DIGITAL: CONTENT MAKES OR BREAKS IT.

by Roger Pe

A movie without a story will surely bomb at the box office, in the same manner as a tv commercial without a big idea will always be at the mercy of the remote control.

Where’s the beef? The question hard-to-please people always ask also applies to digital media. Form can never replace content. Technology, in order to be amazing, can never be one-dimensional.

A spaceship into cyber space should have a double-edged sword, adept at challenging and wowing people’s minds to make them linger a littler longer.

“If digital is meant to be the “always on-24/7” medium, its content needs to be interesting to keep the conversation going,” says Budjette Tan, McCannMRM Worldwide Executive Creative Director, one of the speakers in 2013 IMMAP Summit held in Power Plant Mall, Rockwelll Center last August 29-30.

A brand can’t always be on “sales pitch mode” when talking to its customers,” he says. Tan talks about “BUYRAL: Creative Content Marketing” and presented case studies on how campaigns can get viral and provide business results. He cites a number of Facebook communities with the right kind of content.

“Nescafe welcomes you as if you just entered their ‘Kapihan.” “Royal’s page grew to over 500,000 fans in less than a year and kids keep coming back. Kit Kat attracts a lot of people because of its funny videos and interesting infographics,” he stresses.

With the advertising industry on the cusp of a digital revolution, Business Friday interviews another Filipino icon whose career crossover to digital is just as amazing as when she became Indonesia’s first woman Country Head for Lowe Jakarta, the country’s biggest ad agency.

Eleanor Modesto, now president of Pure Online, one of the Philippines’s leading digital agencies, helped nurture Indonesia’s infantile ad industry to where it is now - 23 fruitful years of mentoring some of Indonesia’s advertising leaders today.

BF: Why should advertisers go digital?

EM: The signs are everywhere, TV is getting content from youtube, most of us get the latest news from the web, trends are now seen first in digital (i.e. the Netizens Vs. Pork Barrel, Miley Cyrus “twerking” etc.).

The latest rally in Luneta was started in social media, the Napoles/ Pork Barrel controversy is fueled and kept alive in the digital space. Print, Radio and TV ads all point customers to their Facebook page, Twitter, Youtube etc.

Brands need to be in digital but not just be present but also make their presence relevant and appealing. That’s the challenge of digital – how to make brands work and interact with their customers.

Digital is measurable at every point in the purchase funnel. You can tell which channel converted into purchase and second it's data based, so there’s an opportunity to maintain a meaningful customer relationship over the long term.

BF: How has digital advertising grown over the last 5 years?

EM: There are a lot of ways to look at this. There are quite a few new entrants into the space, whether they are existing agencies with a beefed up digital department, or a specialist agency that does nothing but digital.

There are a lot of brands that have invested in maintaining a Facebook or Twitter presence, but there are certain basics that are still being omitted.

Very few Philippine companies have an online storefront or customer service channel. In terms of media-spend, Mike Palacios of Havoc says as per IMMAP, the estimated digital Adex has gone up from 0.8 to 2% of the media pie in the last three years but the rate could be faster and higher.

Internet ad revenues in the U.S. totaled a record $10.31 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, an increase of 12% from the third quarter of 2012. Mobile revenues surged 111% in 2012 to $3.4 billion, building on 2011’s record-breaking 149% year-over-year rise to $1.6 billion

BF: What are the most common barriers in digital advertising?

EM: Most of the barriers are client side. There is a perception that investment in digital advertising automatically means banner ads. That's not what digital advertising is all about.

Then there are businesses not yet migrating to digital. Even banks and auto companies are still not 100% embracing it. The e-commerce or online transaction revolution needs to happen.

I have a theory that the highest barrier is “fear”, also “lack of understanding of digital” and the perception that it is “cheap”.

A number of marketing departments are either being run by light or non-users of digital. In contrast to MNCs who are mandated to allocate 10-25% of their marketing budgets to digital.

As younger managers move up the ladder to make decisions, the role of digital advertising will become stronger and new generation of digital natives will flourish.

BF: What is digital’s distinct strength over other channels?

EM: Digital’s strength is its ability to “engage” customers and have a real, on-time conversation with them. But the power is when all media intersect – so TV uses the web and social media and the same goes for radio, out of home integrating with digital, mobile and social media, that’s when it all comes together.

BF: What is a good digital ad agency?

EM: When it knows how to use digital tools in a strategic and effective way. You can always keep a creative agency on tap to churn out ideas, but that's not necessarily what a digital agency is about.

The best digital agencies have frameworks that integrate social media and e-commerce, build and deliver a mobile CRM strategy, and more.

Too many existing agencies are focused on "Facebook maintenance" and "viral videos" because they are easy offshoots of what they're doing today in traditional media.

BF: What is your company’s point-of-difference?

EM: We have a great mix of digital brains like Nix Nolledo and Mike Palacios who are digital pioneers in the Philippines.

Our key operators, Rupert Japlit, our GM headed Netbooster (now Movent), Ronan Chua, ex-Publicis & Keiser Maclang CD is a blogger and a good example of ATL/Digital hybrid creative and our Operations Head Raffy Rodriguez brings years of digital experience from Ogilvy.

Our shareholders are some of the top names in the business – Abby Jimenez, founder and ex-Chairman of JimenezBasic; Ichay Bulaong, Godmother of Direct Marketing and ex-head of ABS-CBN Relationship Marketing and RJ Esteba, CEO of PSRC and co-owner of AGB Nielsen.

BF: Your management style like?

EM: When we find people with the potential, I try to guide them by pointing out what results we are targeting for and then I let them go for it. In my younger days I tended to micro-manage which was not a good thing.

I have learned to let the younger people get the directions and manage the projects themselves and with new technology, they are better suited to the requirements so they make good and often times better decisions and that’s great!

BF: Briefly, who is Eleanor Modesto as a private person?

EM: I’m eternally curious and I want to keep learning, that’s why I’m still in the business.

BF: How does your company keep abreast with the fast-changing world of digital?

EM: We believe in constant education with the latest technologies, encourage our staff to read and learn aggressively. We have a robust training program, not just on technology but also about branding, customer relationship, and of course, the latest trends in the business.

We track the web for the latest technologies, apps, monitoring tools, trends, etc. We also engage with industry groups to have access to human experience and contextual knowhow.

Pure just signed an affiliation with Isobar, the top digital agency globally and this means more training opportunities and exposure to the latest technology and global ideas.

BF: How do you see digital advertising in the Philippines 10 years from now?

EM: As adoption increases we will start to see digital becoming the primary vector for branded content. Right now that position belongs to broadcast television, but once TV and OOH become IP-based with smart TV sets, we will see a massive shift.

We will see the agency role start to fragment. No one digital agency will be able to fulfill all the client's needs. The role of the agency will be as integrator, or content creator. Pure-Isobar would like to be on the forefront of all these changes.

2013 IMMAP SUMMIT: DIGITAL: THE BOOMERANG EFFECT

Photos by Carlo Ople of DigitDM9

by Roger Pe

Technology is beautiful. Without a doubt, it makes life a little better. If wonders never cease, especially in digital world, the inevitable must happen: the geeks will inherit the earth.

This they did in last Friday’s IMMAP (Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines) Boomerang Awards, where the best and the finest brand advertising using the digital highway were given their own spotlight.

Philippine digital wizards and brand honorees took centerstage as the seventh edition of The Boomerangs, now beginning to be the most exciting part of every IMMAP event, opened at The Loft, Manansala, Rockwell Center, Makati.

The Boomerangs, literally named after a curved flat wood designed to circle back to the thrower, is the Oscars of digital advertising. The shape is aptly, graphically digital, moving forward. This year’s official creative agency partner is
Digit-DM9.

Started in 2007 as a sideshow of every IMMAP summit with mostly independent digital agencies participating, Boomerang has grown by leaps and bounds, attracting even multinational ad agencies that seriously go to Cannes.

Digital campaigns and programs utilizing Internet-enabled technologies (brand-managed communities such as Facebook pages), branded utility apps and e-commerce platforms vie for a Boomerang statue.

Today, it is fast shaping up as the country’s most prestigious digital awards show, a competition eagerly awaited, a must-attend industry gathering.

The 2-day summit opened with a theme: “Digital Drive: Trending Towards ROI” had a stellar cast of speakers, local and foreign, a veritable who’s who in digital media.

Among them were Ruth Stubbs, CEO of iProspect Aegis Media Asia-Pacific, Thomas Crampton, Director, Social@Ogilvy, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific, Nick Fawbert, Head of Digital Enterprise for Media Corporation, CEO Third Space Consulting Southeast Asia, Gabby Lopez and Donald Lim, Chairman and Chief Digital Officer of ABS-CBN respectively, Merlee Jayme, Chair and Chief Creative Officer of DM9 Jayme-Syfu, Budjette Tan, Deputy Executive Creative Director of MRM Manila, digital arm of McCann WorldGroup, Bela Gupta D’ Souza, Head of Globe Telecom Mobile Advertising, Leah Besa-Jimenez, Group Head-Digital Media, Smart Telecom and a host of other experts in the field.

Miguel Ramos, IMMAP President gave the welcome remarks while Stubbs made a keynote presentation on “Performance Marketing.

Last year, over 150 submissions from agencies, industries and platforms were received. DOT’s “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” (BBDO Guerrero) and Coca-Cola’s “Where Will Happiness Strike Next: The OFW Project (McCann Worldgroup Manila) campaigns won gold Boomerangs.

“We are moving towards the right direction, the awards is on its way to becoming mainstream,“ says Ed Mapa, the man of the hour, conceptualizer of the Boomerang Awards and one of IMMAP’s founding fathers.

Mapa was previously president & CEO of Media Contacts Philippines. He steered the agency to win the Araw Media Agency of the Year in 2009, and with that leadership brought home important businesses from Unilever, San Miguel Brewery and Citi-digital.

On same year, his agency captured a Gold for Innovative category in the Boomerangs, stretching all the way to the Ad Congress with a gold in Best Use of Internet and a Bronze in Best Viral campaign.

In an interview, Mapa, credited with developing Havas Media Ortega as one of the most innovative digital agencies in the country, says: “Digital creativity is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as to best accomplish a particular purpose.”

“It is about search, to explore, learn, discuss, experience, leading to a desired result or action,” he says.

With everyone trying to catch up with the digital bandwagon today, Mapa, the digital pioneer, believes it is not about “Think Simple” anymore but rather “Think Orchestration. It is not about media planning anymore but behavioral planning,” he adds.

Huge reason why he was recently elevated as Chief Innovation Officer for Havas Media Group China, relocating to Beijing right after the Boomerang Awards. He will tackle a more challenging role - championing innovative thinking for the agency’s data, creative and technology products.

Digital Advertiser of the Year

A total of 20 Bronze, 19 Silver and 5 Gold Boomerangs were handed out at this year’s Boomerang Awards. For investing money into digital, glory circled back to Nestle Philippines, bringing home the Best of Show, aside from winning the most number of awards across all categories for most of its brands.

Gold Boomerangs also went to DM9 JaymeSyfu, OgilvyOne and Mobext for their respective clients.

Business Friday interviews Sandra Puno, Director of Nestlé Corporate Communications, Aurora Alipao, Nestle Head of Consumer Services and Corporate Communications and Nicole Bulatao, Head of Digital Marketing:

BF: How does it feel to be on the top again?

Sandra Puno: Pleasantly surprised and extremely happy! Our work in digital space continues to be inspired by Filipino consumers, our “Kasambuhay, Habambuhay”, and it is for them that we launch and sustain all our digital campaigns, to be able to reach out to them. These awards are a tribute to the Filipino consumers, who have made our brands a part of their daily lives.

BF: Why is “Nestlé Club” effective?

Au Alipao: Through the years, the Nestlé Club has become the members’ go-to source of homemaking information and inspiration - making them feel more empowered and confident.

The Nestlé Club, through our various communication materials and channels, has consistently provided content relevant to its members, while creatively promoting use of Nestlé products through recipes, games, and useful homemaking tips.

As moms became more digital savvy, the Nestlé Club evolved, engaging its members even more through digital channels.

The Nestlé Club website (www.Nestléclub.ph.com) has over 309,763 unique visits with average engagement time of 3.45 minutes, 750% higher than a 30-second TVC.

It is one of the longest running consumer relationship marketing programs in the country, and we are here for the long-term. We do not only acquire members, we make sure that once our consumers become members, we continually communicate with them, in ways relevant to them. We can never thank them enough for the love they continue to share with us.

BF: Similarly, why does “Gerber Farm” tick?

Nicole Bulatao: The short answer is its simplicity. The idea behind Gerber Farm is that we wanted to communicate the fact that Gerber is made with wholesome ingredients, without preservatives.

The Gerber Farm Facebook app allows mothers to virtually pick fruit from a farm, pack it in a bottle and vacuum seal the lid, thus leading users through the process of making Gerber. Easy steps, beautiful imagery and strong message all worked together to bring the message of “Freshness in Every Jar” across.

BF: You have different ad agencies but most of them, if not all, won awards for Nestlé. What can you say about them?

Sandra Puno: I am proud to say that we work with some of the most creative and inspired people and agencies in the industry. I’ve always believed that it is the ultimate tribute to Nestlé and our brands, when our agencies decide to enter the work they’ve done for us in various competitions.

That means our partners believe they’ve done great work for us. And when these awards are won - that means the industry of experts agree with them. That is really a big honor!

Nicole Bulatao: MRM, Ogilvy One, Publicis and NuWorks have been partners for years, and each agency manages multiple brands for us. Their teams truly collaborate with me and with the brands, and they’re never afraid to defend a contrary point of view if they believe that it’s what’s best for the business.

BF: What is your guiding philosophy for making them deliver?

Sandra Puno: The Nestlé Philippines mission is to nurture generations of Filipino families and help build a strong and prosperous nation. This is a mission we share with our communication agencies.

BF: What makes you believe in digital?

Sandra Puno: Digital is here to stay. There is no going back. If we are to continue to succeed, we need to embrace digital, with all its benefits and complexities. The sooner we get our people to do that, the better we will deliver our mission.

Nicole Bulatao: Digital channels are different from traditional channels in at least two ways: the technologies available allow for almost any execution an agency creative or brand manager can imagine, and the channels encourage peer-to-peer sharing.

This means that the field of digital marketing communications is both incredibly exciting, and impossible to totally control. Messages communicated on digital—by artists, journalists, everyday people, and of course, brands—can be incredibly powerful.

Au Alipao: We have to be where our members are, so we can continue to be relevant in their lives, and more and more of our Nestlé Club members are into digital.

To be continued ...

FILIPINO BRANDS: WINNING BIG IN SPORTS MARKETING

by Roger Pe

How many people still remember Yco and Ysmael Steel? For sure, baby boomers still do and their big followers still reminisce their unforgettable exploits on the basketball court.

The two dribbled their way to Filipino households because they had talk value. Their names enjoyed media presence and their star players’ heroics gave them word-of-mouth sizzle.

The names became not just names on jerseys, from among their ranks emerged Carlos Loyzaga, Tito Eduque, Kurt Bachmann, Robert Jaworski, Freddie Webb, Alberto Reynoso, Adriano Papa, Orlando Bauzon, Jimmy Mariano and a galaxy of other stars.

They became synonymous to the brightest in Philippine basketball that did the country proud in Asia and in the Olympics during that time.

Meralco, Crispa, Toyota followed suit and then Purefoods, Shell, Alaska. Now we have Ginebra San Miguel, Air 21, Petron, Talk ‘N Text, San Mig blazing the trail. Just like their predecessors, they enjoy round-the-clock brand presence and top-of-mind awareness from among millions of consumers.

Who would have thought Milo would eventually topple the seemingly unsinkable Ovaltine in their category war? The former, with its solid “Olympic Energy” positioning and focused campaign line, now reigns supreme as the undisputed market leader.

Credit it to relentless sports marketing and single-minded approach, the brand also made “Milo Marathon” an iconic word, eagerly anticipated by sport fans.

For decades, Marlboro basked in media glory made possible by the nationwide popularity of “Marlboro Tour” and “Marlboro Adventure”. Coke’s “Go-For-Goal” bred a lot of Pinoy footballers in the same way as soccer gave it added branding kick.

Shakeys today is synonymous to Philippine volleyball. The surging popularity of the sport is making its brand leadership unshakeable.

Alaska and Cobra are banking on the current rage - Triathlon for kids and professional athletes.

From ticket sales to licensed products, apparel, equipment merchandising and other promotional permutations, sports are a big business.

Everyday, hundreds of millions of sports fans watch sporting events, a gripping entertainment reality that brands all over the world consider as strategic marketing opportunities.

Super Bowl tops Forbes’ list of the world’s most valuable sporting events worth $379 million. Following the Super Bowl are the Summer Olympics ($176 million) and soccer’s World Cup ($103 million).

Nike, GE, Procter & Gamble, Adidas, Coke, Samsung, Panasonic, Dow, Omega, McDonald’s, Visa, BMW are just of the biggest brands queueing up to get into these events for these reasons: 100% captive audience, media and financial returns worth millions of dollars.

To give us interesting insights on the subject and real local market case studies, Business Friday interviews Ed Dames, an all-around athlete, fitness buff, martial arts enthusiast, Chairman and CEO of DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) Promos, one of the country’s leading companies specializing in sport roadshows, campus tours and women’s marketing, complementing many ad agencies’ activation programs.

Previously Events and Sports Marketing Director of Leo Burnett Manila in 2001, Dames, put up CEMG (Creative Enterprises Management Group) with corporate team building and special events as its core services.

One of his biggest projects was Close-Up’s “Whattamouth!”, a spectacular event with a daunting challenge: break the Guinness World Record on the largest photo mosaic in a billboard. The event easily broke the UK record and set a new high in mounting an event for a billboard unveiling.

Dames and his team literally stopped the world on that part of Makati by using the MRT as a viewing deck and deployed the legendary Air Force 505 (Search and Rescue team) to strip the billboard cover. It ended with the first-ever fireworks display on Edsa featuring the World Pyro Festival champion, La Mancha.

BF: Briefly, how does a brand benefit from sports marketing?

ED: “By associating with a particular sports or a sports personality, a brand gets instant recognition. Of course, sports marketing must be part of an Integrated Marketing Communications to optimize its value.”
BF: Does it benefit only sports enthusiasts?
ED: “No. Fans of the Olympics for instance are not necessarily sports enthusiasts. But they watch and support it because of the many things it brings: human drama, the fanfare, the celebration of the human spirit.”

BF: How do you effectively reach your target audience and keep their support?

ED: “By doing your homework as a professional marketer, knowing what keeps them excited, their habits, their aspirations, their social circle. Then matching it with the sport that best represent their lifestyle.

For example, light beers are very ubiquitous in Mixed Martial-Arts shows like the UFC. The reason is obvious: people who watch fights enjoy the show while drinking light beers with their friends.

Fights are now viewing parties. The message: drinking light gives you the ability to enjoy life more!

BF: If marketers want to use it as strategy, what advise can you give before plunging into action?

ED: “Do your research. Keep your personal bias and ego out of the picture. Find a good fit with a sports event that you can own and build a campaign around.

Compare its benefits with other available platforms. Have a clear metric to evaluate whether the sports you’ve chosen helped your marketing objectives or not. Sponsor only events organized by people with proven track record.

BF: What is its biggest advantage?

ED: The appeal of sports is universal. It cuts across social, economical and geographical boundaries. Some sports appeal to a specific sector. It’s more economical than traditional advertising.

BF: How well is it adapting to digital age?

ED: “Sports has adapted very well into the digital age. All the major sports organizations use social media as a key strategy in engaging with their fans.

Sports personalities maintain tweeter, Instagram and FB accounts where they can interact with their supporters. UFC president Dana White gives real-time updates of UFC happenings … including championship fights … with his million followers.”

BF: How do you describe sports marketing in the Philippines, in general?

ED: “It’s still not based on solid marketing strategies. Often, sponsorships are based on the personal bias of a brand manager or a corporate executive.

A case in point is the penchant for sponsoring fun runs.

While it is good to promote a healthy lifestyle thru running, no one remembers the other sponsors of fun runs apart from a chocolate drink, a sport wear and a sports watch.

Everyone else is just a second-rate copycat. Why would be brand want to spend millions just to be a “gaya-gaya”? If a brand would approach me, I would advise doing non-traditional fun runs. How about backward running?

BF: What is your trademark sports management style?

ED: “I’m a go-getter. I get excited about big challenges. I take on a new pitch as sports competition and I prepare my team accordingly.

How do you apply sports in running your business?
Sports is about setting new goals and going for it. My personal philosophy is also our corporate credo: “whatever it takes!” For as long as it’s not illegal or immoral, we’ll do it for our clients.

We’ve set records for doing things never been done before. On hiring, we give plus points for applicants who are into sports. Athletes have discipline and focus. They don’t get sick easily and they carry themselves better.

BF: What drives you professionally and personally?

ED: “Doing things with social relevance and eternal significance. I’m now in a legacy-building mode.”

Es Dames has over 30 years experience in Advertising and Events/Sports Marketing. He worked with McCann, Basic Advertising and Leo Burnett. He is also Director of World Team USA that is promoting “Fight for Peace”, an international Muaythai and MMA Super Fights to be held at Resorts World Manila on October 23, 2013.

TWINKLE, TWINKLE STARCOM

By Roger Pe

In the past, the stars of ad agencies were the creative people. From their minds, ideas sprung up and became ads we saw, heard, remembered, liked on newspapers, radio and tv sets.

They were called hotshots, had the perks, behaved differently and management gave them fat salaries, and even a lot of leeway for some of their idiosyncrasies.

Some people say, ad agencies won’t survive without them. In the landscape then, media people were in separate departments when those outside the creative department were playing second-fiddle roles.

That was the case until the 90s.

It’s the other way around now - media agencies keep one important thing that creative agencies don’t: the purse strings.

A space literally separates creative and media agencies. Though they may be under one holding company, they do not belong to one roof anymore and function independently of each other.

A media department strategically plans where and when your advertising message should appear and helps you buy the space or airtime to put your message, an almost clerical job.

With the explosion of new media channels, mostly due to advances in digital world, ad agencies needed to have multiple efficiencies, like strategic planning, research, buying clout, social media strength, digital thinking and expertise like content development, mobile media versatility and more.

Today, media departments have evolved beyond their previous definition and have become ‘communications agencies’. They do more than just tell you where to put your message or when to put it.

Mark Pollard, a well-known media blogger and strategy director, puts it more appropriately:

“The trends in media agency world are fascinating. It is trying to do to advertising what Facebook is trying to do to the Internet: Own it.

It is doing production that only creative and digital agencies used to do. It is doing data crunching that only CRM/DM (Customer Relations Marketing/Direct Mail) agencies used to do. It is bringing in creative directors and some are doing brand strategy,“ he says.

The landscape change has made media agencies new stars in their own right, providing not only media but also wholistic communication solutions to marketing problems. They have even metamorphosed into giant global networks.

Among the biggest names are Mindshare, UM (Universal McCann), Zenith, OMD (Omnicom Media) and Starcom, and most of them are present locally.

In the Philippines, Starcom MediaVest Group ranks the biggest. It started operating in Manila in the mid-2000s and has won the pinnacle achievement any media agency could aspire for - the 4A’s Media Agency of the Year, three times in a row.

SMVG’s sweeping victory in last week’s 4As Agency of the Year Awards was very significant for two reasons: it marked the agency’s return to the top of Philippine advertising media, winning the prestigious award for the 4th time and under its new CEO.

“I owe my first grandslam to all my hardworking staff,” says Joanna Mojica, CEO of the resurging media agency that recently bagged the huge Unilab AOR (Agency of Record) business against equally big multinational media networks.

Mojica joined SMG in 2006 with over 15 years of experience in media and advertising agencies like GroupM, Mindshare and JWT Philippines. She steered leading commercial corporations to market leadership, among them The Coca-Cola Export Company.

Business Friday interviews Mojica, advertising budget steward of some of the country’s biggest brands, the woman who talks ‘beauty’ in numbers, market data and graphs, and most importantly, brings in the results.

BF: If I were an advertiser why would I choose Starcom?

JM: “Every agency has its own proprietary tools, we all have our own business philosophies but advertisers should look beyond words splashed over credentials.

At the end of the day, corporate disciplines are just pieces of paper, if you don’t deliver.

If you ask our current clients, we have 100% client retention and I am proud to say that our clients have never left us.

I should say that we are very consistent with every facet of our work. Our proven partnerships with clients are solid.

We do our homework and do it well, whether it’s a competitive landscape, understanding ROI, or having an in-depth grasp of analytics.

We have key knowledge about the best markets, their important demographics, even their competitors and what resonates with their consumers.

Our track record is the only proof. We sparkle like a luminous star because we don’t promise the moon and the stars.”

BF: What is Starcom's point-of-difference against other media companies?

JM: “Because we are part of a global network recognized for media creativity, our standards are high, our momentum never slips.

We are strong collectively and our strength doesn’t lie on one person alone.

Starcom is a showcase of our strength. We are number one and successful because of the value that we give to clients.”

BF: Everyone is talking about digital and social media? Are they really effective, a fad or temporary?

JM: “They are your auto-audience and there is so much to unravel in digital advertising, specially on social media.

They’re changing people’s behavior so fast that you cannot ignore the tremendous opportunity to explore and utilize them to reach consumers and market brands at lightning speed.

They are so effective that in seconds, millions of people get to know who you are, what you are, what you did, what’s new, what’s in, what’s happening, what’s currently in vogue, wherever you are in the world in real time. Embrace it or be totally left out.”

BF: What do you see in Philippine advertising a few years from now?

JM: “Today, digital is only one of the many supporting media arteries. Tomorrow, everything will be different. All traditional media will revolve around it and advertisers will call it the Muscle Media.”

The more incisive media agencies will focus more on consumers. I personally believe that the best way to reach the masses is through agencies like us with deeper understanding of the market.

It will save us from being left in the dust by the constant technological advances that produce new forms of media.”

BF: What’s your management style?

JM: “I am like a sponge. I utilize the skill of a great leader – the power of listening.

The more people talk, the more I listen. When it’s time for me to talk, I have perfect knowledge and grasp of the big picture.

I may not know all the answers but I think, this is the best way to approach a situation.

The simple act of listening can change people’s behavior. When you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole, not only part of it.”

BF: How do you work as a boss?

JM: “For me, no single day is the same so I don’t function the same.

We live in an industry with a complex environment. I live within the dynamism of that environment. Where media partners come in different sizes and shapes, I adjust to them and become like them.

I love to unlock a person’s fullest potential. It challenges me to really listen and be a catalyst, know what a person’s passion, and to be able to help him or her become successful.

I value relationships because, here, you learn so much about life. We may quarrel but we’ll always come back to each other, learning from each other in more ways than one.

Who I am is a collective 20 years of experience of having worked with the best in the industry. I was shaped by the good and positive sides of all my mentors, I learned from every single of them.”

BF: Who is Joaana Mojica outside of the office?

JM: “I catch up being a mom whenever I am home. I consider going to a supermarket heaven.

My family is a source of strength and an important part of my being. Many facets of myself revolve around my family.

Last July 26, at the 4A’s Agency of the Year Awards, SMVG brought home three awards: the Best in Business Performance, Best in Media Creativity and proclaimed Media Agency of the Year, for delivering significant benefits to clients amidst an ever-changing media environment.

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE: NO PROBLEM WITH EFFICIENT CELLPHONE SIGNALS

By Roger Pe

Let’s face it, you chose to live in an exclusive subdivision because you are protective of your family.

You want to be in a quiet neighborhood, a self-contained community that has its own school, round-the-clock security, supermarket, sports facilities, traffic-free roads, a hundred other perks and amenities, and one thing that money can’t buy. Peace of mind.

To have peace of mind, however, you also need seamless connectivity to the outside world via call, text or the internet.

You want unbeatable phone and internet services where you can enjoy clear and uninterrupted phone conversations, real time text messaging, as well as fast and reliable internet connection.

You want your area safe for residents from robbery, burglary, intrusion, fires, even during typhoons as they will have a better chance of reaching help via their cell phones.

Sadly, life is not perfect even to those who live in gated villages.

In fact, residents of several exclusive neighborhoods, including expatriates working for their respective embassies and multinational companies in the Philippines complain about poor cellphone signals.

But why does it happen to residents of eason: Residents and respective homeowners’ associations of such villages do not permit mobile service providers to put up cell towers inside their turf because cell phone towers are not aesthetically designed and may ruin their sanctuary’s landscape. A much bigger reason looms on the horizon, exposure to radio waves.

But homeowners need not worry anymore. A new innovation from Globe Telecom eliminates the huge and unsightly typical cell sites but still provides excellent indoor and outdoor coverage. It is called the Outdoor Distributed Antenna System (ODAS).

The ODAS solution requires no massive structure. Instead, it effectively brings coverage much closer to residents through installation of lampposts that blend in residential areas with height and aesthetic restrictions.

The design is future-proof and can be integrated with newer technologies such as Wi-Fi, FTTH (Fiber to Home), and LTE (Long Term Evolution), which may be upgraded to fit the coverage requirements of the village.

The posts can be erected along the streets or within village parks. They brighten roads while enhancing mobile coverage .

On concerns about possible health hazards of cell sites. Do cell sites really pose any harm to people living within the area due to radio frequency radiation?

Scientific evidence studied by government groups have shown that there is no indication that radio frequency signals coming from these cell towers are harmful. The data lean more towards no harm rather than possible harm.

Various countries adopt a wide-ranging standard for cell site radiation, which is anywhere from 450 to 1,000 microwatts per square centimeter.

Based on available evidence, it is clear that radio frequency signals from cell sites do not pose any adverse health impact. In fact, one is likely to get more radiation from an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test than from cell sites.

No less than the World Health Organization (WHO) has clarified that radio signals emitted for cell phone services are classified nonionizing radiation, which is relatively harmless like those coming from AM-FM radios or baby monitors, compared to ionizing radiation from x-ray machines, which are deemed to carry higher health risks.

Furthermore, WHO maintains that there is no conclusive evidence associating exposure to radio signals from cell sites of wireless networks with adverse health effects.

With the new generation ODAS technology and the assurance that cell sites do not pose any health risks to people, there is no longer any reason why residents of exclusive villages cannot have the kind of service Globe subscribers all over the country are enjoying.

WHO'S ART DIRECTING MANILA'S BILLBOARDS?

(As it appeared in Mumbrella, specisl thanks to Robin Hicks)

While doing my usual morning rounds to check on emails and messages on social media, I saw a post on Facebook that read: “One step behind, that’s Philippine advertising. Billboards look like print ads, print ads look like leaflets, radio commercials are spoken print ads and TV ads are radio scripts with pictures.”

While some people might think that it’s a sweeping generalization, truth is, I have long wanted to make the comment that the heyday for billboards has passed, but held back for as long as I could, so as not to annoy friends in the industry.

But a former chief creative officer and CEO of a multinational ad agency beat me to it and validated my fears: billboards in Manila, indeed, are increasingly resembling leaflets or fliers, he says.

I would have to agree. While Manila has won Cannes Lions, Clios, One Show Pencils and Spikes, is home to many talented people, has a vibrant local creative awards show, and is one of Asia’s most prolific entrants to the world’s biggest advertising festivals, the city is flooded with billboards that look as if they were created by salesmen.

Choke me to death seems to be the covenant when local Gods of outdoor media descended into this tropical eden. Words are aplenty. Layout chaos is the order of the day. Forget about the awards book.

Suffocate every available white space seems to be the standard rule.

Mix and match (or ‘halo-halo’ as we’d say in the Philippines) the fonts. The more, the merrier, it seems. Could it be because halo-halo is also a favorite Pinoy dessert?

The city has seen many great, globally applauded campaigns like Coca-Cola’s 60 X 60 foot ‘Living billboard’, a sign made up largely of living plants, which absorb carbon dioxide (made by McCann WorldGroup Philippines).

Ogilvy Manila's Ponds billboard

Ogilvy Manila’s Ponds billboard

Ogilvy Manila produced a number of category-breaking outdoor ads for Pond’s way back in 2007, including a red light on the cheek of a woman’s face that lit up like a pimple. Sad to say, bad billboards dominate the good on Manila’s cluttered skyline now.

And as skyscrapers boom and mushroom in the city, the bad ones grow in number. One only needs to cruise along a stretch of Edsa (Manila’s busiest highway), from Monumento to SM North to Cubao, Shaw, Boni and Guadalupe to see the spectacle of screaming billboards.

Many marketers, even some advertising practitioners, today seem to think that a billboard peppered with lots of hard-sell messages will be more effective. Not so. They just cause more accidents and traffic chaos on the road.

WHAT MAKES AN AD EFFECTIVE AND WIN A WORLD TITLE?

by Roger Pe

A product so good will sell without advertising. Word of mouth will fan the flame but it can only do so much.

Creative advertising, as relevant as it is interesting, will make the categorical difference.

It will multiply sales figures many times over, boost profits and take the brand to charts advertisers never imagined.

A product so bad will nose-dive as soon as it’s launched.

The sad story is, no amount of advertising will increase its market share. On the contrary, it will only hasten its untimely demise, as more and more people will discover how bad it is.

Rather than expose its flaws, it’s wiser to invest on product improvement. In a sea of brands, nothing beats brand superiority.

A damn good product is the alpha and omega of effective advertising.

Whether on digital, social media, below or above the line, or through guerilla tactics, advertising, cut-through advertising that is, is a potent marketing strategy. When you are target-focused and your message has a single-minded proposition, it also becomes a double-edged sword.

A great product is a creative sparkplug, a fountain of ideas that can trigger boundless executions, a surefire formula that can make cash registers ring merrily, continuously, and to effect what every marketer wants. Sales.

How does the biggest advertising festival in the world choose the most effective ad campaign then? Here’s a brief rundown:

In Cannes’ Creative Effectiveness competition, and as the category suggests, an entry cannot win by creativity or effectivity alone, or without the other. It’s effectivity that is creative and creativity that brings in the numbers.

Many marketers, even advertising practitioners today still have that mistaken notion that an effective ad is an ad that have loads of hard-sell copy, big price balloons, a product freight that barks the brand name more than three times and you can sweep creativity under the rug. No.

Cannes is Cannes, and here, entries must be creatively outstanding from a strategic standpoint. More importantly, it must have shown a proven impact on a client’s business backed by real and audited figures.

Cannes Creative-Effectiveness has become an essential part of an ad industry trend that recognizes actual marketing effectiveness with great creativity.

“As ad agencies continue to face client adspend uncertainties and they’re pressured to prove they can boost the client's bottom line, as well as produce a great-looking ad, ad festivals that focus on this become very relevant,” a local ad agency CEO stresses.

According to Guy Murphy, JWT Worldwide Planning Director and Cannes Creative-Effectiveness judge, Cannes Creative-Effecftiveness Lion is difficult to win.

“There were 142 entries in 2011, and only six winners were picked,” he says. He advises prospective entrants to focus on proving the actual effect of the campaign when writing the case study, ahead of the campaign's creativity or strategy.

Proving effectiveness, above all, is now a numbers game. Using consumer data from a variety of sources is essential. "You'll need more numbers than you think. A few quotes from consumer focus groups and one percentage figure won't get you very far,” he adds.

To be able to qualify in Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lion, a campaign must have already been shortlisted or won in the immediate preceding year, been judged and established as creatively world-class.

Entries are rewarded 25% for strategy, 25% for creative idea and a big 50% chunk for market results. The fee is €1,225 per entry, roughly 69,800 pesos.

The rules clearly stipulate that ads must have been made with prior written permission from client, owner of all rights written in the entry form. Entrants must provide organizers with a ready copy of that permission.

All entries must have been made within the context of a normal paying contract, meaning, the client must have paid for all, or majority of the media/production costs.

The rules are strict. Cannes provides stringent measures, such as:

All entries must be submitted for judging exactly as published, aired or implemented and may not be modified for awards entry. It is common knowledge that, locally and internationally, some ad entries are different from what actually came out on media.

A full media schedule and other proofs are to be attached to the entry form to verify authenticity of the work in the event the entry is shortlisted or becomes a winner. In cases of complaints against any winning or shortlisted entry, the organizers conduct a full investigation.

Deliberation

Judging is done by the best minds in the industry, some of them multiple Cannes winners themselves, who have “been there, done that.”

The process is Hollywood-style. A welcome party starts the ball rolling. Introductions of rules come next and the judging proper begins.

The jury looks at entry case videos and every physical piece. They are usually looking for simple ideas, smart but not confusing execution, unusual strategy, and most important of all, the measurable results.

A former Cannes jury member gives this advice: “Nobody reads long body copy and preparing your presentation case study intelligently could improve chances of winning. Showing numbers in results and not in percentages, also works better.”

A jury head does not vote, but only acts in cases of deadlocks. Votes are then shown on screen. This year, only the Grand Prix winner was chosen.

If an ad agency entry is up for the top plum, its jury rep is asked to leave the room. When the results are up, a press conference follows and awards ceremony ensues.

How judges are chosen

Be a Cannes winner yourself and live in a Cannes-crazy country that sends lots of entries every year, that is de rigeur.

According to Phil Thomas, 6th time CEO of Cannes and responsible for naming judges to the festival, there are about 300 judges each year. He has named 1,800 judges during his term.

“If you’re a country that’s entering and winning big in a category, you’ve earned your right to have a jury member above a country that’s not entering and not winning.”

Countries that get the most judges are U.S., Brazil, U.K., Germany, France, Australia, India, Canada, Japan and China.

This year’s Cannes Creative-Effectiveness Lion winner is Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam’s work for Heineken: "Legendary Journey: Justifying a Premium the World Over.”

The global campaign dramatized significant increases in market shares in every country it was being sold. Its most high-profile element was a highly detailed video, "The Date," in which a suave gentleman takes a beautiful woman for a legendary night out.

The guy shows off skills, ranging from fileting a fish to performing magic tricks. The campaign also included online integration, such as contests where entrants could try to win their own legendary dates.

Jury chairperson Shelly Lazarus, chairman emeritus of Ogilvy & Mather, cited a host of factors that contributed to the campaign's win. These included the difficulty in creating a global platform that translated successfully in widely varied local markets, the toughness of differentiation in the beer category, the inspired execution and idea, and the impressive results in driving sales, volume, and maintaining a price premium for the brand.

As the name suggests, the awards reward campaigns that marry creativity with business effectiveness. Pricewaterhouse independently audited all business results from 120 entries.

Seven campaigns picked up gongs in total, across a wide variety of sectors and fulfilling a broad range of business goals, explained Lazarus.

The Gunn Report, the annual compilation of the most awarded advertising campaigns in the world, makes conclusive findings: the more creatively awarded a campaign is, the more effective it becomes.

“They are more effective than non-awarded ones despite lower levels of ESOV, (Extra Share of Voice). Furthermore, highly creative campaigns are more reliable investments as they achieve broader levels of successes across greater number of business metrics,” it adds.