous.”

Villar said that with “ubiquity comes a bigger appetite for content. Not only do we want more of tv, we want to do more with our tv, we want to interact with it, play with it and be a part of it.”

Largely single-tv households

In the Philippines, Villar said, traditional tv is still prevalent. Majority of people in fact, still flock to watch their favorite shows.

He cites “Be Careful With My Heart” breaking 30% ratings before noontime. “When that happens, you know that tv viewership is alive and well,” he said.

This tv-centeredness of Filipinos, according to Villar, actually helped shape ABS‐CBN’s version of “multi‐screen” that is largely focused on content.

“It’s the content that people converge around. Powerful content can lead to new and meaningful experiences for the audience,” he emphasized.

“When a show becomes a “hit”, it is because it has engaged various audiences in various ways. A “hit”, therefore becomes an ideal springboard for alternative executions where the same piece of content is re-¬engineered to create new experiences, to be enjoyed in new media,” he continued.

Re-engineering television

Villar shared ABS-CBN’s 3 initiatives wherein the network has created new experiences by re-¬engineering the medium via: Digital Terrestial TV (DTT), Imortal and Iwantv.

“Each of these offers different insights into how content compliments technology in shaping viewer behavior,” he said.

DTT is the digital black box, the platform by which content is transmitted over a digital signal giving significant improvement over the current analog technology.

The result is a clearer signal and better overall viewing experience. It is the evolution of tv towards meeting the needs of the Filipino family.

In many parts of the world, like Japan and Europe, “DTT is already the norm”, Villar said. “We hope that the Filipino audience will soon enjoy the same digital technology—sooner than later,” he said.

Villar also punctuated the further evolution of the medium through the network’s iWantTV, an online video platform that offers free access to video content owned and licensed by the same and its subsidiaries.

He stressed how iWantTV has made tv enjoyment on Filipino audience’s terms.

iWantTV is now the country’s most successful local video site, averaging 18 million page views per month, 1 million unique users per month, with1.2 million registered users and still growing.

In today’s digital environment, how do we deal with the changes of the tv medium, multi-¬screen, cord-¬cutting, and other doomsday scenarios?

Villar concluded: “They shouldn’t cause us to panic. As a matter of fact, we should embrace them, because rather than signal the death of tv, they should actually herald a new age of ubiquity for tv,” he said.

THE GENIUS BEHIND YOUR FAB GADGETS

by Roger Pe

If not for an adopted son and a college dropout, the world will not endure queueing in long lines just to own the brand he made famous.

It is also unthinkable talking about that brand without talking about the man who made it synonymous to technology.

Steve Jobs is one of this century’s most admired men, largely instrumental for making Apple the most valuable company in history. At 621 billion dollars as of 2011, Apple alone is now worth more than what 200 countries could produce in an entire year.

In his speech at Stanford University’s graduating students, Jobs inspired millions for his humble beginnings. He delivered many inspiring lines. “Stay hungry. Stay foolish” was among them, which countless people now often quote.

We also got to know that The Beatles was his business model.

“They were four guys that kept each other's negative tendencies in check, they balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people,” he said.

Jobs announced his resignation as Apple's CEO on August 24, 2011, naming Tim Cook as his successor. He continued working before he passed away a week later.

The demand for Apple gadgets even grew with Jobs’passing away as in the case of the iPhone 5, the world’s newest smartphone.

A smartphone or any item from Apple almost always turns into a spectacle. It’s not because of a massive, systematic PR blitzkrieg. The brand is becoming generic to technology and innovation.

What is smartphone?

A smartphone is a feature-packed device that lets you experience amazing applications beyond calls, texting, capturing photos and audio-video recording.

It allows you Internet browsing, email handling, and a host of other entertainment and amusement apps at blazing speed whose operating system is called android.

Nokia introduced the world’s first smartphone in 1996. Since then, the number of users for the category has grown significantly. For the third quarter of last year, users totaled 1.03 billion, a whopping 47% increase for the same quarter of 2011.

The smartphone market in 2011 was estimated to be worth $219 billion, according to Bloomberg Industries.
The research firm predicts that by 2015, the number will double to 2 billion.

Choosing the best smartphone can be overwhelming as the field is wide open, offering gadget freaks with dizzying choices - from the sleekiest to the most glamorous with a number of brands vying for attention.

Apple, Samsung and Blackberry are three brands enjoying top-of-mind awareness and sales volume in most markets. The first two are also presently imbroiled in copyright infringement suits since the former launched the iPhone.

Apple’s flagship has been the iPhone lines 3, 4, and of late, the iPhone 5. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3 are its bestsellers, which according to gadget bloggers: “smashed all-time sales records at retailers the world over.”

Recently Nokia bounced back with its Nokia Lumia and Asha series but still not enough to regain its once lofty standing in the category.

Blackberry on the other hand is reportedly coming up with it big equalizer: The BlackBerry 10, with softwares that according to gadget watchers can rival the best of iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3.

iPHONE 5: THE BIG APPLE SENSATION

Cuddling in sleeping bags and heavy coats, Apple-fanatics in New York camped outside of Apple’s 5th Avenue store as they waited for the doors to open.

Taller, faster, lighter and slimmer than the previous model, the iPhone 5 is the world’s newest conversation piece, undoubtedly the newest must-flaunt gadget.

It has a wider screen with a stunning new 4-inch Retina display, an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance and ultrafast wireless technology - all with even better battery life.

The iPhone 5 has iOS 6, the most advanced mobile operating system in the world, and over 200 new features, including shared photo streams, Facebook integration, all new map apps and a passbook organizer.

Elsewhere, more than 700 applications for pre-order were immediately collected in Tokyo at one time before the product was launched. The same scene happened in major capitals of Asia, Europe and North America.

Tennis sister superstars Serena and Venus Williams starred in a iPhone 5 tv commercial and influential trade magazine Adweek called it “the most enjoyable iPhone tv ad yet.”

iPhone 5 in Manila

Last month, it was Manila’s turn to go crazy for of one of Jobs’ legacies.

iPhone diehards went wild and naturally,
crowds trooped to Globe Telecom’s event at the new Glorietta Activity Center in Makati where celebrities like Kris Aquino, Bamboo and Paulo Avelino greeted a massive audience.

Over at Bonifacio, Global City, excited customers lined up as early as 5:30 a.m. of Friday at Globe’s fulfillment store just to be the first to get their hands on the iPhone 5.

“Finally, the iPhone 5 has arrived in the Philippines and Globe is beaming with excitement to bring the much-anticipated iPhone 5 to Filipinos nationwide,”
Peter Bithos, Senior Advisor for Consumer Business at Globe Telecom, said.

The telcom company has a five-year history in launching the iPhone. “Globe is definitely the perfect partner of the iPhone 5 with offers going beyond just pricing,” Bithos said.

Bithos emphasized Globe’s strong partnership with Apple after it exclusively carried the iPhone 3 in 2008 all the way to the iPhone 4 in 2010.

In a public announcement, Bithos said Globe now has a stronger and more reliable network nationwide, with “best package” offerings across customizable postpaid plans, rewards and freebies, retail and store experience, value-added services and apps the customers deserve.

Perks and privileges

For as low as P1,799* monthly under Globe’s Unli Surf 999 with monthly cashout of P800, subscribers can maximize the features of the latest iPhone with unlimited mobile browsing and a call and text freebie.

It is also available at P1,999 monthly under Unli Surf P1799 with P200 monthly cashout complete with unlimited data, P800 monthly consumable for calls and texts, and three (3) call and text freebies.

Globe also offers light and easy payment terms for monthly cashouts, where subscribers can avail of the 0% installment at 3, 6, 12 or 24 months for partner credit cardholders1, making the iPhone 5 more affordable.

Existing postpaid subscribers can also enjoy the iPhone 5 with the innovative “Reset” program, which allows subscribers to renew or extend their existing account to get the device at a discount.

Subscribers also get free four (4) months of mobile phone protection under Globe Gadget Care, protecting devices from accidental damage, theft or robbery.

Under its most affordable and customizable postpaid plans offering subscribers a chance to customize their plans with over 21 million possible combinations, subscribers can also avail of the iPhone 5’s unlimited mobile browsing and a call and text freebie.

Globe iPhone 5 subscribers are also eligible to avail 1-year free subscription to GCASH American Express Virtual Card, 50% discount on iPhone 5 accessories, free and exclusive download of mobile apps, giving them access to movies, financial services, account management, and mobile messaging.

On top of these generous Globe subscribers can take advantage of the telco’s modernized network, an upgrade that is now 80% complete.

Aside from its superior plans, Globe offers light and easy payment terms for monthly cashouts, where subscribers can avail of the 0% installment at 3, 6, 12 or 24 months for partner credit cardholders1, making the iPhone 5 more affordable.

Existing postpaid subscribers can also enjoy the iPhone 5 with the innovative “Reset” program, another Globe-first, which allows subscribers to renew or extend their existing account to get the device at a discount.

This means that if a subscriber’s 24-month contract is still not up for renewal to get a new device, a corresponding “reset fee” can be settled to get the iPhone 5 under the same postpaid line.

On top of these genius offers, Globe subscribers can take advantage of the telco’s modernized network, which has already reached almost 80% completion to date, giving customers clearer calls, faster connections, on-time text messages, faster surfing and downloading, as well as more pervasive 3G network and expanded 4G network.

Globe holds a strong partnership with Apple after it exclusively carried the iPhone 3 in 2008 all the way to the iPhone 4 in 2010. This year, pre-orders for the iPhone 5 via the Globe website hit fever pitch, with thousands of subscribers eagerly anticipating to get their hands on the newest iPhone device.

With clearer calls, faster connections, on-time text messages, faster surfing and downloading, including a stronger and expanded 3G and 4G network, Globe just might be genius you’re looking for.

THE PHILIPPINES CAN BE A GLOBAL LEADER IN ADVERGAMING

by Roger Pe

Who doesn’t know Angry Birds?

It was one of 2012’s biggest buzzwords, a hugely successful smartphone video game that got millions of people worldwide, across all age groups playing like crazy.

This year, the Philippines is on the cusp of becoming a world leader in video-gaming as a proudly made Pinoy video game aims to surpass what Angry Birds has reached in terms of popularity and dollar payback.

But that’s getting ahead of the story.

From a 140 thousand dollar investment, Angry Birds returned with 70 million dollars in revenues. The blockbuster hysteria that it created is a great case study for the growing importance of video games as new media highway for forward-thinking advertisers.

A case in point is the rapidly evolving online, social, and mobile game markets. They all have captured the hearts of Asian and world gamers.

Huge market untapped

Video game is a $48 billion industry and is expected to grow to $68 billion this year. The two-year old online social gaming is worth $600 million and will jump to $1billion by 2013 alone.

Let’s focus our eyes on Asia.

There are more than 180 million online gamers in China and the industry outperforms the national GDP growth.

According to the 2011 China’s games industry annual and 5-year forecast report, published by Niko Partners, a leading research firm specializing in Asian games market, the 2011 growth rate reached 21.4% or a revenue of $5.8 billion.

The World Bank has projected a growth-rate of 9.3% for China’s gross domestic product for the same year. Southeast Asia follows China’s lead, predicted at $1.7 billion with 100 million gamers by 2014. To make the good news even better, paying gamers are now a majority.

A cinemablend.com report declares the Asia-Pacific region as the largest gaming market in the world. It is expected to be the fastest growing region within the next five years.

By 2015, there will be more than 100 million gamers throughout the emerging markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Asia-Pacific also dominates the mobile games industry, accounting for over 60% of the $13.4 billion global market. This has been driven primarily by Japan and South Korea, and now China, the world’s biggest mobile market.

FUN MEDIA

Nike, Nestle, McDonalds are some of biggest brands that have utilized video gaming to connect to its core target more intimately and in a fun way.

Called Advergaming it is fun marketing using a downloadable video game that advertises a product by weaving the brand as part of the game.

“The beauty of it is that it gives you not only online and offline consumer interaction but also results in real time with real metrics,” says Homer Nievera, the man at the helm of Bazinga, Inc., largely responsible for marketing Pinoy digital ingenuity to the world.

As cool as the video games he markets, and a social media expert down to e-commerce and e-wallet, Nievera, “Homerun” to many, prefers to call himself a serial global technopreneur.

Nievera’s prime advocacy is helping start-ups succeed through multiple streams of revenues.

As an expert business developer who has helped local and global tech companies achieve hypergrowth, Nievera is a sought-after consultant and speaker. He currently does the rounds of meetings and conferences for topics such as social entrepreneurship, gamification and hyper sales growth.

Endless possibilities

“In Advergaming, you might see a character having a soft drink, a car driving past a snack food billboard, teeners chatting on their tablets, a gang hanging out in a mall, a dad making a bank transaction, a housewife indulging in a beauty saloon, etc. The possibilities for branding and, most importantly, consumer engagements, are infinite,” Nievera says.

Along with his business and marketing director August Martinez III, Nievera is gungho about selling Pinoy video games to the world – even ‘crazy’ with a cool promo idea offering a brand new Audi for a soon-to-be launched online game on social media.

As for Martinez, “We are an enabling techno-Pinoy company whose main focus is to market world-class Pinoy digital work through innovative technologies and creative solutions,” he proudly says.

Martinez is proud of Bazinga being a digital entertainment company engaged in providing fun to the public through casual and social gaming.

“Starting with our flagship offering, Bazinga World is ready to help talented Pinoys in monetizing their digital ideas,” Martinez exclaims.

Bazinga World

Bazinga came from the word used by celebrity Sheldon Cooper in the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” meaning “gotcha” or “eureka”.

The dynamic company has immensely talented, young and innovative people, experts in their respective fields with proven track records. It has grown so fast that it now has offices in California and Texas which help market Pinoy video games and entertainment content worldwide.

“We support local game programmers and developers by providing the right ecosystem to realize their dreams of having their software programs and games see the light of day,” Martinez explains the company’s mission.

Bazinga is poised to be a major global player in digital entertainment. In fact, it is all set to launch a bunch of Philippine made video games globally: WordTrotter and about a dozen exciting more.

All of them created in partnership with undoubtedly, the Philippines’ top digital gaming developer, Palmagick Entertainment whose wizard is Gil de Palma, a UP graduate, writer, artist, filmmaker, and creator of WordTrotter, “the world’s coolest word game,” as described by online video game diehards.

In 2001, the University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop, one of the most prestigious writing fellowships in Asia, awarded de Palma its first fellowship for screenplay.

De Palma was also a finalist in 2007 Asian Television Forum SuperPitch (Singapore); 2003 Moondance International Film Festival (Hollywood); 2002 Cinemanila International Film Festival; Semi-finalist, 2001 Paramount Pictures-Chesterfield Film Company: The Writer's Film Project (Hollywood) and 1999 Big Australian International Screenplay Competition

Apart from WordTrotter, de Palma also was the creator of the superhero pack Taekwondoggs. He is currently co-developing a video game with an international brand of health and beauty products. The game allows players to build a business empire using product purchases built-in to enhance the total gaming experience.

Philippines: World capital for video games

Just like Pinoy world-class animators used by Hollywood and other filmmakers around the world (Hanna Barbera, Walt Disney, Pixar), the Philippines is slowly becoming one of Asia’s biggest sources of online video games to the world.

In WordTrotter, de Palma brings into play the technique of word retention by familiarization—multiplied a thousand fold by the thrill of casual gaming.

It is designed with the non-violent play-and-learn casual gaming model to reach practically all demographic sectors worldwide.

“WordTrotter is unlike any online word game you have played. Here, you’ll meet characters that are able to walk upside down and sideways,” de Palma says.

“The amazing thing about it is you get to build your English vocabulary in the process—whether you like it or not. And you’re going to have so much fun doing it,” he adds.

Want to share the game? Easy. One click and your friends will get it. Want the world to know your top score? Just click. Want to send a free game, power-up gifts, and other game freebies? WordTrotter on Facebook will handle it all for you.

With the continued gamification of media and humans getting wired for fun and games, the troika of Nievera, Martinez and de Palma is poised to put the country on centerstage of world advergaming.

HE BRED THOROUGHBRED CREATIVE DIRECTORS

by Roger Pe

Everything in this agency is ‘disruptive’.

For one, those sparkling Agency of the Year trophies displayed in the foyer make you envious.

From the moment you step into the building, located just across a coffee factory along Yakal Street corner Chino Roces, the creative aroma in the lobby already wafts in the air you want to explore more.

To describe what you see is like using the network’s famous global campaign for Absolut Vodka. Absolut delight.

But that’s getting ahead of the story.
Allow us to disrupt this conversation a bit by getting familiar with “Tibwa” – the cool way people address this awesomely creative ad agency.

TBWA-Santiago, Mangada and Puno is the ad agency some ad industry folks don’t even know what its acronym stands for: Tragos, Bonnange, Wiessedanger and Ajroldi. Surnames of American, French, Swiss and Italian management, marketing, creative and client services experts, in that order. The Filipino managing partners are Jimmy Santiago, Melvin Mangada and Jacinto Puno.

TBWA was established in 1970 in Paris, which the agency founders hoped to tap “the richness of different cultures and the thrust that comes from diversity.”

Since then, TBWA has become part of the Omnicom Group, one of the world’s Big 4, and the holdings company of an agency network with a formidable creative reputation. Two of its sibling agencies are BBDO (Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn) and DDB (Doyle, Dane and Bernbach).

Only 12 years old in Manila, the agency is in a different class, in a league of its own, poised to earn the title – the ad agency with the most number of Agency of the Year titles, all of them five and going to its sixth.

Why is this so? The agency practices what it preaches, according to TBWA-SMP Manila founder and managing partner Jimmy Santiago.

“Everyone in the agency is trained in the culture of ‘Disruption’. We are unconventional in our thinking and in what we do. It is evident in our way of life,” he proudly says.

Santiago walks the talk. Where people used to do the same things over and over again, he tells Business Monday: “Before creating an ad, we begin at the root of it all and ask ourselves, what are the business issues?” Call it sound thinking and even sounder creative work, that’s TBWA-SMP for you.

DISRUPTION AGENCY

The agency’s ‘Disruption’ philosophy was written by TBWA’s worldwide chair Jean-Marie Dru in the 90s and has become the network’s global mantra.

In layman’s terms, it is a belief, a religion, a culture of doing things that puts aside the conventional way in order to rise above the clutter and finding new discoveries.

Just how unconventional is TBWA-SMP?

From the unassuming office location to the interior surprise, from the pieces of furniture to exquisitely fine paintings hanging on its walls, from out-of-the-box Christmas party presentation ideas (short films that’ll ultimately become concept presentations to clients) to how they conduct brainstormings, TBWA-SMP is indeed a media arts hub. Even in the way this interview was conducted.

“Melvin Mangada, Chief Creative Officer and one of the agency’s managing partners, makes all the difference,” says Santiago.

Mangada is largely responsible for making TBWA-SMP a sparkling jewel in the TBWA crown in Asia. He sits on the TBWA Worldwide Top 20 Global Creative Directors elite group, which screens the network’s entries to awards shows.

Santiago spotted Mangada in a UP College of Fine Arts thesis deliberation where the latter had the most unusual concept among the rest – “an A3 poster within a poster” for a copying machine brand.

Mangada was offered an Art Direction position straight out of college. The rest is now history, and history is continuously being revised to accommodate his yearly blaze of glory. He is the Creative Guild’s first Hall of Fame awardee.

Multi-awarded Mario Monteagudo, one of Santiago’s aces at Ace-Saatchi, acknowledges his former boss: “Jimmy knows how to bring out the best in you, very inspiring. He was my ECD when I won the Creative Guild’s Print Ad of the Year for 4 consecutive years, he says.”

Santiago was one of 17 children of a carpenter and a peanut vendor in Bulacan’s Baliuag town. A public school awarded him “Natatanging Anak ng Baliuag “in 2005 and picked him one of the “Most Outstanding Alumni” during its Golden Jubilee Year.

At age 14, Santiago was already writing short stories for Liwayway Magazine, and at 19, wrote the Tagalog libretto of Jesus Christ Superstar (Aliw Awards winner for Best Dinner Theatre Musical, 1977). At 20, he contributed teleplays for television.

He was the only student who passed UP college admissions test in his batch. He enrolled in UP CFA and graduated on top of the college’s pioneering advertising course together with Eleanor Modesto who became the first Pinay ad agency country manager in Indonesia.

Santiago started as a copywriter at Ace-Saatchi and rose to become VP Executive Creative Director from 1989 to 1995. Together with a stable of highly talented creative people, they made the agency a hot shop for creativity. The results were resounding successes one after the other, with the agency dominating every Ad Congress and Creative Guild annual competitions.

In 1980, he joined the Metro Pop Songwriting Contest together with Jose Mari Chan with the entry “Hahanapin Ko”. He won the FAMAS for Best Theme Song from a movie “Pakawalan Mo Ako”, collaborating with songwriter Louie Ocampo. He recently contributed to the Second Christmas Album with the song “Pagdating ng Pasko”.

Santiago was a Creative Guild president and a Lifetime Achievement awardee from the same award-giving body. He was elected 4A’s president in 1995 and was Ad Congress Creative Committee chair in 1991, 1997, 1999 and 2001.

YOUTH BELIEVER

Santiago believes in young people. “I believe in fresh graduates. Melvin Mangada was the first-ever fresh grad to become Art Director on the first day of his working life,” he says.

“I believe that people are born into advertising. They can never be made to like advertising. It is a craft so difficult to master but those who are born to be good at it are having a ball doing iconic work,” he says.

As an employer, Santiago believes that the people who leave their agencies for the so-called “challenges outside” are not leaving the agency. They are leaving their bosses.

Management style? “As a department head in need of someone in his department should hire the candidate who has the strongest potential to be his future boss,” Santiago says.

“I believe in “succession”. He cites this example: Cid Reyes, former head of Ace-Saatchi creative department, hired me at Saatchi. Later on Cid reported to me as his ECD. I hired Mon Jimenez Jr (now Philippine Secretary of Tourism) from UP as part of my P&G team at Saatchi. Mon later on became co-equal to me, and Cid when he was promoted to ACD.

“By-passing the CD level, Mon became ECD in 1987. Cid and I were his Creative Directors for a year until Mon left to form Jimenez and Partners. After a few months, I became ECD, that’s when Cid reported to me.”

TBWACADEMY

TBWA-SMP isn’t just an agency. It is an organization with a soul. Santiago and his team conduct a series of lectures on Disruption and Media Arts in different universities like De La Salle, St. Benilde, U.P. and Miriam College. Santiago and Mangada are adjunct professors in U.P. College of Fine Arts.

Yearly, TBWA supports Fine Arts Advertising majors who could not enrol and enter their senior (thesis) year due to lack of finances. “We cover their tuition and allowances until they graduate— no strings attached. When they finish the course, they would be free to apply to any ad agency in the country,” Santiago says.

TREASURE TROVE OF AWARDS

Talk about ad agencies that consistently figure well in Cannes, Clio, One Show, Asia Adfest and Spikes Asia, TBWA-SMP is top of mind, one would run out of space enumerating them. The agency also always lords it over or at least lands in the top 3 of Araw and Kidlat Awards.

This year, the agency was proclaimed Grand Prix winner in the TBWA Disruption Awards for Boysen KnoxOut Project Edsa: Clean Air Campaign, upstaging over 80 countries in the global TBWA network.

The agency says, “the award champions the champions of disruptive thinking, a key methodology for TBWA offices to help businesses fast track their growth strategies.”