Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Filipino consumer behavior during the pandemic has shifted to frequent use of e-commerce platforms and cashless payments systems, a new report from financial services Visa shows.

In the Philippine-centric report, Visa noted that 52% of Filipinos shopped online through apps and websites for the first time during the pandemic and 43% of them made their first online purchase using social media channels.

Online shopping activity behavior also rose within the period of past year, as the report showed close to 9 in 10 Filipinos have increased their online shopping activities on websites or apps, whilst 7 in 10 are shopping more on social media channels. 

More than half of the consumers are also more inclined to shop from large online marketplaces (53%) and home-based businesses (61%). These new shopping preferences might turn into habits that last beyond the pandemic.

As part of the growing behavior of online purchases, food deliveries also rose, as more than 9 in 10 Filipinos used home delivery in the Philippines and 67% of them increased their use of home delivery services during the pandemic. This can be attributed to the existing quarantine and lockdown restrictions being implemented by the government in the country.

“The pandemic has transformed the way Filipinos shop and pay. Based on the latest highlights from our annual study, we see adoption of new consumer behaviors including more Filipinos using digital commerce platforms and helping to accelerate the usage of digital payments in the country. We see double digit growth for e-commerce transactions for purchases on marketplaces and digital goods,” said Dan Wolbert, country manager for the Philippines and Guam at Visa.

Wolbert also noted that some of the initial purchases made by first-time online consumers include food and groceries, bill payments as well as pharmaceutical products.

Using physical cash as payment has dwindled by the offset of the pandemic, as best compared to pre-pandemic consumers averaged to 7 out of 10 payments made in cash, compared to mid-pandemic consumers who only averaged to 5 out of 10 payments made in cash.

Filipinos cited using more contactless payments (73%), perceiving cash as unsafe because of the potential spread of infection (54%) and more places adopting digital payments (50%) as the top reasons for carrying less cash. In addition, Filipinos see bill payments (81%), grocery shopping (71%), and overseas travel (68%) as the top categories where they would likely go completely cashless in future.

The study also showed that contactless payments had 66% increase in usage amongst current users due to the pandemic. In addition, 88% of Filipinos who had not used contactless payments stated interest in using this payment method in the future. Top benefits perceived by Filipinos for usage of contactless cards include not having to carry cash with them (88%), feeling safe from infection (75%) and being an innovative payment method (68%).

“We believe that contactless payments will continue to grow as Filipinos appreciate the benefits of contactless payments, including perceiving this payment method to be more hygienic due to the absence of physical interaction at point-of-sale. Even though we’ve made progress in digital payments adoption, there remains huge opportunities for us to encourage more Filipinos to embrace digital payments as we look to expand digital payments acceptance across the country,” Dan added.

The study was conducted on 1,014 Filipinos aged 18-65 years of age across key cities in Manila, and in several provinces.

Manila, Philippines – As contactless payments have emerged as an essential solution for businesses during the pandemic, online payment platform for SMEs in the Philippines, JazzyPay, has partnered with one of the leading commercial banks in the country, UnionBank, enabling its onboarded businesses to reach a wider audience and thus to attract new users.

JazzyPay enables various businesses to accept cashless payments across credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and online baking, as well as over-the-counter cash deposits. The platform now has a total of 27 payment methods including UnionBank.

Through the partnership, JazzyPay customers can settle their payments using their UnionBank accounts, while UnionBank Online users can now pay for local and essential businesses registered with JazzyPay.

Aside from being a unified online payment platform, JazzyPay will also enable businesses to send online invoices to their customers without having to use third-party invoicing services. 

According to Edwin Bautista, the president and chief executive officer of UnionBank, transactions done through the bank’s mobile app rose from 40,000 in January 2020 to nearly 1 million by December 2020. As a part of its ‘Tech up, Pilipinas’ advocacy, UnionBank also recently launched its mobile banking app for SMEs, becoming the first SME-focused banking app in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Acosta, the co-founder and chief operating officer of JazzyPay, believes that UnionBank’s constant efforts in providing excellent financial services especially to SMEs have been evident through their recent projects. 

“As a payment platform that aims to empower more local businesses in the Philippines, JazzyPay is honored to be able to partner with an innovative company that shares the same vision of growth for SMEs and underserved businesses,” said Acosta.

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine arm of adtech Moving Walls has teamed up with the Media Specialists Association of the Philippines (MSAP) to create measurements, transparency, and accountability strategies for the growing out-of-home (OOH) industry in the Philippines.

The partnership will utilize Moving Wall’s OOH programmatic platform ‘Moving Audiences’, allowing member-agencies of MSAP to plan static and digital OOH (DOOH) campaigns more holistically while adopting a data-first approach to its programmatic campaigns in this new currency for OOH.

First introduced in 2019 at the MSAP M-Possible media congress in the Philippines, the platform enables the collection of location intelligence data for both static and digital outdoor media sites, which builds a strong foundation of measurement and accountability. Media planners and buyers will be able to plan ‘outernet’ campaigns in an automated manner, gaining insights from around 35,000 sites globally while measuring campaign effectiveness in real-time.

“Both organizations recognize the current media landscape as well as the challenges faced by the industry, which include fragmentation of OOH and its perceived difficulty to prove ROI like its online counterpart. To address these challenges, automation & data, now considered the ‘push factor’ is needed to build a future-proofed outdoor industry,” both parties said in a press statement.

Furthermore, the programmatic OOH platform is capable of dynamic ad-content serving, audience retargeting, use of various triggers such as weather and time-belting.

According to Norman Davadilla, CEO of Moving Walls Philippines, the partnership is part of the company’s commitment to creating a ‘common currency’ for outdoor media planning and buying in the Philippine market, where OOH planning and buying have continued to be siloed.

“Our tech stack provides MSAP member-agencies with quick access to location data, plan and execute campaigns and provide their clients with post-campaign reports hopefully bridging the gap that should result in transparency and accountability of outdoor media spends. Ultimately, MSAP and Moving Walls are future-proofing a key media channel in the Philippines,” Davadilla stated.

“Our partners’ digital screens are strategically located in Metro Manila and key cities having a combined inventory of 244 digital screens, on average serving 500,000 impressions per screen,” added Davadilla.

Meanwhile, Moving Walls Philippines is in discussion to extend its supply-side subsidiary platform to outdoor media owners who are members of the Out of Home Advertising Association of the Philippines (OHAAP). The Moving Audience Registry and Moving Audience Content, both used to onboard media owner sites and automate their content management system (CMS) will ensure OOH inventories are available to MSAP member-agencies.

“The MSAP Board is delighted to partner with Moving Walls Philippines to accelerate the adoption of new technologies that ensure not just measurement and accountability but also automation. Many clients have been looking forward to newer ways of planning and buying OOH media and incorporating audience location data is truly an innovation for the industry,” said Michael De Castro, president of MSAP.

Manila, Philippines – Filipino-born live streaming platform Kumu sees a new wave of streamers on the platform, particularly artists and groups handled by ABS-CBN, one of the country’s largest media conglomerates.

The newly birthed partnership between the two parties entails greater visibility for ABS-CBN’s artists and talents outside of mainstream media, with Kumu providing an alternative channel for said artists to connect with their large fan bases locally.

With more than 100 artists and groups set to stream, some of the personalities include the top and former contestants of the reality show ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, Philippine pop groups MNL48, BINI, BGYO, and several artists from ABS-CBN’s noontime show ‘It’s Showtime’ and from talent houses Star Magic, Star Hunt, Polaris (It’s Showtime talents), Star Music, and RISE Artists Studio.

“Just like the other partnerships between ABS-CBN and Kumu, we are confident that we will be able to achieve our united goal of providing good content and meaningful experiences to our audiences,” said Jamie Lopez, head of digital at ABS-CBN.

In a statement, Kumu said that their partnership with the media conglomerate aligns with the company’s vision of “commitment to highlight Pinoy creativity and to uplift the voices of Filipino talent all around the world.”

“We are proud to be signing more talents to our platform with ABS-CBN and support the creation of positive online content — content that we need now more than ever. We foresee future opportunities to develop these talents’ careers via live streaming — opening doors for new, innovative projects in the streaming space and beyond,” Kumu said. 

The partnership was announced during the conclusion of ABS-CBN’s reality show ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, which was also co-produced by Kumu. Both companies have earlier maintained co-production partnerships, including the 2020 version of the game show ‘Game KNB’.

For Laurenti Dyogi, head of entertainment production at ABS-CBN and head at Star Magic, the parties believe that fans are the winners in this partnership as “they get more opportunity to see their favorite stars in a more casual and informal setting, and even bond with them whenever the artists stream on their official accounts on Kumu.”

“We believe in the unique experience offered by Kumu. It’s a great platform to nurture the connection between the artists and their fans. Many of our stars are actually streaming already on the platform but with this partnership, there will be even more artists coming in to bring light and joy to ‘Kumunizens’,” Dyogi stated.

Manila, Philippines – Ride-hailing platform Grab has partnered with Philippines’ agri-social enterprise Zagana to launch the ‘Salamat sa Ani’ initiative, a campaign that aims to provide more options for people to show gratitude to loved ones and frontliners, as well as to support local farmers through patronizing their products.

The ‘Salamat Sa Ani’ initative (Grateful for the Harvest) will see Grab leveraging its platform to encourage more Filipino app users to show their appreciation to friends and loved ones through the ‘Salamat Sa Ani’ gift sets, which are produce directly obtained from Zagana farmers in the province of Benguet, Pangasinan, and city of Cavite. 

Through the sale of the gift sets, which consists of fresh corn, bananas, and lime, Grab aims to provide support to the farming communities that Grab helped digitalize since the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) phase in the country. 

During the height of the pandemic, one of the key ‘GrabForGood’ initiatives led by Grab Philippines is GrabBayanihan, a program that provided much-needed support to driver-partners, frontliners, and displaced individuals, as well as farming communities, and local governments. 

Country Head of Grab Philippines, Grace Vera Cruz, shared that using Grab’s platform and technology to help improve the lives and livelihoods of many Filipinos is what differentiates the app as a community partner. 

“We are grateful to have made a difference in the lives of millions of Filipinos through our GrabForGood program and we will continue with our commitment of using technology and our platform to encourage meaningful collaboration within our communities and help our kababayans overcome their daily struggles,” added Vera Cruz.

Meanwhile, Joshua Aragon, the chief executive officer of Zagana, said, “The pandemic has truly impacted a lot of lives. Our partnership with Grab has allowed us to continuously serve our customers and support our local farmers, by leveraging Grab’s platform and technology to provide our kababayans access to fresh produce, delivered right at their doorsteps while providing a livelihood for both the delivery partners and local farmers during these uncertain times.”

The ‘Salamat Sa Ani’ gift sets are available at GrabMart for ₱299.

Manila, Philippines – Philippine Telco Globe has partnered anew with Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), an association for the video industry in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, to launch a fresh #PlayItRight campaign, encouraging customers to fight against digital piracy.

The #PlayItRight campaign targets to benefit several industries, such as film, music, digital literacy, and education. It aims not only to safeguard original creative content through technology but also to protect copyright and enforcement through legislation as digital piracy keeps breaking the creative arts and video on demand industry. The campaign also seeks cooperation among stakeholders to defeat digital piracy.

The campaign was first launched in 2017 with three main pillars: to surface online dangers such as malware, illustrate the negative social impact brought about by piracy including loss of jobs, and instill that piracy is an illegal activity.

As part of the #PlayItRight campaign, Globe has been voluntarily blocking confirmed illegal piracy sites, making consumers aware that piracy websites can be hotbeds for illegal online activities, malware, and other cybersecurity threats. Globe notes that consumers themselves are also key stakeholders in the campaign, as consumers should no longer find a reason to consume pirated content.

Atty. Froilan Castelo, the corporate counsel of Globe, commented that the assertive voluntary agreements among stakeholders targeting digital piracy will make it much more difficult for online pirates to facilitate illegal content. 

“To complement this, we support legislation that will institutionalize the blocking of pirated sites such as the bill authorizing the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to order ISPs to obstruct pirated websites,“ added Castelo.

Meanwhile, Neil Gane, general manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy, shared, “It is impossible to understate the severity of digital piracy. It is the single largest business issue facing the content industry and putting Filipinos at risk of downloading dangerous malware. We fully support the IP Code Amendment Bills which allow for a fair, balanced, and effective process to block egregious piracy sites and protect the video industry and consumers.”

Manila, Philippines – To celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has partnered with Southeast Asia’s (SEA) e-commerce platform Shopee to launch its latest campaign, #ChallengeTheChores.

The campaign aims to challenge gender stereotypes by promoting a sense of joint responsibility within the household and encouraging family members to team up and share the responsibility of doing household chores as the brunt of the work has fallen on women during the pandemic, with several extra responsibilities and commitments added to their already busy lives.

To further explain the significance of addressing this call for shared responsibility, a feature on how household chores can be equally divided and tackled together will also be released.

The campaign will be launched progressively across five SEA markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, featuring a series of challenges that aim to motivate families to take on household chores together, such as doing the laundry and attending to a child’s needs.

During the campaign period, shoppers in each market can also look forward to live streams featuring key opinion leaders. The campaign also includes exclusive in-app activities to acquire special deals and win prizes, as well as the classic Shopee Catch game to collect many P&G products giveaway or vouchers.

According to Shopee, women are the most active shoppers on the platform in product categories such as household and other fast-moving consumer goods. As e-commerce becomes more prevalent, Shopee looks to leverage its platform to encourage conversations through interactive campaigns for its consumers.

Alexandra Vogler, senior director of P&G e-commerce for Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, commented, “P&G is deeply committed to equality and inclusion. Through this campaign, we want to raise awareness of the imbalanced distribution of chores. Through an entertaining short film and an interactive, gamified experience, we hope to inspire people to #ChallengeTheChores and drive greater equality within households.”

Meanwhile, Martin Yu, director of Shopee Philippines, said that they are proud to partner with P&G on this meaningful initiative, saying that besides encouraging families to take on equal responsibilities of household chores, they also seek to provide our users with a wide assortment of products to make everyday household chores convenient and manageable. 

“We look forward to launching more of such engaging campaigns with P&G that would enrich the shopping experience for our users,” said Yu.

Manila, Philippines – Global communications network dentsu, has announced the appointment of two key business leaders for its operations in the Philippines.

Quad de la Paz joins dentsu Philippines as head of Digital, while Koji Akabane has been promoted and joins the group’s Philippines operations as head of its Media Service line.

De La Paz is a seasoned digital marketing practitioner with over 17 years of industry experience. Quad has been tasked to drive the agency’s digital growth across both the Media and Creative Service lines. Quad’s previous experience includes website development as well as project management with AsiaOnline, and digital services directorship roles in Dentsu Indio and MRM Worldwide. He has also held a digital media director position at Starcom Mediavest as well as taking the helm as regional performance operations director at Adglow. 

Meanwhile, Akabane brings with him 14 years of marketing and communication experience across the Asia Pacific region, with expertise in integrated digital marketing, commerce strategy, data solutions, and tech innovations. Akabane joined dentsu in 2017 and has been driving the digital business for the network in a regional capacity. Prior to joining the network, Akabane spent 10 years with WPP’s GroupM in Japan and Indonesia, where he led the regional client management team on accounts with Japanese-born brands across a wide industry spectrum, ranging from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), fashion, retail, luxury to automotive, among others.

In his new role, Akabane will be tasked to lead dentsu’s integrated agency network dentsu X, and look after key Japanese client accounts in dentsu Philippines. He will also be responsible for driving business growth and digital transformation of the Media Service line, working closely with the Media leads, and ensure the line’s alignment with regional as well as global teams.

Commenting on De La Paz’s appointment, JC Catibog, CEO at dentsu Philippines, said, “Quad’s professional expertise has always been focused in the digital space, spanning different segments, such as production, customer relationship management (CRM), digital strategy, digital media, search as well as performance marketing. Quad’s approach to digital is dynamic, agile, and data-driven, but collaboration and synergy across all methods, disciplines, and channels have been the constant thread.”

“He is strongly inclined in the usage of data and tools and believes it is a key component for success. There is no one better Quad to take on this role. I have confidence he will do a stellar job in transitioning traditional ways of working, into one that is tandem with the digital era,” added Catibog.

Meanwhile, on Akabane’s appointment, Catibog commented, “We are delighted to have Koji-san join the team. He has a wealth of experience across not only the network but also the region. Koji-san’s sophisticated digital expertise supports our digital ambitions. Without a doubt, I am certain he will take our business from strength to strength.”

The appointments will commence with immediate effect.

Manila, Philippines – Philippine telco Globe, in a bid to add value and “peace of mind” to customers amid the ongoing pandemic, is now entitling its Globe at Home (GAH) Prepaid WiFi users to a ₱140.5K in free medical coverage services.

Through the offering, GAH aims to move beyond just providing connectivity and coverage to Filipino households but also to grant ‘extra care’ through GInsure. Powered by SingLife and GCash, GInsure provides free medical insurance for three months to prepaid subscribers against COVID-19 and dengue. 

GAH users can avail of the free medical coverage offering when they register to GAH promos HomeSURF99 and up, SURF4ALL99 or HomeWATCH199 and up.

With HomeSURF99, users get 10GB worth of data for five days at ₱99. With its free 1GB data per day refreshed and replenished daily for five days, users can send messages through Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Viber, stream YouTube videos, and shop online via Lazada and Shopee on top of the remaining 5GB open access data allocation. In addition, HomeSurf99 can support as many as four to six mobile devices or gadgets all at the same time. 

“Due to the pandemic, security, safety, health, and peace of mind are the top priorities of most Filipino families. People now are extra careful and concerned for the health and safety of their loved ones. With these in mind, Globe At Home is doing its part to help our prepaid customers have one less worry by giving them free health insurance for three months,” said Darius Delgado, Globe head for broadband business. 

He added, “We believe that the free insurance protection will go a long way in helping families during these times when their means of livelihood are particularly challenged.”