WRITING PORTFOLIO Therese Aseoche
FEATURE ARTICLES
PERSONALITY FEATURE ON MIO CHONGSON As Editor-in-Chief of UP Advertising Core’s official magazine Juiceletter from June-Dec 2014, received the best feedback on a personality feature on Ace Saatchi&Saatchi’s COO, Mio Chongson.
MIO CHONGSON: THE TRUE EMBODIMENT OF A LOVEMARK She stood by her desk, poised and confident, and spoke in a way that would remind you of a close aunt whom you favored. She promptly adjusted the air conditioning, offered to get drinks, and cracked jokes that made the room reverberate with laughter. Everyone knew her by the multiple top executive positions she handled in different agencies and organizations, but her stunning credentials can only be matched by her amiability and the positive aura she exudes. She is Mio Chongson, the notable soul of Ace Saatchi and Saatchi. THE JOURNEY Before becoming Saatchi’s Chief Operating Officer, Mio started her professional life in a bank. Having graduated BS Economics in the University of the Philippines Diliman, she worked as a business developer for 2 years. At the time, delving into the advertising field never came to mind until after a suggestion by her sister’s suitor. Although she wasn’t particularly bred for advertising, she had potential and the personality that had charmed her employer into hiring her on the spot at then Jimenez D’Arcy (now Publicis Jimenez). Her love for advertising wasn’t immediate as she was in a completely alien territory. As an account manager, she simply relayed comments and feedback from clients to the creatives, even calling herself the “glorified messenger.” Somewhere along the way, she began to develop the confidence to speak her mind and defend the creative work. “I didn’t have to say, ‘I’ll get back to you, I’ll have to show this to Creatives.’ I would already have my [own point-of-view] and confidently speak for the agency already. So that was when I realized na ‘Hey, I can do this, I can influence, I can be a good sales person. Because I am able to sell something, be it the creative ideas’.” Mio soon became the Client Service Director during her 11-year stay at Jimenez D’Arcy, and again for another 4 years at BBDO Guerrero. By this time, Mio had already started building a family and had four children. She had to struggle between working and taking care of her kids, which she admits was very difficult. She began to talk about how emotional she would get when her kids would show preference to the father, and how she fears that time will fly by so fast that, before she would even notice, her kids would have already gotten older. But even so, her family is her main source of strength, knowing that she has a supporting husband, and children who would always wait for her to come home. After a semi-retirement, she was invited to join a small agency called Blue Bottle Advertising set up by the previous art director of Publicis. She eventually bought the company and ran it as
the Chief Executive Officer for almost 4 years. At the same time, she became chairman of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines where she led close to 80 members composed of presidents and managing directors. ENTERING THE SAATCHI HOUSE Mio began to feel a lull in her career. She missed the challenging, cutthroat, big corporate life of uncertainty and progress. “Sa Blue Bottle naman, we’re okay,” she confesses. “Steady kami. Kumikita naman kami pero steady lang. Parang walang gigil factor.” That was until Ace Saatchi and Saatchi expressed its intention of appointing her as COO, and she readily opened herself up to change. “Di naman ako matatakot mag-try. Fear of failure nga diba, dapat wala yun. Hanggang humihinga ako, I still want to learn. I still want challenges.” The only direction to go from there was up. Since her appointment in 2012, Saatchi garnered multiple awards from different award-giving bodies, some of which were Campaign Brief Asia, Campaign Asia, AdFest, AdSummit, and Adobo Magazine. Saatchi had also been named Agency of the Year by some of these bodies as well. Just this June at Adobo Magazine’s annual Mad About Awards, several of Saatchi’s talents were put into the spotlight as they ranked first in the country in their specific fields. The agency also garnered a bronze win for the Radio Category at the 2014 Cannes Lions for the Pampers’ “ZZZ Radio” campaign. In the previous year, Saatchi also won 2 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronze lions for a PLDT “Screen-Age Love Story” campaign, and an Ariel “Olympic Shirt Flag” campaign. Mio didn’t attribute the agency’s exponential growth to herself, but she did believe her personality and leadership sparked the drive towards success. “What’s important for me is the people are motivated because when people are motivated then we can tell that the output comes from a bunch of highly passionate and motivated people. And therefore, if people are highly motivated, then the business would flourish.” Other than proper motivation, Saatchi also lived by a creative philosophy. “I think every agency must have that culture that [will say] ano ba ang pinaniniwalaan ninyo na mag-ga-guide sa inyo araw-araw. [Ang] creative philosophy namin is ‘One team, one dream, where nothing is impossible.’ Kumbaga wala kaming superstars dito. Only super teams.” THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT Mio’s biggest inspirations in terms of emulating the way they run a company are Ramon “Mon J” and Abby Jimenez of Publicis. Mio admired the respect this husband-and-wife team had for their employees and the company. While they acknowledged the work-and-life balance, they made sure that their employees put pride in all the work that they do. But of course Mio had her own style and her own brand as Saatchi’s COO. She saw herself as
“the people’s president,” actively monitoring the total operations of the company and successfully motivating employees for optimum performance. “I really make sure na while they say ‘Sometimes, Mio, you’re too nice,’ that’s first and foremost in my mind. I want to be the soul of the company. ‘Di lang puro bottomline, creative awards. Bottomline, pera, kita. I provide them with the proper motivation to be able to meet these two objectives.” In fact, rather than be remembered as something “fluffy and lofty” such as “a visionary,” she wanted to be known as the cool boss whom everyone would want to work with. “LOVEMARKS” When asked what, in her perspective, makes a successful ad, Mio summarized her thoughts into one word: lovemarks. “A successful ad for me is one that accomplishes an objective or a goal, whether that be loyalty, affinity, trial, [or] engagement,” she says. “A successful ad for me is one that helps you achieve that ‘lovemarks’ status, na may affinity ka sa brand na yan, na kung walang (ganun) sa store na yun, bibili ka ba ng iba? Hindi. ‘Di ka na magpipilit [kumuha] ng ibang brand, diba? It’s not just an ad, it’s a journey.” And Mio, who has built a name and reputation for herself, is someone who truly embodies that “lovemark” philosophy. She creates that special emotional connection with clients, with the brands she handles, and with her employees. A connection that makes them certain she will deliver beyond expectations. “I would say that I could be the warmest COO or head of a company because people are able to come to me. Ang sarap kasi ng feeling na ‘pag nagsasalita ka, talagang nakikinig sila sayo. Pagkatapos, they put weight on what you say, and it shows you that what you’ve worked hard for is your name through the years. Inalagaan mo yung reputation mo, yung pangalan mo.” Her advice to those who aspire to have successful careers in advertising are: 1) Work hard, and love your work; 2) Never be pretentious; and 3) Don’t be afraid to fail. But the two most important traits that propelled Mio to the top are simply efficiency and positivity. She is proof that one need not be a creative genius to be a frontliner. “I’m not brilliant, I’m not the most creative, I am not a visionary,” she says. “I’m just really a warm, funny person and I think that personality of mine has taken me to places.”
FEATURE ON OREO’S ADVERTISEMENTS As a contributing writer for the April 2015 issue of Juiceletter, wrote a feature article on Oreo’s Social Media Marketing efforts, including the Daily Twist and Wonderfilled.
ONE SMART COOKIE: Social Media Marketing Through the Eyes of Oreo
For years since Oreo was introduced to the market, everyone remembered it through its ceremonial SMART COOKIE: Social Media Marketing Through Eyes of Oreo processONE of consumption. On its 100th birthday, however, the world startedthe remembering the beloved brand as something more than a twist, a lick and a dunk. With For the years goal since of becoming to the day-to-day lives of remembered the millennial generation, Oreo wasrelevant introduced to the market, everyone it through its Oreo and an integrated agency team consisting of DraftFCB New York, 360i, Weber Shandwick ceremonial process of consumption. On its 100th birthday, however, the world started and MediaVest launched the “DailytheTwist” campaign it reimagined culture the eyes of the cookie remembering beloved brand aswhere something more than pop a twist, a lickthrough and a dunk. snack.
With the goal of becoming relevant to the day-to-day lives of the millennial generation, Oreo
Because of this huge milestone, the company had to begin its campaign with a loud, proud bang – the and an integrated agency team consisting of DraftFCB New York, 360i, Weber Shandwick and Gay Pride Oreo.
MediaVest launched the “Daily Twist” campaign where it reimagined pop culture through the eyes of the cookie snack.
Because of this huge milestone, the company had to begin its campaign with a loud, proud bang – the Gay Pride Oreo.
Sparking both controversy and support, Oreo caught the world’s attention. The company began releasing Sparking both controversy and support, Oreo caught the world’s attention. The company began equally creative and clever the next other events and widely talked-about releasing equally creativeart andforclever art for99thedays nextcelebrating 99 days celebrating other events and widely topics,talked-about ranging from the London to movieOlympics premieres, from heat waves from to theheat anniversary topics, rangingOlympics from the London to movie premieres, waves to of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon. the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon. On the 100th day of the campaign, Oreo further engaged its consumers and let them choose what to do On the 100th day of the campaign, Oreo further engaged its consumers and let them choose what with the cookie using a public poll located at Times Square, New York. The winning topic as suggested to do with the cookie using a public poll located at Times Square, New York. The winning topic as and voted by Oreo fans through social media was the anniversary of the first high five.
suggested and voted by Oreo fans through social media was the anniversary of the first high five.
According to marketing director Cindy Chen, the Daily Twist campaign aimed to filter the world through the playful imagination of Oreo, to deliver “a piece of happiness, a piece of kid-like delight.� Being purely an online, social and mobile effort to spark conversation, the company saw a total Facebook fan growth of more than a million, a 280 percent increase in Facebook shares, a 515 percent increase in retweets and a total of 231.23 million media impressions. This campaign also garnered four Cannes Lions, including a Grand Prix win in the Cyber Category. See more Daily Twists here: http://www.oreo.com/dailytwist/ In the year that followed, Oreo decided to make a bigger impression to the world when the opportunity presented itself. On Feb. 3, 2013 at around 8:30 p.m., the lights went out during the Super Bowl Game. Minutes later, Oreo released what would be one of the most memorable Super Bowl advertisements ever made.
The ad subsequently went viral, making headlines with zero media dollars and 525 million media impressions, and garnering multiple awards from Cannes Lions and various other award-giving bodies.
On May 2013, Oreo and The Martin Agency launched a new campaign called “Wonderfilled” where it asked the simple question, “What would happen if you gave someone an Oreo?”
The upbeat 90-second animated advertisement sung by Adam Young aimed to give the audience a childlike sense of wonder with its simplicity and playfulness. Normally opposing characters were depicted sharing Oreo cookies. This showed just how Oreo can turn negative situations into positive ones and reminded adults to notice the small things that can effectively brighten their perspective. This advertisement was viewed more than 82,000 times only a day after it was posted on YouTube. On May 14, more than 500 a cappella singers including Pentatonix sang the Wonderfilled song in various locations around New York City, with Owl City culminating the event at Union Square. Kristin Hajinlian, Oreo’s Brand Manager at Mondelēz International, says this about Oreo’s Social Media Marketing: “Oreo is a social cookie – both offline and online; we take pride in the large, passionate community we have across social platforms because it allows us to connect with our fans on a human level. We strive to engage them in a way that’s playful and lighthearted, which we hope helps them to take life a little less seriously and stay connected to our brand.” All the above campaigns prove that through ingenious ways of utilizing social media (such as news- and culture-jacking), any brand can become relevant to today’s generation. It’s essential to embrace and tap digital channels as they are a key part in day-to-day living. While it’s difficult and tricky to market online, Oreo’s strategies aren’t so hard to replicate. Just stay up-to-date, consistent and frequent in promotions, make use of visuals and don’t forget to entertain.
CONTENT WRITING Some of the best articles written during a summer internship at 9DotStrategies, a web development, digital marketing, and SEO company, which were posted on its official blog site and facebook page.
The Basics of Mobile Marketing People are becoming more dependent on their smartphones for online access. According to Tecmark, an average user picks up his or her phone more than 1,500 times a week and uses it for over 3 hours a day. comScore says 50% of online time is spent on these mobile devices. It’s because of this statistic that mobile marketing is on the rise and has become an essential digital marketing trend of today. Mobile marketing covers all mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets. However, it is not limited to the mobile web. There are app-based, in-game mobile, and location-based marketing, and there are also QR codes, mobile search ads, and SMS. Whichever strategy you choose to use will depend highly on the type of business you run, and the type of market you want to tap. In-game mobile marketing, for example, is best when reaching out to younger people. An ad for automobiles would work best if placed in games more targeted for young males, while an ad for an online clothing shop would be best placed in games for female yuppies. Of course, there are no limits as to how many strategies you’d want to utilize. So what are some quick tips in creating effective mobile marketing? 1. Stay simple but powerful. Since consumers do a lot with their mobiles, anything that has too much information isn’t going to get through to them. It’s best to make an ad or a campaign as easy to understand as possible so that the message is clear and would be immediately picked up by the consumer. Also, simplicity should not take too much precedence over relevancy. While the message should be clear, it should also have enough impact that it becomes too difficult to ignore. 2. Know your target audience. Again, you need to know the market you want to tap so that your mobile marketing strategy would be effective. For example, if you want to market to gamers, in-game mobile marketing would do best. If you want to market to the young ones always online, app-based marketing like Facebook promoted posts should be done. 3. Take advantage of location. According to Word Stream, 1 in 3 mobile searches have local intent. That means consumers are most likely to search a query about the place they are in. You need to optimize location-based marketing so that your ad appears when prospective customers are within a 1-mile radius to your business. 4. Make your point. One mistake you should avoid doing is to market on mobile just for the sake of marketing on mobile. Ensure that your campaign delivers a purpose and addresses your consumers’ needs, and that it is customized especially for mobile marketing. 5. Integrate it with non-mobile marketing. You need to make mobile a part of your overall marketing strategy. When advertising traditionally, market your mobile efforts because it creates another level of engagement with the customer. Be creative and don’t limit yourself with what you know or what you’re used to. Seems like too much to think about? Contact 9DotStrategies now, and we’ll do it all for you.
3 Social Media Optimization Know-how’s You’ve probably heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which drives traffic to your website. But there’s also such a thing as Social Media Optimization (SMO) and, yes, it’s different from social media marketing. SMO’s purpose is to optimize your website and its content so that it’s more sharable and endorseable across social media platforms. You want people to “like” you on Facebook, tweet you on Twitter, re-pin you on Pinterest. In essence, you want them to love you. It’s all about the connections. When friends see friends talk about or share your content, then they’ll get in to the conversation, and without actively doing anything you’ve increased awareness of your brand and the products and services you offer. That is social media optimization. So what are the best strategies for you to successfully optimize your content for social media? Include call-to-action social media buttons. It’s common practice for people to end articles with a powerful statement, but what they fail to do is include a call-to-action statement which is as important as ending powerfully. It’s important to include statements such as “Share this!” or “Tell us what you think!” with the appropriate social media icons at the end of your content because your goal is for your audience to share your content through their own social media. Sometimes, people don’t really think of sharing content they see unless they like it to a great degree. Putting call-to-action buttons gets them to think “Hey, you know what, I will.” just because you gave them that option. Delight them with content. Of course, how can you expect people to share your content when it’s not at all engaging or captivating in the first place? Make sure your headlines are attention grabbing, you make use of images that are likewise eye-catching, and your content is actually of interest to your target readers, written with wit and personality. But don’t limit yourself to written content. There are other ways to say what you want that may be more visually appealing than blogs or articles. Videos and infographics, for example, are highly shareable content. Use tools to make your life easier. More and more marketers are utilizing tools to automate posting and get insights on what people are saying about them. It’s actually become difficult to defend your research when you don’t make use of tools especially when there are already a variety of resources on the Internet. These are only a few things you need to know about SMO. Interested in finding out how you can apply this to your own business? Call up 9DotStrategies now and get the best deals for all your digital marketing needs!
CONTENT WRITING Some of the personal best articles written for clients.
Harm and Foul: Why Athletes Should Stop Taking PEDs The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) has been rampant since the 1960s when it caused 2 deaths in a Summer Olympics competition and a Tour de France respectively. After the International Olympic Committee commenced its first drug testing at the Olympic games in 1968, the US Congress followed suit and passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act back in 1990. This led to the Major Baseball League banning the use of steroids, the many disqualifications of Olympic athletes, and the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency by 1999. The prime reason of the use of PEDs by professional athletes, most especially by baseball players, was to play games better, as the drugs boosted their energy levels and improved their strength. The outlawing of this act of “doping” prevented these players from receiving unfair advantage over those who are looking for a fair fight. Here are examples of PEDs and their respective effects, taken from Mayo Clinic. 1) Anabolic Steroids. These are synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone. This type increases muscle mass and strength, and helps athletes recover from hard workouts and training sessions quickly, but can cause serious health and physical problems. 2) Human Growth Hormone (HGH). It has an anabolic effect, yet it is unsure whether it does improve strength or endurance. HGH is taken via injection, and may lead to adverse effects such as carpal tunnel, diabetes, and muscle weakness. 3) Diuretics. These are drugs that change body fluid volume so athletes weigh less, and even help them pass drug tests as it dilutes urine. However, these can lead to dehydration, exhaustion, and even heatstroke. 4) Stimulants. Often found in energy drinks, and street drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, stimulants increase heart rate and blood pressure, improving endurance and alertness, and suppressing fatigue and appetite. Side effects include insomnia, hallucinations, and stroke among other repercussions. By looking at the side effects attached to these PEDs, it shows how the costs outweigh the benefits. Athletes have become so obsessed with success and perfection that they have become dependent on such one-way tickets to the gold mine. Jacob Beck in his article in The Atlantic called this phenomenon as an “arms race,” where success has become tied with having the latest technology, having access to better facilities, and finding the fast route to the top. Instead of these athletes pushing the extra mile to train and practice more, they seek to get an easy advantage over their competitors. Beyond the physical detriments, PEDs harm the person’s psychological well-being.
PEDs are not necessarily wrong, however. It just depends on the context and the circumstance. For example, patients with cancer or AIDS need steroids to stimulate muscle mass. When it’s to get fast, easy, and unfair competitive superiority, PED usage must be looked down upon. There are better and much safer ways to improve performance, such as taking vitamins, sports nutrition products, and other legal supplements. Dev Mishra, M.D., the president of Sideline Sports Doc and a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University, lists the following legal supplements that have good safety profiles. 1) Creatine. It is effective in increasing power and force in short bouts, or in repeated efforts. However, around 30% of athletes may not respond to this supplement. There are existing side effects, including muscle cramps and dehydration, so it’s best to try and test prior to competitions and games. 2) Protein Supplement. This improves muscle mass and strength. Natural sources of this are grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and wild fish. Whey powder is also a good source of this supplement. High Carbohydrate Supplements such as sports bars and cereal bars are safe to take too. 3) Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). This reduces the amount of exercise-related muscle damage as it increases muscle mass and even reduces the percentage of body fat slightly. Medical supplements such as Vitamin B12, Iron, Calcium, and Melatonin are also safe in performance enhancement. This doesn’t not mean that taking legal supplements makes you risk free. There are times when some supplements carry prohibited drug substances that aren’t included in the labels for obvious reasons. To prevent this risk of violating the anti-doping code, assess your need to take it, and assess the risk. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority suggests for you to ask medical experts or accredited dietitians if the supplement you want to take is legal, safe, effective, and necessary. These supplements should only be taken when your well-structured diet cannot provide sufficient nutrients needed. There is no better way to the top than to have done it in good faith. Are there supplements you take that work for maximum performance? Tell us what they are and why they work for you!
Sweet Dessert Wine 101 Drinking sweet dessert wine shouldn’t happen at any given time. It’s a unique experience in itself that you can’t enjoy if not with or in place of desserts. The main difference between these wines and those that are less sweet is the taste full of intensity and richness with the unmistakable hints of fruit flavors. Sweet wine is produced in several methods of increasing sugar and alcohol content with the goal of stabilizing the level of sweetness in the finished product. Some grapes already possess the right amount of sugar to compensate for the amount converted to alcohol. What winemakers do usually is stop yeast from fermenting all the sweetness into alcohol, add alcohol such as brandy, or remove water content to concentrate the sugar. The process of fermenting sweet dessert wine is tough and requires a great amount of patience for the winemaker. Luckily for us, all we need to think about is what specific wine we want to serve to our guests, or just for our own selves. Like table wines, there are a variety of types that fall under the sweet wine category, and it takes a bit of research and winetasting to know which one appeals to you most. Majority of dessert wines are white. To name a few, you have the Sparkling Dessert Wine like the traditional Champagne; you have Fortified Wines, where winemakers add alcohol either during or after the fermentation process, such as Vermouth and Marsala; and you have Noble Rot Wines, of which many well-known dessert wines are classified such as Riesling Auslese, Sauternes, and Takaji Aszu, where grapes were affected by the mold Botrytis cinerea that removes water content and concentrates sugar. Dessert wine is comparably more expensive than table wines because of its complicated process and the amount of grapes used just for one bottle. Wines that are made for long-term cellaring are also expensive, but most ideal when you don’t expect to consume a whole bottle at a short amount of time. Whether you’re serving chocolate, pastries, or even cheese, sweet dessert wine is sure to go best with any of them. Again, you should research on which sweet wine will go best with certain desserts, and the apparent protocols in pairing them up. For example, a dessert wine should be sweeter than the dessert you’ll be serving. Non-noble dessert wine should be served with fresh fruit or fruit-based desserts. Keep in mind as well that most white dessert wines are best served chilled, while red wines are okay at room temperature or chilled slightly. And never be deceived; sweet wines can actually trick you into drinking more than you should because of its sweetness and fruity flavor, but they actually contain higher alcohol content than table wines. Reiterating, drinking sweet dessert wine is a unique experience that shouldn’t be abused. Consume responsibly and in moderation.
In Finding the Perfect Home Buying a house is a huge investment and it’s only logical for you to narrow down your choices by listing down the factors that are important for you to consider. Keep in mind 4P’s and 1 F: 1) Price. This is usually what homebuyers consider first and foremost, and includes all costs: taxes, dues, and fees. You should buy a house that costs no more than what you can afford (seek professional help in setting up a realistic budget), and that equals the perceived quality so you won’t feel cheated. 2) Place. Where do you want to be located, the city or in the province? Each has its own pros and cons and it’s up to you to decide which place suits your needs more. Then, investigate the neighborhoods. It’s important to know if the community you’ll potentially be a part of will address all your needs. For example, good neighborhoods you’d want to consider are those that have access to a pharmacy, school, park, church, hospital, precinct, and other amenities. It’s also essential to research on the character of the community. Is it known for a popular bar down the street that accommodates bands that play until early in the morning? Is it the type that holds fiestas every now and then? Talk to the residents and decide if you’ll fit right in or not. 3) Privacy and Security. It’s essential to consider the safety and security of the location. Villages that have gates, gate stickers, and security guards are ideal but are really expensive. If you’re looking to cut costs without sacrificing safety, look for a house that already possesses a gate of its own or one that has enough space for you to construct one. 4) Property Type. Consider the number of people who will be moving in. If you’re a relatively big family, then you should get a house that’s spacious enough to fit everyone. If you’re expecting, a condominium unit won’t be that good of a choice. Choose carefully the type of house that will allow you to reside peacefully. 5) Furniture. Some houses are already furnished, but the furnishings may not be up to your taste. Estimate if it’s still within your budget for further improvements and replacements. If not, then it’s either you make do with what you have or cancel it out from your list. Take note as well to visit your prospects frequently and at various times a day as an added security measure. It’s advisable to talk to residents who know first-hand how the community is throughout the year. It’s also important that you extract all information from the seller about the house whether it be about house problems, past improvements, or past owners. Buying a home is a thrilling albeit rather meticulous task, but being well informed of your wouldbe house and its surroundings will help you in the long run. Happy home hunting!
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