Tag: Philippines

Bangkok, Thailand – International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency that promotes social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights, has partnered with Google, as well as its International Training Center (ITCILO) to further expand its program for upskilling women entrepreneurs called ‘ILO’s Rebuilding Better: Fostering Business Resilience Post-COVID-19 Project’. The pilot initiative was hosted last November 2021.

The initiative aims to support women in Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and adopt more sustainable and resilient business models, and also works to strengthen women entrepreneurs’ access to vital support services.

Through the expansion of the initiative, ILO has launched three new training programs, which are now available to women entrepreneurs who are seeking new skills for their business and personal growth. It can be accessed in the Google Primer learning app as free, quick, and easy-to-understand lessons on how to manage a business, strengthen its online presence, and create a more supportive workplace which are available in both English and Thai language. 

Dragan Radic, ILO’s head of SME Unit of Enterprises Department, shared that the organization has worked for over 30 years to support SMEs to start, grow, and sustain their businesses, as well as strive to seek new and innovative methods and partnerships to deliver impactful solutions.

“The partnership with Google is a prime example of a collaboration that is enabling us to leverage our own strengths while also benefiting from our partner’s extensive online learning and technology capacity,” said Radic.

Ryan Rahardjo, Google’s head of public affairs for SEA, said, “Through this collaboration and our free Google Primer app, we hope more entrepreneurs in the region will be able to learn new skills, grow and expand their businesses both locally and internationally.”

ILO shared that at least 2,000 women entrepreneurs have been the first beneficiaries of the innovative new pilot to deliver digital training via Google Primer.

Interested learners may access the courses at the ILO Peer Learning Hub for APAC.

Manila, Philippines – Shakey’s Pizza Asia Venture, Inc, the Asia-Pacific arm of global restaurant chain group Shakey’s has announced the acquisition of Potato Corner, a local food kiosk brand specializing in flavored French fries.

Through the acquisition, Shakey’s will purchase assets and intellectual property relating to the Potato Corner business. This will also involve owning and operating all company-owned stores, as well as serving as brand-owner and franchisor of stores being operated by franchisees both domestically and internationally.

Vicente Gregor, president and chief executive officer at Pizza Asia Venture, Inc, said, “Potato Corner is a bankable addition to PIZZA’s roster of WOW brands. Its co-founder, lose Magsaysay, has truly established a solid brand foundation with a product that universally resonates with consumers.”

He added, “The current scale of Potato Corner and the brand love that it receives from consumers are a testament to that We, at PIZZA, are grateful that Potato Corners former owners are entrusting the brand to our team. We look forward to continuing on its legacy and strengthening the Potato Corner brand even more!.”

Since its inception in 1992, Shakey’s Pizza Asia venture has built a network of over 1,000 outlets domestically and has a growing international footprint in Asia and beyond. For instance, Shakey’s had first opened its Singaporean branch in January this year.

During that launch, Jose Arnold Alvero, Shakey’s vice President for international operations and franchising, said, “The primary target market initially will be Filipinos living in the city-state. But the Lucky Plaza outlet is also seen to attract Singaporeans, as it is located along a busy business district.”

Manila, Philippines — UnionBank, the seventh-largest publicly-listed bank in the Philippines, has announced that it will now be acquiring Citigroup’s (Citi) consumer banking business in the country. 

In April this year, Citi shut down its consumer business in the country, including 12 other markets such as Australia, China, India, and Indonesia to move the focus to its Institutional Clients Group. For the acquisition, UnionBank said it has entered into a ‘share and business transfer agreement’ with various subsidiaries of Citi.

UnionBank’s transactions will now include Citi’s credit card, personal loans, wealth management, and retail deposit businesses. The acquisition also includes Citi’s real estate interests in relation to Citibank Square in Eastwood, 3 full-service bank branches, 5 wealth centers, and 2 bank branch offices.

Erramon Isidro Aboitiz, UnionBank’s chairman, said that the acquisition further cements its position as a leading bank in the Philippines, and will help fast-track its growth aspirations in the retail banking segment.

Meanwhile, Edwin Bautista, UnionBank’s president and chief executive officer, commented that they look forward to leapfrogging their credit card business and significantly expanding their banking business in the higher-end segment of the consumer market.

“As we embark on this journey, we are committed to retaining all of Citi’s key talents and upholding the superior customer experience that Citi has delivered to its customers over the years,” said Bautista.

UnionBank said that Citi will continue to operate its consumer banking business in the Philippines until the completion of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022. Moreover, approximately 1,750 Citi employees, including senior management, are expected to join UnionBank next year.

Manila, Philippines – Amid these very unpredictable times, Filipino rum brand Tanduay Light has launched a new campaign that aims to spread ‘good vibes’.

The campaign was created in collaboration with full-service consumer brand experience company Ace Saatchi & Saatchi. Titled ‘#AllLightLang’, a witty wordplay for ‘alright lang’ which means ‘that’s alright’, the ad highlights the everyday struggles of Bert who goes through one frustrating incident after another. Fortunately, Bert’s housemates serve as a support group, uplifting his spirits.

According to Tanduay Light, the ad reflects how the brand’s drinks are able to help ease consumers’ worries, such as dealing with work woes, drowning in chores, and stressing about bills. 

“Just like your trusted friends, it gives you that light and easy feeling after a long, stress-filled day,” said Tanduay.

Manila, Philippines – American footwear brand Skechers has transitioned its operations in the Philippines from a third-party distributor, Trendworks International, to Skechers USA Philippines Inc, aimed at maximizing the brand’s growth prospects in the region.

The move will see Skechers offering its full range of lifestyle and performance footwear and apparel in Skechers retail stores, including the recently opened location in Alabang Town Center and another in Ayala Malls Manila Bay, which will be open this week. Another 10 to 12 additional concept stores are planned for the first half of 2022. Moreover, the brand will also be available in key departments and specialty stores including Planet Sports and The SM Store.

David Weinberg, SKECHERS USA’s chief operating officer, believes that the Philippines has immense potential for the brand, and with its dedicated team focused on growth and delivering the integrated capabilities of Skechers, the move is expected to further accelerate the brand’s potential.

“With Skechers’ appealing lifestyle collections, groundbreaking comfort innovations, and our corporate support, we believe the Philippines can become a key market for us in Southeast Asia,” said Weinberg.

Suzette Pasustento, the country manager of Skechers USA Philippines, shared that they are presently in the first phase of re-establishing the brand in the market, setting up new offices in Manila, and implementing a distribution center, as well as the opening of their first new store this month. 

“In 2022, we will introduce new product categories, open more retail locations and expand our door count with new retailers, as well as launch a comprehensive marketing campaign,” said Pasustento.

Skechers said that Trendworks International will continue to sell Skechers products through the end of 2021.

Manila, Philippines – It’s that time of year again: the Christmas holidays. And with the upcoming Yuletide season, there is also a rich variety of holiday-themed ads. From straight-up ads that communicate the brand with a Christmas twist to ads that execute brand storytelling, here are the most emotionally engaging holiday ads this year, according to global video and connected TV programmatic advertising platform Unruly.

  1. Disney: The Stepdad

The latest global Christmas campaign by the global entertainment company, the ad is a heartwarming story focused on a stepdad and his family, and their everyday life towards celebrating Christmas. The ad, laced with references to Disney characters coming to life, scored 46.6% positive emotional engagement. 

  1. Goldilocks: Celebrate Christmas with Goldilocks

This simple 30-second spot by Philippine-based bakery chain Goldilocks invites viewers to order their upcoming Christmas dinner platter from the chain, where they serve not only pastries but also full-on meals. Said ad garnered 37.0% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Lady’s Choice: Have a Safe and Meaningful Reunion with a Lady’s Choice Creamy Sweet Macaroni Salad!

Mayonnaise brand Lady’s Choice shows in this 15-second spot on enjoying Christmas with one of their recipes: a sweet macaroni salad: staple across Christmas dinners. This ad got 35.9% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Foodpanda: We Gotchu This Christmas!

A true modern Christmas tale: what happens when Santa Claus himself can’t get the deliveries done? In this 45-second spot, foodpanda decided to take a modern twist of the famous ‘Rudolf, The Red-Nosed Reindeer’ into their delivery riders. The ad garnered 35.1% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Lazada: Grand Christmas Sale na this Dec 12-14!

This latest ad from the Philippine arm of e-commerce platform Lazada goes by the tune of the known Christmas carol ‘Deck The Halls’: only with a modern twist and Lazada references. This ad, which focuses on the platform’s upcoming Christmas sale and features local ambassadors, has garnered a 31.1% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Kinder: Share the Christmas Joy with Kinder

A 15-second spot filled with Christmas joy, this ad by chocolate brand by Kinder on sharing the Christmas joy to kids has garnered 26.0% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Cadbury: Cadbury Dairy Milk Christmas

Another chocolate ad on the list, this one with Cadbury, invites viewers to consider gifting their loved ones with a custom Cadbury gift. The ad has recorded 23.1% positive emotional engagement.

  1. Dunkin’ Donuts: Merry Munchkin

Last but not the least: this campaign featuring Philippine P-pop group SB19 greets viewers a happy holiday, and considering the donut chain to be a part of their Yuletide festivities. Said ad has garnered 18.8% positive emotional engagement.

Speaking about how these ads made an impact this holiday season, Greg Fournier, senior vice president for global strategy at Unruly said that it is important more than ever for brands and advertisers to better understand how their ads will resonate with audiences, and how effective they are at driving key business metrics like brand recall, purchase intent and brand favorability.

“In times of continued uncertainty and evolving consumer habits, brands have been able to develop creative and imaginative advertisements – many have also chosen to depart from overt COVID-19 themes and instead depict new-normal ways of life. Notably, brands have also chosen to reflect diversity in their ads this year – not just ethnically but also generationally – with characters and families from all walks of life and ages.”

He added, “On the flip side, ads that lack narrative, without any stories to tell, performed poorly. Ads that lack narration were also less well-received, with consumers finding it harder to understand the messages and relate on an emotional level.”

Manila, Philippines – Samsung Electronics in the Philippines has appointed Minsu Chu as its newest president for the Philippines, where he will be heading Samsung’s local subsidiary Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation.

As the new head of the local business, Chu aims for a stronger synergy between its different business units, including mobile, visual display, and digital appliances to reflect the company’s ongoing commitment to creating new and meaningful experiences for customers.

He was recently the president of Samsung Electronics in New Zealand. Prior to it, he also served as the business director of SEPCO’s mobile business from 2014 to 2018.

Speaking about his appointment, he said that he is very pleased to return to the Philippines which he has long considered as his second home, adding that the nation has immense potential with its dynamic economy and a large and young population.

“Even with the unprecedented global crisis, the country has remained resilient and has already shown signs of strong recovery, putting economic growth back on track,” Chu stated.

He added, “We need to strengthen our capabilities and operations to be more responsive to the changing consumer sentiments and habits in order to cement our leadership in the local consumer electronics industry.”

The company had recently announced a newly merged device experience (DX) division, which comprises the visual display business, digital appliances business, health and medical equipment business, as well as mobile experience (MX) business, and networks business.

Manila, Philippines – Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has launched a new campaign that aims to inform new and existing customers of the ‘promise’ of turning their dreams into reality. 

Developed in partnership with creative agency BBDO Guerrero, the new campaign showcases BPI’s commitment to customers, be they new or existing, in making their goals a reality with one simple step – opening an account online in as quick as five minutes.

Titled ‘Kween Tomatita’, the new ad highlights a customer’s five-minute to five-year plans, achieving all of her goals with the help of the bank’s mobile app.

Cathy Santamaria, BPI’s chief customer and marketing officer, believes that with their vast network and innovative products and services, they can support Filipino’s everyday needs and ambitions. 

“BPI is a partner to help achieve the goals of new and existing customers. We are very excited to be working with BBDO Guerrero on this campaign,” said Santamaria.

Meanwhile, David Guerrero, BBDO’s creative chairman, said, “Our idea is to communicate the ease of starting a long-term relationship with the country’s most trusted financial institution to everyday consumers. We hope that this project is the first of many for this newfound partnership.”

Manila, Philippines – Reminiscent of what many of us have seen from our most-awaited tech product launches, Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee has taken that same theme to launch its newest product, the ‘Chick’nwich’.

The campaign was conceptualized by creative agency BBH Singapore, and was directed by Louis Nieto of Stink Films. The film, shot in Prague, describes the product as if they are taken straight out of a product launch, with descriptions such as ‘ultra-large chicken display’, ‘spatial surround crunch’, and ‘a personal hand-held device to satisfy your appetite’.

Speaking about the film production, Nieto said, “When Jollibee and BBH Singapore approached me with a ‘tech product launch’ idea, I was intrigued and excited. Pushing beyond the territory of food, I wanted to creatively portray the Chick’nwich as something that’s absolutely innovative like no other – like a highly anticipated flagship release from our favorite tech brands.”

Meanwhile, for Francis Flores, country marketing head at Jollibee Food Corporation Philippines and marketing head at Jollibee Philippines, describes their latest product as a breakthrough product for them, a new level of chicken sandwich, bringing a new level of joy to their consumers.

“This gave us the opportunity to go big, and the work from BBH Singapore and director Louis Nieto, as well as the whole crew that gave it their all, certainly does that. Together we have created an ad that we can all be proud of. We look forward to catching the attention – and appetite – of Jollibee and chicken sandwich fans,” Flores said.

Sascha Kuntze, chief creative officer at BBH Singapore, commented, “In the world of product launch ads, no one does it like how the tech giants do. The hype and excitement with a clear product focus was something we wanted to play on. Especially for a groundbreaking product like the Jollibee Chick’nwich.”

Last 2 December, MARKETECH APAC, in partnership with Adzymic, gathered marketing leaders from top brands in the Philippines to discuss the future of personalization in marketing in 2022.

Moderated by Marilyn Romero-Ventenilla, senior director for communications and marketing at Teleperformance Philippines, the panel roped in Allenie Caccam, head of marketing of AirAsia Philippines; Anvey Factora, the head of marketing communications, e-commerce and retail at Canon Philippines; and Mark De Joya, chief operating officer of Max’s Restaurant.

Data – leveraging it to learn and adapt to the nuances of the consumer – this is what all marketers agree as the sureshot personalization strategy that will sail brands in the right direction, no matter what the changes will be in 2022.

Factora of Canon Philippines said in the panel that planning way too ahead would turn counterproductive to the situation at hand since the consumer is rapidly changing in tandem with the fast shifts in the pandemic. Coming up with multiple strategies then would be the best approach.

“I think the best approach or strategy is to come up with multiple strategies that you can realistically activate in this constantly evolving world that we all have right now because at the end of the day, if you plan in advance, maybe a year, it may not be as effective as it could be in the next three weeks or two weeks because of all the lockdowns happening, because of all these pandemic variants coming into the picture,” said Factora in the panel. 

When the pandemic struck in 2020, Canon Philippines greeted a boulder of a challenge with the creative and imaging industry being one of the badly hit industries. Since local travel came to a halt and events all pivoted to virtual, there had been less reasons for people to buy and invest in imaging products. 

Caccam of AirAsia Philippines, on the other hand, shared what the airline industry had to deal with in order to retain consumers amid shut local and international travel. Being a highly regulated sector, Caccam shared that answering to multiple stakeholders became a top challenge for AirAsia. Aside from thinking of ways to keep the airline in consumers’ top-of-mind, it also inevitably carried the responsibility to build up the confidence of travelers as travel gradually reopens.

“So when the pandemic hit, everything was constantly changing; from safety protocols to travel regulations, imagine the coordination that needed to happen for us to personalize our marketing efforts. It was definitely a challenge.” 

Max’s restaurant, a well-known local F&B brand in the Philippines, meanwhile, was thrust fast into digital transformation during the pandemic. Its COO Mark De Joya on the panel shared that from being an analog brand, it has become something that is very much reliant on digital fulfillment.

Leveraging data acquisition in 2022

With the consumer now becoming more unpredictable due to the rapid changes in lifestyle, it demands brands be more granular and targeted in their approaches; and marketing leaders agree that this can be achieved by continuously obtaining real-time data.

Caccam said, “I think personalization based on data will help us offer the right product at the right time [and] at the right price. So this is hard but by listening to customer pain points from different channels and combining it with data trends, I think brands can stay relevant.” 

Moving forward in the pandemic, consumers would be zeroing in on brands that bring greater convenience considering the inevitable distress the current situation is causing them. With this, Caccam also believes being a one-stop-shop for customers would be a crucial determinant of how they choose what brands to trust.

“So it’s really creating that personalized trust and being a one-stop-shop for your customers especially because I’m in the airline industry and you know our product is basically really good service, so I think that’s one personalization strategy that I would stick with coming into 2022 which is a recovery period for our industry,” said Caccam.

This is also something that De Joya agrees with, especially that Max’s is part of a larger group together with local and franchised F&B brands.

“Personalization comes from having more and more parts to stitch together and with the array of brands we have, covering separate cohorts and different territorial strengths [has grown in importance],” said De Joya. 

De Joya adds how the current times present a good opportunity to experiment combining brands, or for that matter, services together in order to create a new value for consumers. 

“We have such a great opportunity here to blend our brands together and make sure that if I’m not eating Sinigang today and I want to eat pizza tomorrow, and I want donuts on the weekend, [we] are able to blend together the branded offerings,” said De Joya. 

De Joya further comments, “So our definition of personalization here is understanding that there is more to life than the dish in front of you or the particular dish that we’re craving. It’s an integrated ecosystem of different brands which leads to several service platforms that we had to come up with…just to be able to make sure that we’re all able to offer that variety.”

While on the maturity of data acquisition, De Joya says, “I think [data] is something that we have truly invested many resources into. We really [are] able to identify the nuances in the behavior of our customers now not just the basic stuff like frequency, recency, [or] basket size but even trying to get the nuances [such as] what sort of dishes do they favor [and] what are the cross-brand usages that they have.”

With this, Factora agrees, “Data remains to be king when you [personalize] campaigns. You have to understand really how your customers are, how the data would be helpful to that campaign. I think the best approach in terms of creating a holistic strategy towards personalization is number one, properly understand your data. Having the right platform is important [together with the] right message and right channel.”

The panel was part of the webinar What’s NEXT: Digital Marketing in the Philippines which was held last 2 December 2021. Register here to gain on-demand access.

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The article is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series What’s NEXT. This features marketing leaders sharing their marketing insights and predictions for the upcoming year. The series aims to equip marketers with actionable insights to future-ready their marketing strategies.

If you are a marketing leader and have insights that you’d like to share with regards to the upcoming trends and practices in marketing, please reach out to [email protected] for an opportunity to have your thought-leadership published on the platform.