FRONT COVER
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TEAM + EDI
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March - April 2012
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ITORS NOTE
March - April 2012
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TABLE OF C
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CONTENTS
March - April 2012
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TOP STORIES
OMG’S ‘Mother’ quits TO JOIN Havas’ MPG Havas fires up Philippine expansion with de Leon’s hire, Mobext’s launch and partnership with Collab
Havas Media has pulled off a major coup, persuading Hermie de Leon to quit Omnicom Media Group (OMG) to lead MPG Philippines, as Havas expands its local footprint. De Leon’s appointment as MPG’s president and chief executive coincided with Havas’ announcement on the launch of its global mobile marketing agency Mobext in the Philippines. Havas will rebrand Snapworx Mobile as Mobext once it completes its majority acquisition of the mobile marketing arm of independent local digital agency Snapworx. De Leon’s departure from OMG, where she presided for the past seven years as its president and chief executive, is an unexpected blow for the group, whose staffers have taken to calling her “mother Hermie”.
Pacific chief executive Barry Cupples and de Leon downplayed the impact of her departure. “Each brand (within OMG) is in good hands,” said de Leon, while Cupples added: “We have three great leaders of our brands at OMD, PHD and M2M, who have all learned a great deal under Hermie’s guidance. They will all be stepping in to fill any void left by her departure.” Cupples also paid tribute to de Leon as “a fabulous colleague and awesome in her role leading our brands”. Snapworx’s rebranding as Mobext will give Havas three agency brands in the Philippines and the 12th Mobext office worldwide after it India’s launch nearly a year ago. “The Philippines is a very interesting mobile market,” says Anthony Rhind, CEO of Havas Digital, Havas Media’s global interactive network. “Social and web by definition here is, to some extent, mobile. Almost everybody here has a mobile phone or two.
Her resignation is effective March 31. “In my new role, I have been given the mandate to solidify and grow the MPG operations aggressively,” de Leon told adobo. “In addition, I will work closely with award-winning sister digital agency Media Contacts and Mobext to leverage their strengths.” De Leon will report to Havas Media Asia Pacific chief executive Vishnu Mohan. While OMG is actively searching for a replacement, Asia
Good fit “For the last few months, we’ve been speaking with the Snapworx team trying to work out whether or not we’re a good fit. And it seems that they have the same vision and they’re very excited about the opportunity here in the Philippines,” Rhind added. Snapworx was founded in 2002, and works chiefly on mobile, social and search marketing platforms. Its client portfolio includes Procter & Gamble, San Miguel Food Group, the SM Group of Companies, PLDT, Tupper-
March - April 2012
De Leon... leaving OMG after seven years as the group’s local head
ware, and Wyeth. Arthur Policarpio, the current CEO of Snapworx, will head Mobext; he will be joined on the management team by Jeremy Obial, Snapworx co-founder and chief technology officer. The acquisition comes after sister agency Media Contacts partnered with Collab Manila in January, the same month the newly-launched creative think tank – which espouses collaboration – won its first big project to handle AirAsia’s launch in the Philippines.
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Ortega leaves JWT Manila, hints of new venture
MANILA Jos Ortega has quit JWT Manila after a nearly four-year run as its chief executive and has indicated plans of starting on his own. Speculation is rife that Ortega is poised to join the newly-launched creative think-tank Collab Manila, which partnered with Havas’ Media Contacts in January after winning its first major account, AirAsia, to handle its Philippine launch. All Ortega would say was that “he was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug again”.
to joining JWT in June 2008. Guerrero and Ortega had previously worked together at Ogilvy & Mather, where he gained notice as its planning director and later the head of its now-defunct Cebu office. Ortega’s JWT shoes will be filled by a joint management of the following: client services director Miriam Pangan, executive creative director Dave Ferrer, chief financial officer Jeff Sulit, and executive planning director Pam Garcia. The management structure will remain until a new chief executive is appointed. “I’d like to thank Jos for all the hard work he has put in during his four-year tenure with JWT,” said the network’s Asia Pacific president Michael Maedel. “JWT Manila has a very strong management team and I have every confidence in their ability to provide continuity and maintain the agency’s upward trajectory as we move forward.”
Ortega... “bitten by the entrepreneurial bug again”
SMDC is considered one of the market’s biggest outof-home advertisers. It currently has 14 upcoming residential projects located near schools, SM malls, and business districts.
Villar, Jr., senior AVP for corporate marketing communications of SM Investments Corporation (SMIC), announcing Universal’s win within days.
counts. The review did not affect the SM Retail or SM Supermalls assignments. Both remain with their respective incumbents, OMD and MediaCom.
The pitch took place at the end of February, with Rudy
Universal also handles SMIC and SM Mall of Asia ac-
See page XX for Universal’s new business haul
Ortega has been an entrepreneur in the past, cofounding BBDO Guerrero Ortega with David Guerrero and later BrandLab after he withdrew from BBDO management and operations. He was chairman of BrandLab, providing counsel to companies as McDonald’s, Monde Nissin and Chowking, prior
Universal pips rivals to retain SMDC business
MANILA Incumbent Universal McCann Philippines triumphed in a three-way race to retain the media agency-of-record brief for one of the largest real estate developers and advertisers in the country. With an estimated 200 million pesos up for grabs, the review of the SM Development Corporation (SMDC) account came just months after the agency saw its multibillion peso client Globe Telecoms defect to ZenithOptimedia. SMDC – the residential development arm of the SM Group of companies, which has pitched itself as “The good guys” in its communications – has been handled by Universal for the past year. The agency faced off against MediaEdge and Havas’ MPG.
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March - April 2012
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Philippines kicks off AdAsia bid at AdFest
MANILA An early campaign to bring AdAsia 2017 to the Philippines has been launched by the advertising industry though the official bidding is more than a year away. At press time, the Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) chair Ricky Alegre and the chairman of the 4As, Alex Syfu, were due to leave for AdFest in Pattaya to begin lobbying the Asian Federation of Advertising Federations (AFAA). The AdBoard and the 4As intend to build on the momentum of the Department of Tourism’s latest campaign and the success of the 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC).
SINGAPORE Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has created a new global role within its regional network and made four key senior management promotions to manage robust growth prospects in Asia Pacific. Torie Henderson, who has been with the Omnicom agency for six years first with OMD International in Hong Kong before relocating to Singapore as chief executive of OMG companies in the city, has been tapped to lead the new global account management role as president for Asia Pacific. Henderson will oversee client service, strategy, resources, capabilities and best-practice initiatives across multinational accounts for both OMD and PHD, including Visa, HP, Intel, McDonald’s, Standard Chartered Bank and Sony among others. She will work closely with OMG’s regional CEO Barry Cupples, and regional
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firm up details this year for the next two PACs as it will be part of the bidding document presented in October 2013. The pair have also tapped the DoT’s attaché in Bangkok to ensure the country has a solid presence at AdFest, where promotional materials with the AdAsia 2017 logo will be distributed. “With a well-crafted presentation and an aggressive campaign leading to the bidding date, plus DoT’s support for this effort, we are very confident that we will win the bid. And yes, it’s more fun for AdAsia 2017 in the Philippines,” said Alegre, borrowing the DoT’s tagline. The biennial affair brings together 20 countries from the continent. “Hosting AdAsia 2017 will be a boost for the Philippine advertising and tourism industry, and it will affirm our leadership in the field of marketing communications,” said Alegre. The country has hosted the event three times in the past – 1962, 1978, and in 1997, also in tandem with the 15th PAC. Next year’s event will be in Vietnam followed by Taiwan in 2015.
The bid is a top priority of the AdBoard, whose goal is to merge AdAsia 2017 with the 24th PAC. Alegre plans to
OMG taps Henderson for global account role
PEOPLE
Henderson... filling new global account role in the regional operation
brand leaders, Steve Blakeman and Cheuk Chiang, CEOs of OMD and PHD respectively. “(The role) has not been in existence before, although I have lead global accounts as a component of my current remit. The growth of our business led this function to develop into a full time role,” said Henderson, who will remain based in Singapore. Henderson’s previous duties as OMG Singapore CEO has been taken up by Sony Wong, who will remain as PHD Singapore CEO. The expansion to Wong’s role comes nearly a year after the former Hawley & Hazel marketer joined PHD as managing director. OMD Singapore business directors, Anita Yeong and Chloe Neo, have also been promoted to joint managing partners of OMD Singapore’s local business. Wong will work closely with Yeong and Neo and Jaydeep Chaudhuri, managing part of OMD International, to spearhead the agency’s Singapore operations. The series of promotions were prompted by the group’s rapid regional growth. OMD and PHD combined won over $1 billion in billings, winning assignments such as Sony Electronics, ANZ, and Tourism Australia, according to Henderson.
Henderson... filling new global account role in the regional operation
growth from this region is currently at a faster rate than other regions of the world. China, Australia and India are the traditional growth engines for all agencies in this region. Indonesia and Vietnam are among the next wave of growth markets that are experiencing rapid expansion.” Cupples added: “Our success in this region is clearly determined by the strength of our people. In Torie we have a great leader, who can add significant value to our client relationships. Her depth of experience will be a real benefit to OMG’s ambitions going forward.”
“Our existing client base grew considerably, as Asia in particular, is on the radar of every global client, as
March - April 2012
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Aquino to take Ogilvy consultant board role
ment and Ogilvy has cast the net wide looking at local and regional candidates, within and outside the network. David Mayo, Ogilvy & Mather ASEAN president, will serve as interim chief executive officer until Aquino’s official successor is named by mid-year. Mayo did the same recently with Ogilvy Indonesia prior to Katryna Mojica’s arrival as CEO.
MANILA Randy Aquino has stepped down from Ogilvy Philippines, relinquishing day-to-day management and will become a consultant and step into the group vice chairman role recently vacated by Tim Isaac.
As vice chairman, Aquino will join the board in deciding growth strategies, operational policies, mergers and acquisitions of the local office. The development and Leticia Matias’ elevation from group finance director to chief operating officer leaves Ogilvy’s local management team largely intact.
The move was mutually decided after Aquino and Ogilvy’s regional management felt the local office needed to be led by a younger chief executive to meet upcoming challenges. “We understand the fact that new blood in the organization brings in new wisdom and new ways of looking at things. Ogilvy has been very progressive in its view of marketing communications, and perhaps we needed a younger chief executive, who will be able to develop a progressive next five years,” said Aquino.
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Aquino was Ogilvy Philippines’ longest-running head of country with five years in the role. He experienced a fast rise through the network ranks, promoted to country head within three months of his arrival as managing director for advertising. Paul Heath, the network’s regional CEO, said the move would keep Aquino “as part of our family and our culture and I thank him for what he has done for us over the past five years as he helps shape the next five”.
Aquino... “new blood in the organization brings new wisdom”
Aquino’s exit has triggered a search for his replace-
Cannes picks Jayme for outdoor jury duty
MANILA Merlee Jayme has been tapped to judge this year’s Cannes Lions Advertising Festival’s outdoor advertising category, her second major jury stint this year after the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival (AdFest). The chairperson and chief creative officer of DDB DM9 JaymeSyfu will join the panel, led by Lo Sheung Yan, executive creative director of JWT for Northeast Asia and chair of JWT China.
something similar in idea or execution. I’d love to see more of the simple but brilliant ones like The Zimbabwean or the daring Diesel campaigns in the past,” Jayme said. Jayme noted that technology and innovation had become more apparent in ambient executions. “But a holistic one like last year’s ‘Decode Jay-Z’ from Droga 5 was the impressive idea that blew our minds away,” Jayme said of one of last year’s Outdoor Grand Prix winner. After previewing AdFest outdoor entries online, Jayme cited India, Singapore and Japan as markets delivering strong outdoor work for the upcoming competition.
Jayme, who was due to chair AdFest’s outdoor jury at press time, said she excepted to see work that was unexpected at Cannes, which is par for the course for this competition.
“What was really unforgettable and inspiring was the slew of ideas that Japan came up with to rebuild the spirit of their nation after the 2011 tsunami. There were ideas to cheer up their people, help bring aid to the different parts of the disaster-stricken provinces or simply to touch the lives of the survivors.”
“If you look at the Grand Prix in outdoor year after year, it’s safe to say that there was never a trend nor
See page XXX for Muse and goddess of Philippine advertising
March - April 2012
Jayme... inspired by ideas from post-tsunami Japan
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LOCAL NEWS
Lowe sharpens digital focus with revamp Agency promotes trio and expands creative group with launch of new technology unit
MANILA Lowe Philippines has revamped its management with a series of promotions aimed at putting digital at the core of the agency in line with media’s evolution. Mike Trillana, formerly a business unit head, has been promoted to vice president for business operations and development. “Part of my new assignment is to see the big picture, and act on it. For the sake of our clients’ businesses, we need to be alert to innovations and time-sensitive opportunities, so as not to miss them in the rush of day-to-day requirements,” he said. Open, Lowe’s retail marketing arm, will be spearheaded by Alan Fontanilla, who has been promoted from business director to managing director. “We are seeing technology and retail coming together in more interesting ways than ever before,” said Fontanilla, whose promotion entitles him to a seat on Lowe Philippines’ executive committee. “Open’s continuing success is a direct result of more and more clients seeing the relevance of shopper marketing and activation that influences shopper behavior,” he added.
Meanwhile, the agency’s strategic planning group will be headed by Viboy Palillo, a Lowe alumnus with 10 years of planning experience across multiple categories. The creative department has also been expanded to incorporate a creative technology unit, composed of developers and project managers. The unit is geared toward bringing Lowe both client and server-side technologies. Other capabilities that will be added to the creative unit are object-oriented programming, CGI programming, and content development for multiple mobile platforms. An outsourcing model has also been adapted for certain administrative functions and broadcast production to boost operational efficiency. The agency’s chief creative officer and newly promoted president Leigh Reyes said of the changes: “We need to have a culture that embraces change to provide greater value to our clients by adding more skill sets. Our new management team is committed to getting the right skills and services in place.” “There’s a saying: ‘Program or be programmed.’ It’s much better to take charge of change. I’m sure our clients will benefit from this transformation, today and in the future.” Rupen Desai, president of Lowe Asia Pacific said the new structure would allow the agency “to be leaner and fitter for a digitized marketplace”.
Trillana... “we need to be alert to innovations”
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Pepsi makes top-level revamp MANILA Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines has revamped its management, splitting chair-
Bates breathes life into store window display
MANILA Local agencies are enjoying success in creating apps that help bring brands to life on mobile devices in the Philippines, a market enjoying a deep love affair with mobile devices. Bates Philippines’ Imagine Fully Booked app for local retailer Fully Booked brings fictional characters to life on their mobile devices using augmented reality (AR) technology, while Y&R Philippines’ app for Nokia smartphones secured the agency a finalist spot in the One Show Interactive.
man and CEO duties to two board members following Hwang Chung’s retirement from the previously consolidated role. Oscar Reyes has been named chairman and Yeon-Suk No, a veteran of South Korea’s Lotte Group, CEO. The pair has vacated their board positions, which have been filled by Byoung Tak Hur and Choong Ik Lee. In addition to Pepsi, Reyes is also COO of Manila Electric Company. The company said in a statement that Reyes and No could make the
Bates’ app, which functions on iOS devices such as the iPad, iPod, and iPhone, immerses users in a 3D world filled with characters from books. The free app can be downloaded from iTunes. Once installed, users point their device to any of the book covers in a poster located at a Fully Booked branch and wait for the magic to unfold.
“It was very nice to see people already interested and intrigued by the character artworks themselves. But it was even more delightful to witness their surprise and wonder when they see the characters leap out of book covers in full 3D,” said Bernardo. Y&R’s GPS-based app simulates a taxi meter to show meter tampering and to track fares when the meter is not working. The app, available from the Nokia Store, is up against entries from Digital Kitchen, Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO, Forsman & Bodenfors, Grow Interactive, and R/GA in the mobile category.
“The app was created to allow patrons and even nonpatrons of Fully Booked to see their books in an entirely new light. It aims to show how their books open up a world of imagination to the reader,” said James Bernardo, the agency’s executive creative director.
One Show will announce winners at its May 11 awards night, as part of New York’s May 7–13 Creative Week. “The Nokia Store was suffering from lack of traffic, especially compared with the patronage of iPhone’s App Store,” said Badong Abesamis, Y&R’s executive creative director. The solution, Abesamis said, was to populate the Nokia Store with useful mobile applications that go beyond gaming and entertainment.
Originally conceptualized as a window display, Bates pushed the concept further and combined art with AR. “We decided to integrate AR technology into the window display so that we could demonstrate our point even more effectively.
The apps demonstrate how agencies are capitalizing on technology to extend communications beyond traditional advertising and raise the engagement bar to allow customers to interact with brands when they are out and about.
company “more responsive to new challenges in the economic climate both here and abroad”.
Nokia Taxi Meter app... driving traffic to Nokia Store
Nestlé wins Grand Anvil honors MANILA The Grand Anvil Award – the Philippine PR industry’s equivalent of the Oscars – has gone to Nestlé Philippines, making it a hattrick of industry award wins for the company’s 2011 centennial celebrations. The Kasambuhay, Habambuhay (Companion in Life, For Life) campaign, which paid tribute to the Filipino family through generations was awarded the highest recognition for a local PR program. The campaign also saw Nestlé launch a Short Film Anthology, a 100-minute collection of 10 short films directed by the country’s top creative film directors. The Grand Anvil is the third major win for Nestle, which was named Advertiser of the Year at last year’s ARAW Awards and at
Point and click... Bates leverages augumented reality technology to bring fictional characters to life for retailer Fully Booked
the PANATA Awards, where it scooped a haul of metals.
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LOCAL
Tan leaves BBDO to return to Lowe
“We have been looking far and wide for someone who will not just help us deliver that, but be a strong and inspiring leader to the agency. Brandie is well worth the wait. Not only does he have a cupboard full of awards, he also shares our effectiveness mantra and is driven by great integration,” Rahim added.
MANILA Multiple award-winning Filipino creative director Brandie Tan has left the Philippines and joined Lowe Malaysia as executive creative director, effective February 16.The appointment marks Tan’s return to the Lowe network. He was previously joint ECD at Lowe Vietnam before moving to his most recent position as ECD of BBDO/Guerrero.
Considered as one of the Philippines’ top creatives, Tan has a collection of metals under his belt from Cannes, Clio, D&AD, The One Show, Spikes, London International, AdFest, AWARD, DMA Echo, Digital Media Awards, Caples, the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards, the local Araw Awards and the Philippine Creative Guild Kidlat Awards, across all media.
In his new role, Tan will be tasked with driving a multi-disciplined approach to deliver a truly integrated creative product. “Brandie joins us at a very opportune time in the evolution of Lowe in Malaysia. Last year, we marked our 50th anniversary in Malaysia, with a series of new clients like F&N Dairies, PlayTV Asia and a private university, plus new assignments from long-standing clients like Etiqa, Walls, Ikea and Unilever,” said Lowe managing director Khairudin Rahim.
He was part of the team, alongside Dave Ferrer, Tin Sanchez, and Hit Productions, that brought home the Philippines’ first Cannes Lions for JWT Manila’s Lotus Spa radio campaign. Tan has led business-building integrated campaigns for numerous clients including Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Bayer, Visa, Ford, Adidas, Nestlé, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Bayan Telecommunications and Pfizer.
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Tan... brought home the country’s first Cannes Lion
“It’s great to see Filipino creative talent getting the recognition it deserves. And we wish him every success in his new role,” BBDO/Guerrero’s chief creative officer David Guerrero said of Tan’s move. “It is sad to lose a genuine talent like Brandie, who has been part of the fabric for so long here. However, we are genuinely proud that not only other networks but other countries feel that they would like to borrow the talent from BBDO/Guerrero. We wish him every success; he deserves it,” added Tony Harris, CEO of BBDO/Guerrero.
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Asia Brewery hands all brand briefs to Carat MANILA Asia Brewery and its subsidiary Interbev have consolidated their media account with the newly-beefed up Carat Philippines, which had earlier won the company’s Tanduay Distillers’ assignment.
JWT beats trio for Fit ’N Right
The country’s second-largest brewer and bottled water supplier has tasked the Aegis-owned media shop with communications planning, buying, digital, outof-home, events management and PR duties for all its brands, including Beer na Beer, Colt 45, Cobra, Cobra Smart, Coors, Tanduay Ice, and Vitamilk.
MANILA JWT Manila has won a four-way pitch for Del Monte Fit n’ Right brand. The agency outgunned Lowe Philippines, Campaigns & Grey, and incumbent TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno to become the brand’s agency of record, working alongside strategic media partner, Media Contacts. The pitch was part of Del Monte Philippines’ standard process to re-pitch each brand every four to five years. Categories such as canned fruits, canned juices, and tomato-based products remain with TBWA\SMP.
The consolidation comes after Carat dislodged incumbent MediaCom on the estimated 33.3 million peso brief of Tanduay Distillers, the leading rum manufacturer in the country owned by Asia Brewery. Carat secured the Tanduay assignment with a credentials presentation and has been tasked with communications planning, buying, digital, OOH, events management, PR and creative media material for the First Five Tour and RhumRockfest events.
Though a young brand that launched in 2007, Fit n’ Right is the leading ready-to-drink juice in PET format, at more than twice the size of rivals. It launched a new formulation in the last quarter of 2011 to boost the drink’s fat-burning
The brief covers Tanduay 5 Years, Tanduay ESQ, Tanduay 65, Gin Kapitan, Boracay Rum, Cossack Blue, Embassy Whisky, London Gin, Barcelona Brandy, and Mardi Gras. Commenting on the
Tanduay shift, the company’s vice president Paul Lim said: “We were very impressed with Carat’s credentials and with the synergy of the old and the new. We are excited to see how Carat will help us cement our position as world-class Philippine manufacturers of rum.” Asia Brewery’s AVP for marketing, media and budget, Michael Ngo, indicated that Carat’s investment in senior talent had helped in decision-making. “We are very happy to hear about the ongoing infusions of more and more talent to Carat Philippines, hence pleased to announce the consolidation of all Asia Brewery and Interbev brands under Carat this year.” The agency has been steadily beefing up its senior management team – it appointed Angelito ‘BoyP’ Pangilinan as its CEO and Gladys Basinillo as general manager and COO last year. Basinillo will lead the Tanduay account. In March, April Yap arrived as group consumer insight director along with Francis Cruz as associate media director.
properties.
R3 NEW BUSINESS LEAGUE PHILIPPINES TOP 10 WINS (JAN 2012) CREATIVE AGENCY
McCann wins across-the-board MANILA McCann Worldgroup Philippines has rebounded after Universal McCann’s sizable Globe Telecom loss. The group has secured wins across several disciplines: Universal was named media agency by Gentle Supreme Philippines for Wings detergent and GIV brands, and also bagged duties from The Clorox Company (for
ACCOUNT
MEDIA AGENCY
JWT
Fit ‘n Right
Carat
Tanduay Distillers
DDB
Smart Radar
Carat
Asia Brewery Interbev
Y&R
Shangri-La Properties
Carat
Airphil Express
(Shang Salcedo Place)
Carat
Philippine Airlines
Y&R
Century Corporation
ZenithOptimedia
Ayala Land
McCann
Japan Tobacco
PHD
Social Security System
Grey
Philippine American Life
Universal McCann
Gentle Supreme Wings
and General Insurance PR
Valley, and Prestone), Cherry Mobile, and
Duties
group-buying site Deal Grocer. Microsoft and the American Eye Center have also named
McCann
Big “E” Whatta Tops
it their AOR. MRM triumphed in pitches for
DDB
Metro Pacific Investments
McCann
Unilever Project Wildfire
BBDO
Department of Tourism
Nestlé’s Nescafé and KitKat, while Momentum assignments. “We’re very happy at the multidisciplinary new business success that McCann
government agency
International - Winston
Clorox, Pine Sol, Glad, Burt’s Bees, Hidden
bagged Maxims, Whattatops, and JTI Winston
ACCOUNT
laundry detergent ZenithOptimedia
Global Bank
Carat
7-ELEVEN
Vizeum
Insular Life
PR
Worldgroup is enjoying,” said Nandy Villar, McCann Worldgroup president and COO.
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METHODOLOGY: The R3 New Business League has been compiled using data supplied by 26 multinational agencies on a monthly basis. R3 is the leading independent consultancy focused on tracking agency performance, and marketing ROI for clients across the region.
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REGIONAL NEWS
AWARD-WINNING TALENT LAUNCH SEPARATE START-UPS ManghamGaxiola debuts with CIMB Bank, Chris Chiu to focus on Ren Partnership
SINGAPORE Three award-winning agency talent have left established careers to strike out on their own with two separate start-ups. Former Ogilvy & Mather senior executives Stephen Mangham and Robert Gaxiola have teamed up to launch ManghamGaxiola, while Leo Burnett Singapore’s group executive creative director Chris Chiu is leaving the network after 11 years in regional markets to launch a creative consultancy, Ren Partnership. Mangham, the former group chairman of Ogilvy left the agency late last year soon after he was named Indonesia office head, while partner Gaxiola, who joined Ogilvy Singapore as ECD, quit in mid-2011. The pair launched their full-service independent shop with 12 people, a regional client‚ Kuala Lumpur-based CIMB Bank, and S$25 million in billings. “We may be a small agency, but our experience makes us big. That’s an intense combination, which brings a laser focus to client needs. That’s what will make us stand out,” said Mangham. Chiu said he was in pitch mode at Ren, “targeting clients with interesting business problems in and around Singapore and Southeast Asia”. He said a combination of factors prompted the break away from Burnett: “The obvious allure of being
independent and being able to pursue projects and clients without worrying about conflicts,” he noted. “For a start-up like ours, the proposition is simple. It’s the people in the agency. Each and every one of us don’t just believe in the Ren vision of creating work that fills heads and touches hearts, our individual portfolios coming in are representational of that ethos too.” At Burnett, CEO John Kyriakou has taken on additional chief creative officer duties on an interim basis, with Chiu lending support on selected accounts and projects throughout the year. Chiu... in pitch mode at new consultancy
Chiu led the Singapore creative team for the past five years and is credited with building the office’s awardwinning form. “Between Chris and me, the creative leadership will continue with minimal impact on the day-to-day operations for the year ahead, Kyriakou said, adding that Burnett was shortlisting “world-class candidates for the full time role of chief creative officer to lead the office in the long run”. A separate announcement will also be made shortly on filling Chiu’s responsibilities as Southeast Asia creative leader on Burnett’s internal product committees across five markets.
March - April 2012
Mangham and Gaxiola... small shop with big experience
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DDB makes China shift, taps Dabral for India SHANGHAI/MUMBAI DDB Worldwide will relocate its global creative hub and worldwide chief creative officer Amir Kassaei to Shanghai, a move believed to be the first by a Madison Avenue agency and a recognition of Asia becoming a growth engine for global brands.
Integer Group opens India office MUMBAI Promotional, retail and shopper marketing agency Integer Group has opened its 16th worldwide office in Mumbai with blue chip clients including PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble. “Brands in India are increasingly recognizing the importance of having a deeper understanding of shoppers. Integer uses this knowledge to develop shopper marketing programs that result in an improved shopping experience for the
The group has also beefed up its creative firepower in India, luring one of WPP’s creative stars – Sonal Dabral – to DDB Mudra Group. Kassaei will retain his global remit but focus on Asia. The move follows John Ziegler’s shift to Singapore late last year. “World-class brands are moving here [Asia] and they deserve world-class creative they have become accustomed to,” Zeigler said. “Amir’s move makes China the centre for our global creative work,” he said, noting that the group has three core regional hubs Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.
shoppers and better conversion at retail for the brand,” said Sreejit Nair, Integer India managing director. “ Added Dan Paris, IntegerGroup Asia Pacific managing director: “... shopper marketing has evolved into a powerful new philosophy for clients. It is fast becoming the future meth-
In India, all creative teams of DDB Mudra agencies will report to Dabral, the new chairman and chief creative officer. Dabral comes to the role after a long and successful run in creative and senior management roles at WPP agencies, Ogilvy & Mather as well
Dabral... left Bates to lead creative teams across DDB Mudra group
as Bates. He was until recently filling the dual role of regional creative head and chairman, India of Bates, operating out of Singapore and Mumbai. His appointment comes less than six months after Omnicom took a majority stake in DDB Mudra. “He will partner me on the exciting agenda that we have ahead of us for the DDB Mudra Group,” said Madhukar Kamath, group chief executive officer and managing director, DDB Mudra Group. The network, which saw its highly-awarded creative leader Bob Scarpelli step down last year end, will tap the talents of the multi-awarded Indian creative on a global stage. Dabral will also serve on DDB’s Global Creative Council and chair the Regional Creative Council with Kassaei.
odology for consumer engagement.”
McCann beefs up China team with Lin, Mok
BBDO opens Asian base for hub+ SINGAPORE Omnicom has partnered with Hard Drive to open an Asian hub in Singapore for hub+, its global production and implementation company. The partners believe hub+ Singa-
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE McCann Worldgroup has appointed Jesse Lin and promoted Tomaz Mok in Greater China, underscoring its commitment to a market that is poised to overtake Japan as the world’s second-largest advertising economy this year. Lin has been appointed chief executive of McCann Worldgroup Greater China and Mok chairman of McCann Guangming.
pore will be well placed to tap growing client demand in Asia for a full range of services for the adaption of master creative materials, including TV, press, OOH and online. It will also provide design services previously carried out by Hard Drive, specializing in low-cost, fast turnaround below-the-line work for local, regional and global clients. Hard Drive general manager Esther Yue will lead the hub+ Singapore team, continuing in
The appointment comes after the Interpublic-owned network strengthened its leadership structure in the region in January – it designated Charles Cadell its Asia Pacific leader and Prasoon Joshi for South Asia. The pair have become presidents of their respective regions, reporting directly to McCann Worldgroup chairman and CEO Nick Brien.
her role as general manager after spearheading Hard Drive from its 2009 launch and building a client roster that includes SingTel, Blackberry and HP.
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“Jesse possesses the essential traits to lead the transformation of McCann Worldgroup in China,” Brien said. Cadell added: “The combination of Jesse and
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Cadell... Lin and Mok combination as a powerfiul force in China
Tomaz will be a powerful force. With incomes rising and Chinese consumers become more discerning, the role of brands has become increasingly important, helping to influence purchase decisions.” Lin, Wieden & Kennedy’s first managing director for China and more recently president of DDB Group Shanghai, joined McCann with 17 years of communications industry experience. Mok’s new remit represents an expansion of his McCann role in the management of the group’s China operations. Mok, who joined McCann 28 years ago, currently divides his time as MD of McCann Erickson/SGM Works and vice chairman and executive VP professional management of McCann Worldgroup China.
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R3 NEW BUSINESS LEAGUE ASIA PACIFIC TOP 10 WINS (JAN 2012) CREATIVE AGENCY
ACCOUNT
MARKET
M&C Saatchi
Commonwealth Bank
Australia
McCann
Maxis
Malaysia
TBWA
Maeil Dairies
Korea
BBDO
Kinari Soka Mocka
Japan
Lowe
Krungsri
Thailand
DraftFCB
Air New Zealand
New Zealand
JAKARTA Carat has been awarded US$2 million
Leo Burnett
Maxis Communications
Malaysia
worth of business from Merck following a four-
DDB
Changi Airport Group
Singapore
way pitch. The Aegis-owned media shop will
DDB
ExxonMobil
Singapore
Ogilvy
Landcom
Australia
MEDIA AGENCY
ACCOUNT
MARKET
Carat
General Motors
Asia Pacific
Universal McCann
Australian Government
Australia
Carat
Pfizer Wyeth
China
Carat
Pernod Ricard
China
Carat
Beiersdorf
China
Maxus
GSK
Australia
Starcom
Avon
China
Starcom
Aircel
India
Carat outguns rivals for Merck
handle planning and buying for Neurobion and Sangobion, as well as buying duties for Seven Seas vitamins, minerals, and supplements. The agency’s iProspect digital shop has also been awarded search duties for Neurobion and Sangobion.
OMD lands China, Taiwan deals
ZenithOptimedia
Siemens
China
Vizeum
Panasonic
Malaysia
SHANGHAI/TAIPEI OMD has scored wins for multinational brands in China and Taiwan. Its Shanghai office bested Mindshare, MediaCom, Starcom and digital agency &C for the US$4 million media contract for full digital media
METHODOLOGY The R3 New Business League has been compiled using data supplied by 26 multinational agencies on a monthly basis. R3 is the leading independent consultancy focused on tracking of agency performance, and marketing ROI for clients across the region.
service for Amway China-owned Artistry in a joint pitch with NIM Advertising. In Taiwan, the office was awarded media buying and planning for PepsiCo Foods’ snack brands, including Lay’s SunBites, Doritos and Cheetos. Both contracts start immediately.
Coke awards Sparkling portfolio to McCann
NTUC returns to PHD after review SINGAPORE PHD has scooped NTUC Income’s media planning and buying assignment, winning back the brief from Maxus in a pitch. “The strength of the NTUC Income brand lies in our DNA of being ‘Made Different’ as a social enterprise, which underlies our commitment to put people before profits. We look forward to partnering with PHD to drive our branding efforts forward,” said Lynette Ang, NTUC’s vice president and head, strategic marketing and communications.
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JAKARTA Coca-Cola has extended its partnership with McCann Worldgroup Indonesia, appointing it as AOR of its entire Sparkling portfolio, which includes Fanta, Sprite, and Coca-Cola. The appointment comes as Coca-Cola steps up efforts in this fast-growing soft drinks market, which is tipped to see sales surge by more than 20% to US$8 billion by 2014. “McCann Worldgroup has been a partner for more than 18 years in Indonesia. In the past 12 months we have seen a renewed energy and commitment to our business,” said Cara O’ Connor, group
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integrated marketing content and connections manager of Coca-Cola Indonesia. “The new team have proven themselves to be passionate about growing our business and we are proud to continue our relationship with them in an expanded capacity.”
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ing a pan-regional TVC in Asia-Pacific. This particular model shows the attention we are giving to the markets in the region,” said Denis Lefebvre, Peugeot’s communications manager for Asia Pacific. The win extends Euro’s global partnership with Peugeot, which spans more than 100 markets today.
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“Peugeot is a world leader that we deeply admire for their committment to excellence,” said the agency’s managing director Andrew Lee. Lee... Peugeot committed to excellence
Peugeot, Carlsberg extend Euro alliance KUALA LUMPUR Two Euro RSCG Malaysia clients, Automobiles Peugeot and Carlsberg Breweries, have awarded regional work to the agency. Peugeot has tapped the office to develop its first pan-Asia TV campaign to launch a brand new model in ASEAN.
The second piece of regional work the agency has picked up comes from Carlsberg Breweries, which has tapped the Malaysian shop for a digital project, which will run as an experiential campaign for at least three years. An integrated cross-market team from Singapore and Malaysia will handle the brief, covering brand management and the development of the customer journey across multiple channels leveraging abovethe-line advertising, digital, PR and activation.
Renault drives off with TBWA BEIJING Renault has hired TBWA\Greater China as its strategic and creative partner for abovethe-line, retail activation, and digital work to help the brand build on its 65% growth surge in 2011. “For our next phase of growth, we were looking for a long-term strategic and creative partner in China,” said Renault China’s managing director Robert Chan. “We felt they had the right edge and were the best creative agency
Euro, which outgunned three other shops in the pitch, will also handle print and catalogue work as part of its assignment.
“We hope to bring audiences to a new level of engagement with this digital-centric experiential program,” said Matthew Fanshawe, managing director, Euro Asia-Pacific.
The win comes at a time of strong growth for the automotive company in Malaysia. “This is an exciting time for Peugeot as this is the first time that we are produc-
The win strengthens Euro’s relationship with Carlsberg since its Malaysia and Singapore shops were named AOR in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
partner to work with as we take this important step forward and invest further in the Chinese market.”
Softex firms up Indonesia roster JAKARTA Y&R and The Campaign Palace Jakarta have been named joint AOR for five Softex Indonesia brands following a three-way pitch, which also saw Grey Group Indonesia win the new male toiletries line account. Y&R and Campaign Palace’s contract covers Softex, V-Class, Sweety, Confidence and Softies brands. Incumbent
Thai Smile hires JWT for launch campaign
BBDO also participated in the review. “We are confident Y&R and The Campaign Palace will help us ensure that our recent success in becoming the second largest paper based consumer hygiene firm in East Asia will be fur-
BANGKOK Thai International has appointed JWT Bangkok the agency of record for its new light premium service, THAI Smile, which is scheduled for take-off in July this year. JWT has been tasked to develop the launch campaign for the new brand, which will be positioned as a midrange alternative to both premium airlines and ultracheap, low-cost carriers. THAI Smile will offer complimentary in-flight snacks and refreshments, free seat selection and checked baggage, self check-in and frequent flyer miles with THAI’s Royal Orchid Plus to differentiate itself from low-cost rivals. The newcomer will launch with twice-daily flights to Macau and, by September, offer an alternative on selected routes within ASEAN as well as provide some domestic services to Surat Thani and between Chiang Mai and Phuket.
ther expanded,” said Rudolf Tjandra, marketing director of Softex.
MPG China wins Hyundai, Kia SHANGHAI MPG China outgunned GuangHekkelman... “highly competitive, dynamic industry”
dong Advertising and incumbent Shanghai Advertising to win the offline media planning
It expects to have a route network covering up to 10 destinations in five countries with more than 60 departures each week by year-end. The airline will employ a fleet of 11 brand new Airbus A320 jets, offering 174 seats in an all-economy configuration. “This is a highly competitive, dynamic industry, and we look forward to creating an equally vibrant and dynamic campaign to help launch THAI Smile,” said Bob Hekkelman, the agency’s managing director.
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and buying for the imported Hyundai and Kia brands. Nielsen Media Research estimated the account to be worth about US$100 million. The latest automotive win follows MPG China’s appointment as the media agency of record of the US$125 million Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors brief last year. “This win will further strengthen our operations in China and allow us to accelerate our rate of growth in the country,” said Vishnu Mohan, CEO of Havas Media Asia Pacific.
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Region returns with 9 CUP trophies ISTANBUL Japanese agencies were in top form, playing a significant role in helping the Asia Pacific contingent convert 53 nominations into nine CUP trophies at the 5th International Advertising CUP in Istanbul in late January.
DDB scored two wins in the Best of Products & Services (Best of Household Products & Maintenance) and Best of Media (Best of One2One) categories for ‘Dirty dishes’, its work for Cussons ‘Morning Fresh’. Cheil Worldwide Seoul took the CUP in the Best of Media category (Best of Outdoor) for its 3M Super Sticky Post-It ‘Express train’ ad.
The Japanese agencies led the gold rush: Dentsu Inc. Tokyo’s work for Uniqlo ‘Lucky Line’ scooped the prize in the Best of Products & Services category (Best of Fashion, Cosmetics and Luxury Goods and also won the CUP in the Best of Products & Services category (Best of Financial) for JAF CB Co ‘Hat/Iceberg/Goldrush’. Masashi Kawamura, Qanta Shimizu, Saqoosha and Hiroki Ono (Tokyo) for Zenith’s ‘Sour/Mirror’, which won the CUP in the Best of Media (Best of Interactive) and Best of AdMaking (Best Use of Technology) categories. Nike Japan’s ‘Write the future: Tulio’ campaign won the Best Integration of a Global Idea into a Local Culture CUP for Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo in the Best of AdMaking category. Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo also scored another win with Taiyo Kikaku & Rhizomatiks for Nike Japan’s ‘Nike Music Shoe’, this time for the Best Craft for Production CUP in the Best of AdMaking category.
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The Grand CUP was awarded to Spanish agency Germinal Comunicacion for its campaign for Doctors Without Borders called ‘Pills against the pain of others’. The campaign, which won the CUP for Best Social Engagements in the Products & Services category, encouraged Spaniards to purchase pills to heal other people’s pains and illnesses. “In international festivals like Cannes, big brands... almost always dominate the Grand Prix and Gold awards,” said Satoshi Takamatsu, founder and chief
Yusuharu Saski of Dentsu Tokyo
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CUP glory... Japanese agencies led Asia’s nine-award haul
creative director of Ground in Tokyo, who served as jury president at the 5th CUP competition. “In this festival I feel like here we are following another philosophy. We opened our minds to understand different cultures from around the world, which are unfamiliar to us. It’s easy to find big flowers in Cannes, but it’s difficult to find small beautiful flowers. At The CUP, it does not matter how big the flower is: if the flower is related to a cultural background, we try to find it no matter how small it is,” he explained. The competition brings together the best advertising campaigns from four continents: only winners from AdFest (Asia Pacific), FIAP (Ibero America), Golden Drum (Eastern Europe) and Art Directors Club of Europe (ADC*E Europe) can enter the CUP, which features unique categories such as Best Integration of a Global Idea into a Local Culture, Best Universal Idea Created in a Local Market, and Best Use of Local Culture. A total of 397 entries were submitted this year, with the ADC*E in the lead with 12 trophies followed closely by AdFest with nine, FIAP with seven, and six for Golden Drum.
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Diageo’s James Thompson to head effectiveness jury Asian Marketing Effectiveness returns to Shanghai SHANGHAI Diageo’s regional chief marketing officer James Thompson will lead the panel judging this year’s Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival competition, which marks its 10th year this year.
Thompson ... to lead 34-person judging panel
The jury of 34 industry experts from agencies and brand organizations across the region will judge 17 award categories before winners are announced at the April 27 awards, which returns to Shanghai this year. Categories include best integrated marketing campaign, most effective use of advertising, most innovative use of media and best marketing campaign for regional
brand development in a festival that honors the collaborative work of clients and agencies to deliver solid business results. Thompson will do double duty as speaker along with Lowe chairman Tony Wright and Unilever senior vice president for marketing, Marc Mathieu. Other confirmed speakers are Leanne Cutt, VP marketing, Asia Pacific, Kraft Foods; Mythili Vhandrasekar, senior VP and executive planning director, JWT India; Jordan Pruce, senior strategic planning partner, JWT Tokyo; and Tom Doctoroff, North Asia CEO, JWT.
AME FES TIVAL 2012 JURY James Thompson
Jonathan Daly
Joanna Mobley
Chris Thomas
(Jury President) Chief Marketing Officer Diageo Asia Pacific Singapore
Regional Planning Director Asia Pacific Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore
Group Director Ingredient Marketing Innovation and Business Ventures Fonterra New Zealand
Chairman and CEO BBDO Asia, Middle East & Africa, Chairman ,Proximity Worldwide, BBDO/Proximity Singapore
Wasim Basir
Neil Hudspeth
Director Integrated Marketing Communications Coca-Cola India
Chief Digital Officer Asia Pacific Leo Burnett Group Singapore
Stephanie Bell
Regional Media Director L’Oreal Thailand
China Chair and Chief Creative Officer Publicis China
David Brain
Julie Lyle
President and CEO Asia Pacific Edelman New Zealand
Chief Marketing Officer Board of Directors Prudential Corporation Asia Hong Kong
Charles Cadell
Anthony Lau
Regional Managing Director McCann Worldgroup Singapore
Head of Marketing Pacific Credit Card Centre Bank of Communications China
Sheena Jeng
Pully Chau
Chairman and CEO Greater China Draftfcb China
Regional Director GroupM Asia Pacific Hong Kong
Barry Cupples
Paolo Mercado
CEO Asia Pacific Omnicom Media Group, Singapore
Head of Marketing Communications, Greater China Region, Nestle China
Andrew Meadon
Ian Thubron Leonardo O’Grady
Director ASEAN Integrated Marketing and communications Coca-Cola Asia Pacific Singapore Tracy Ren
Head of Marketing Pricing and Customer Analytics, Standard Chartered Bank China Dona S. Arcilla
Group Head Marketing and Communications Philippine Savings Bank The Philippines
President TBWA/Greater China, Hong Kong Mei Wai
Head of Marketing Asia Pacific Breweries Vietnam Haiyan Wang
Marketing Director Kraft Foods Corporate Management (Shanghai) Co. China Charles Wigley
Chairman BBH Asia Singapore
Nirvik Singh
Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific Grey Group Singapore
James Wong
Managing Director Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, Unilever Taiwan
Mark Sinnock
President Strategy and Planning, Ogilvy & Mather Group Asia Pacific Singapore
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John Zeigler
Chairman and CEO DDB Group Asia Pacific, India, Japan, DDB Worldwide Singapore
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Collaborate to win in pitching
I get a little anxious making contributions; will people tease, challenge, concur or applaud; however in this instance, it is with quiet confidence I write, as Omnicom Media Group has topped the R3 New Business Leagues across Asia Pacific in both 2010 and 2011. And with a tough, competitive year ahead – we will need to continue to deliver smart strategies to drive success. Our success does not rest on the shoulders of a single individual (although occasionally it can feel like it); thankfully that is one of the first lessons on the ‘Art of Pitching’…
Collaborate and have balls, says Laura Gordon, business development director Omnicom Media Group, Asia Pacific, sharing her top five tips to convert a business pitch into a win image by Amy Domingo
Collaboration: It is about strong teams, not strong individuals. Our business is truly integrated; and so our approach should be. Collaboration cuts across all areas of the pitch – within our teams, our consultancies, our markets and our network – leveraging success from past experiences or regions can help elevate your response dramatically. And critically; collaboration with your client. You can get a good sense of how successful you will be; benchmarked against your clients’ openness to work together.
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The right time: A great pitch demands time and resource, of which both can be scarce, when leading the day-to-day business. How do you defend a time-honored client versus pitching for a new opportunity; is their enough resources to cover all angles without jeopardizing relationships and bottom lines? It is better to demonstrate excellence in one, and be legendary. A great experience, with a winning outcome, lifts confidence throughout the network as the magic-dust settles. Have balls, you’ll be respected in the morning: I have been part and privy, to two interesting decisions; where we have turned away significant opportunities. In one case, we didn’t believe the client’s approach was right; it would have been detrimental to their brand and what they were trying to achieve. The second, our hands were tied due to global alignments, despite efforts to pave the way for Asia Pacific. Result one: the client wanted to hear more, we now run their business is six key markets across Asia Pacific and are widening our relationship globally. Result two: The client respects us and the door is still open.
The right partner: Choosing the right communications partner is fundamental. Clients want partners who listen, understand and intimately know their business. If you don’t know about their business, find out. Go to meetings with a unique experience and have a point of view. Conversely as an agency, you should pitch for clients that complement your existing client portfolio, and are a great ‘fit’ – are there potential mutual benefits that could be leveraged between brands?
Be true: Ensure that your brand values, your DNA, live and breathe in your approach and response: you will be hard pressed to get your clients to buy into you if you don’t believe it yourself – deliver big, rich, innovate, sticky ideas; dynamite strategies, matched with a killer team to deliver. Lastly when all is done and dusted: congratulate the teams behind it, don’t pull back on the big-guns and continue to exceed your clients’ expectations – after all they have just hired the “best agency in the world” and a successful partnership reflects well on everyone.
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Wieden wins see Gunn rewrite record books Wieden achieves rare double triumph, BBDO still on a hot streak, and JWT’s ‘Heaven & Hell’ work rules 2011 rankings
Judging by the latest Gunn Report, 2011 was an exceptional year for a Wieden + Kennedy, BBDO and JWT Shanghai. The micro network’s Amsterdam and Portland agencies grabbed the first and second spot for Most Awarded Agency in the World in the authoritative ranking’s global report on creativity, while BBDO emerged as the Most Awarded Network in the World for an unprecedented ninth time. JWT’s brilliantly art directed ‘Heaven & Hell’ campaign for Samsonite propelled Asia into the Top 5 for Most Awarded Print Ads, while two wins from Japanese agencies, and Thailand’s Thanonchai Sornsriwichai entry in the Most Awarded Directors league bolstered Asia’s creative profile in 2011. W+K’s double win – the first time this has happened in the report’s 13-year history – is especially sweet for a group that is significantly smaller than network rivals on the agency league. Its Amsterdam win was powered by the shop’s ‘Write the future’ campaign for Nike, which emerged as the most awarded commercial in the report’s history, and Heineken’s ‘The entrance’ work. W+K’s London and Tokyo office also made the Top 50 agency table. “It goes without saying, although we are about to say it, that this would never be possible with-
out our insanely talented co-workers, the production companies we partner with and our courageous clients, who thankfully all share the same dedication to making great work and willingness to put up with our madness,” said Mark Bernath and Eric Quennoy, executive creative directors at W+K Amsterdam. Winning streak BBDO’s Most Awarded Network Agency win (comes after it topped the Won Report’s 2011 rankings at the start of the year, confirming its nearly decadelong creative dominance. Its score of 202 points was 55 points more than its Omnicom sibling DDB, which placed second in the Gunn rankings. “This year saw one of the closest races ever in ‘The Most Awarded Agency Networks in the World’ table. Only six points separated four networks, between second and fifth place. This highlights the remarkable level of creativity being practiced in our industry today,” said Mark Tutssel, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide and this year’s Gunn Report guest editor. DDB topped the networks table twice, Leo Burnett and TBWA once each. China’s first-ever win As with the Won Report, JWT Shanghai topped the
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Gunn... 2011 report shows Wieden, BBDO and JWT in top form
Gunn league for the Most Awarded Print Ads & Campaigns in the World for ‘Heaven & Hell’, China’s first Cannes Grand Prix winner. The Most Awarded All Gunns Blazing (integrated, innovative, titanium et al) battle came down to a threeway tie – ‘Decode Jay-Z with Bing’ by Droga5, New York, Concert Hall Dortmund ‘Concert Milk’ by Jung von Matt, Hamburg; and the entire integrated Old Spice campaign. The 2011 report and showreel are available online.
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2011 Gunn Report The World’s Most Awarded...
print ads & campaigns
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digital work
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Samsonite ‘Heaven and Hell’ JWT, Shanghai
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Old Spice Body Wash ‘Responses’ Wieden+Kennedy, Portland
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FedEx ‘Neighbours’ DDB Brasil, Sao Paulo
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Zenith Independent Band ‘Sour/Mirror’ Masashi Qanta Saquoosha Hiroki,Tokyo
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Harvey Nichols ‘Accessories Required’ Y&R, Dubai
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Google Chrome ‘Speed Tests’ BBH/Google Creative Lab New York
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Bing/Jay-Z ‘Decode Jay-Z with Bing’ Droga5, New York
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Land Rover ‘Passport Stamps’ RKCR/Y&R, London
Mini Countryman ‘Mini Getaway Stockholm’ Jung von Matt, Stockholm
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Uniqlo ‘Uniqlo Lucky Line’ Dentsu, Tokyo
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agency
commercials 01
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advertiserS Having achieved the highest points total over the last 12 years, Nike has relegated the previous 10-time winner Volkswagen to second spot.
Nike ‘Write the Future’ Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam
Heineken ‘The Entrance’ Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam
T-Mobile ‘Welcome back’ Saatchi & Saatchi, London
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W+K Amsterdam
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W+K Portland
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AlmapBBDO Sao Paulo,
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Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Buenos Aires
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Jung von Matt Hamburg, Berlin, Dortmund
DIRECTORS 01
Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu
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Chris Milk
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Thanonchai Sornsriwichai
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Henry Alex-Rubin
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Fredrik Bond
agency network 01
BBDO
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DDB
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Ogilvy & Mather
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Leo Burnett
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Wieden + Kennedy
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digital agency 01
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Google Chrome ‘Speed Tests’ BBH/Google Creative Lab New York
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Volkswagen Passat ‘The Force’ Deutsch LA/Lowe & Partners Los Angeles
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AKQA London BBH New York R/GA New York
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W+K Portland
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Dentsu Tokyo
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Super Bowl turns into Social Bowl Brands’ rush online begging the question: will game day turn into an also-ran to digital media in the future?
It’s been dubbed the Social Bowl. And with good reason. Rather than play their campaign cards close to their chest as Super Bowl advertisers have traditionally done, this year saw brands bring their game face to social media, sharing content in one form or another with consumers well before the first throw. Stoking social media buzz on Facebook, YouTube and their own websites proved an indispensable part of advertisers’ game plan this year, especially as Super Bowl ad rates continue to spiral. The pressure to make their ad buy count is understandably intense as 30-second spots were going for US$3.5 million this year, an 84% increase over the past decade in line with the growth of the game’s TV audience. And that’s not counting production costs. With its growing influence, social media offers advertisers an opportunity to build pre-game buzz especially if ads go viral, extend brand engagement as viewers tweet, share, vote and view ads or even go to a brand’s website. Through social media, advertisers could extend the buzz and reach of their Super Bowl advertising well beyond the day of the game, particularly as media properties such as USA Today have added a social network in the mix. For the first time it partnered with Facebook to broaden the voting pool in selecting the top Super Bowl ads. After all, consumer research showed that as many as 60% of game viewers would have a second screen such as a smartphone or a tablet on hand.
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and the Patriots clashed in Indianapolis.The games’ biggest spender by category – automotive – was the first to get the ball rolling. With as many as 11 advertisers, it was understandable that auto marketers wanted to get as much mileage out of their hefty Super Bowl expenditure and drive their brands ahead of the packed field.
By inserting themselves in social conversations, advertisers believe they will be well placed to benefit from word-of-mouth since viewers are more likely to buy a brand when recommended by their social circles.
First out the gate, Chevrolet’s Camaro launched its full commercial online 17 days before the big game. A day earlier, Volkswagen released a sneak peek with a pack of dogs barking out the Star Wars theme, continuing its well-received Darth Vader themed spot from last year.
Which may explain why 38 of the more than 50 Super Bowl commercials were online with sneak peaks, the actual spots, extended versions and additional content such as the making-off spots weeks before the Giants
The teaser plus an extended ‘Dog Strikes Back’ version in which a Beetle inspires a pudgy dog to slim down to chase the new model, was viewed nearly 14 million times within days of being uploaded on YouTube. The auto
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brand also shared a behind-the-scene look at the scale of work that goes into such a large production online. Honda CR-V also had a 10-second sneak peek of its spot, with Matthew Broderick reprising his iconic 1986 role of Ferris Bueller to enjoy a day off work. The two-minute, 25-second extended version it subsequently uploaded was long enough to remind viewers of what made that movie special. Other auto brands that pre-released their campaigns online were Audi’s ‘Vampire Party’, a Twilight spoof for its new 2013 Audi S7 and its LED headlight technology, Hyundai’s ‘Cheetah’ spot for the Veloster Turbo, Chevy with its crowd-sourced ‘Happy Grad’ spot and Lexus ‘The Beast’ for Attik. The dynamic nature of the online platform also provided new engagement opportunities to nimble
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Superbowl spots that scored 02
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Picking the top Super Bowl spots has become a lot more interesting as social media jostles alongside market researchers in determining who took home the trophy. Kantar Media Audiences’ commercial ratings analysis had Cadillac Autos, which told viewers to ‘Go to Green Hell’, as the most 04
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watched ad of the game. The spot for its 2013 ATS preparing for a summer launch was one of six auto brands that made Kantar’s top 25 rated ads. The other auto performers that scored big were: Kia with Adrianna Lima in a dream sequence, Hyundai with a cheetah deciding to chase its trainer after failing to keep pace with the Veloster Turbo, Honda with a Ferris Bueller inspired spot, Fiat proving sex still sells for the new 500 Abarth and Toyota,
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with its over-the-top fantasy spot showing how reinvented a number of things after the Camry. Check out every boy’s dream of a reinvented sofa. USA Today/Facebook Ad Meter initially saw voting literally going to the dogs. The scheming Great Dane in the Doritos spot who buries the family cat and bribes the owner to keep quiet with Doritos topped the poll. The runners-up were Volkswagen’s
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portly canine who slims down to chase the latest model and Skechers with a pudgy, sneaker-wearing bulldog beating greyhounds
advertisers such as Coca-Cola, which created a full social media campaign for its Super Bowl outing. The soda giant’s catch-playing Arctic polar bears spots were changed to reflect the game’s progress. Enhancing viewer interaction, Coke also brought its beloved bears to life on Twitter and Facebook to respond to viewers’ comments. Doritos again crashed the Super Bowl. It went the whole nine yards with crowd-sourced executions and also asked consumers to vote for the ads that would run during the game. Both spots eventually went down well with consumers.
01 ‘Game Day Polar Bears’, Coca-Cola 02 ‘Dog Strikes Back’, Volkswagen 03 ‘Matthew’s Day Off’, Honda
in a race. Doritos still came out on top later but with a different execution – a crafty granny who pitches
04 ‘Vampire Party’, Audi
a sling-wearing baby across the yard to snatch a
05 ‘Cheetah’, Hyundai
bag of Doritos. Anheuser-Busch’s beer-fetching
06 ‘Happy Grad’, Chevrolet
dog came a close second followed by Kia with
07 ‘The Beast’, Lexus
a racy dream sequence featuring the luscious
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Adrianna Lima.
‘Just My Shell’, M&M’s
09 ‘Crash the Super Bowl’, Doritos
Ace Metrix named Coca-Cola the Super Bowl brand winner as three of its ads, featuring computer-generated polar bears – ‘Catch’ #3, ‘Superstition’ #5 and ‘Arghh’ #10 – made the top 10 most effective ads of the game.
With so many brands pre-releasing their ads online, could America’s largest sporting event – once the biggest day of the year for the industry – be relegated to an also-ran to social media in the coming years?
M&M’s ‘Just my shell’ with the Ms Brown character making her debut topped the poll and Doritos’ ‘Sling Baby’ and ‘Man’s Best Friend’ rounding out the top 5 spots.
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D&AD looks ahead at 50 Marks milestone with new theater-style presentation, unveils White Pencil for idea to make the world better
LONDON D&AD has enhanced its annual line-up of events and introduced a new award to mark its 50th anniversary this year. The main event, the D&AD/50 anniversary dinner, will take place in London in September. This exclusive event will honor the lives and talents that have shaped the creative industry over the past 50 years. It has also spiced up Yellow Pencil award presentations, which will take place on April 19 following judging between April 16 and 19. For the first time ever, it will announce Yellow Pencil winners in a theatre-style presentation at London’s Imax theatre, delivered by jury foremen, including John Hegarty, David Droga, John O’Keeeffe, Graham Fink, Bob Gill, Marina Willer, Morag Myerscough, Bob Greenberg and other legendary creatives as part of anniversary celebrations.
prizes, offering a rare insight into the judges’ decisions. The winning work will also be showcased as a surround-sound experience at the theatre. D&AD is also taking its new talent initiative, The New Blood Festival, to a global audience this year. The exhibition of work from the best students at 100 of D&AD’s top university courses will be showcased at the Old Spitalfields Market June 26-28 and virtually on its website, allowing potential employees to browse the work. The New Blood Festival will also extend further afield with events held in leading creative agencies and studios in cities around the world and London.
Jury foremen will discuss highlights of the nominated work, reveal the near misses, the controversial winners and why Yellow Pencil winners deserved their
This year’s D&AD Annual will also feature 50 bespoke dust jackets created by design legends including David Bailey, Bob Gill, Paul Smith, Nick Park and Neville Brody among others contributing new artwork to celebrate D&AD/50. Tashen will publish the annual, which will be curated by D&AD president Rosie Arnold and designed by Michael Johnson.
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In marking its remarkable milestone, D&AD has also introduced its first new award, the White Pencil, which will be presented to a creative idea that changes the world for the better. “The White Pencil is about moving our legacy on. It’s about harnessing the power to make a real difference in the world around us,” said D&AD of its new initiative. “It’s about demonstrating the hidden potential in D&AD’s remit of the perpetuation of creative communication… and most importantly to realize our communities’ ability to lend huge impact and strength to the campaigning voices of others and bring their messages and demands for change to the widest and most powerful audience.” As part of anniversary celebrations, the organization has been delving into its archives to showcase significant award winners from the past. Highlighted work include Saatchi & Saatchi’s 1970’s ‘Pregnant Man for the UK’s Family Planning Association and 1965’s ‘Go to work on an egg’ by Mather & Crowther for the British Egg Marketing Board.
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Kodak era gone in a flash Failure to adapt brings photography icon to its knees
NEW YORK The landmark Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing by Eastman Kodak, the company that brought ‘Kodak Moment’ into the vernacular, underscores the perils facing brands that fail to adapt. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in late January with US$6 billion in debts. It is a spectacular fall for what was once a household name synonymous with photography, but overtaken by technological advances that has redefined industries, from music to media, and travel among others. Yet there was a time when the 131-year old company was a byword for American inventiveness with a stellar product line-up that brought back the first pictures from the moon and memorable marketing campaigns. Visual branding master As befits a photography icon, Kodak was a master of visual branding. More importantly it adeptly turned a cliché ‘Make it a Kodak moment’ into a colloquial expression that endures to this day. It’s an expression that the company effectively owned to gain a clear advantage over rivals.
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Its innovative marketing campaigns also saw the brand create one of the first web galleries a few years ago. In a more recent advertising campaign, Kodak replaced the warm and fuzzy family imagery used to convey special moments with edgier pitchmen – Rihanna, Trey Songz, Drake and Pitbull. The 2010 campaign showcased the Facebook version of pictures – friends partying, at concerts – as the beleaguered company sought to redefine itself for the marketplace with what it called its emotional technology offered by a line-up of digital cameras, digital photo frames and video cameras. As the company saw it, it only becomes a Kodak Moment when the pictures are shared with family and friends. Yet in the late 70s it was the brand that defined the marketplace – it commanded 90% of film and 85% of camera sales, having invested heavily in research and development. Ironically, its R&D program also sowed the seeds of its undoing as Kodak pioneered – but failed to capitalize on – the digital technology that eventually reduced demand for film and brought it to its knees.
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Stuck in picture-perfect moment It would appear the company was stuck in a pictureperfect moment, trapped in a stagnant management culture that made questionable acquisitions yet seemed unable to keep pace with digital technology as nimble rivals raced ahead. In another misstep, Kodak practically opened the door for Fujifilm to gain a stronger foothold in the American market when it declined to become the official film of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Chris Aguilar, managing partner of Jorg Dietzel Group, Philippines, attributed Kodak’s epic downfall to a failure to adapt. “Kodak executives must be going through the whole range of should’ve, could’ve, would’ve right now. To keep pace can be a real stretch at times and even more so when those who hold the power over the brand are not always ready to accept, and then adapt to, the changing times. “Kodak’s brand promise has always been and will always continue to be about preserving memories,” said Aguilar, noting that digital not only altered the playing field but severely compromised Kodak’s position of power. “They will always be a powerful name in the industry (photography and film) but may never regain their previous position,” Aguilar added. Kodak’s recovery is far from certain, dependent on a number of factors, said Aguilar. “A new CEO might help, or a whole new marketing department,” he said, pointing to the way Lee Iacocca revived Chrysler in the 1980s. “It would be wonderfully romantic to see a brand like Kodak, but only time will tell.”
WORLD
Proctor off to GroupM, Emery leads Mindshare NEW YORK Dominic Proctor has been promoted to president of GroupM and Nicky Emery has been appointed to the global CEO role Proctor vacated at Mindshare. The pair co-founded Mindshare in 1997, part of GroupM’s consolidated media operation that includes Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, Catalyst and Xaxis. Proctor takes on the newly-created GroupM role in a move aimed at strengthening the group’s management team. GroupM global chief executive officer Irwin Gotlieb has stepped up to chairman in the revamp. “Nobody has done more than him to help build Mindshare and I know that the agency will go from strength to strength under his leadership,” Proctor said of Emery, previously the Londonbased chief strategy officer of the media network.
In his new role, Emery will take over responsibility for the management and operation of all Mindshare activities in 112 countries, overseeing an agency with more than 5,000 employees and billings in excess of US $27.8 billion, according to Recma data. “Mindshare’s agenda continues to focus on innovation, technology and added value to our clients and we want to build on the successes of recent years,” said Emery. “We will continue to increase investment in a diverse and talented team across a global network.” The newly-released 2011 Gunn Report for Media showed GroupM and Mindshare in a strong position. The former dominated the holding company rankings with 513 points ahead of Omnicom Media Group (412 points) and Publicis Groupe Media (343 points). Mindshare with 161 points placed second to OMD (176 points) in Gunn’s Agency Network of the Year rankings, but the report noted that the WPP shop was closing the gap with its rival.
Publicis, Dentsu end 10-year alliance PARIS Publicis Groupe has severed its decadelong strategic alliance with Dentsu, reducing the Japanese giant’s stake in the French company to just 2.2%. Publicis bought back 18 million of its own shares for 6.44 million euros.
Levy... spoke of the alliance’s “elegance and professionalism”
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Dentsu originally held a 15% stake in Publicis after the French advertising group merged in 2002 with the US’ BCom3, a company in which Dentsu held a 20% share. At that time, the deal was touted for creating the world’s fourth-largest advertising group during what was one of the worst advertising recessions in decades. Publicis president Maurice Levy said the buyback would trigger the end of the shareholder agreement between the pair. Two senior Dentsu executives on Publicis Groupe’s supervisory board – president-CEO Tadashi Ishii and chairman Tatsuyoshi Takashima – resigned their board positions immediately after shareholder agreements were terminated by the buyback.
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Emery... credited with turning Mindshsre into a strong media network
While the partnership has been described as being tense at times, both sides issued statements affirming the strength of the alliance. The pair will remain partners, keeping their joint-venture intact in Beacon Communications and Dentsu Razorfish. Publicis owns 66% and 19.35% respectively in the two companies. In a statement, thanking members of Publicis Groupe for their support, Ishii said: “I look forward to continuing our friendly relationship with Publicis as we work toward furthering the mutual growth of our clients and developing our businesses.” Levy added: “Dentsu’s stake in the share capital of Publicis has furthered the development of the Groupe. I wish to express my gratitude for the elegance and professionalism with which this partnership has been carried out, and to all the Dentsu executives who have taken part.” Industry commentators said the alliance did little for Dentsu while it served to facilitate Publicis’ acquisition of BCom3. There is speculation Dentsu will now use cash from the sale to expand in Europe, following its success in making inroads in the US.
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Retail: The Next Big Frontier for Mobile Marketing
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Build an opt-in SMS list. Retailers are in contact with thousands of customers every day. And yet, many miss out on a significant opportunity: getting their customers to opt-in to an SMS program, and building long-term loyalty with customers through regular SMS communications.
Retailers in the Philippines, in general, have been relatively slow in adopting mobile marketing. Many retailers remain largely in the dark on maximizing this powerful, personaland highlypervasive digital medium. Arthur Policarpio, CEO of Mobext, outlines major trends on mobile marketing and its impact on the retail sector.
Building an opt-in SMS list will not cost retailers a significant amount – they can simply make use of their army of frontliners (ie, cashiers) to collect consumer opt-ins. Of course, they will have to ensure that consumers are given an attractive incentive for opting in, such as a discount upon signing up. Once the database is collected, the retailer can then use the database to announce new products, distribute SMS coupons or announce new branches, etc.
The Philippines is in the midst of a smartphone boom: The Philippines has entered the smartphone age, and in a big way! The fundamental barrier to massive adoption – price of handsets – has been eliminated, thus paving the way for massive growth of smartphones. Telecom operators estimate smartphone penetration to increase to 50% of the total mobile population in the next one to two years.
Build a mobile website. As smartphone penetration increases, the importance of creating a mobileoptimized website will grow, particularly for retail. Without a mobile-optimized website, mobile consumers will be hard-pressed to find within the retailer website the information they quickly require using their mobile devices - that is, finding the location of the store, comparing prices, or looking for deals.
Low data charges: Data charges have been steadily decreasing. Coupled with the increasing penetration of smartphones, this will lead to a major shift in usage of phones – Filipinos will increasingly use the mobile phone as their primary access point to the internet.
Start experimenting with location-based marketing. Check-in services, such as Foursquare and Facebook Places, have shown marketers that consumers are willing to share their current location. With mobile technology, it is now possible to determine the proximity of consumers – and send a targeted marketing message, such as an offer, whenever a consumer is in the vicinity of the retailer. Retailers should start experimenting with this, whether through creation of its own GPS-enabled app, or partnering with existing location-based services such as Foursquare.
As the Philippine smartphone market matures, there is strong reason to believe that we will follow the same path as the more advanced smartphone markets in the world – and that retail will become one of the highest-traffic content categories for mobile web access. Given the above major trends, how can retailers take advantage of mobile marketing? Here are some key pillars of successful mobile marketing for retailers:
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DIGITAL SC APE
The bigger, the better for online ads New research from MediaMind found that size matters with online advertising. Larger ads that occupy a bigger portion of the screen and use high quality images can have a big impact on results. The top five performing formats are: sidekick, pushdown, homepage takeover, messenger ads and video extender, the latter designed to provide the ultimate user experience while they are engaged with the video player. Sidekicks work by elegantly pushing publisher’s content aside to take centre stage,
Updated mobile ad pack launches
Microblogs fan flames to spread crises in China
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has
China’s experience offers
while pushdowns are triggered when users click on banners. Seen as the king of ad formats, homepage takeovers were seen as a great way to deliver an impactful branding experience.
cut the number of unit sizes - from more than 60 universal mobile ad package. Ad networks and publishers have until the end of April 2012 to become compliant. The MMA will promote
useful tips for marketers’ crisis management efforts
compliant companies by issuing compliance stamps that members can use on their websites and marketing materials. “That simplicity frees
or sometimes disinformation, an issue with farreaching implications for companies and brands. Research by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and CIC, an internet intelligence consultancy, has pointed to microblogs as the source of most of China’s most damaging and far-reaching scandals and crises last year. In their white paper, Crisis Management in the Microblog Era, the pair noted that the pervasive use of microblogs had created a scenario where major public crises and scandals erupt with increasing frequency and speed.
brands and agencies to focus on developing innovative, compelling mobile campaigns that span the widest possible variety of devices and demographics,” said MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart.
Yahoo extends Social Bar launch
News dissemination has been radically transformed by the internet in China, a once highly controlled media market. Despite the government’s best efforts to censor certain sites, and even search engines, the country saw social media growing at an explosive clip last year.
What’s more, the emotionally charged tone of discussions on Chinese microblogs and the across-the-board demographic of users means that a larger proportion of the Chinese public is now not only aware of more crises, but are also actively participating in furthering their reach and intensity – a distinct shift from only a few years ago.
Yahoo has claimed a 700% increase in Philippine traffic since it launched its Facebook integration service, known as the Social Bar, across its media properties in the country. Social Bar is currently available on its media properties including Yahoo News, Yahoo She, the recently launched women’s lifestyle, healthy living, parenting and fashion portal, and Yahoo’s entertainment property, OMG!, allowing users to connect and add their Facebook friends as ‘social editors’ on these sites. The Philippine launch was part of Yahoo extending Social Bar’s global launch across Southeast Asia and India.
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Nearly half of the country’s 513 million online users were on weibo sites, the local equivalent of Twitter, last year, quadruple the number in 2010. That’s more than 250 million microbloggers compared with 63 million in 2010. The sheer numbers using the online platform to voice opinions on corruption scandals, corporate malfeasance, mass protests and other developments has made it considerably harder for authorities to control the viral spread of information,
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Ogilvy PR and CIC’s research identified and analyzed the major online crises of 2011 based on trending topics on top Weibo sites, Baidu’s top searches report and various media review reports. The 30 most significant cases were then classified into three categories: public credibility crises, personal crises, and brand crises which were then ranked according to the number of microblog posts and reports they generated in traditional media sources.
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emotional microblog tone increases speed at which crises spread
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Most major crises in China in 2011 that originated on microblogs included six of the top 10 personal crises (in all six cases, corporate executives were the ones that came under fire), seven of the top 10 public credibility crises and eight of the top 10 brand crises
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Microblogs increased the speed, frequency, reach and impact of crises. Netizens now play as important a role as traditional media, are able to generate, disseminate and consume messages all at the same time.
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With microblogs, information can be posted online at anytime, from
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Before the microblog era, coverage of a crisis would often be through newspapers or TV coverage. Today crisis messages take multiple and dramatic forms such as spoofs, videos, cartoons and reenactments, which create entertainment value and increase the chances that the message will be forwarded to more people.
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If very influential key opinion leaders (KOLs) or media organizations use their microblogs to comment on crises, the news spreads far and wide, and fast.
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Personal and professional lives overlap online as senior executives and corporate heads, and sometimes even junior staff, can trigger crises for their companies if they post inappropriate content or comments on their personal microblogs.
anywhere and by anyone – from CEOs and senior politicians to interns and housewives; there is no longer a hierarchy when it comes to sources of news or crises. 04
While the tone of traditional media is largely unbiased and objective, the tone of microblogs is often extremely emotional and personal. This creates a situation where ordinary netizens who sympathize with the victims help to spread the message further and faster, multiplying the impact, or individual incidents become coordinated efforts on microblogs.
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Microblogs offer crisis instigators and defendants the opportunity to respond much more quickly than was possible before. However, if defendants fail to react fast enough, and in a manner that satisfies netizens, this can easily trigger a subsequent crisis, or aftershock.
Microblog fan flames of disasters and personal crises in China
Monitor online buzz and act fast, thoughtfully CIC CEO Daisy Zhang: “Real-time monitoring and analysis of microblogs is especially critical at the initial outbreak of a crisis when the news being spread occurs not in hours, but in minutes and seconds. Failure to swiftly and effectively respond can easily lead to a second crisis or even multiple crises online.” Ogilvy & Mather Group Shanghai president Debby Cheung: “In addition to establishing a system of online buzz monitoring, brands should also create and integrate their online assets including their website, microblog and other social media channels. Brands should also maintain open and regular communication with the public and key stakeholders, including media, so that potential issues can be addressed early and so that important relationships are in place long before potential problems arise.” “Other ways to reduce risk including establishing codes of conduct for employees to follow online and keeping up to speed with net culture and social tensions. And if negative issues do come up, always respond as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible so that the response does not become a new crisis in itself.”
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them, believing there are major benefits in doing so. Access to promos and discounts and being at the receiving end of a brand’s efforts to personalize goods and services top the list of benefits to be reaped.
The other truths McCann discovered Truth #1 The nature of what’s private and public has changed: The monumental rise of social networking has caused a huge shift in the nature of what people believe is private. 75% globally agree, “People share far too much information online these days.” #2 There’s no shame in being a ‘stalker’: With the advent of social media outlets, peoples’ walls have come down in the context of personal information. One in 3 people have Googled people they hardly know, and 1 in 4 have read a partner or friend’s text messages.
McCann hands down social media truths Finds online connections run far and wide and can impact brands’ standing It’s McCann Truth Central’s version of the 10 commandments – 12 truths on social media, which the thought leadership unit claims carries the weight of research conducted across 19 countries, more than 30 focus groups, and over 12,000 online studies.
The truths illuminate the impact of the rapidly evolving social media landscape on consumers and brands, none more forcefully that Truth #10: Social proof is a powerful force in marketing.
friends about it”. Unfortunately, for brands that fail to deliver, this truth works just as powerfully in reverse. Indeed the power of online word-of-mouth cannot be under-estimated as truth #4 demonstrates how far online connections run these days. McCann found that consumers have a growing and complex ecosystem of friends. The quality of personal connections is changing, and the need to ‘connect’ to a broad network rivals the need to ‘belong’ to a tight circle of friends.
Other key truths that relate to brands #9: Brands should become part of their consumer’s personal stories: As brands offer more events and experiences to consumers, recognize that there is a lifecycle within the consumer timeline-each stage will be reflected through social media.
‘Social Proof” is defined as the human instinct to want to do things that other people do. Wordof-mouth was important pre-internet and more so now as the web can guarantee its viral spread. Hence, online product reviews are becoming valuable tools in consumers’ decision-making.
#11 If brands seek advocacy, make it worthwhile to the consumer: Five types of consumers can be deduced based on how information is shared with and about brands. The most dominant are the savvy shoppers represented by 37% of the global population, and they are those who are open to socializing with brands, but in the process, desire to receive something in return.
Globally, over 90% of 16-30 year olds agree with the statement “if a company or brand impresses me in some way, I will make a point of telling
#12 When it comes to socializing with brands, customers want value: 86% of global consumers socialize with brands and share information about
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#3 Consumers are spending more time monitoring their personal brand: Consumers around the world admitted to multiple online personalities. In emerging markets like India, 35% of people say that they monitor their online brand by Googling themselves more than once a month. #6 The need to broadcast oneself is constant: Southern countries are embracing new technology and are much more keen to share about their lives. 80% of Chileans and 77% of Indians agree that they like sharing thoughts and opinions with friends online, versus only 46% in the UK and 31% in Japan. #7: Everyone now has some type of audience. The role for brands, consequently, is to create unique experiences, giving consumers a reason to post about it. Brands can win big by helping their audience to look cool or fun in front of their friends and followers. #8: Everyone will become more focused on their own online story: With the introduction of Facebook Timeline people will become even more focused on their own story.
DIGITAL
Snickers hijinks The snack bar brand took its ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ pitch to Twitter as part of its new multimedia campaign. It appeared to hijack the accounts of UK celebrities including former Page 3 glamour model Katie Price, footballer Rio Ferdinand and X-Factor contestant Cher Lloyd.
Slips and soars on social media McDonalds acts fast to address stumble, Snickers enjoys success in UK outing Social media looks deceptively simple to deploy. But as many brands have found, it’s treacherous waters best left to brands with the creativity, humor and the appropriate strategy to amuse, entertain and connect in 140 characters or less.
McDonald’s #McDstories The burger peddler was the latest brand to get schooled by the cruel and cold cyberspace. Early this year, it launched a well-intentioned Twitter campaign, buying hashtags, which included #McDstories offering feel-good stories from its suppliers and a chance for fans to share touching tales about the good times spent in the company of the golden arches. But the campaign backfired immediately.
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For two hours, Twitter users swamped the hashtag with stories about unpleasant experiences at McDonalds, foreign objects in food and unpalatable comparisons of its burgers to things best left unsaid. In the broader context, the McDstories outing was perhaps not such an abject failure. There were around 73,000 mentions of McDonalds on the day the campaign launched and the #McDStories tweets formed only 2% of the total. McDonalds reacted speedily to redress the fiasco, returning the next day with a new hashtag #LittleThings, asking online users to share stories of the little things that bring them joy. While the new hashtag didn’t draw the same amount of ire as the previous one, neither were all the tweets as heart-warming as the chain would have hoped for:
Uncharacteristic musings began appearing on each of their accounts. For instance, Price – better known for her shallow tweets on shopping, partying and promoting her various ventures – was suddenly discussing the Eurozone debt crisis and calling for ‘large scale quantitative easing for 2012’. Her musings left her 1.5 million followers wondering if her account had been hijacked, prompting Price to respond with a curt reply. The issue was swiftly clarified with a tweet – “You’re not you when you’re hungry @snickersuk #hungry #spon” – which also contained a link to the photo of Price holding up a Snickers bar. The tongue-in-cheek stunt certainly had the talk factor but the UK’s advertising standards board subsequently launched an investigation on advertising breaches by the brand.
“Q What are some of the #LittleThings that bring you joy? A: Not going to McDonalds” - SimonAccountant Simon Young “The @McDonalds epic fail #McDStories campaign has them quickly covering up with ‘What #LIttleThings bring you joy?’ A: Their catastrophes” – eglinski Don Eglinski
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Making search engine marketing work for brands
Don’t create just one campaign with a single ad and a huge pile of keywords
There are many businesses who may have tried online advertising and given up. Perhaps they didn’t get as many clicks as they wanted, or people clicked through to their site but didn’t buy anything. Not to worry! There are many common mistakes but they’re easy to fix.
Organize campaigns by topic, theme, product line or geography. Don’t be afraid to categorize like keywords together so you can write ads targeted to each group. This will improve both your ad targeting and relevance. Or use the same structure for campaigns as you do on your website. If your website is already grouped into categories, your job is almost done. For example, to group by topic, make separate campaigns for tea, coffee, and accessories (mugs, cups). Or to group by product line, place ad text and keywords about whole-bean coffee in one campaign, and ad text and keywords about ground coffee in another campaign. For example, if your business sells pet products, have four specific campaigns for cats, dogs, birds and fish. Or if you sell spa products, create different groups for lotions, candles, perfumes and hair products.
Derek Callow, Google Southeast Asia’s head of marketing, points the way for brands to get bang for the buck when advertising online
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Don’t stop reviewing your data or refining your campaign Keep a close eye on account statistics, review your report data and web logs, and measure results frequently. Use conversion-tracking software (available for free through some advertising programs) to determine which keywords are leading to clicks and which clicks are leading to sales. Then experiment with new ideas, change your ad text or add new keywords. If something doesn’t work, retool it and try it again. Don’t be discouraged.
Don’t put your business name in the headline Many small businesses insist on putting their company name in the headline, but this is actually a waste of ad space. If a user is searching online, they likely don’t know who you are, so use your limited ad text to focus on key benefits of the product/service you offer, special promotions, low prices, and other good value propositions.
DIGITAL
Don’t bid more than you can afford
When creating your keyword list, think like a customer
The beauty of cost-per-click advertising is that you can set your keyword bids as low or high as your want. Get more bang for your buck by figuring out which ads and keywords bring you results, and delete the others.
Pretend you’re a user searching for the product or service you offer? What would you type in as a search query? What terms would your customers use to describe your products or services?
Don’t make false promises The number one source of dissatisfaction comes from expectations that are not met once a user gets to your website. Stick to the price or promise you make in your ad. Also, to increase the likelihood of a sale or conversion, make sure the ad’s URL directs people to the specific page within your website that clearly displays the information or product offered in your ad. For example, if your ad promotes birthday balloons, don’t send them to the page in your website with all balloons or anniversary balloons.
To avoid generic and overly general keywords, we suggest using two to three-word phrases. For optimal ad visibility, also include relevant keyword variations such as colloquial terms, plurals, alternate spellings and synonyms. And remember you only pay for clicks, so the better you prequalify clicks by picking specific keywords, the more effective your campaign will be. Get rid of broad terms that could relate to a wide spectrum of products or services. For example, if you’re selling luggage goods, don’t just run on the generic keyword bags because your ad might show on irrelevant search queries for tea bags and vacuum bags. If you’re selling greeting cards, run on specific keywords like greeting cards and birthday cards so you don’t generate traffic from users looking for playing cards, card tables or credit cards.
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Write must-click ads
Use free web analytics
Intrigue your readers and get straight to the point because good copy yields clicks, and clicks yield sales.
Web analytics tools helps you analyze precisely what people are doing on your site. It tracks visitors, referrals, search engine performance, email promotions and more.
Use keywords in the title and ad text so they appear in bold font and so users know your ad is relevant to their search. Highlight any key product benefits, special offers like free shipping, low prices and discounts. Encourage the user to take action through active verbs and phrases like ‘Learn More”, ‘Order Now’ or ‘Download Free Whitepaper’.
Use negative keywords Negative keywords are a core component of a successful keyword list, and a great way to help ensure that only your targeted audience will see your ad. A negative keyword prevents your ads from showing on any search queries containing that term. By filtering our irrelevant traffic, negative keywords can help you reach the most appropriate prospects, reduce your cost-per-click (CPC), and increase your ROI.
This detailed information about user navigation and behavior on your website can help you create more targeted and effective website pages and improve your ROI.
Check out online resources Most online advertising programs have a resource center of helpful demos, articles and videos. Also, many other advertisers have likely had the same experiences and questions as you, so find answers to common questions in online help centers.
For example, if you’re selling purses, luggage and travel bags, you may want to add the negative keywords tea and vacuum to ensure only targeted users see your ad.
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THE WORK
BANG FOR THE BUCK
BANG FOR THE BUCK A case for creative effectiveness
PHAREX ‘Center of attention’ Client Pharex HealthCorp Agency DM9 JaymeSyfu Award wins Pharex took awards metal from numerous competitions – Clio, AdFest, D&AD and the Araw Awards – in addition to making the finals in a host of other shows.
What is it? Pharex Carbocisteine was challenged to take a more insightful, relevant and fresh approach to stand out in the cough medicine category, which is filled with product demonstrations that focus on communicating the harmful consequences of cough, phlegm and bacteria.
Through 3D imaging, the team digitally recreated an opera house, cinema, and lecture hall where all seats faced one seat in the audience. The image powerfully captured the acute embarrassment of coughing in a place where silence is golden. The strong visual allowed the agency to keep the message subtle; as such communicating the problem became simple and the solution even simpler.
Dispensing with the usual medicinal route – an approach that has reached fatigue levels with the public – DM9 focused on the Filipino’s sensitivity to embarrassment or hiya.
Accordingly, the advertising featured scenes where noise like cough creates a huge commotion that it draws attention to the person with the cough. “We were able to bring the argument to a more human and relatable level,” said Ronald Barreiro, DM9 general manager. “Taking Pharex was no longer just a function of health but of etiquette as well.”
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Results The client did not allow figures to be disclosed except to say that the campaign made a significant contribution to the heightened awareness of the brand. Why it worked It was an unexpected and non-traditional visual for a cough medicine, which effectively showed the inconvenience and the nuisance of a cough on others. “From imagery to insight, the Pharex ad clearly stands out from other cough medicine materials,” said Barreiro.
BANG FOR THE BUCK
SARIDON ‘Persistent headaches’ Client Bayer Philippines Agency BBDO Guerrero / Proximity Philippines Award wins Has earned a large metal haul for both film and poster from all the major shows, including Cannes, London International Awards and AdFest. Its haul at the Araw Awards late last year paved the way for BBDO’s Agency of the Year prize.
What is it Saridon has been a bit player in the analgesic category, dominated by Biogesic and Medicol. But with a following in the Visayas and Mindanao (Vis/ Min) markets for its paracetamol version, Saridon set its sights on building its share by using the markets as a base to expand its 3% national share. “We knew that Unilab’s Biogesic and Medicol were strong everywhere,” said a BBDO spokesman. “What we
wanted to do is to be able to lead, or at least perform well, in Vis/Min, and that would give us entry to the whole Philippines.” Bayer reformulated Saridon to deliver triple action and relaunched the brand as the “headache specialist”, offering pain relief in just 15 minutes. The campaign launched with a TVC and three print ads early last year. Humor was deployed in the ‘Hammer’ TV spot, showing the genesis of a headache that is typically aggravated by working conditions. The headache begins to grip a victim as he hammers a nail into a building; the action leaves him feeling similary pounded with a nail by a hammer-wielding man at his back. With Saridon for relief, he quickly removes the figurative nail in his head and is fit enough to chase down the cause of his head woes. Supporting print work featured other work scenes – a butcher slamming his cleaver as he cuts a slab of meat and a woman beating her laundry with a bat. BBDO also took the fast relief message to the streets – it created a giant Saridon billboard in 15 minutes. It had a team abseil down the billboard and race against a clock to paint “Done in 15 minutes”.
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Results Within two months, Saridon trials spiked by 25%, another speed record for the brand. Vis/Min sales increased by 52%, with the relaunch campaign driving Saridon into third spot nationally at Tempra’s expense. Saridon also bettered its Vis/Min standing, ousting Medicol for second place behind Biogesic. “Our budget is 0.3% of Biogesic and Medicol’s for Vis/Min. But even with that, we were able to hit and exceed our sales targets last year,” the agency said. The campaign ROI encouraged Bayer to step up efforts in Luzon, seen as a key outcome of the relaunch campaign. A new TVC launched at presstime for Luzon and BBDO is adding radio to the media mix and exploring digital opportunities. Why it worked The product-led campaign consistently conveyed the relief in 15 minutes proposition to differentiate the reformulated Saridon from its paracetemol-based competitive set. Crucially, the challenger brand zigged while rivals zagged – it used humor, unique to its category, while category leader Biogesic tended to strike a serious tone with campaigns featuring actor John Lloyd Cruz.
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THE WORK
CREATIVE REVIEW
Creative Review Valerie Cheng, executive creative director of JWT Singapore, has a ‘wish I’d done that’ moment It’s clear to see that the more superior thinking is now happening everywhere outside of print. The work is obviously more rewarding and exciting but still, I’m always waiting for that one piece of print like the Samsonite ‘Heaven and Hell’ work – that makes people go ‘OMG’.
Joy Dishwashing Liquid Couture Series : ‘Neck tie’, ‘Sando’, ‘T-Shirt’ Print Campaigns & Grey
Nice and sleek art direction but unfortunately totally irrelevant to the product and can end up confusing what it actually does. Remove grease or bleach clothes? This is an example of what happens when the art director gets too carried away by the execution and forgets about the message.
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March - April 2012
creative review
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Say No To Mining in Palawan ‘Pilandok’, ‘Dugong’, ‘Pangolin’ Print DM9 JaymeSyfu Seen too many ads of this ‘formula’ and for such campaigns to stand out, the art direction has to be phenomenal. When it comes to environmental or wildlife conservation, judges would be looking for really fresh insights that would move the audience. These kinds of ads have been done to death.
March - April 2012
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THE WORK
CREATIVE REVIEW
Canesten ‘Health Buff’, ‘Love Story’ Print JWT Manila This is a simple idea but only one ad is required. If there are different stories within the fungus, it’s not coming through in the execution and probably unnecessary. Wished the style of execution were fresher too.
Chamomile Tea ‘Calm Tea Bags’ Package design M&C Saatchi Malaysia Unexpectedly charming. A great example of what creativity can do to help people experience the brand better and an inspiration for creative teams to apply their thinking beyond ads. One of those pieces I wished I had done it first.
Ambi Pur ‘Avalanche’ TVC MediaCom Blind folding a celebrity and making her walk into a filthy toilet that smells good can be a smart tactic and pretty convincing but I believe her first reaction when the blind-fold comes off is one of disgust. Would have been more effective and believable with real every day people.
Coca Cola ‘The OFW Project’ McCann Erickson Philippines Extremely appropriate for the brand and a great campaign but could have been directed better so that it doesn’t come across like a case study video by an agency. Still, kudos to the team and hopefully we’ll see more meaningful work like this from our industry.
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creative review
Google India ‘The web is what you make of it: Tanjore’ Web ad BBH India
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Siemens Ventilation System ‘Keep Your Kitchen Fresh’ Print Ogilvy Beijing
Well executed but the earlier Google campaigns such as the Google Chrome Speed Tests by BBH New York is far more surprising and effective when it comes to delivering what Google stands for.
Get the idea but wished it was better executed. Maybe a more photographic and naturally scenic environment will help deliver the emotional benefit better.
FedEx ‘Take the drama out of delivery: Zombies’ TVC BBDO Guerrero The zombie and delivery story is not new but always rewarding to catch a spot that entertains. Watching this reminds me of how deprived we are of good commercials that don’t make you feel like you’ve wasted your time.
Greenpeace ‘Oil On Canvas’ Integrated marketing Publicis Mojo Auckland The idea is moving and I can see how people who care will take action but the pain with such projects is to make it work for those who don’t care about the environment. Still, creatively, I think it’ll score fairly well in award shows.
March - April 2012
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CREATIVE SHOWCASE
THE WORK
CREATIVE SHOWCASE
BBDO Saridon ‘Stamp’ 15s TVC
Ad title ‘Stamp’ Advertiser Saridon Creative Agency BBDO Guerrero Chief Creative Officer David Guerrero Creative Director Rey Tiempo, Gary Amante Copywriter Rey Tiempo, David Guerrero Art Director Gary Amante, JP Palileo Group Account Director Cindy Evnagelista Senior Account Manager Iking Uy Producer Aldous Pagaduan Director Joel Limchoc DOP J.A. Tadena Production House Revolver Post Production Postmanila Production Designer Adelina Leung Sound Production Hit
Bates Philippines Fully Booked
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March - April 2012
Ad title Fully Booked Imagine App Advertiser Fully Booked Creative Agency Bates Philippines Copywriter James Bernardo and Jason Drilon Art Director Noah Valdez, Jhen Manalang, Joel Limchoc Account Manager Abby Lim and Leah Magdaluyo Producers Ayie Tama, Kim Apalit Production Design & Styling Cez Young Make-Up Ara Fernando Illustrators and Digital Imaging Gilbert Ibanez, Eloi Aranzamendez, Marriane Flor Photographers Jay Tablante, Miko Montifar Digital Production House Sindikato Inc.
CREATIVE SHOWCASE
McCann Worldgroup Coca-Cola Export Corporation
TBWA \ Santiago Mangada Puno Manikako (Energizer) The Gift of Life
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Ad title Anna Banana Advertiser PLDT MyDSL Creative Agency Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Creative Director Andrew Petch Creative Directors Trixie Diyco, Greg Martin Associate Creative Director Jordan Santos Art Director Hans Malang Concept Jordan Santos
Ad title Gift of Life Advertiser Energizer for Manikako Creative Agency TBWA \ Santiago Mangada Puno Executive Creative Director Melvin Mangada Creative Directors Joey David Tiempo, Ali Silao Copywriters Joey David Tempo, Paolo Salcedo Production House Revolver Director A/F Benaza Producers Sunny Lucero, RJ Galang, Cheese Bagnes Production Design Adelina Leung Post Production Post Manila Music Mistula
March - April 2012
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THE WORK
CREATIVE SHOWCASE
McCann Worldgroup Coca-Cola Export Corporation
Y&R Taxi Meter App Nokia
Ad title Taxi Meter App Advertiser Nokia Creative Agency Y&R Philippines Executive Creative Director Badong Abesamis Creative Director/ Writer Mel Orlina Senior Art Director Jon Salutal Art Director Annabelle Dizon chief operating officer Wunderman� Mary Buenaventura Business Unit DirectorNery Neves Acount Manager Jobelle Nepomuceno
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March - April 2012
Ad title Coke Tansan billboard Advertiser Coca-Cola Export Corporation Creative Agency McCann Worldgroup Creatives Peter Acuna, Mervin Ignacio, Che Laureano Accounts Berns Chincuanco, Judy Buenviaje, Jen Santos Media Agency Starlink
CREATIVE SHOWCASE
Ogilvy & Mather Dove
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Ad title Anna Banana Advertiser PLDT MyDSL Creative Agency Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Creative Director Andrew Petch Creative Directors Trixie Diyco, Greg Martin Associate Creative Director Jordan Santos Art Director Hans Malang Concept Jordan Santos
TBWA \ Santiago Mangada Puno Boysen KnoxOut Ad title Boysen KnoxOut Advertiser PLDT MyDSL Creative Agency Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Creative Director Andrew Petch Creative Directors Trixie Diyco, Greg Martin Associate Creative Director Jordan Santos Art Director Hans Malang Concept Jordan Santos
March - April 2012
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THE WORK
AD OF THE MONTH
AD OF THE MONTH One Show finalist the Taxi Meter App aims to drive Nokia Store traffic, while the Philippines’ Advertising Standards Council makes a humorous if exaggerated point to shed light on what it does
January Nokia Taxi Meter App Y&R Philippines Ad title: Taxi Meter App / advertiser: Nokia / creative agency: Y&R Philippines / executive creative director: Badong Abesamis / creative director/writer: Mel Orlina / senior art director: Jon Salutal / art director: Annabelle Dizon / chief operating officer, Wunderman, Mary Buenaventura / business unit director: Nery Neves / account manager: Jobelle Nepomuceno
February ‘Suitor’, Advertising Standards Council of the Philippines Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Ad title: ‘Suitor’ / advertiser: Advertising Standards Council of the Philippines / creative agency: Ace Saatchi & Saatchi / executive creative director: Andrew Petch / creative director: Tony Sarmiento, Paolo Agulto, Gelo Lico / accounts: Gigi Garcia, Rose Javier, Adi Yapyuco / strategic planning: Carmen Antunez, Mel Garovillo / broadcast production: Telly Arce / final art: Robert Achas / TV production house: Abracadabra / director: Lyle Sacris
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CREATIVE CORNER mela Advincula
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Leo Burnett Manila’s creative director shows off a well organized work station and the quirky things that inspire her
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Evirob 18-inch vinyl figure Created by Devilrobots, it’s supposed to be a creature from an imaginary evil tribe. Please don’t tell my mom I have this on my desk. 05
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Seymour Sheep LED lamp It’s a fluffy sheep complete with aviator goggles that lights up ... how can it not cheer you up? Based on a character from an online comic strip series. Bamboo Craft Wacom pen and touch I don’t know how to use the mouse anymore.
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Sticky notes galore I keep track of everything with post-its stuck to the sides of my monitor – bills to pay, things to do, notes to myself, notes from others. The amount of notes is directly proportional to the amount of overtime hours.
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Morning coffee Can’t start without it. One large mug holds approximately two servings.
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‘ I am Wild’ Amanda Visell signed print Signed from her last visit to Manila. Fangirl mode.
3-inch Dunny Vinyls Most by my fave artist Amanda Visell and one by Mori Chack. Little toys for that little shelf space atop my Mac.
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Pending reading Books from the store that are still in plastic wrap. Meant to be read someday, but for now they are tabletop decor.
Zombie Cafe / Sims Monitor (aka iPad2) A constant desk fixture -- to keep track of my zombies and sims. And just recently my Simpsons” Tapped Out Springfield :-)
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Altec Lansing Speakers (subwoofer under desk) Because system speakers just won’t cut it to play a Death Cab for Cutie or Kings of Leon track.
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adobo exhibit: Leeroy New
THE WORK
The New Age of Pop
The cab drives into a quiet street in Quezon City. Around the corner, across a balete tree, a shelf of art materials peeks out from above the gate of house number one. A group of men work silently on something that has yet to take shape in the garage. Inside the house, an unpainted drip sculpture sits at the center of the floor. Next to it are racks lined with bags of small neon toys.
The otherworldly creations of Leeroy New travel beyond the art gallery Words Abby Yao
The smell of resin occasionally wafts into the side room where tiny plastic red and black bullets form an unfinished pattern on a low table. Past it, a black muscle dress appears merged to a bodyform. Could it be made from the same mold as the one modified by the Haus of Gaga for Lady Gaga’s ‘Marry the Night’ music video? Possibly. “There’s more upstairs,” says artist and designer Leeroy New, whose home is this workshop. Traces of a tattoo peek from the neckline of his t-shirt. He points to a sculpture. “This is here for repairs.” It looks familiar, not because it is reminiscent of Takashi Murakami but because it is New’s Multiply site. For some reason its image hasn’t been uploaded to his Artist Page on Facebook yet. With a few clicks on his MacBook, New flicks through more images of his work. There are shots of the costumes he made for the Dulaang UP production of ‘Umaaraw, Umuulan, Kinakasal ang Tikbalang’, taken that the morning of the interview. He had arrived recently from Singapore, where he has an installation at an art fair.
▲ Leeroy New Photography by Roy Macam
Quarterlife creations At 25, New has a body of work beyond impressive. He’s no recluse hiding in a studio. New belongs to the current breed of creators working on different mediums and projects at the same time. Strikingly articulate without revealing too much, New extends his brash eloquence to his work. His pieces encourage conversation, playing on the sacred and the taboo, the mythical and the strange, but always with a hint of humor. How else can an artist build a body suit of anatomical parts and toy with the idea of folk religiosity? His influences are varied, among them animation, science fiction, history and culture. “And of course our social conditions will reflect on the work you do,” he adds. As a kid, his parents, who saw his potential, enrolled him into workshops. He joined competitions in school and on the national level. He credits the Philippine High School for the Arts for his training and artistic exploration of materials, practices and forms. “Most of the things I learned, I learned in high school,” says New. His teachers made sculptural headdresses, opening up the possibility of designing and creating wearable sculpture, which are now hallmarks of his work.
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Title of Piece Photography by Everywhere we shoot â–ş
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adobo exhibit: Leeroy New
Dissatisfaction warranted He mounted his first solo exhibit in 2006, his last year at the UP College of Fine Arts. Since then he has exhibited in several prominent galleries such as Manila Contemporary, Altro Mondo, Art Informal and The Drawing Room. However, he found the gallery setting limiting and looked for other venues where he could reach more people. He has won competitions and awards such as Metrobank Art and Design Excellence in 2005 and the Ateneo Art Awards in 2009 but does not make them his focus. Says New of awards: “Of course they are very welcome, but there are always bigger awards.” New considers himself lucky to be invited to the Singapore Biennale in 2008, where his aliens occupied the roof of the City Hall, and the Fukuoka Triennial in 2009, where his giant eyeball creature graced the facade of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. “It’s good to know that people find some sort of significance in your work and I got to do very large scale work during those biennales,” he said. “It validates your practice in a way but it’s not the sole validation.” ▲ Caption Goes Here
Psychopomp’s Reef ►
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sculpture for Nike commissioned by Ogilvy & Mather. Using cable ties and flexible conduits, he wrapped the old Rizal Library of Ateneo de Manila University with his Balete installation which has since been installed in Ogilvy & Mather Singapore’s Office as part of their permanent collection. The combination has morphed into costumes for the Sipat Lawin Ensemble and into public art with Psychopomp’s Reef, which was displayed at the BGC Offsite Gallery in Taguig City until February 2012. New continues to use cable ties with rings for costumes resembling sea urchins and caterpillars.
because you don’t exhibit in a gallery which is isolated. I don’t know how to sew or use fabric in that way but eventually I will have to learn.”
Over the years, his purpose as an artist has changed as well. “It’s not just about being an artist or making artwork anymore but about making a mark, being active in the transformation of your society,” he declares.
His drip sculptures, once confined to art galleries, have become architectural, as in the facade of the former Sputnik Comic Bar in Cubao X. The drip series has expanded to his pieces for Philippine Fashion Week, where his collaboration with Kermit Tesoro was named among the top collections by the leading fashion magazines.
These days, New is working on upcoming exhibits in the Philippines and in Singapore. He is also collaborating with photographers to shoot his works.
His materials and themes have also evolved. The forms of his sawdust sculptures, for example, resemble his
“Fashion is an interesting platform for my artistic intentions,” he says. “You get to touch more audiences
Theory of evolution In his pieces, New claims does not reflect the handiwork of a madman. Perhaps what is crazy is the economics of creating art that, his words, “does not necessarily look good on a wall”, or are easy for collectors to appreciate. His intention is not to shock but to affect the viewer by how well the work is done – the aesthetic and craft matching the idea.
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Stretching boundaries Prolific but focused, he carefully selects projects that enable him to manifest his artistic visions, including film projects once a year. He was production designer for Pepe Diokno’s Engkwentro at Cinemalaya 2009 and for Joaquin Paolo Valdez’s filmmaking debut Bulong and CinemaOne Originals 2010 film Dagim.
While New does not have particular favorite pieces or dream projects, he is quick to offer directions he wants to take: architectural work, large public artworks and film. “I try not to think about hypothetical situations and see where this leads me.”
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DESIGN
Infusing culture one stitch at a time
Lenora Cabili’s designs are feted the world over yet few realize her intricate creations help preserve endangered culture as much as they burnish the Philippines’ fashion credentials
Infusing culture one stitch at a time Words Tricia Elamparo
Lenora Cabili, sole designer of the Filip+Inna brand, does New York twice a year, dresses the ladies who lunch at the Hamptons, and travels the Middle East to sell her stunning handmade creations. For the discriminating fashion set, hand-made apparel are fast becoming prized items against the sometimes charmless, churned-out copies of retail. Even so, few realize that there’s more to Filip+Inna pieces than the intricate beadwork. In an era that places much weight on preserving cultural heritage, the pieces are testament to one woman’s sterling effort to do just that. In Cabili’s case, she has done so without the dreariness long associated with this admirably altruistic effort. Filip+Inna pieces are created by indigenous tribes halfway across the globe from where its buyers are, woven from an ancient culture. In a style she coined as ‘modern folk’, Cabili collaborates with indigenous Mindanaoan tribes like the Manobo, Tiboli, Kadang, and Yakan in creating patterns that mesh her modern eye with her artisans’ storied past.
▲ Cabili Photography by Pepper Roxas
The brand Filip+Inna started in 2010 with this premise, but anyone acquainted with its owner would also know that is indeed the brand’s philosophy and not a contrived marketing gimmick. Cabili is a true daughter of Mindanao with a rich, almost destined, cultural exposure. “My father was a local public official, and I was used to seeing a whole tribe of Maranaos at our house, all in their full formal wear of fuchsia, yellow, and orange malongs,” she recounts. Her mother, on the other hand, is from Basilan, a province with its own indigenous tribe called the Yakans who are known for their intricate beadwork. Out of high school, the young Cabili joined the Philippine Bayanihan Dance Group, a local traveling troupe that performs ethnic Filipino dances across the country. It was cultural immersion through movement and dance, and it left a more tactile mark on the young dancer. To give her ideas form, Cabili trained under the University of the Philippines’ fashion design program. But instead of making a fashion career in capitals such as Manila or Cebu, she chose to head down south to Mindanao, looking for inspiration first before finding her patrons.
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Anya Dress (Photography by Everywhere we shoot) â–ş
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DESIGN
Infusing culture one stitch at a time
▲ Len Cabili with Subi Nalon, one of the dreamweavers
Cultural connections There is no dearth of places to find inspiration in places far away from the fashion capitals. But unearthing inspiration requires actively searching for it as inspiration does not come neatly packaged in glitzy window displays and fashion catalogues.
But Cabili’s unerring faith in her artisans’ skill and aesthetics allows her to work comfortably in accommodating their deep-rooted beliefs. She talks of a creative exercise where she would lay out a blank dress on the work table, throw in different colors of threads, and give her artisans free rein on the materials.
In sourcing for materials, Cabili would go around village cooperatives and flea markets. Along the way, she would pick up an interesting trinket from the Badjaos, or a T’boli blouse for her personal collection. It was during these visits to the cooperatives that the first threads of Filip+Inna were spun. “Someone heard that I was looking for an embroiderer, and she referred me to a group of Maranaos. That opened up a whole group of contacts for me. Since then, I kept my eyes more open, and overwhelmingly, more people began coming to me,” Soon enough, contacts came from Badjaos and Kadangs, which not only broadened her pool of artisans, but also her sources of inspiration. Cabili’s work is a true collaboration of artist and artisan. She would sketch designs in her workshop and send them to the tribes for embroidering. Though she might speak of Filip+Inna as a natural trajectory for her, few people realize the implications of working with indigenous people. In the indigenous society, culture comes first, and design second. It is very interesting how each group is very different, not to mention very protective, of their culture. Sometimes, I find myself limited by their beliefs,” Cabili notes.
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Kismet dress
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“After the work, you will be amazed. Weaving is so innate for them that they do not even need patterns, and no two works are alike. My clients abroad say the clothes are so rich – there is truth that when a person really worked on the dress, the spirit comes off the clothes.”
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Weaving the world One might wonder why since Cabili feeds on purely local inspirations, she has no plans of opening a stand-alone shop in the country where her clothes are created. The strategy is to have 90% of her market abroad, purely for economic reasons. “I pay my embroiderers per cross-stitch because it is hard to quantify the amount of hours they put in for a garment. It is the only way for me to be consistent,” Cabili reveals. This consistent stream of livelihood is a welcome change for people who rely on something as seasonal and unpredictable as farming. “When they see a pair of shorts, they can already approximate how much they are going to earn. They are very thankful for that,” she adds. These days, Cabili might strike you as a gypsy by the way she flits from one city to the next. This is part of the lifestyle of the Indagare – a multicultural group of designers and artisans who goes around the world to sell their work. But the more she sees the world, the more she realizes there is so much more of the 7,107 islands that she has not seen in the land of her birth. “Eventually, I would go up north and look for other tribes willing to work with me. The connections I make, they are the most fulfilling part of the job. This would always make me come home.”
▲ Subi jacket
Len Cabili, back to camera, with the dreamweavers
March - April 2012
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COVER STORY
Muse and goddess of Philippine advertising
“I wanted to have the balls to get out of an agency and create one.”
Muse and goddess of Philippine advertising
Burning with ambition and ideas, Merlee Jayme is no shrinking violent in the Mad Men world of advertising. With a timeline on hand, the alpha female of local advertising crafted her rise from Ace Saatchi junior to an entrepreneur with her own shop with meticulous passion. Nearly a decade on, the mother-of-four is clearly at the top of her game. But as someone who constantly challenges herself, it’s safe to say there’s more to come with Jayme’s compelling story.
Words JP Storm Images Marc Nicdao
From Mad Men to Cannes, and even down to the halls of power that the industry’s creative stars walk, it’s easy to see that advertising can indeed be considered a man’s world. But where thorns can be found, so too are roses. And what a rose it turned out to be for the Philippines, and the advertising industry as a whole.
Creative team Vince Uy , Daffy Jonson, Junette Laxamana Styling Liz Uy, Junette Laxamana Make-up Joanne Calaquian
Like many great success stories, Merlee Jayme’s starts from humble beginnings. Or should we say, humbling? “I remember when I applied for Saatchi. It was my second stint at advertising and there they were, the ‘thematics’,” she recounts with a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. The “thematics”, as she referred to, were the powerhouse young creatives of Saatchi – most of whom went on to become legends in today’s advertising arena.
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Some even went on to build their own agencies, latching their now familiar surnames onto some of the world’s most illustrious creative shops. But these names will be withheld at this point. After all, the story is about Jayme. On the day of her copy test, Saatchi’s roll call of legendsin-the-making were on a high, having enjoyed a winning streak in an advertising competition. “One of them came to me and said, ‘kaya mo ba ‘yan? (Can you do that?)’,” Jayme recounts. “Oh yeah. I can describe myself as full of fear when I was just starting to prove myself. My hunger was there to shine and (to) perfect things. I think too much. I don’t know if it’s good or bad but I had a timeline for myself.” Two years later, she won her first award. That trophy provided her with a resounding “yes” to the haughty question posed by the Saatchi talent. Her time has just begun.
COVER STORY
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MERLEE JAYME
Illustrated Portraits of Merlee’s Mentors (Please provide us with images)
▲ (From left to right) Mario Monteagudo, Melvin Mangada, Jimmy Santiago and David Droga
Merlee’s Men It’s often said that behind every great man is a woman. But in Jayme’s case, it seems to work the other way around. Yes, the alpha female of Philippine advertising has also had her fair share of admen – mentors and friends who have taught her much of what she now uses to fuel her agency’s creative engines. “I met one of my first mentors in Ace Saatchi & Saatchi. He was my partner, Mario Monteagudo. I think most of what I know now is because of him. It was not an easy partnership. No one lasted with Mario as a partner. That’s why he probably took someone as naïve as me, and I took it as a challenge,” she explains. Together, the two worked ad magic. “It lasted three years. He was asking me to write copy for one print ad. There were no computers back then. I’d give the copy to him on a piece of paper, handwritten, and he had so many comments. The last one, I thought that would be it. He said it was almost there. I crumpled that last piece of paper and threw it at his face,” Jayme remembers. Needless to say, that was the last day they were partners. But it wasn’t the last day of their friendship.
idea was, to truly capture what an insight is.” As for Mangada, she credits him for helping her hone her aesthetics in the art department. “I learned good copywriting from an art director (Mario). I learned good art direction from Melvin though we have very different styles. Pero mahirap din syang partner ha. Laging absent, (But he’s also somewhat difficult to work with. Always absent),” she says in jest. And then of course, there was the big man himself: David Droga. “He was our regional head. He would come to Manila, sit on my sofa and chat. He felt very comfy in my room. I would cherish those times because he wasn’t very popular then. I would drive him back to his hotel, because I was the designated driver. I remember everything,” she recalls. “The best thing I learned from him was to be humble. We would talk about life, why this thing doesn’t work because you didn’t’ put your heart into it. That’s the only way to go in this industry. He’s a very real person, and he likes real commercials as well, nothing put on.”
It was at Ace Saatchi where Jayme crossed paths with local TBWA greats Melvin Mangada and Jimmy Santiago. “Jimmy was our ECD. I also learned a lot from him. Insightful. He’s a very deep thinker. He would always test us on what the insight of an
It was also during these formative years that Jayme began to discern what she liked and loathed, what she relished and hated with burning passion. “It’s annoying for me when people don’t take their job seriously, when the standard of excellence is not met… when they don’t care, they don’t at least try to understand that things have to be at a certain level.”
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“The best thing I learned from him was to be humble. We would talk about life, why this thing doesn’t work because you didn’t’ put your heart into it. That’s the only way to go in this industry. He’s a very real person, and he likes real commercials as well, nothing put on.”
Hook, line and sinker “I had no idea what advertising was about. I mean, it’s all in the books, we studied it in school. I didn’t take up advertising. I really wanted to get into ABS-CBN, but there were no openings for internships,” says Jayme, compressing how she kicked off her 23-year career in a sentence. That was until she signed up as a copywriter for JWT, where she fell in love with the job hook, line, and sinker. “They made me come up with ideas and even present to real clients. I really liked that.” It was this same love for the job that made Jayme want to do better, by creating ads that work and campaigns that win. She even had a timeline. “When I was a
Muse and goddess of Philippine advertising
practicumer at JWT, Yoly (Ong) just got out of JWT and went ahead and created something. She was my idol. I told myself, I was gonna be like that. I wanted to have the balls to get out of an agency and create one. I admired her for that. I will have an agency before I turn 40.” When the moment finally came, with eyes closed and heartbeat racing, she took the plunge with Alex Syfu in 2004 to form what would soon prove to be the pièce de résistance to their already impressive careers – DM9 Jayme Syfu. Together with a handful of creatives and accounts people, the lean team soldiered into the big world of advertising, with sheer talent and a brazen determination to succeed in the hyper-competitive agency arena. Theirs was the most recent of the three great exoduses of Philippine advertising. “We started as a small agency, a family. To this day, we want to keep it that way. We’re very selective of who we take in. It’s no longer just a question of talent. It’s about finding a perfect fit,” she says. So far, the DM9 team has wowed juries both locally and abroad, an inspiring batting average whenever it gears itself for awards season. Locally, it has time and again dominated the Araw and Kidlat Awards among others. It has also shown its chops in the Philippine Agency of the Year, having scored plates across different categories. “With AOY, we’re playing it one plate at a time, until we get the big one,” she shares.
In 2010, it romped home with the Agency of the Year for Industry Leadership and Community Service. On the international front, DM9 has also proven itself a metal magnet. It won the Philippines’ first Cannes Media Lion and a plethora of Lotus Awards at AdFest. Naturally, the resident goddess of DM9 was anointed into The Hall of Fame Award by the Creative Guild of the Philippines in 2009, as the agency bagged the New York Festivals Creative Achievement Award in the same year. DM9’s clientele also began to expand. The impressive roster now includes Smart and PLDT, Asia Brewery’s Coors Light, Vespa and Mini Cooper. DM9 was also voted Campaign Brief Asia’s hottest agency in the Philippines from a total field of 140 agencies. And then, there’s the Grand Tribute from the Cannes ACT for its Gabriela campaign, which also won several awards in other international competitions. The key, according to Jayme, is being constant. “When we win, we’re happy. But that’s not the end of it. It all boils down to how you can challenge yourself in the future,” she says. With its yellow walls decked with innumerable trophies, plates, and metals – from floor to ceiling, no less – it’s easy to see why DM9 has landed on the list of awardsdriven agencies in the Philippines. While important,
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awards aren’t the be-all and and-all for Jayme and her team. “Awards are good, of course. It challenges you. It recognizes the hard work that comes with creating an effective campaign (and case study, I must add). But in the end, it’s still about coming up with ads that work,” she says. Jayme also reminds creatives that there’s no such thing as creativeness over effectiveness, or vice-versa. “For me, I always encourage the team to go for out-of-the-box, creative campaigns. Something has to be creative for it to be effective. If it still loses in competitions, at least you know you have a good ad in your hands. Whereas if you settle for less, you’ll never win any awards – plus you have a bad ad,” she says matter-of-factly. Today, Jayme has expanded her role in DM9. She now sits on top of her creative brood of 30, more or less, as the agency’s chairperson and chief creative officer. And with so many things achieved, and a lot of goals probably crossed out of DM9’s bucket list, one question begs to be asked: What’s next? “You know what, I don’t have plans. Maybe Cannes. Just because it’s the biggest awards show. I want more ideas from different parts of the world, not just in Asia.” Jury’s prudence Scoring one for the girls yet again, Jayme has been appointed jury president of the Outdoor Lotus category at the 15th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, which takes place in Pattaya, Thailand from March 18 to 20, 2012. “Immersing myself in hundreds of great ideas reflecting the richness of the Asian culture is one of the best jobs in the world. And that is what I love about AdFest. As jury resident of this year’s Outdoor Lotus category, I’m looking forward to discovering the region’s breakthrough ideas in a very challenging medium,” she says. Jayme last judged at AdFest in 2010 as a member of the jury for the Film Lotus and Radio Lotus categories. “It’s my first time to be jury president in AdFest. What excites me is my category: Outdoor! I love outdoor! You look at outdoor ideas as fast as consumers look at them as they drive by, walk by. The idea should blow you away. Two minutes tops,” she adds. She’s also thrilled by the idea of not having to spend days poring through thousands of film ads or listening to the endless – and multilingual – radio ads. “I love my role as jury head because I get to organize all these people. I get to talk to them, argue, converse with all of them. Ask them why they like it, why they’re choosing it. Right now, the roster is still not complete, but once it’s done, everything’s gonna get rolling.”
◄ Gabriela ad campaign (Bronze Cannes)
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COVER STORY
Muse and goddess of Philippine advertising
Jayme, her better half Timmy J Jayme, the COO of DDB Group Philippines, and her charming daughters... “if you’re really dead serious about your advertising career, choose a person who’s also in the same profession”
“As Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg once said about achieving success in both the workplace and the home, “the most important career decision you’ll ever make is choosing your life partner”. I guess that’s true in a lot of ways. If you’re really dead serious about your advertising career, choose a person who’s also in the same profession.”
Domesticated goddess Outside of advertising, this goddess and muse returns to her own little piece of paradise. There metal counts aren’t as strict. Gold, silvers and bronzes are easily outshone by her steely resolve – not just as an industry leader, but also as a mother and a wife. There, she’s the better half of DDB Group Philippines managing director and COO Timmy J. Jayme. “As Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg once said about achieving success in both the workplace and the home, “the most important career decision you’ll ever make is choosing your life partner”. I guess that’s true in a lot of ways. If you’re really dead serious about your advertising career, choose a person who’s also in the same profession.” Lucky indeed, how work played a part in her personal happiness – all thanks to Jimmy Santiago. “Jimmy matched me with Timmy 20 years ago in Ace Saatchi. Describing him as ‘understanding’ is an understatement. It’s not exactly easy to accept the demands of this job unless you’re also in it. “Can you imagine me doing overtime work until 3AM while seven months pregnant? Or worse, walking like a
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March - April 2012
zombie at home when I’m brewing an idea in my mind, oblivious to my family’s conversations and activities?” Still, it wasn’t roses all the way. Even the golden couple of Philippine advertising had issues to resolve before they achieved wedded bliss. “It was tough on him I know. It wasn’t easy but we worked on the issues one by one. We started to have rules like when one of us needs to travel, one would have to stay with the kids. Maybe if you get to ask him, he’d say that one challenge is marrying someone so cluttered, sloppy and disorganized – a total opposite of him!” Four kids later – all girls – Jayme is indeed at the height of her womanhood. “My kids are young, so the young inspire me. They’re a lot brighter than when we were kids. It surprises me. But I have to be cautious that I don’t spoil them too much either – four girls!” Jayme also lights up with joy as she mentions her daily privilege of going home to so much girl talk for some quality time. Inspired and inspiring, a leader who wears the pants (and the heels). That in a nutshell is Merlee Jayme. And with the kind of world-class campaigns that her small yet powerful ad house churns out day-by-day, year-by-year, this down-to-earth goddess has indeed joined the pantheon of Philippine advertising greats.
AD
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PEOPLE
PROFILES
The industry’s other half To mark International Women’s Day, adobo celebrates the achievements of our industry’s other half. Filipinas who have risen to senior roles at home and abroad on the basis of their talent, determination, courage and hard work. Their ascent proves no task is too great or role too big for the women in our industry. Some have expertly juggled career with motherhood, while others have left homes to carve rewarding career paths as expats. Whatever the case, all have delivered at the top of their game, making them powerful role models indeed for those following in their wake.
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PROFILES
Belinda ‘Bebot’ Ngo Joint chief executive officer Publicis JimenezBasic Advertising Career snapshot Started in advertising in 1995 at Basic Advertising’s Adschool in account servicing for Mead Johnson brands and Jollibee followed by a short stint at Hemisphere Leo Burnett, handling P&G’s Rejoice brands. Ngo’s exposure to brands that were major spenders on research and advertising saw her tapped in 2004 to head Mon and Abby Jimenez’ Max Marketing, JimenezBasic’s planning and research group. Her promotion to joint CEO came four years later, and she did double duty as head of planning until early 2010. Career highs In her various JimenezBasic roles, Ngo has helped take brands such as Lucky Me and Jollibee to the top of their category; in doing so, she deepened client partnerships and won accolades for genuine advocacy campaigns. Ngo has also been instrumental in creating an enviable image for challenger brands such as Revicon, Greenwich and Alaxan, and reeling in major accounts such as Globe Tattoo and Globe Prepaid.
Francine Khan-Gonzalez General manager BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines
Top femme Climbed the ladder without facing any gender-related difficulties. “Women are quite respected in this industry,” she says.
Career snapshot Started as a management trainee in 1997 at JWT and climbed rapidly. Within two years, she not only dropped the junior in her account manager title but became senior account manager, and won a posting to JWT Kuala Lumpur under the Star Exchange Program. She returned to Manila in 2002 as account director and joined her current agency three years later as group account director on Pepsi. She quickly took on responsibility for all client relationships and was promoted to GM in 2010.
Femme tip Take the business seriously but not too seriously: “You need to know when to fight for things and when to let go.” Don’t shy away from challenges: “They are opportunities to prove yourself and shine.” Think team-work: “Have fun together, push each other and trust them to do their part.”
Career highs Working on Ford when she was entrusted with huge responsibilities at an early stage of her career. “I was dealing directly with expat clients, working with senior creative teams in the Agency, and a slew of regional people from the network! We did things in a big way. It was a very high-pressured time, but I learned a lot in a very short period.”
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Top femme Ngo believes the local marketing world is female friendly. “For the times that only men (are the right fit), I have JR Ramos,” she quips. “But really, I find that good and thorough work and the output overcomes all prejudices.” Femme tip “Just do the work. Expect issues to arise but just stay the course,” Ngo advises young women. Giving back “To do the best for our employees and encourage them to make advertising that will make people want to be better.” Why adobo chose her For her boldness, resilience, smarts and grace under pressure in not only stabilizing Publicis JimenezBasic after its founders, the Jimenezes, left, but driving it to a new level of success.
Giving back Sees her election to the 4As’ board as a chance to “do my part in taking care of an industry I’ve enjoyed working in”. Why adobo chose her For always rising to career challenges, apparent even as a junior when she was handed the Ford business at a time when the company was establishing itself in the market. And she shone brightly, judging by her nomination for JWT’s Star Exchange Program that took her to Malaysia, providing invaluable overseas experience.
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Jane Cruz-Walker First VP, marketing, communications and new media ABC Development Corp/TV5
Career snapshot Started at San Miguel, where she rose to become brand manager for single serves before moving to range of blue-chip corporations, Colgate-Palmolive Philippines and in a variety of PLDT businesses. There, she got to grips with gaming, and was later seconded as president/CEO of then newly acquired Level Up Inc. She later founded a company that provided customer support and game masters to US game publishers and a year ago joined the country’s youngest broadcaster, TV5. Career highs In a career that has taken her from multinationals to telco, gaming and broadcasting, Cruz-Walker has enjoyed a series of career highs – her memorable ‘Mommy’ TVC with Basic-FCB while at San Miguel to tap impulse buying of ice cream, learning the complexities of managing a global brand at ColgatePalmolive as it shifted towards regional harmonization and steering Level Up to profit even as she was learning the ropes of gaming.
Maricel Royo Vice president, Operations, Unitel Productions Inc
Career snapshot Started with JTR Productions in 1985, where she learned the ropes of production for TV shows to product launches and road shows. Started her long career at Unitel 1990, working across its properties before moving to its Optima unit. Briefly managed an editing facility of Unitel before becoming an executive producer, handling top agencies and clients. Promoted in 2006 to manage Unitel and its divisions – TVCs, entertainment, equipment, facilities and new technology. Career highs Royo has produced four seasons of a breakthrough children’s TV show Jollitown, won a Cannes bronze for feature film Botelya, handled PLDT’s ambitious ‘Keeping you in touch’ TVC that was shot all over the country and made her first foray into reality TV with Project Runway Philippines, which was highly commended for best adaptation of an existing format in the Asian Television Awards.
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Top femme Noting that “the industry is kind of different types of people”, Royo has a no-nonsense attitude to gender prejudices: “You will only feel these prejudices if you allow them to happen. I don’t.” Femme tip “Be in the business because you love what you’re doing, not just because it is from where you get your paycheck. Equip yourself with knowledge and skills and never ever be complacent. Love yourself, focus on continuous self-improvement. Great work stems from an individual who has learned to value herself and who is happy by her own doing. Giving back Royo wants to help devise solutions to help advertisers and agencies meet their needs in a rapidly changing production landscape. Why adobo chose her For her remarkable talent, determination, dedication and versatility judging by the effortless way she has navigated her career from TVCs to entertainment production. Her pursuit of excellence has made a difference to clients and delivered international recognition for Philippine production.
March - April 2012
Top femme Even a Korean male dominated gaming industry failed to faze the unflappable Cruz-Walker. While her Korean partners expected a Mr Walker at their first meeting, she effortlessly broke the ice by playing golf with them. Femme tip “Do what you love and love what you do,” she says and advises young women to have a mentor, “someone you look up to and can run to in every phase of your career.” Giving back By paying it forward: “In my years of working, I have met people who made valuable contributions to my professional and personal growth, and this is how I also want to make a difference in the lives of my colleagues and subordinates.” Why adobo chose her For her amazing tenacity and talent in not only getting to grips with gaming, a sector that was alien to her then, but succeeding in turning around Level-Up and being bold and savvy enough to launch a gaming support company.
PROFILES
Manet Dayrit Role Joint chief executive officer Publicis JimenezBasic Advertising Career snapshot Started in advertising in 1995 at Basic Advertising’s Adschool in account servicing for Mead Johnson brands and Jollibee followed by a short stint at Hemisphere Leo Burnett, handling P&G’s Rejoice brands. Ngo’s exposure to brands that were major spenders on research and advertising saw her tapped in 2004 to head Mon and Abby Jimenez’ Max Marketing, JimenezBasic’s planning and research group. Her promotion to joint CEO came four years later, and she did double duty as head of planning till early 2010. Career highs In her various JimenezBasic roles, Ngo has helped take brands such as Lucky Me and Jollibee to the top of their category; in doing so, she deepened client partnerships and won accolades for genuine advocacy campaigns. Ngo has also been instrumental in creating an enviable image for challenger brands such as Revicon, Greenwich and Alaxan, and reeling in major accounts such as Globe Tattoo and Globe Prepaid.
Melissa Crucillo General manager BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines Started as a management trainee in 1997 at JWT and climbed rapidly. Within two years, she not only dropped the junior in her account manager title but became senior account manager, and won a posting to JWT Kuala Lumpur under the Star Exchange Program. She returned to Manila in 2002 as account director and joined her current agency three years later as group account director on Pepsi. She quickly took on responsibility for all client relationships and was promoted to GM in 2010. Career highs Working on Ford when she was entrusted with huge responsibilities at an early stage of her career. “I was dealing directly with expat clients, working with senior creative teams in the Agency, and a slew of regional people from the network! We did things in a big way. It was a very high-pressured time, but I learned a lot in a very short period.”
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Top femme Ngo believes the local marketing world is female friendly. “For the times that only men (are the right fit), I have JR Ramos,” she quips. “But really, I find that good and thorough work and the output overcomes all prejudices.” Femme tip “Just do the work. Expect issues to arise but just stay the course,” Ngo advises young women. Giving back “To do the best for our employees and encourage them to make advertising that will make people want to be better.” Why adobo chose her For her boldness, resilience, smarts and grace under pressure in not only stabilizing Publicis JimenezBasic after its founders, the Jimenezes, left, but driving it to a new level of success.
Top femme Climbed the ladder without facing any gender-related difficulties. “Women are quite respected in this industry,” she says. Femme tip Take the business seriously but not too seriously: “You need to know when to fight for things and when to let go.” Don’t shy away from challenges: “They are opportunities to prove yourself and shine.” Think team-work: “Have fun together, push each other and trust them to do their part.” Giving back Sees her election to the 4As’ board as a chance to “do my part in taking care of an industry I’ve enjoyed working in”. Why adobo chose her For always rising to career challenges, apparent even as a junior when she was handed the Ford business at a time when the company was establishing itself in the market. And she shone brightly, judging by her nomination for JWT’s Star Exchange Program that took her to Malaysia, providing invaluable overseas experience.
March - April 2012
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MOVERS
PEOPLE
ON THE MOVE Carla Cifra
Revolver adds four new guns Production house Revolver Studios has brought in four
New role Promoted to general manager, OMD Philippines,
new guns: Bongo Ferraren as general manager, and Noel
six months after her last promotion in July 2011.
Manacsa, Treb Monteras II, and Borgy Torre as art directors. The four joined the company with varied and extensive experience in TV production and advertising.
Previous role Client service director. She joined the media agency in 2006 as senior media planner and was subsequently promoted to
Is there anything in the new role that will keep you up at night?
business manager.
“Assuring the smooth operation of the team when responding to
Ferraren has had 40 years of experience in the industry,
clients and regional/global requests.”
including a stint as media production consultant for 24 Unilever Philippines brands in home care, personal care, and
When did you know you wanted to work in advertising? “While pursuing a degree in Communication Arts I got interested
What excites you about the new role?
food categories. Manacsa joins from JWT Manila, where he
in advertising. I love watching TV – I love everything about media.
“I’m excited to be working with the whole group on a daily basis
rose from art director to associate creative director during
I was very curious then how things worked in this field and when
knowing that there are great projects ahead for us where we can
a 10-year tenure. Monteras has had years of experience in
I landed a job in advertising, dealing with different media people
explore different approaches and strategies.
directing and photographing album cover shoots for artistes. He has also worked as music video director and has over 200
I got even more excited and wanted to be part of their world.” What have you recently learned in advertising that you wished
music videos to his name. He has also directed several TV
What, in your opinion, helped you win the promotion?
you had learned years ago?
shows, commercials, and live concerts.Torre has worked with
“My passion for media and my dedication to my team.”
Well right now I am overwhelmed by the fact that digital is
Revolver Studios and the company’s film arm, Reality Films,
changing the media landscape and how we craft different
as assistant director for films and TV commercials and editor,
What additional responsibilities do you have in the new role?
communication strategies. I’m discovering the many possibilities
respectively since 2009. He counts a short film ‘Bonsai’,
“To lead business development, client and supplier relationship
attached to the web and how powerful social networking
which was named Best Asian Film in Tokyo in 2010, among
management, team leadership, operations and manpower
communities can really be. I wish I had learned anything that
his accolades.
management.
has to do with digital marketing years ago and foreseen how
Most
importantly,
I’ll
be
responsible
for
strengthening OMD’s value proposition in the Philippines.”
Aegis trio tasked with driving growth
beneficial it could be for brands before anyone else did.
Euro adds to talent base
Burnett boosts digital offer JAKARTA Venke Sharma has been appointed
SINGAPORE Euro RSCG
executive director, head
Southeast Asia has beefed
of digital for Leo Burnett
up its talent pool with
Indonesia.
Renuka Jaypal as chief executive officer and Victor
Sharma relocates from India where he headed the
Ng returning to the network
network’s marketing services arm, Arc Worldwide,
as chief creative officer.
for the past five years.
MANILA Aegis Media Philippines has appointed senior
Jaypal joins the network from Ogilvy & Mather where she
The agency’s country advisor Thomas Sutton said Sharma’s
management executives to drive growth of the local operation.
held various roles in the past 12 years, including managing
appointment was a reflection of the shop’s ambition to be a
director of OgilvyOne India and more recently group CEO of
leading force in digital. “Very importantly, we aren’t building
Ogilvy & Mather Indonesia.
a separate digital agency; we are building digital capability
Miguel Ramos (centre) has been appointed to the new
in Leo Burnett Indonesia,” he said.
position of chairman of the umbrella company, Angelito “BoyP” Pangilinan (right) CEO of Carat Philippines and Media
Ng – until recently executive creative director for DDB
Services and Mike Ochosa CEO of Integrated Services,
Shanghai – has been tasked with shaping the network’s
including iProspect.
creative direction across Southeast Asia.
Ramos, the president/COO of Aegis-owned Mediaforce Vizeum since 2009, has been tasked with providing overall leadership to the executive team and expanding the group’s offering beyond Carat Philippines and Mediaforce Vizeum to the full group. Pangilinan previously worked with MediaCom and was Campaigns & Grey’s general manager/ COO. Ochosa, who was until recently managing director of Carat Philippines has been appointed CEO of Integrated Services, and tasked with introducing and growing new service offerings with a focus on digital and other direct-to-
Martin heads OMG digital
SYDNEY Wunderman has hired Eithne McSwiney as its client services director.
SINGAPORE Autumn Martin has relocated from the UK
McSwiney has more than
to Singapore as director – digital media at Omnicom Media
12 years’ experience in
Group. She was until recently the group’s associate director,
advertising and marketing
heading the HP account for EMEA, working on the brand’s
communications at Leo
digital strategy and implementation.
Burnett and DDB in Ireland and Grey and DDB in
Martin will be responsible for enhancing the group’s local
Australia, working across
digital offering. Prior to joining the group, Martin was digital
brands such as McDonald’s,
communications director, EMEA at Universal McCann.
Kellogg’s and Esso.
consumer communication channels.
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Wunderman recruits McSwiney
March - April 2012
MOVERS
PEOPLE
KL shop hires senior execs
Mindshare taps Ming for MD job
Iris beefs up planning
KUALA LUMPUR People ’N Rich has beefed up its
SHANGHAI Mindshare
SYDNEY Independent
management team, hiring Lynda Lee as media director
China has named Ming Liao
creative agency Iris has lured
and Norfaizah Marzuki as account director.
its managing director, head
Dan Prakraz from M&C
of business planning, with
Saatchi Sydney to fill the
Lee, who has more than 20 years agency experience,
the brief to build the media
newly-created role of joint
previously held senior roles in MPG, Starcom Mediavest,
network’s business planning
regional planning director
Optimedia, and MediaEdge:CIA, and worked on clients
capabilities across its China-
for Asia Pacific.
such as Alliance Bank, Naza-Kia, Caltex, L’Oreal, Singapore
based client portfolio.
Airlines, LG Electronics and MBf. Marzuki, with more than
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The hire is a key development
15 years experience, previously worked at Leo Burnett,
He comes to his new role with a decade’s worth of
in the agency’s investment in
Draftfcb, Hong Kong Bank, and BBDO Proximity, handling
experience in marketing analytics and research, having
its planning function globally,
accounts such as P&G, CIMB, McDonald’s, Telekom
been head of marketing analytics at Unilever China before
which has been underway since the announcement of its
Malaysia, Fonterra, S C Johnson,
joining Mindshare. Ming also held roles at Acxiom China,
global strategic partnership with US media and marketing
and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Nielsen and IMS Health in the US and across sectors such
giant Meredith at the end of last year.
as pharmaceuticals, FMCG, retail and financial services.
OgilvyPR promotes Knapp
Prakraz brings with him 12 years of agency experience,
TBWA names China group creative
BEIJING OgilvyPR has promoted Justin Knapp to
HONG KONG TBWA\Greater
director of its China outbound
China has promoted Esther
practice, based in Beijing,
Wong, who has been with
to handle growing demand
the company for the past
for communications services
eight years, to group creative
from Chinese corporations
director.
spanning Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, BBH New York and DDB Sydney and most recently M&C Saatchi, where he was deputy planning director, leading the Google account. He will remain in Sydney and take strategic lead on accounts such as Adidas, Sony and Shell.
Euro fills senior Korea role SEOUL Grape
expanding globally.
Communications’
Wong, who first joined the
JuneKyu Park has rejoined
In his new role, Knapp will serve as the practice’s key point
agency’s Hong Kong office
person in China, and will work closely with Lyndon Cao, his
in 2005 as its group creative
New York counterpart to support Chinese companies in
director, has been involved in
government relations, financial communication planning
work for Standard Chartered and led Levi’s award-winning
and strategy, internal communication, branding and crisis
campaigns for Hong Kong and China.
Euro RSCG as senior executive vice president and has been tasked to help with new business development.
management capacities.
Park previously held posts with Marina Glim, Draftfcb, Euro
Ogilvy completes Indonesia management team
RSCG Tokyo and Grey Worldwide in a more than 18-year advertising career and has worked on brands such as Volkswagen, Chanel, Samsonite, Audi, Pernod Ricard, Levi’s,
JAKARTAFreshfromnamingKatrynaMojicatoheaditsIndonesiaoffice,
includingtheIndonesianMinistryofTourism,TotalE&P,TheBodyShop
Ogilvy&Matherhasmadeatrioofnewappointmentstocompletethe
and Vespa.
agency’s management line-up. “AtTheBrandUnion,wearecreatinganewmodelforstrategicbranding Gordon Ford will head OgilvyAction, Florian Jungbauer Redworks and
anddesignintheregionwhichcombinesthebreadthandcapabilityofa
RenedePaushasbeennamedbusinessandstrategydirectorforThe
globalnetworkwiththeverybestoflocaltalentandinsight,”saidGraham
Brand Union.
Hitchmough,RegionalDirector,ASEAN,TheBrandUnion.“Leveraging our partnership with Ogilvy in the region, we are committed to being
HavingworkedinAsiafor17years,FordisnostrategytoIndonesia,
partofIndonesia’sfuturegrowthandestablishmentontheworldstage.”
joining Ogilvy from Leo Burnett. He brings years of branding, retail
Reckitt Benckiser and Procter & Gamble.
Cotton rises at TBWA\Shanghai SHANGHAI TBWA\ Shanghai business director Richard Cotton has been promoted to client service
and activation experience to his new role. “The growth potential
Ford and Jungbauer will report into Mojica, who moved to the
forbrandactivationinIndonesiaisextensiveasthegrowingurban
Indonesianagencyfromthenetwork’sVietnamoffice,whereshehad
populationisexposedtointernationaltastesandtrends,”saidJohn
been for the past eight years, four as its chief executive officer.
Goodman, president of OgilvyAction Asia Pacific.
director. Cotton, who joined the agency as group account director in 2007 from TBWA\London, held the business director post since 2010.
TheappointmentsrepresentasecondwaveofinvestmentbyOgilvyin JungbauermovestoIndonesiatogrowRedworks’offeringfromHong
Indonesia, which regional CEO Paul Heath described as “the next big
Kongwherehewasmanagingdirectorofaleadingmarketingspecialist
growth engine after China and India”.
He has been credited with growing Pernod Ricard into the agency’s largest account and was appointed global brand
agency, while Indonesian-born de Paus brings 14 years experience in
director for the Royal Salute brand. In his new role, Cotton’s
branding and marketing services to The Brand Union. He has worked
brief includes recruitment, talent and training across the
across a wide range of prominent international and local brands
account management function to ensure best-in-class delivery.
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March - April 2012
PROFILES
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OGILVY & MATHER
Changing with the times Ogilvy & Mather takes founder’s words to heart, retooling the agency for tomorrow’s challenges Even as it celebrated its past, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific has kept its eye firmly on the here and now, but more so on the future. For the WPP-owned network, 2011 was a landmark year that saw it honor its past, celebrating the centennial birthday of founder David Ogilvy, whose thinking continues to inspire and inform the agency’s practices going forward. Like every other year, 2011 was also about putting greater distance between itself and rivals with a flurry of initiatives such as a wide-ranging digital program to make it a stronger partner for clients. Accordingly, 2011 was about remaking the agency for the constantly evolving marketplace, where the arrival of new digital platforms have unlocked remarkable opportunities while also making it considerably more difficult to reach target audiences. “It was a year of innovation and change in digital, in strategy, in who we hired and the work we developed. We reshaped the agency to bring digital into the centre of everything we do,” said
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Believing digital could no longer sit alone as a separate division, but had to be embraced by staff from every discipline, Ogilvy declared 2011 as its Digital Year. Accordingly, the shop set out to make the entire organization digital. An intense training program DigitalDOJO was launched simultaneously to all Asia Pacific staff across 25 countries. By year-end, 5,842 Ogilvy staff had taken part with 100% of client-facing staff trained, 70,000 training hours were completed and 140 senior leaders from 14 countries completed the ‘Mastering Digital’ training program. Alongside the training, Ogilvy sharpened its digital offer, rolling out the global Social@Ogilvy practice to 23 cities in Asia Pacific. The worldwide practice connects all of the agency’s social media experts from all disciplines into an integrated team to support clients at every stage of brand building. “The demand for world-class digital and social media solutions across Asia Pacific is growing
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over the last two years,” said Paul Heath, chief executive officer of the regional network. According to Isaac, the results of Ogilvy’s digital transformation speak for themselves – Ogilvy’s 360° digital influence team awarded the coveted ‘Digital Consultancy of the Year’ title by the Holmes Report, OgilvyOne Manila won the inaugural ‘Digital Agency of the Year Award’ from the 4As and Ogilvy PR has the most awarded social media team in Asia. Alongside digital, the agency has been making the case that creativity and effectiveness are indivisible to underscore its positioning as the network that delivers work that works. “Everything we did was focused on using creativity as a catalyst for business growth as new research has shown that creatively awarded communications on average grow market share 11 times more than ordinary and unrewarded work,” Isaac said, citing the findings of a Gunn/IPA study. Senior management has been actively spreading the gospel in press interviews, in Slideshare presentations and on the road, drawing attention to finding that work that win awards also help clients deliver growth targets, whether they are local, regional or global accounts. “International creative awards are important to our team and clients, however, at Ogilvy we understand the indelible relationship between the twin peaks of creativity and effectiveness.”
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01 David Ogilvy tribute at Cannes 2011 02 Personalised ‘Share A Coke’ cans, Coca-Cola 03 ‘Wolf’, Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts 04 ‘Dream Rangers’, TC Bank 05 ‘Disposable Forest’, Greenpeace
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to David Ogilvy, who in 1948 wrote: “In hiring, the emphasis will be on youth. We are looking for young Turks. I have no use for toadies or hacks.” The founder had another often-quoted saying on recruitment: “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs.
WORK THAT WORK S
“But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.”
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These words continue to inform Ogilvy’s human resources strategy. “We did just that in 2011,” Isaac said of the talent the agency brought on board. “Increasing our creative firepower and bringing on digital specialists will ensure Ogilvy stays at the very top of the industry.”
TC Bank, Taiwan: driving content Aim Increase awareness of TC Bank across Taiwan.
Ogilvy has won twice as many effectiveness awards in all Asian effectiveness competitions as the next best agency and tops the inaugural Effie Effectiveness Index,” Isaac added.
One of London’s top creative directors, Graham Fink, joined Ogilvy in May 2011 as chief creative officer China, completing its creative offer in one of the largest markets.
To this end, Ogilvy launched a new regional platform, OgilvyDO, focusing on the role of creativity in driving business results, last year. “The platform is intended to drive the regional debate about creativity as a key business catalyst and will lead our thought leadership efforts going forward,” added Isaac.
Top Australian creative, Steve Back, arrived in Singapore to take on the role of chief creative officer to grow the creative talent and output in the city. Over and above the key creative talent, 150 digital specialists were employed across the group in the last six months as part of its push to make the whole agency digital. In retooling itself for the constantly evolving marketplace, the network was clearly inspired by the pithy saying of its founder. “Change is our lifeblood,” David Ogilvy once said. “Stagnation is our death knell.”
Amid the flurry of launches and training, Ogilvy also honored its past. It not only celebrated the centennial birthday of David Ogilvy in style, in Cannes, but used the event to launch ‘Young Suits of the Year’, an initiative to fuel the development of young account talent. In a similar vein, the network also launched Young Turks in Australia, reinforcing its heritage of training and nurturing future leaders of business. Undoubtedly, both projects would have been dear
Solution A campaign was built around ‘ordinary people with extraordinary dreams’. The agency found five friends, with an average age of 81, and one dream – to once again ride motorbikes across Taiwan. It took six months of preparation before they traveled across Taiwan over 13 days and 1,139kms. Results Increased search for the bank 300%. There were 24 million online views (crossing the border into China and around the world) and it moved the bank from 22nd to 2nd spot in unaided brand awareness.
01 Tim Isaac 02 Graham Fink 03 Steve Beck
Vodafone Blackberry Boys, India: a sticky campaign with content Aim The campaign aim was to increase sales of Blackberry Services by 50%. Solution Make the service more accessible to a wide range of people – a transition from the business community to a smartphone for the young. The campaign was developed for the pre-paid service and the TVC featured a song called ‘The Blackberry Boys’ where five businessmen start singing and are joined by young people singing about chat, surfing and emailing. Results Increased number of prepaid Blackberry users by 96%, postpaid users by 76% while sales of Blackberry devices at Vodafone retail outlets rose 150%.
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REVOLVER
Monteverde (fourth from left) ...Revolver’s top guns bring decades of TV, film and TVC production, agency and branding experience of the young company
Revolver hits the mark By building and nurturing its talented team to deliver cutting-edge work to clients It has only been four years since Revolver fired that first shot, with six people in a small room. That was all there was to the start-up then. Revolver Studios went to work immediately on firing up its reputation. It began shooting a series of engaging TV commercials and moving into its own office (with three floors), all within the first six months. Through its Reality Films partnership, the production house has also developed short and full-length films, allowing it to pack more power in its appropriately chosen moniker. “I think Revolver can cater to whatever the clients or agencies want because of the pool of the directors we have,” said Dondon Monteverde, the studio’s executive producer and managing partner. He brings decades of experience in TV and film production, along with valuable trade secrets from one of the Philippines’ most prolific film producers, his mother Lily Monteverde of Regal Films’ fame.
Joel Limchoc, Topel Lee, Jerrold Tarog, Richard Somes, Borgy Torre, Treb Monteras II, and Noel Manacsa. Collectively, these directors boasts decades of experience in music video, TV commercial, and film making, as well as years of first-hand advertising agency experience. They have made iconic commercials for clients such as Procter & Gamble, Wyeth, Jollibee Foods (for Greenwich and Chowking), Pepsi, and Globe Telecommunications. “We’re the guys (who) creatives call when they want something that demands attention,” Benaza says.
“I liked the idea that there’s constant development of new talent,” he said. Ferraren was also drawn by Revolver’s expansion plans in the region and the level of involvement it would have in the creation of a commercial or a film – from story board to the shoot. “I wanted to go back to that kind of career.” Noel Manacsa said he was drawn by the myriad of potential opportunities the outfit could offer. “Revolver is concerned with your growth. There are many avenues that will open like full-length feature films, there are more resources here.” On top of this, he felt it exuded the same atmosphere and culture as an advertising agency, an environment that he lived in for the past 10 years at JWT Manila. “Walang masyadong (There’s not too much) script. The brotherhood of directors is very much alive here,” he said.
The unscripted brotherhood When Bongo Ferraren, an industry veteran with 40 years of prodcution experience left his consultancy post at Unilever Philippines in December 2011, he was uncertain about his next move.
A/F Benaza, president and CEO, leads Revolver’s team of directors – Jun de Leon, Erik Matti,
“I didn’t know if I was going to be a freelance producer or what.” When Monteverde came to him with the offer for the general manager post, Ferraren was attracted to say the least. With the same interests and passions, Revolver was the ideal next move for the industry veteran.
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REVOLVER
A playground for directors As Ferraren saw it, “Revolver (is) an umbrella for a lot of allied companies”. It’s a creative incubator, developing not only the talent of directors, but also CG artists, post production editors, and everybody involved in the process of making a commercial or a full-length film. This is exactly what Monteverde had in mind for Revolver. “I’ve always imagined Revolver to be a playground for directors.” At Revolver, if someone is new, they can get better; if they’re experienced, they can still get better. “We’ll help them do things that they haven’t done before, we have other companies around us that can support them. I want them to be the best.” Despite its many successful projects for advertisers, the company’s Production House of the Year trophy awarded at the 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress’s Araw Awards still felt like a bolt out of the blue. “We were shocked, actually,” said Monteverde, “but very grateful.” Benaza himself admitted that the team was an “emotional mess” after the awards night.
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Directors Limchoc and Torre both said their winning ads in the Araw Awards – Andok’s ‘Perfect Breasts’ and ‘Wings’ – became two of their favorites from their respective portfolios. For Torre, it’s something to brag about but the homegrown director insists the award has made the Revolver team acutely conscious of creating work that is anything but good. “There is no next. We will always be thinking in the here and now, constantly adapting, innovating and thinking hard to achieve excellence,” said Matti, insisting the goal as always would be to produce local and international works that not only won awards but were also creative and effective. What does the future holds? Well, the team is keeping its cards close to its chest. “There are a lot of eyes on us right now,” Benaza noted. Monteverde isn’t perturbed, though. “The awards will come. We just have to make sure that the level of work we do is...” and here, he made a slashing gesture above his head, an action that could mean one of many things – quality? Cutting edge? Or maybe it means right on target.
02 01 ‘Perfect Breasts’, Andoks
It may have been just four short years since the production house fired its first shot, but the still-smoking Revolver clearly hasn’t run out of ammunition. Possibly for a long time to come.
02 ‘Sa Akin Ang Pinas’, Pepsi 03 ‘School’, AUB
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FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
MARKETING
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS Automotive brands kept up a relentless marketing pace in 2011, capitalizing on the Philippines’ motoring love affair
FORD
KIA
Ford Philippines put in an impressive 2011 showing: A 40% sales increase that defied the industry’s odds, as the brand was powered by a new target market: the young. Anika Salceda, Ford’s VP for communications, credits the sales spike to the Ford Fiesta. As Ford’s first subcompact, it is significantly more affordable than its SUVs. “There has been a shift in Ford’s image from three to four years ago. Now, we’re more mainstream, and have captured first-time car buyers in the late-20s demographic,” Salceda said. It was a marketing revamp on many levels: Ford tweaked its communications tone. Though the biggest chunk of its adspend usually goes to TV, print, and OOH, Ford has shown a strong taste for digital .
Kia Philippines has had a less than memorable year. It was hit by supply chain problems stemming from floods and other natural disasters that hit its production bases last year. “We were able to raise awareness of the Kia brand for sure and we would have outperformed ourselves in 2011 if we did not encounter supply issues,” said Palermo Soriano, Jr., its marketing service manager.
It was the first to have a Facebook-initiated rollout,now sustained with a 60,000-strong community at present. “It was a means to have a conversation, because we knew that people using Facebook are the people who were already predisposed to buy the Fiesta,” said Memo Moreno of Mindshare, Ford’s media agency. The strategy relies on cascading Ford’s advertising with its digital activities, with the two playing up the other. Dino Olbias, Ford Philippines marketing manager, claimed that the company’s communications strength lay in integration. Regionally and globally, the Ford Fiesta had a synchronized rollout in 2010 which maximized resources and created a ripple effect across, territories.
As part of its sports marketing foray, it also hosted the successful 1st Kia Football Cup, helping the sport grow in the country. The initiative was simply in line with the brand’s global sports thrust with leagues such as golf, basketball, and tennis, with brand ambassadors such as Michelle Wie, Blake Griffin, and Rafael Nadal.
Communications-wise, the marketing team is just one part of a network of rival creative shops – Ogilvy PR, TBWA/Santiago Mangada Puno – and Mindshare working in concert. “All four parts are transparent, and we see our agencies as partners,” said Olbias.
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On the marketing front though, Kia appears to have made some savvy moves. It struck gold venturing into sports marketing by becoming the official transport providers for the Philippine Azkals, a football team making its mark in basketball-crazy Philippines.
The sports push, according to Soriano, demonstrates Kia’s clear marketing objectives. “Our target market is the young-at-heart who are active both at work and at play,” said Soriano. Digital has also helped the brand drive further in the country. Kia prelaunched the all-new Rio with a three-part viral that got (x) hits, while the new Sportage and Picanto were visible on Facebook through promos. Success on both fronts will see the brand sustain its sports marketing and digital activities in 2012, while channelling the bulk of its adspend on below-the-line activities.
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MARKETING
MINI
HYUNDAI
The iconic British brand is a relative newcomer in the market, launching only in 2009, with a taste for surprising guerrilla tactics to build an emotional connection with onsumers. “The difference with the Mini in comparison to any other automotive brand is that it is an emotional purchase and the buyers are buying a lifestyle,” said Ryan Watson, general manager of British United Automobiles, the authorized Mini importer.
The Korean automotive manufacturer’s local distributor marked a decade in the market with a busy 2011 program. The year saw the company fuse event marketing, alliance marketing, CSR initiatives and invest in a major expansion of its distribution network. It also launched a new model, the Hyudai Elantra. The Hyundai RUN – short for Responsibility, Unity and Nation-building – tapped into the market’s growing appetite for running, and aligned it to a good cause. RUN championed three worthy causes including Gawad Kalinga, a social enterprise.
Though 2011 was about Mini’s print platforms, the strategy this year will be to back more guerilla tactics, outside activations, and alliances with special brand partners. “Keep your eyes on the Manila skyline,” Watson hinted of things to come. “A Mini will be rising soon.” This planned effort further aligns Mini Philippines with the brand’s unique engagement activities across the globe, particularly its focus on interactive campaigns such as the Mini Getaway Stockholm Hunt and the recent Mini Roaster ‘Cliffhanger’ OOH campaign. Mini has also backed a major content creation drive, partnering subversive magazine Vice with its ‘All the Wrong Places’ campaign. Fans were taken on a series of road trip adventure, taking them to see among other things the amazing Peruvian scissors dance. All adventures were documented in a web series. Watson believes guerilla tactics will bring the brand closer to Filipinos, cut through the automotive clutter and make a compelling case for the Mini that will override potential sticker shock. “We will be loud, cheeky, and in-your-face this year. We plan to bring Mini to the next level here by making it even more accessible.” It’s a strategy evident on the sales front with the Mini Magic financial scheme that launched last year, to the roll-out of the new Mini SUV, which has unlocked new market segments for the brand. “We have a lot of C-level executives, company owners, creatives, doctors, housewives, retired professionals-people who previously saw Mini as unattainable. The only ambassadors we really need for Mini are our clients and the cars themselves, both of which have very unique characters which promote the brand in very convincing ways.”
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The year also saw Hyundai launch what it described as the firstever dealership based, car loyalty program – One Hyundai. Offering more than exclusive premiums through a points-system on parts and services, One Hyundai’s primary commitment is customer safety and assistance through its 24/7 roadside, medical and travel assistance in partnership with Assistance Alliance International. The program was rolled out to an expanded dealer base, which was increased to 39 last year-end as the company sought to redefine the brand experience for consumers. Its alliance marketing was strongly rooted in finance. “Motoring and financing may be looked upon as two different worlds, but both are essential in enjoying a privileged and rewarding lifestyle,” said Fe Perez-Agudo, president and CEO of the company. The Sonata Masterpiece and subsequent Hyundai MasterCard launch marked s its first joint collaboration with the East-West Bank, one of the country’s leading card issuers. “The campaign combined the motoring lifestyle perks and services from Hyundai and the exclusive deals and premiums from EastWest Bank to give motorists the best of both financial and automotive worlds,” said Perez-Agudo. These initiatives could well have yielded a stronger sales spike but supply chain issues arising from natural disaster limited growth to 1% last year. With supply issues resolved, the company is banking on stronger growth this year, helped by the image-building of anniversary year activities. Indeed, the company appears to have rebounded sharply with january 2011 delivering a 40% sales growth.
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PEOPLE
ADOBO SIDEDISH
PROFILES
How do you encourage out-of-the-box thinking at your work?
What campaigns of other brands do you wish you could have done?
I let my team commit calculated mistakes so that they can learn from them and know better in the future.
Bayantel’s Lola Techie campaign was a stroke of brilliance for the telco industry. And the more recent ‘Help Susy Find Geno’ social media campaign, which was a very simple idea but very sticky.
I also encourage them to believe that creativity is something that can be developed. What do you wish your company could do better? I know that our company really does care about our customers. In fact, the company silently bends backwards just to put our customers first, with our bill rebates, our waiving of justified bill shock charges, our flexibility with subscribers’ demands. Bunny Aguilar Head, communications channels Globe Telecom
I think we can do better to celebrate our wins in customer service in a thankless telco category. What are your weekends like?
What don’t people know about the company you work for? I work for a company that operates like a multinational even though it is a local Ayala company. The rigor and discipline that is put in every offer/service we come out with can rival those of the multinationals. Imagine doing that with the velocity of telco.
My weekends are alone time, spent doing personal and household errands and sleeping most of the time. Now, I have included traveling to Sta Rosa Laguna to check out and furnish my new house. What projects are you proudest of?
If you didn’t work in marketing... I’d be back in advertising. Or training aspirants to finally win the Miss Universe crown. What lessons do you wish you could have learned 10 years ago, or earlier? Lesson 1. There’s a future in strategizing. Back then, there was no such thing as a planner. Lesson 2. I should have developed my writing skills because now I can monetize it as a blogger. Lesson 3. Moving laterally is as enriching as moving vertically. I was trained in an era where success is climbing up the corporate ladder, and not moving from one discipline to another. Now, the more skill sets you have, the more marketable you are.
The new Globe Prepaid campaign which I personally believe is spot on with the mindset of the youth we are targeting.
RETAIL CORNER ECHOMarket, Serendra
This isn’t your typical village cooperative. Think of it as a farmer’s market for a wellheeled residential community – Serendra in Bonifacio City – that is not only familiar with the concept but has the wallet to indulge their discriminating palate. Organic vegetables, fresh cheese, oysters, organic eggs, herbs share rack space with handicrafts created by women from rural communities.
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The produce isn’t the only thing organic about the place. So too is the look of the store and its packaging of goods sourced straight from small farms and community groups. The retail space is brutally simple – racks, freezers and counters, an antidote from the busy Serendra high street stores. The packaging makes the most of the produce’s origins. Words such as farm-bred, sustainable, fair trade, and organic, are emblazoned on all packaging, ensuring its reason for being isn’t overlooked. In choosing to base in Serendra, the store March - April 2012
has gone to where the market is. Serendra’s demographic – both residents and visitors – will ensure the concept is warmly welcomed.
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MEDIA NEW RATINGS SIDEBAR + AD
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MEDIA
Women’s Magazines Automotive brands kept up a relentless marketing pace in 2011, capitalizing on the Philippines’ motoring love affair
For years, FHM has been comfortably sitting on the top spot of Nielsen’s Top 10 magazines in terms of readership. In 2011, it is the sole title that reached 500,000 readers, an interesting turnout given the lead of women’s magazines in foreign markets. In the US, Cosmopolitan, Woman’s World, People, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Family Circle all landed in the top 10 in terms of sales, while Men’s Health, the first male-oriented magazine to figure on the list, comes on the 16th spot. But advertisers should not discount the profitability of local women’s magazines. Now, it is about being the most integrated and most capable of extending media mileage for advertisers. On these fronts, women’s titles are hitting strong with branded events and digital efforts to make a deeper imprint.
Multi-touch platforms In 2010, ABS-CBN Publishing released the the Metro iPad app, and was the first magazine title on the tablet platform. It won in the 2011 Asian Publishing Awards with its interactive ad executions that promises more brand engagement. While a simple static ad already adds mileage through website links and virtual maps, now, consumers can interact with these products by mixing styles and changing colors. With every other title already on the web, Mega magazine answered with its own reality TV show, Gen M: Generation Mega, The Mega Young Designers Competition, which capped its 3rd season
Branded events As global publishing companies are still looking for ways to boost newsstand sales, local publishers took it upon themselves to actively seek out their readers though branded events. Cosmopolitan Philippines, which leads all women’s titles in the Nielsen rankings, capitalize on their annual Cosmo Bachelor Bash. With heavy coverage from bloggers and the press, it garners P90 million worth of aggregate media value for their advertisers. Teen magazine Candy also annually hosts the Candy Prom tours and Candy Fashion Shows, both proving lucrative for the title for its brand sponsorships. Niche publications also go on grassroots level and use community-building as their strategy. Yummy and Food are heavy fixtures in food bazaars, which advertisers tap for product sampling. Global brand Women’s Health go ultralocal with their Gym and Office tour series, going around Manila’s gyms and offices to introduce their signature Women’s Health workouts. Women’s magazines hold great potential by creating tangible connections. “Women like to talk and would want opportunities to share their opinions,” said Carla Cifra, general manager of OMD Philippines, and these are opportunities are created beyond the paper. Supporting Cifra, OMD general manager Mean Bernardo added: “Women’s titles should go beyond more traditional creative executions and accommodate more user-generated content. Readers now are not merely consumers of information, and magazines should address this concern by giving readers an opportunity to speak and engage.”
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PEOPLE
2011 Nielsen Media Spend Highlights Top 20 categories based on spend 23,283
9,185
27,298 15%
01
10,065 10%
06
Hair Shampoos, Rinses, Treatment/Hairdressing Products
Dentifrices, Mouthwash & Toothbrush 12,325
7,893
17,761 44%
02
9,666 22%
07
Detergent & Laundry Preparations
Cough & Cold Remedies 13,000
7,491
14,074 08%
03
8,907 19%
08
Communication / Telecommunication
Powder Milk
7,984
8,377
10,398 30%
04
8,362 00%
09
Other Food Products
Proprietary Drugs
6,062
7,287
10,327 70%
05
8,308 14%
10
Entertainment
Skin Care
Top advertisers based on spend
30,310
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Unilever Philippines Inc.
11%
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Proctor & Gamble Phils. Inc.
43%
03
Nestle’ Philippines Inc.
34%
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33,706
United Laboratories Inc.
17%
05
Colgate Palmolive Phils. Inc.
-08%
06
Jollibee Foods Coporation
35%
21,255 30,439
14,161 18,978
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12,304
04
14,421
10,885 10,056
3,492 4,729
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Balance Categories
77,402
-03%
PEOPLE
Grand Total
13%
74,726
02
226,184 254,519
5,103
4,574
7,627 49%
11
4,917 8%
16
Health and Beauty Soaps
Ice Cream, Sherbets and Frozen Delights 6,356
4,151
7,576 19%
12
4,798 16%
17
Banks, Finance Companies and Investment Houses
Coffee and Tea
6,155
3,639
7,191 17%
13
3,942 08%
18
Vitamins
Soups and Noodles
4,158
3,384
5,704 37%
14
3,749 11%
19
Dept. Stores, Supermarts, Jewelry and Beauty Shops
Seasonings and Extracts
4,755
3,103
5,407 14%
15
3,718 20%
20
Flour, Bakery Products, and Bakeshops
Cleansers, Waxes, Polishes and Scrubbing Pads
30,310
07
Monde Nissin Corporation
11%
08
Globe Telecom, Inc.
43%
33,706
Smart Communications, Inc.
17%
10
Universal Robina Corporation
-08%
21,255 30,439
2010 Values
12,304
09
2011 Values
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14,421
10,885 10,056
*All Values in Million Pesos based on Rate card
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INTELLIGENCE
Filipino digital life shows growing social network hold Users believe online posts are the only way they can influence companies
Underscoring the growing importance of social networks to marketers, the latest TNS Digital Life study found Filipino social network users are interested in learning about brands and are open to the idea of shopping on these sites. The local findings were part of TNS global Digital Life report, which surveyed 72,000 people in 60 markets and found growing use of social networks beyond simply people connecting with friends online, especially in the 16-24 age group. The following key findings of Digital Life in the Philippines are all expressed in percentages:
18
Filipinos who gathered research exclusively online.
63
Local network users who use the sites to praise a brand.
45
People who think social networking sites are a good place to purchase products.
58
The percentage of Filipino men who access the internet compared to women (52%).
84
People who research both online and offline prior to purchase. Most online consumer research is directed for a new car purchase.
59
Local users who believe that these sites are a good place to learn about brands.
20
As one of the emerging markets, the Philippines’ internet penetration stood below this level, but 12 million Filipinos are on social networks.
89
Percentage that accessed television daily, ensuring it remained the highest medium despite the continued growth of digital platforms.
70
Respondents who believe that posting on social networks provide them with a way to influence companies. However, opinions about brands on social networks most likely came from the younger audience aged 16-24.
90
45
Daily use of the internet, up from 36% in the previous study. Digital platforms have already outperformed radio and print.
The percentage of Filipino families who have family members working overseas who use social media mainly to communicate with them. Lester Sualog, associate research director of TNS Philippines, said the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) segment was included for the first time in the study as OFW digital interaction was a significant factor in determining their market online.
21
The percentage of Filipino network users who “friends” or “likes” brands, while 17% talk about brands on social networks.
81
Of this percentage of international brands that use social networks, 35% are in the clothes, footwear and accessories category.
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Percentage that accessed radio daily. The percentages of those reporting daily usage of newspapers (12%) and magazines (11%) had also declined on the previous study. The average number of friends Filipino digital consumers have on social networks, which is higher than the 171 reported in the last study.
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Global trends, local insights JWT Manila delved into consumer lifestyles in the Philippines, for a local take on the network’s annual 10 Trends report to source opportunities brands can leverage in 2012
Navigating the new normal
Live a little
Generation Go
With a majority of low-income consumers, the Philippines has adopted a classic, ever-present cautious spending mode. As the cost of daily needs rise, they will welcome even more affordable price points and other value signals like multiple benefits or just-the-right benefits at a lower cash outlay. However, some will see wisdom in trading up to bigger packs for longer use or for a growing family.
Middle and lower income consumers also have their own indulgences to make up for restrictions endured during the downturn. Lower income women have done so with in-home beauty treatment or at the neighborhood salons, while dads have treated themselves to a cheap drink or smokes. Other indulgences include enjoying home-cooked snacks with a discounted DVD. Higher up the income ladder, indulgences include travel but at discounted rates or enjoying new eats at food bazaars.
It’s not a sense of discontent or difficulty in landing a job that has spurred the entrepreneurial spirit but a sense of experimentation with products and a classic need to supplement income.
Opportunities How to further imagine, excite or elevate values beyond product size or dose but in benefits to the consumer.
Opportunities An exciting opportunity for brands and products in 2012 is to position their offerings in the context of consumer fatigue with austerity as a muchneeded and welcome escape.
Opportunities The trend presents exciting opportunities in the activation and communication of consumers’ entrepreneurial spirit.
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Online tools like Multiply, Sulit and others are making it easier for young entrepreneurs to pitch their merchandise while free TV shows like Go Negosyo and local bazaars are opening up markets to young entrepreneurs.
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The rise of shared value
Objectifying objects
Food as the new eco-issue
The rise of social business enterprises such as like Rags to Riches, which upcycles rags into bags, or Human Heart Nature, which advocates less chemicals and care for the poor, have found favor with upper income consumers.
This is seen as an emerging behavior locally with examples such as the Photobooth instant postcard, the proliferation of toys from favorite digital games and analog items featuring as a design trend – iPhone covers that look like a cassette tape or iPad covers that look like Moleskine notebooks.
The link between healthier, earth-friendly food has its advocates among upper-income consumers or patients of cancer or other diseases who have had to modify their diets. Among local brands, Binalot with its banana leaf packaging is seen at least as an example of a fastfood chain that is friendlier to the environment.
Opportunities There is an opportunity for brand stewards to look into the shared value aspects of their brand.
Opportunities As this is an emerging trend there are exciting opportunities for marketers to explore if their brand’s qualities are similar to unique, collectible physical objects that would make them more satisfying to touch, hold and admire.
Opportunities One interesting thing to reimagine specifically for food brands is the introduction of a variant or product feature that caters to earth-friendly and even health-friendly connoisseurs.
Screened interactions
Celebrating aging
Re-engineering randomness
The interactive experience is a growing reality here with the proliferation of smartphones and mall touchscreen directories. Half of JWT’s focus group of middle income consumers indicated they had saved up to buy tablets, particularly the iPad, while schools are experimenting with translating schoolbooks into tablets, which can only make a younger and mainstream audience more familiar with touchscreen technology.
Gadgets and classes for senior citizens are growing in towns and barangays as middle, even lower income segments welcome more active grandparents, who even have youngish names to go with their attitude – Daddylo, Pappy, Mima among others. These grandparents participate in exercise classes organized by barangays and rather than stay home are out and about with grandkids on family days or sports events.
Opportunities Knowing that screened interactions will soon be all over the city, maybe it’s time for marketers to look into novel ways to immerse consumers in their brands via touchscreen interaction or making brands engaging and fun to interact with.
Opportunities An interesting area to explore could be positive values and feelings about aging. Another possibility could be emphasizing the aspirational characteristics of the older generation – wisdom, responsibility and selfassurance – in brand communications.
The desire for randomness and surprise was not really felt or understood fully by consumers here as their digital exposure, online experiences and mindset differed from developed market consumers who filter and thus narrow their online experience. Middle income consumers did not feel their digital experience had become too hyper personalized and narrow; rather they saw the internet as opening their virtual and offline worlds. They are seamlessly blending their online and offline experiences for personal inspiration.
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Opportunities Exciting opportunities await brands that deliver randomness and delightful surprises whether offline or on.
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COUNTDOWN TO CANNES Festival unveils new category and a young Lions academy
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity June 17-23, 2012 Cannes, France
Two of the leading creative minds in the industry – Sir John Hegarty and Dan Wieden – will appear on stage together in a unique session. Over the last 25 years, these two creatives have both founded ground-breaking agencies and produced gamechanging work and the pair will share their creative secrets with the audience.
Award-winning industry legends will share the stage with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment at this year’s Cannes Lions
The Cannes Debate will feature Olympic gold winner Lord Sebastian Coe and FIFA World Cup winner Ronaldo, who are both involved with the organization of sporting events (this year’s London Olympics and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil), to share their insights of major sporting events on the Cannes stage.
International Festival of Creativity, which will also mark the launch of a new creative academy for young Lions and mobile and branded content competitions. Confirmed sessions include BBH and Wieden+Kennedy, the Cannes Debate, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and TimeWarner.
Andrew Keller, CEO of CP+B, and legendary music superstar Smokey Robinson will discuss best practices for harnessing and utilizing extreme social media practices and unveil and announce a groundbreaking, global social media initiative to instantly raise awareness and funds for some of the greatest causes of our time.
In the TimeWarner session, the president of Warner Bros Television, Peter Roth, will join Emmy awardwinning writer, director, producer Michael Patrick King for an inspiring, deep dive on the craft of storytelling.
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Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has unveiled a slate of exciting initiatives for the festival: The Young Lions Creative Academy with festival stalwart Bob Isherwood as the dean. The academy will offer 35 young creatives, aged 28 and under, the opportunity to become part of an intensive week-long program designed to develop and expand creativity. Participants will get to focus on how to encourage and develop creative thinking, how to evaluate and validate new ideas and how to innovate and make them happen. Other highlights include exclusive presentations from leading creatives, guided access to the jury rooms for an insight into the judging process, and full access to the Young Lions Zone and Young Lions Party. “An agency’s long term success is dependent on the talent behind it and by investing in this talent today, agencies and their clients will reap the rewards in the future. Cannes Lions is a festival that truly believes in nurturing and recognizing talent and we are proud that we can help with this investment in the future of creative talent,” said Steve Latham, Cannes Lions’ director of talent and training. “It’s fantastic to have someone of Bob’s calibre on board; an incredibly talented and respected creative, it will be great to work with him to launch the new Creative Academy.”
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Isherwood spent 12 years at Saatchi & Saatchi as worldwide creative director where he helped to reinvent the agency. It was under his leadership that the network won almost 8,000 significant awards. “I don’t think anything quite like this Creative Academy exists in the industry today on an annual basis. At least not the special experience we have planned in our heads anyway,” said Isherwood. Grand Challenges Explorations: Aid is working. Tell the World is a partnership between Cannes and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to generate communication ideas that can help change the world. Any individual, team, agency or company can submit a communications idea on new and innovative ways of telling the real story behind global aid. Up to 10 participants will be awarded US$100,000 for the development of their idea and the chance to be mentored by Cannes 2011 Grand Prix winners, the Cannes Chimera. The deadline is May 15; ideas to be submitted on two sides of A4 paper. The Chimera will draw on their expertise to hone the winning ideas and mentor their creators.
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New categories This year’s festival will also see the launch a branded content and entertainment category, with Avi Savar, founder and chief creative officer of New York-based Big Fuel, chairing the inaugural jury. The new category – defined as the creation of, or natural integration into, original content by a brand – brings Cannes’ category total to 15. “Branded content and entertainment has become key to brand communication that creatively engages with consumers,” adds Cannes Lions CEO Philip Thomas. “To include it in Cannes Lions is important, not only for the continued development of the Festival as a global celebration of creativity in communications, but to also give due recognition of the convergence of marketing and entertainment.” Savar said he hoped to “guide the process in a way that will inspire people to create innovative and immersive content” in his role as jury head.
Avi Savar
Mobile goes to Cannes Cannes has also added mobile as a new awards section this year with Tom Eslinger, the digital creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, presiding over the Mobile Lions jury in its inaugural year. Mobile Lions will reward the best work which lives on or is activated by a mobile device, app or mobile web. The judging criteria will be based on creativity and the idea, execution (usability, user experience, craft and design), relevance to the mobile platform and results (level of user engagement and any quantifiable outcomes).
“Mobile has been part of the Lions for some years, within other sections such as Cyber and Film, and a large number of winning campaigns in sections like Media, Design, Direct and Outdoor have made significant use of mobile technology,” said Thomas. “By carving it out of the other sections, we are simply reflecting the importance of mobile in the media mix, and we are delighted that Tom Eslinger has agreed to step up and lead as jury president. The category could not be in better hands in its launch year.”
Mobile Lions categories include Creative Use of Technology, Mobile Websites and Web Apps, Tablet Apps, Mobile Apps, Games, Rich Media Mobile Advertising and Integrated Campaigns led by Mobile. The jury will be made up of experts in mobile from digital agencies and applications development, and will award Lions to the best use of mobile in marketing campaigns.
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Cannes jury heads
Cannes juries will be headed by: Design | Bruce Duckworth, the creative director of Turner Duckworth, co-founded the agency, which has offices in London and San Francisco, with friend and fellow designer David Turner in 1992. He has won over 200 design awards including D&AD, DBA Design Effectiveness, Design Week and a Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Coca-Cola. Film craft | Ivan Zacharias, the director of Stink UK, is one of the most awarded commercials directors in the world with over 100 awards including seven gold Lions. His body of work that includes ‘Impossible Dream’ for Honda, ‘Born Free’ for Land Rover, ‘Smile’ for VW Beetle and ‘Doctor’ for Stella Artois, which swept the boards at award ceremonies.
Radio | Rob McLennan, Net#work BBDO South Africa’s executive creative director, has amassed 35 Lions. Memorable campaigns include Dulux ‘Any colour you can think of’, Axe ‘Get a girlfriend’, Virgin Atlantic ‘Plain insanity’ and Mercedes-Benz ‘Accident avoidance’. PR | Gail Heimann, the global vice chairman of Weber Shandwick, focuses on consumer engagement across multiple channels, platforms and geographies. Direct | Gideo Amichay, the former chief creative officer and joint managing partner of Shalmor Avon Amichay/Y&R Interactive, turned the shop into one of Israel’s biggest. Promo and activation | Nick Worthington, the creative chairman of Colenso BBDO New Zealand, won his first Lion while at BBH for Levi’s.
Other highly regarded work included building a treehouse restaurant and launching a yellow-flavored chocolate bar for Yellow Pages.
Th E FORuM A new addition to this year’s program, The Forum, is a five-day platform offering delegates in-depth insight into the key industry issues
MONDAY Creative talent management: What do you need to do to get the most out of your creative team? The first forum of the week will look at how to get the best out of creative people, and explore how to manage talent, from planners and account managers, to creatives, and right through the chain to clients (and back again).
TUESDAY Creativity in mobile: Is 2012 finally the year that creativity in mobile comes of age? This forum will explore the latest innovations and best creative work on mobile devices, including apps and mobile websites. The day will include discussions on ideas, executions, user insights and effectiveness.
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WEDNESDAY The creative future of media and technology: Is media now forever intertwined with technology? This session will study the developing relationship between media and technology, and paint a picture of what the next five years might look like. THURSDAY Consumer insights and understanding people: This forum is all about delving into the psychology of behavior and why people do the things they do. FRIDAY Creativity in branded content and entertainment: How do you leverage content to entertain the audience and promote a brand? Experts from the branded content and entertainment arena will discuss the power of storytelling, the art of natural integration, and why so many believe “content is king”.
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Kidlat Awards 2012: Mission Un-uninspire
The Jury
David Guerrero Chief Creative Officer BBDO Guerrero
Eclectic speaker line-up to get creatives out of the rut
He leads one of the most highly awarded agencies in the region. Guerrero honed his talent with stints at BMP, Ayer Baker, and Ogilvy before returning to Manila to establish BBDO Guerrero. He has served in the jury of different international and local advertising festivals, and has packed his mantle with trophies – lots of them – from Cannes, Clio, One Show, D&AD, London International, AdFest, Spikes Asia, Araw Awards, and Kidlat.
Raoul Panes Executive Creative Director Leo Burnett Manila Panes began his career as a suit before shifting course to copywriter and creative director at JWT Manila and Publicis JimenezBasic. He was also an ECD at (then) BBDO Guerrero Ortega before moving to his current role. The former president of the Creative Guild, Panes has won awards at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, AdFest, Spikes, New York Festivals, LIAA and Clio. Creative Guild president del Rosario (front) and 2012 board members... driving force
The Creative Guild of the Philippines has a clear cut mission for the Kidlat Awards 2012: Helping delegates Get Un-Uninspired. “Being uninspired from time to time is an age-old problem all creative people have; hopefully the activities the Creative Guild has lined up this year will be a spark of inspiration,” says Manny del Rosario, creative partner of Rocket Science Manila and the guild’s 2012 president. The guild has pulled together an eclectic line-up of speakers, creative stars in a variety of fields outside advertising, to unblock creative energies. Speakers include fashion designer Rajo Laurel and Marvel Comics penciler Carlo Pagulayan. The enterprising Atom Henares, a former banker now involved in a variety of industries, has also been tapped to talk about the birth of the rock radio station he co-founded, NU107, and changing the Original Pilipino Music landscape. “What we’re trying to do is to invite creative people outside the ad industry who can be a source of inspiration,” del Rosario says, adding that a documentary about the local advertising scene is also in the works. Delegate fees Young creative fees: 12,500 pesos, covering briefing and workshop; full delegate: 10,000 pesos (4As members) and 12,000 pesos (non 4As); student delegate: 8,000 pesos.
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Richard Irvine Chief Creative Officer Publicis Kuala Lumpur A Leo Burnett veteran across London, Bangkok, Vietnam, Manila, and Japan, Irvine only joined Publicis Kuala Lumpur last September. During his long stay at Burnett, Irvine helped the network win award after award at local and international festivals. His work as chairman and chief creative officer in Leo Burnett Manila helped bring home the Philippines’ first TV Gold at AdFest, seven Ad of the Year Awards, four Best of Show Awards, and was named the Philippine 4As’ Agency of the Year Best in Creative.
Mike Sicam Creative Director OgilvyOne An associate creative director in OgilvyOne, Sicam holds a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Ateneo de Manila University and went on to study Product Design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
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Kat limchoc Executive Creative Director Aspac
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Budjette Tan Creative Director McCann Worldgroup MRM Worldwide
Shortly after Limchoc joined Aspac Law/ Advertising as executive creative director in 2010, the agency won the inaugural 4As Philippines’ Independent Agency of the Year. Prior to Aspac, she was at PC&V as associate creative director, joining in 2004 and later promoted to creative director, a position she held till she left the agency. During her six-year stint at PC&V, she handled C2 Green Tea and other URC brands. Limchoc also sat on the guild board as treasurer/secretary in 20082009 and as vice president from 2009-2010.
A copywriter by day and comic book writer by night, Tan has contributed his talents to several accounts of MRM Worldwide, including the (now infamous) Christopher Lao viral video for BPI Auto Loan. As a comic book writer/creator, Tan counts Trese, a story about a supernatural detective who helps the local police solve “mysterious” crimes among his popular works.
Ompong Remigio Chief Creative Officer Campaigns & Grey
Dominic Stallard Chief Creative Officer Lowe Singapore
The ‘queen of radio (advertising)’, Remigio was inducted to the guild’s Hall of Fame in 2005. She ran the creative department of independent agency Neuron, Campaigns & Grey’s sister company, before flying off in 2007 to take on the ECD post at JWT Vietnam. She later returned as CCO to Campaigns & Grey. Before finding her advertising groove, Remigio penned a short story Papel de Liha (Sandpaper), which went on to win the Palanca Award for Short Stories in 1995.
Stallard is a self-professed graffiti artist, whose first job was as a designer for Disney. He worked in different agencies in London, Paris, Barcelona, Dubai and Bangkok, before moving to Singapore and heading Lowe’s creative team as chief creative officer. Stallard has also worked behind the lens – he became a TVC director but eventually returned to advertising. The multi-awarded creative has Cannes, Clio, One Show, D&AD, London International, and AdFest trophies to his name.
Joji Jacob Executive Creative Director DDB Singapore
Dave Ferrer Executive Creative Director JWT Manila
From a copy trainee in Ulka Advertising (now Draftfcb), Jacob expanded his advertising experience by joining Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy India, JWT Singapore and BBDO Singapore. When he joined DDB and Rapp Singapore in 2009, he had already amassed more than 320 international awards, including trophies at Cannes, One Show, and D&AD.
One of the youngest members of the guild’s Hall of Fame, Ferrer began his career at Ace Saatchi & Saatchi as the “art director who couldn’t draw”. It was at BBDO Guerrero Ortega that he added a Cannes Lion to his collection of international trophies and subsequently caught the eye of JWT’s former global creative chieftain Craig Davis.
DAN MATUTINA Freelance Graphic Designer Marci Reyes Executive Creative Director TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno
Matutina is a freelance designer and illustrator, whose style fuses handmade and digital, clean and dirty, old and modern lines. He co-founded Ideals – a social enterprise design and communications agency – and recently opened Plus63 Design Co., a graphic design studio. His experience comes from both sides of the spectrum, catering to the needs of advertising agencies and marketers alike.
A Kidlat award winner himself, Reyes returns to Boracay as jury member, bringing 23 years of experience from Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann Erickson and, most recently, TBWA. He has handled blue-chip brands Toyota, Jollibee, Red Horse Beer, San Miguel, Samsung, and KFC. He wrote Boysen’s radio campaign ‘Colors’, which won in the most recent Kidlat Awards.
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Coke, music and digital take AdFest stage Inspiration line-up will explore issues driving brand communications forward Illustration by Amy Domingo
AdFest has firmed up an inspirational speaker line-up for the March 18-20 gathering, with top brand marketers and leading lights from agencies and the music scene set to address delegates. Coca-Cola Japan’s senior vice president for creative strategy and visual identity David Elsworth, Song Zu’s partner and creative director Ramesh Sathiah, and Robin Shenfield, cofounder of acclaimed post production house The Mill are some of the speakers featuring in AdFest’s program alongside grand jury and cyber jury president Bob Greenberg. Seen as one of the most influential marketers in Japan, Australian-born Elsworth will offer his experience on ways agencies and clients can strengthen their partnership to develop cut-through creative ideas.
Challenge conventions In his ‘Winning creative – with the client’ presentation, Elsworth will explain why so many creative ideas die before they ever see the light of day. “The battle lines between clients and creative people have often been hard fought. But some of the most creative campaigns have also come from collaboration between inspiring clients and inspired agencies. And it’s fair to say that no client wants bad work, and no agency wants to make it,” says Elsworth. Clients and agencies create highly impactful, effective campaigns when business needs unite with creative brilliance. The trick, according to Elsworth, is to “challenge your own conventions about what clients want and give them brilliant work they’ll not only buy, but also love you for”. Sathiah hopes to pull back the veil on the music industry for AdFest delegates. The creative at one of Asia’s leading music and design studios will explore the powerful relationship between music and visuals, and the emotional ‘grading’ that can be achieved with the right scoring and sound design in his presentation. Some visuals work in harmony with the pictures, but sometimes dissonance between visuals and sound can be more effective. “I hope by deconstructing music and sound into its building blocks, we can then put the pieces back together and understand how music can work in harmony with the idea,” says Sathiah, who has worked on some of the region’s biggest campaigns for clients including Singapore Airlines, Sony Ericsson, Coca-Cola and Johnny Walker. There are few better to take the stage for a presentation titled ‘Convincing the skeptical’ than The Mill’s Shenfield, co-founder of the Academy Award-winning post production house for its role in Gladiator and its work designing some of the world’s most visually distinct TV commercials. Shenfield will showcase some of The Mill’s best work to demonstrate how skilled visual effects and digital production can be used to help produce creative and engaging work across all media and for both big and small budgets.
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Ride into the future
Marketing for Humans
For a ride into the future, AdFest has arranged for Greenberg and Japan’s gaming guru Ryo Shimzu to lead the way. The co-founder of R/ GA – one of two keynote speakers alongside D&AD president and BBH London depty ECD Rosie Arnold – Greenberg’s presentation ‘What’s next’ will explore the rapid pace of technology and the unprecedented proliferation of diverse media outlets, which have forced change on the industry. Said to have a fortune teller’s knack for reading the tea leaves, Greenberg speaks from experience, having re-invented R/GA every nine years to prepare for the inevitable change that drives the industry. R/GA is now preparing for its next nineyear cycle, which kicks off in 2013.
Amid the deluge of apps, London-based Contagious Communications will return with a timely presentation ‘Marketing for humans, not robots: Less killer app, more killer experience.
“The old paradigms of perceptual-based marketing delivered via outbound messages in a media-driven environment have yielded to a new paradigm of creating transformational customer experiences that are accessed through inbound, on-demand digital channels,” says Greenberg. A pioneer in the world of mobile gaming, Shimizu’s ‘Zen of the communication architecture A.K.A. game’ presentation will discuss ways in which communications architecture can be used beyond the world of gaming. “We can expect games to move beyond enclosed, artificial worlds, becoming applicable in various aspects of daily life. I imagine them become so integrated into daily life that the word ‘game’ itself disappears.”
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Presented by Neeraj Nayar, president of Contagious/India, the session will address how agencies and brands are letting technology dictate how they create messages. “The time has come for a rebalancing, returning the brand’s gaze to the most fundamental of touch-points – the human experience. It’s not where a message lives that makes it effective. It’s whether it connects with the people who receive it,” says Nayar. Nayar will showcase case studies around the world that demonstrate the importance of connecting at a human level – in spite of our fascination with technology. He describes this trend as “the return to experience”, in which converging media platforms and emerging technologies play second fiddle to the needs and wants of the end user. This indicates a return to the most basic principle of marketing: it’s not for robots, it’s for actual people. Kicking off the festival are ranking experts Donald Gunn and Emma Wilkie with the latest Gunn Report 2011. Other highlights include the Cirkus Animation Workshop, which is open to just 60 delegates.
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SPECIAL REPORT COKE SPECIAL
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COCA COLA AND THE FILIPINO
Coca-Cola and the Filipino A refreshing 100-year-old love affair like no other
“First impressions last.” This is a truism that has served as a good reminder for many in social situations and job interviews. But it is also one that has bigger implications, especially in the field of marketing, as the right impressions can make or break a brand over the long term. Top marketing gurus Jack Trout and Al Ries have long noted that being the first in the market gives a brand added advantage. But very few brands have actually leveraged such opportunity to attain market leadership, and maintain its desirability in consumers’ minds over many decades. Coca-Cola is one such brand. Now celebrating its 100th year in the Philippines, Coca-Cola has reached more than just iconic status as a brand; it has earned a special place in the hearts of Filipinos. For Coca-Cola has become part of the Filipino psyche, through good times and bad. Coca-Cola made its debut in Manila when M.A. Clarke, an American businessman,
It was the height of the American presence in the islands, and Filipinos were quick to absorb the new influences brought in by the colonizers. Coke was sold at 10 centavos per glass. The caramel-colored carbonated drink was a curiosity and a novelty that was ideally shared by lovestruck teenagers on dates. But that would soon change when Clark put up a bottling plant. It was the first in the Philippines, the first of its kind in Asia, and one of the earliest constructed outside of the mainland United States. With the introduction of the signature contour bottle in 1916, Coca-Cola would be seen everywhere: at the carnival, on store shelves, in restaurants. The drink with a fizz was \overwhelmingly popular among Filipinos. With the eventual entry of new packaging such as the six-pack and the availability of the ice cooler, it was no longer only about refreshment. It presented a unique experience among friends, and became part of the family table – not only on special occasions, but also during mealtimes. The advent of World War II did little to diminish the image of Coca-Cola. It even became a symbol of hope and the American way of life. Despite the challenges and hardships of war, bottles of Coke made their way to soldiers via American battleships. Later, the euphoria of the liberation, and the declaration of Philippine independence, led to further democratization of the brand, and strengthened its hold on the imagination and the taste buds of Filpinos all over the archipelago.
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Perhaps it was inevitable that every cola drink would become a “Coks” which could be bought at the neighborhood sari-sari store. In the ultimate acknowledgement of its marketing success, the brand itself had become part of the local language. And it became part of the local culture as well. While Americans would have their ice cream floats with Coke, Filipinos matched their merienda of hopia with Coke. “Cola Chicken,” a slightly spicy, flour-coated chicken dish cooked in Coke was on the menu of many a Filipino family’s kitchen. And the drink was the perfect match for Filipino ingenuity. Coca-Cola packaging was re-used in a variety of ingenious ways: as pots for plants, as the container of choice for all sorts of stuff, and most imaginatively as toys, like Coke tansan on the sipa; as utilitarian home accessories, like using rows of Coke tansan as a doormat, or even as musical instruments, like Coke tansans as an improvised tambourine for Christmas caroling. Even today, Coca-Cola continues to connect with consumers, with its memorable and buzzworthy marketing and communications campaigns and its market leadership. The brand made quite a first impression among Filipinos a 100 years ago. That has evolved to a solid relationship based on a shared history and values. Is it happily ever after?
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SPECIAL ADO
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REPORT OBO
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A simple promise to spread happiness Anubha Sahasrabuddhe sees similarities between Coca-Cola and the optimism of Filipinos
What makes Coca-Cola so special for the Filipinos? The refreshing, unique and delicious taste of Coca-Cola is well-known among Filipinos. Every time you open a Coca-Cola, the pop, fizz and crackle of ice and Coca-Cola being poured excites the senses and makes you want to drink it. The love affair Filipinos have with Coca-Cola is evident every time they share food, have fun and spend time bonding with family and friends.
How is the Coke brand seen through Filipino eyes? Filipinos and Coca-Cola share a lot of attributes. Several studies have already been conducted where Filipinos are said to be one of the happiest people on earth. We see that every day with the positive attitude and outlook on life that Filipinos have, in good times, or bad.
How did Coke become the No. 1 cola drink in the Philippines? Coca-Cola is No. 1 in the Philippines thanks to the loyalty and support of every Filipino. We share the honor of being No. 1 with the millions of Filipinos who have supported us, and have helped make this brand what it is today. We also share the honor for taking us to this 100-year milestone with our people, whose passion and commitment enhances and contributes to the strength of the brand we all know and love.
How has Coke maintained its market leadership in the Philippines? Coca-Cola is focused on refreshing each and every Filipino, wherever they may be. We believe in providing that unique, delicious refreshment to each and every Filipino for every occasion, using different packs, at price points they can afford and every channel available to them. We do this through constant innovation, focus on quality and sustainability, great and innovative marketing strategies fueled by extensive consumer research.
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How did Coca-Cola deal with the challenge of the rise of local colas? Competition will always be around, no matter what, regardless of category. But a brand like Coca-Cola will always have one thing that gives it a truly special place in the hearts and minds of so many millions of Filipinos – its unique and delicious taste. This is what people have loved, continue to love and will always come back to, today, tomorrow and into the future. The happiness they get from drinking Coca-Cola simply cannot be replicated.
How did Coke address the emerging preference for other soft beverages – water, sports drinks, bottled teas? It’s no secret that Coca-Cola offers a wide range of high quality beverage products for every lifestyle and hydration occasion. We continue to innovate and give Filipinos the option to choose which Coca-Cola product is able to satisfy their hydration needs.
As the market leader in cola drinks, what is Coke’s primary competitive driver at present, and why? Coca-Cola wants to see everyone refreshed with optimism and a smile. There’s nothing that drives us more than to see every Filipino filled with refreshing optimism. It’s therefore the endeavor of Coca-Cola to make sure that Coca-Cola is available whenever you need to be refreshed.
How is the Philippine market similar to, or different from, other Coca-Cola markets regionally and globally? All around the world, Coca-Cola wants to make everyone a part of our brand, no matter who they are or where they come from. And we recognize that the best Coca-Cola experiences are shared; Coke always tastes better, together. No matter where you are in the world, this is one thing that will always remain true and what makes us so special to billions of consumers.
How does Coke cope with the evolving Pinoy youth culture, with their obsession on cellphones, the internet, etc? The channels we use to communicate may be changing, but our tone of voice remains constant. Throughout our 100-year history, we’ve always spoken to people like people. Through our advertising and our responsiveness the brand has developed a personality and character that is authentic, connected, inclusive and optimistic.
How is technology changing the way
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Coke markets its products, from the method of delivery to the choice of communications, in order to effect consumer engagement and consumption? Social media has greatly changed the way we communicate. Speaking in the brand voice and tone is a blend of art and science – there’s no foolproof formula or template we can follow to ensure we’re getting it right. We think of every conversation that we have as an invitation; we don’t just want to create an impression, we want to engage in an ongoing dialogue. That means continuously offering our audience a chance to respond. To tell us what they think. To let us know how they’re feeling. And when they do, we should respond in kind – whether it’s responding to a consumer query or just to say thanks for showing us some love.
How is Coke celebrating its 100th anniversary in the Philippines? On our 100th year, Coca-Cola seeks to give back to the Filipinos who helped us make it to where we are today. We cannot do this without three key things: One, listening to our consumers on what it means to give and receive happiness; two, showing our gratitude in ways that are meaningful and provokes happiness in every Filipino; and three, creating a culture of happiness that enables Filipinos to share and spread happiness.
A major American brand was once considered your primary competitor. But it is now considered a food company that also sells beverages. How will Coke be evolving globally in the 21st century? For 100 years we have made a simple promise: a moment of happiness that is uniquely, refreshingly, and deliciously Coca-Cola. We look forward to kick-starting the next 100 years of spreading happiness around the world.
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From happy homemaker to girl power and everything in between But Madison Avenue creation persists even as imagery evolves Illustration by Kimchi Lee
In the second role, the woman is portrayed as confident and assertive. “She knows what she wants. She can stand on her own. “She is aware of the power of her sexuality but does not mindlessly flaunt it. She embraces new norms and behavior, without compromising her Filipino-ness. She is attractive to both sexes for different reasons – men are challenged by her, women want to be like her,” Borromeo adds. This woman usually appears in “lifestyle categories” – fashion, beauty, telco, personal care, beverages, etc – categories with products that help the target group style a consumer’s life. “Categories where individual motivations and desires play a much stronger role in the decision to buy.” But regardless of which pole the advertising leans to, Borromeo points to a commonality in advertising’s depiction of women: “She is a superwoman. She can seemingly do everything! “She is perfectly presented. She will always have great skin, white teeth, shiny hair. She is highly polished. Not a hair out of place, even as she is working the stove. Even her supposedly class C home looks rather stylized.”
With just seconds or sometimes a page to sell a brand, gender roles have long served as advertising shorthand for marketers to quickly telegraph their messaging to the targeted demographic. But the obsession with these roles have seen advertisers ritualize attitudes, behaviors and social status of both genders – emphasizing some traits and de-emphasizing others – to a point where the portrayal appears more caricature than reality. This is particularly true of women’s imagery: the happy homemaker has served advertisers for more than a century and the overtly sexual kitten, a feature of alcohol brands, is a relatively more recent creation.
“I cannot judge however, that all these are untrue portrayals ... you see them existing in daily life.” McCann Worldgroup’s head of planning Gino Borromeo notes distinct portrayals in local campaigns – one defined by the tension between more traditional versus more progressive values and the tension between collective motivations versus individual motivations, while the second features empowered, independent women. Accordingly, the woman is portrayed as a selfless person who lives for others. “In her role as a sister, daughter or mother, she is portrayed to be kind and giving, thinking of others before she thinks of herself. She is portrayed as humble and modest in demeanor.
Where does Philippine advertising stand in its portrayal of women? Reflecting a market that has been expanding its portrayal of women, views were naturally mixed. “There are still a lot of clichéd portrayals of women, which exists today versus 20 years ago, like the home homemaker, the traditional caring mother, the happy shopper with shopping bags on both arms, the chore-laden housewife,” notes Pam Garcia, executive planning
She is also portrayed as a woman who embodies positive Filipino values – pagmamalasakit, diskarte, sipag, tiyaga and resilience. She is the classic good sister, daughter or mother,” Borromeo says, pointing to depictions in FMCG categories for cooking aids, soap, pharmaceuticals, instant noodles, etc. “Categories where the decision-maker is typically a mother, buying for the family not just for herself.”
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Surely an impossible image to live up to, but it certainly feeds consumers’ aspirations to better themselves, which is what advertising has always done. If anything, Jeremy Sy, Ogilvy Philippines group planning director, believes local advertisers have perhaps been overzealous in their portrayal of the multifaceted modern women. “Philippine advertising tends to portray women in terms of the different and separate roles they play in life. When we do portray women as women, it’s almost as a break or a relief from all the roles they play. It’s as if enjoying being a woman – enjoying femininity – is something a woman earns by excelling at the different roles she plays in life.”
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CJ Jimenez, Bates 141 director of strategic planner, says typecasting depends on the category and brand. “Axe treats women like objects. Dove treats each women as a beautiful being. Both are Unilever brands. Go figure.”
Global brand dictates Some of the blame for typecasting both genders lies with the nature of the industry. “We can’t speak to the fullness of a woman’s life in a 30-second ad or a billboard. We need to speak to that part of her that the brand or category is relevant to,” offers Sy, while Jimenez adds: “It is the nature of the industry to simplify. However, if the simplification happens too often, they become stereotypes.” Borromeo agrees that established codes of a category that are used to communicate certain imagery or messages to the audience are a contributing factor. “There is a certain comfort level with using these proven communication techniques, both for agencies and clients. And yes there are still many stereotypes present in how many categories communicate to women... agencies and clients are equally ‘guilty’ of this.” The pressure to conform to a global brand image limits marketer’s leeway to act. “Regional brand documents and brand values dictate for example that food brand briefs show only happy homemakers,” Garcia adds. The market is equally complicit. “Most women, especially from the mass market, are still programmed to think that their primary role in life is to be a good mother,” says Trina ViloriaTorres, Publicis JimenezBasic’s strategic planning and research head. “We’ve seen this time and again when we do pre-ad tests for materials that showcase a different side of a woman – they usually don’t do very well.”
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to make ends meet during a tough economic climate.” Brands that target women have naturally driven the evolution in female advertising imagery. “Brands that do not target women i.e. alcohol, male deodorants, etc. – are free to portray women stereotypically,” says Jimenez, while Hernandez adds: “I also think our ads are able to reflect the evolution of women’s life stages... ads depict women’s sense of independence and desire to excel in their own fields.”
Indeed men have been similarly caricatured in advertising. Desirable male attributes – power, masculinity, sexual attractiveness, confidence, etc – are often times conveyed in unbelievable ways, often with women as the foil lusting after an Axe-scented or one with impeccable taste because he consumes a certain liquor brand. Hence the portrayal of “subservience, patience and, in certain brands and categories, a sexual wildness that’s begging to be tamed”, notes Sy. Ironically, while Axe-like female imagery would have angered feminists decades ago, not all women today feel the same. “Young women viewed it as ‘girl power’ because having a sexy body can actually give them power over men,” says Y&R’ strategic planning director Pchy Hernandez.
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But could this be up to a point though? “In brands that target women, the ideal seems to consist of modesty, quiet confidence, self-sacrifice for the benefit of their families, an ability to outdo men without rubbing it in their faces,” says Sy of female roles.
Still, the portrayal of women has broadened over the past few years as real life intruded on reel life. McCann for instance tweaked the mom as cheerleader image to better ground it in the reality of a tough economic climate three years ago for Coca-Cola. “We did a campaign called ‘Smile back at life’, an idea based on the Filipino mom’s role as the cheerleader of the family during tough times. The face of the campaign was not the prototypical perfect mother. The mother we showed had more in common with the neighbor of the target audience – someone real looking, someone with a feisty character, someone who uses every ounce of her ingenuity and charm to coax her family into seeing the brighter side of tough times,” says Borromeo. “We deliberately constructed the campaign this way, taking into consideration that painting an idealized picture of motherhood might not be the best way to resonate with an audience struggling
Viloria-Torres points to Nido and Lucky Me as brands that have expanded the nurturing mom image. Nido’s ‘Check the label’ campaign portrays women as intelligent and discerning, while instant noodle brand Lucky Me Special depicts them as modern and keeping abreast with technology. Lucky Me Supreme’s campaign featuring actress Sarah Geronimo shows it’s kosher to be an ambitious and driven, an image that would have seen the happy homemaker raise an eye brow. “To live supreme means doing what you love. To live supreme means loving what you do. To live supreme means giving with all your heart,” Geronimo espouses her life philosophy. Garcia says the changes are allowing “refreshingly authentic portrayals” that convey a woman’s challenges as well as her triumphs. Even so, Sy sees a need for brands to acknowledge a fundamental societal change where women have become the breadwinner in many households. “Men lose their jobs, women keep their ‘rakets’ or sidelines and end up providing financial continuity for their families. For whatever reason, we don’t acknowledge this –
WOMEN ON WOMEN ’S ROLES Y&R Philippines spoke to 10 women (18 to 50 years, C class) on what they think of female advertising imagery
Some ads show women comfortable in their own skin and are carefree in embracing life (like Anne Curtis singing her heart out even if she’s not a professional singer or Angel Locsin with no qualms where to eat on a date).
They see the evolution of roles from budget manager to the intelligent family CFO. It’s not just about accepting the husband’s pay check and trying to budget, finding ways to make ends meet by also earning a living and being smart with their choice of brands.
Most of them think the portrayal of women inliquor ads is clichéd.
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They always see nurturing moms in TV ads. It is the mom’s sincerity that makes the portrayal more relevant. As they put it, ‘nanay sa nanny ang usapan’ (mother-to-mother talk) instead of going straight to the sell.
Ads show women who have no excuse to look sloppy because they are busy. This is not just for single women but ads also show fashion able moms and even grannies. The need to be fit and slim is a nagging visual and voice in all ads.
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From caricature to reality... Advertisers keep up with the Mrs. and the Ms.
Digital’s arrival has certainly freed marketers from the tyranny of the 30-second spot that undoubtedly limited the depiction of female gender roles to broad brushstrokes. “In the digital space, we’re guided by the idea that we always need to be giving our audiences more than we’re asking from them,” explains Jeremy Sy of Ogilvy Philippines’ efforts. “When it comes to women, this often means giving them tools and knowledge that help them be who or what they want to be in different aspects of their life.” This means giving mothers tools to understand nutrition and plan better meals for their families. This means providing young women opportunities to connect to others like them so they can enjoy their teenage years more fully. “To us, it’s really not about ‘portrayal’ anymore... It’s about respecting who our audiences are and who they want to be, and helping them however way we can,” Sy adds.
Trina Viloria-Torres says Publicis JimenezBasic believes its main task as an agency is “to mirror consumer realities so that a brand can achieve resonance and relevance”. But this belief works both ways: “If the mindsets and roles of most women in real life have not evolved much, we have no business changing how they are portrayed in advertising either.”
Pam Garcia says JWT insists on going beyond the generic segmentation description of the women audience. “For example, we’ve had discussions where the brief says ‘we are talking to caring moms’ and we all go: ‘All moms are caring. So in what way, or what fresh new take can we jump off to?
At Bates, which handles numerous beauty care lines, CJ Jimenez notes that the agency’s clients have eschewed category norms in speaking to female consumers. “Funnily enough, all of them are in agreement that there is a pursuit of ‘attainable beauty’. This is a strong contrast to other brands in the category that seem to constantly push the envelope in terms of beauty: skinnier, whiter, taller, etc.”
“We also try to still do face-to-face consumer connections with real women so we can understand them better. Not necessarily just to accurately depict them, but to get a read on how they might react to our communications,” Garcia says, adding that her goal is to co-create an ad offering an honest portrayal of challenges women face, and how the brand realistically and authentically helps women rise above these challenges.
For Y&R, bringing the human equation into its communications means it speaks to both genders not as targets but as human beings. “We don’t just go to the zoo and observe people behind focus group mirrors, we go beyond this by actually being in the jungle and spending some ‘living’ time among them,” says Pchy Hernandez, who says efforts include listening in on restroom conversations to riding in jeeps to see how men struggle to put food on the table.
Likewise, McCann actively mines the market for direction. “We do regular investigations on both a global level and on a local level, covering themes and topics that shape the lives of women. “When we choose themes and topics, we aim for forward-looking themes and topics because we believe that there is more to gain from anticipating where things are heading, as opposed to looking back,” adds Gino Borromeo. Like the complex human targets they seek to reach, the task of evolving gender roles will likely remain a work in progress. But it’s one made more rewarding as technology is helping brands unlock incredible opportunities for truly personalized engagement among them a face-recognition bus shelter billboard in London. The billboard can detect the viewer’s sex and subsequently plays a female-targeted ad only to women.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE by Cid Reyes
The 22 Irrefutable Laws of Advertising (And when to violate them) “It’s like 22 books in one,” exclaimed Saatchi and Saatchi’s worldwide creative director Bob Isherwood. While the jacket bracingly trumpets: “If you’re holding this book, the future of advertising is in your hands.” Surely that kind of teaser advertising is enough to send the industry stampeding to the bookstore and for good reason. Actually, again, all 22 reasons, all glittering luminaries from every part of the globe namely:
The 22 Irrefutable Laws
It is foolhardy to attempt to paraphrase their brilliant insights when we would better appreciate hearing/reading snippets straight from the guru’s mouths:
Marcello Serpa on the Law of Simplicity Al Ries on The Law of Positioning Ian Batey on the Law of Consistency Dave Trott on the Law of Selling John Shaw on the Law of Emotion
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Kevin Roberts on the Law of Love Kash Shree on The Law of Experience Anne Bologna on The Law of Relevance James Louther on The Law of Humor
In countries such as Brazil, young and still under development, this capacity is much smaller. Being simple and objective is not an option, it is necessity. Many of the most brilliant English campaigns I know would not have the slightest chance of working in Brazil, being simply unintelligible… This is perhaps one of the keys to Brazilian advertising: simple without being simple-minded; objective, yet creating an impact at the same time; popular without being mediocre.”
Jean-Marie Dru on The Law of Disruption Sebastian Turner on The Law of Jump Reg Bryon on The Law of Fascination Jim Aitchison on The Law of Irreverence Allen Rosenshine on The Law of Taste Michael Newman on The Law of Topicality Graham Warsop on The Law of the Silver Elephant Neil French on The Law of the Chat Jamie Barrett on The Law of Nice
The capacity of understanding a message depends on each country’s social development. A European country, such as England is used to a level of complexity directly related to social development. The more complex the society, the higher its capacity of abstraction of more elaborate messages.
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Jack Vaugh on The Law of Negativity Mike O’ Sullivan on The Law of Execution David Lubars on The Law of Evolution The Outlaw by MT Rainey
Are there examples of line extension? Some, but these generally happen in weak markets where no single brand dominates the category. Or they happen with weak brands with little identity in their categories. (In other words, if your brand doesn’t stand for anything in one category, you can move it to another category where it won’t stand for anything either.) But when brands have a strong position in the mind they can’t be moved. Could Coca-Cola beer successfully challenge Budweiser? Silly question.” Al Ries
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Lifetime bonding is the ultimate dream of all ambitions brand owners. People love to be loved and, predictably, they gravitate towards brands that know them, understand them and reach into their hearts.For thus, consistency – a single message – must be maintained across time, geography, media product and ad channels.” Ian Batey
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“Think Small”, Volkswagen
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We don’t sell products to consumers anymore. Now we sell OUR product: advertising. And we sell it to our clients and peers: in Solo, in Cannes, or Lurzer’s Archive. Not only hasn’t the Emperor got any clothes, none of the rest of us have either.”
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Dave Trott
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Even science supports the importance of emotion in branding. In 2002, the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, published a study on how well people recognize certain words. It showed that the right side of the brain played a bigger role in processing brand names than it did in processing mere nouns. This backs up what most marketers know intuitively, that emotion is fundamental to the very concept of branding.”
James Lowther
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Some brands are so far ahead of the pack that they have become not just ‘Superbrands’ or ‘Brands Plus’. They have escaped the H commodity trap and evolved into something different altogether. Charles Darwin would have got it straight off. Fish to lizard. Monkey to man. Product to Trademark. Trademark to Brand. Brand to Lovemark. Lovemarks are a game-breaking opportunity to reinvent branding. They place brands where they should be, at the emotional heart. Lovemarks inspire loyalty beyond reason.”
Advertising is always better when you try to mix things up. Wieden & Kennedy did it throughout the 90s. They brought in non-advertising people and made them work with ad people. They brought in designers and architects and mixed them up with philosophers and just plain odd people. Say what you like about their work then, but you can’t accuse it of being like anyone else’s. It was unique. It was honest. It was thoughtful and funny and ironic and provocative. It wasn’t like advertising.” Kash Spree
The first thing to understand is that Disruption is not about destruction. It’s about creation – creating something dynamic to replace something that has become stale. Disruption is not just a way to come up with advertising ideas. It’s a way to think. Disruption is about systematically breaking through the barriers that shape and limit standard business approaches. It’s about challenging conventional wisdom and imagining new possibilities. It’s about overturning the assumptions and biases that get in the way of fresh and visionary ideas.” Jean-Marie Dru
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Whenever great minds change the world, they jump. The same holds true for experiences. All great experiences are closely related to a jump… People are also brought to this point by admen who have passed this border by themselves in the first place. All great campaigns in advertising history are based on a jump. When Bill Bernbach made Avis say “We try harder”, he broke the unwritten rule that you must never allow yourself to be perceived as a second. When Volkswagen asked the world to “Think Small”, they left behind the previously unanimous declaration that bigger is better.” (see 01, above)
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Claud Hopkins once said, “People don’t buy from clowns.” At that point the clouds opened, a deep vibrant voice spake “Wrong, Claud love,” and deposited several tons of Volkswagens, crates of John Smiths, Foster’s, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Tango, a BA jumbo jet and a whole lot of drunk patrons of club 18-30, to mention but a few upon his distinguished pate. If he had survived the incident, Claud would undoubtedly have revised his opinion.”
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There are no laws: the art is all about knowing your audience.” Neil French
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A safe brand idea or advertising idea is actually dangerous, because it can delude the company buying it into thinking it will work for them. In a cluttered environment, however, driven by hypercompetition, brand names or advertising ideas that merely fit are lost. Great brand ideas should frighten you when you first see them.”
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The law of the Silver Elephant can be defined thus: Great advertising (powerful, distinctive, relevant work that increases sales and builds brand value) relies on the imagination of one or more individuals who have the desire: (1) to bring something into the world that never existed before (2) to do so in such a way that it surpasses what has been done before.”
Reg Byron Graham Warsop
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Irreverence can be applied in four ways: Lampoon the client and product Lampoon people that people love to hate (rude hotel employees, for example) Lampoon the human condition, including death.
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Irreverence invests a commercial with a very different quality. Irreverence has the potential to make the ad an icon, to enter the public consciousness and remain there long after the commercial has finished playing.”
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Jack Vaughan
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Jim Aitchison
It’s also notable how in matters of romance or passion, the negative is often so vivid. I don’t mean in the sense of the obvious. “Don’t. Stop. Don’t. Stop. Don’t. Stop”… etc. I mean in many of the expressions we share with our beloved, often captured in popular music. “Never will I leave you,” sounds more committed than “I will always stay,” and “The 12th of Never” seems an even longer undertaking than the absolute “forever.”
Lite Beer from Miller came at the lower-calorie content a whole new way. They didn’t say “fewer calories” but rather “less filling” which meant that you could drink more of it. That was the real claim.”
I’m beginning to believe a great execution is more important than the idea. By that I mean the funny, clever, sound effect bit during any ad, may well be better than the big creative idea behind it. Punters like to laugh, they don’t really give a toss what the ad idea is.”
Allen Rosenshine
Mike O Sullivan
Everyone involved on an advertising account – the creatives, suits, and clients – should scour every newspaper, every morning, with a mind to finding some buried ammunition that might be turned into a topical or tactical ad… In December 2003, a brand new advertising network called DNA opened its doors. Happily for everyone, quite soon after this, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was found and identified… by his DNA. You may have seen it in the news? Anyway, two days later, this ad was an page 5 of the newspaper and suddenly everyone was talking about the new agency than the old dictator. Michael Newman
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A fascinating paradox about advertising people. We passionately push clients to be open to change, yet we’re the least open to change ourselves. The most obvious example of this is what’s going on today with new medium and technology.” David Lubars
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When I worked in the States in the 80s, I was struck by the open acknowledgement even by some practitioners that there were two kinds of advertising: creative advertising and “advertising that sells”… The reality is that more than ever The Outlaw is not an option – it is a mandate.” MT Rainey
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This collection of gems was gathered, like precious jewels, by Michael Newman, who was previously executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi in Australia. He is author of the highly acclaimed advertising book, Creative Leaps.
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LOGIC & MAGIC by Bong Osorio
The most important job in the world Saluting one tough mama who turned Columbia Sportswear into a global name
The unmatched significance of mothers is something I firmly believe in. And this belief was solidified as I read One Tough Mother, a business and life book about Gert Boyle, the chairwoman and CEO of Columbia Sportswear, an outerwear manufacturer based in Portland, Oregon, US, that brought such names as Gore-Tex, Quad (a hunting coat) and Bugaboo (two jackets in one) to the world. At 81, Ma Boyle, as she is now called, continues in the role of a professional corporate caretaker and mom who is young-at-heart and tough-as-nails. Ma Boyle’s tale of toughness began when tragedy forced her to take over the company, (overnight and with no experience with her husband’s death). Many expected her to fail, but together with her son Tim, who is now company president, she persevered and kept the company afloat through challenging times. The company is today the leading seller of skiwear in the US, and Ma Boyle has become an industry icon, and the first woman ever inducted into the International Sporting Goods Hall of Fame. The compact and easy to read autobiography provides a truthful, open, and often irreverent account of her admirable journey from mother to manager – an inspiration to any would-be entrepreneur, and individuals challenged by circumstances beyond their control. The book is full of business and life lessons Discovery “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there was an invincible summer.” This Albert Camus line is an apt descriptor of Ma Boyle unearthing her entrepreneurial prowess. In the process, she discovered the art of spontaneity, setting herself up to take advantage of the unexpected by incorporating enough risk into the equation that one can overcome the fear of taking on a gargantuan responsibility. She maintained an open mind, continued learning and asking the right questions.
moment”. She made brave decisions that brought optimum results (like firing the bankers and advisers who urged her to sell the company, realizing that she would make peanuts off the sale), and acting on insights to rearrange current situations to meet the needs of the here and now (like running the company into the ground herself).
Belonging To Ma Boyle, the concept of belonging is a much valued management principle. She associated with people who, like herself, turn raw aspiration into managed success. Her own values are well defined, and are aligned with the company, and the community it lives in. She set her eye on encouraging participation, acting as a catalyst for change within Columbia, communicating her ideas in a multitude of ways, and instilling pride to what the team does. Her beliefs are akin to Henry Ford’s idea of belonging: “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
Maturity “Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly,” said Robert Kennedy. You have to have the maturity of purpose, to choose the place where you want to go, based on your ability to manage your reactions to situations. Ma Boyle has the discipline and maturity that enabled the company to handle the snags due to circumstances out of her control. She did
Differentiation Being different is one of Columbia’s most important strategic and tactical advantage all too evident in its disruptive ads, which featured Ma Boyle and Tim. “Everybody else’s ads in the outdoor-clothing business are the same. There’s always a young, firm body. Sometimes with a little luck, there are two firm bodies intertwined with each other. Something different has to be injected,” she believed. Ma Boyle was parodied as a “tough mother” in the company’s ad campaign. In one ad, she wore a tattoo that said ‘Born to Nag’, which became a differentiator. People noticed it, assumed the tattoo was real, and asked her to show it to them. The distinctive mark washed off, but it is now featured in catalogs on tattoo parlors. Ma Boyle is truly one tough mama. She knows the importance of her role, and is able to make people understand why being a mother is the most important job in the world.
Focus Ma Boyle did not lose focus. She heeded Buddha’s admonition “not to dwell in the past, not to dwell in the future, but concentrate the mind on the present
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not give up. Good old tenacity even led her to what was then a male-dominated outdoor wear industry. She remembered getting a call from a male customer who said he wanted to speak to the president, and she jestingly answered, “Speaking,” but the caller said, “You’re a woman.” She retorted, “I know, I noticed that when I woke up this morning.”
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AD NAUSEUM Forget face creams, lasers, or going under the knife. Just get the object of your desire hammered on rum shots, specifically Tanduay, and you’ll look muy caliente in their eyes. The premise – or is it fact? – that alcohol can make everyone look hot has clearly inspired the makers of Tanduay’s new ‘Allure’ spot. Cue a happening night scene where seemingly homely people head to a bar. A sultry voiceover coos: “Everything looks different in the dark.” Before you can say wow, bar patrons start looking hotter, sexier, cooler. With the warm glow of Tanduay, their once protruding gut magically turns washboard hard, so firm it would make even The Situation envious. With its decent visual effects, the spot appears to promise more. But don’t hold your breath because that’s all there is to it. Surely insulting would-be customers isn’t the best way forward for any brand. Then again, perhaps a couple of shots of Tanduay could dim our critical eye, allowing us to see the spot as hotter, sexier, wittier than it really is.
AD ALIKE 01 Tesco Virtual Store, Korea, August 2011 02 Jumbo supermarket, Chile, later in 2011
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CLONED 01 Valerie Cheng, JWT Singapore 02 Lucy Liu
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BOOK REVIEW How Cool Brands Stay Hot
Just don’t label it ‘cool’ Mitos Borromeo Chief business strategy and new business consultant Bates Philippines
Any time something or someone label themselves “cool”, it then loses it. The authors of ‘How Cool Brands Stay Hot’ said it themselves: “The second you tell a millennial kid you are cool, you can be very sure that, well you are not.” So if this book had any hopes to be seen as “the” bible of understanding 13- to 25-year olds, it should have first ditched its title for something more, well, cool. So whom will this book appeal to? Let’s take a short quiz. Which of the following information is new to you: a) “The key to brand survival over generations is authenticity and connectivity.” b) “… Youngsters believe good advertising has the power to cool a brand…” c) “The most important sources to know what’s cool: social media, peers, TV, magazines, advertising, and music festivals.” d) All of the above. e) None of the above.
Lost touch If any of the multiple choice options sounds new to you, then you’re probably in the academe doing research on Gen Y or are a marketing person who has lost touch with your young target market. I suspect that for most of us in the industry who try and stay in touch with all of our target audiences, much of the information in Joeri Van Den Bergh’s and Mattias Behrer’s book is not new to us anymore – from how the brain of a teenager is still developing to what emotions trigger Gen Y to like a brand. There is some interesting stuff in this book, though – the case studies, for one. The short write-ups on campaigns for the Swedish Armed Forces and for DuWop make up, and even how “literal music videos” came about were interesting. The examples made me want to Google them.
Emotional shopping The other interesting stuff was two statements that I saw as thought provoking. I wished the authors had expounded more on them. One that “rational buying is increasingly replaced by emotional shopping” and the other: “Retail as a logistical middleman simply does not make any sense in a future where everything is so easily available.” If the authors weren’t going anywhere with those interesting thoughts, then I would suggest them as topics for the next book. But to be honest, I struggled to find the “cool” in this book after Chapter 3’s “What cool means to brands”. The chapter starts out in its description of cool by describing The Fonz, from the old American sit-com Happy Days. If you don’t know who The Fonz is, he’s a leather jacket wearing, greased hair guy from a 70s show about life in the 50s. How far from cool is that? Read this book if you want to get a background on Generation Y. Then go out talk to some actual 13-25 year olds.
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