Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – WPP’s media investment arm GroupM has officially launched its addressable TV solution, Finecast, in the Philippines. This year, Finecast will be introducing new innovative solutions, technology, and enhanced viewing experience for TV stakeholders, including audiences, advertisers, and brands.

The launch of Finecast, which took place at the Globe Auditorium in Bonifacio Global City in Manila on February 2, will add to the market’s addressable TV capabilities and provide a platform for entrepreneurs and marketers to network, share ideas, and learn from leaders on how to effectively promote ads as well as drive growth in a digital-focused era.

Puneet Arora, CEO of GroupM Philippines and Singapore, said, “We are thrilled to launch Finecast in the Philippines, one of the largest markets in this space, and to see the best in the industry come together to celebrate our official launch.”

Kathryn Domingo, lead at Finecast Philippines, shared that they aim to offer a one-stop-shop access to the entire addressable TV system, coordinating the distribution and frequency across all broadcasters and screens to reach relevant audiences no matter where they are viewing.

“Finecast will keep pushing the boundaries of TV innovation and is committed to leading the transformation of the industry. We are incredibly excited and proud to bring an addressable TV solution to the market for our clients,” she added.

During the launch event, some of the discussions put forth include the impact of the pandemic to the shift of a digital society, as well as the successful integration of addressable TV in the industry’s future.

Brett Poole, CEO for APAC at Finecast, also commented that as the media ecosystem continues to evolve, TV ads continue to wield the greatest influence in generating the most positive brand impressions.

“Historically, brands in Southeast Asia that have harnessed the power of storytelling through TV – either through a single advertisement or through a series of stories over a period of time – have enjoyed high performance and profitable gains. We look forward to continue helping brands in the Philippines unlock new and exciting opportunities to engage with their target audience and achieve sustainable growth,” Poole added.

Manila, Philippines – Leading fintech app in the Philippines GCash has appointed its new chief marketing officer, ex-Lazada Neil Trinidad. The marketing veteran shared the announcement on a personal LinkedIn update. 

Trinidad brings with him a strong background in marketing, general management, and sales across the industries of FMCG, tech, fintech, and e-commerce. Previously, Trinidad also held the CMO position for the Philippine leg of top e-commerce platform Lazada for over 2 years through 2022. 

Transferring to the GCash team right after his CMO stint in Lazada, Trinidad first assumed the position of VP Head of Business of the fintech. 

Other notable marketing leadership under his belt include heading the businesses of Google Philippines and Unilever. In 2017, he also co-founded the e-commerce health food delivery business The Feel Good Food Group. 

Philippines – With most of our attention now veered towards digital content, a new global report reveals the average number of hours each audience in a country spends in navigating social media. The said data, which was gathered via a partnership between social media intel Meltwater and creative agency We Are Social, revealed that it’s the Filipino internauts that are the most invested when it comes to vlog content and video game consumption.

The annual report on social media and digital trends uncovered that the Philippines ranked first in terms of the average time allotted for watching vlogs and playing video games. Particularly, 95.8% of internet users in the country play video games on any device, and this cohort is found to spend an average of 1 hour and 29 minutes on gaming each day. This is a few minutes more than the global average of 1 hour and 14 minutes. 

Meanwhile, 55.6% of the country’s digital consumers – those aged 16 to 64 – stated that they watch vlogs each week, and in terms of consumption, the market also bested all markets, ahead of the global benchmark of 25.5%. 

In the same report last year, Philippines also emerged on top with the highest count of users that watch vlogs each week with 60.4%, and likewise topping the global charts with the highest percentage of consumers that play video games on any device (96.4%). 

Overall, from the current year’s data, the country landed in fourth place in general social media consumption, with consumers spending an average of 3 hours and 43 minutes for such activity.

Alexandra Saab Bjertnæs, chief strategy officer at Meltwater said that competitive brands should stay ahead of trends to understand their impact on any industry. She also highlighted that as consumers invest more time on social media, it will affect the decision-making process in their customer journey.

Bjertnæs added, “With more than 5 billion internet users today, it’s becoming more crucial than ever that brands deliver relevant, impactful, and purposeful content to capture attention and create value across digital channels.”

Nathan McDonald, group CEO and co-founder at We Are Social said that social media’s influence affects people’s lifestyles and it continues to grow. McDonald also expressed that users consider the discernment in internet usage, making sure that it’s a time well spent.

However, McDonald also had thoughts for marketers. He added, “Marketers and creators will have to work even harder to attract and retain people’s attention in 2023 – it’s never been more important to understand online culture in order to reach people in a relevant way.”

Manila, Philippines – Current chairman and co-founder of recently-launched GoTyme Bank Jojo Malolos has joined Philippine payment gateway company PayMongo as its new president and chief executive officer. He replaces interim CEO Isabel Ridad, as the latter announced stepping down from the company to pursue new ventures.

In his new role, Malolos will be responsible for re-shaping PayMongo’s plans for the company’s next phase of growth. He will be also leading the efforts to ensure the company’s success by implementing a broad range of transformation initiatives.

Moreover, he will also lead the introduction of PayMongo’s next generation of products and services with a view to better serve its existing client base and drive the advancement of the internet economy in the Philippines and more broadly, Southeast Asia. 

With PayMongo’s newly-issued EMI licence, Malolos will continue to direct the organisation to driving significant impact in the digital financial services sector.

Aside from being its chairman, he also served as GoTyme Bank’s president and chief executive officer previously. In the past, Malolos was also the chief executive officer of JG Digital Equity Ventures, the digital ventures arm of national conglomerate JG Summit. Aside from this, senior roles at Smart Communications and Cignifi also go under his belt.

“The Board has confidence in Jojo’s experience and his ability to effect and manage change as he brings significant experience in M&A, organisational transformation and a track record in the fintech, venture capital, digital banking and innovation ecosystems.” the company has said in a press statement.

Malaysia – David Viray, who is head of branding of AirAsia for the last 2 years, covering both the airline and the super app in the Philippine market, has been elevated to assume the branding leadership region-wide. Viray, who announced the new appointment on his LinkedIn, is now the head of brand of AirAsia’s airline business in Malaysia and across all of its markets in Asia. 

Viray is a seasoned marketing leader within the AirAsia network, having accumulated almost 9 years of experience in the company. He started as a brand manager in 2014, and moved to several leadership positions in a combination of both region-wide and market-specific capacities 

In his LinkedIn post, he expressed elation on the way he would be starting his ninth year as an ‘Allstar’, the unique moniker of the airline for its employees. He shared that the excitement never fades despite being with the company for quite some time, and goes to thank Rudy Khaw, the airline’s chief brand officer. 

“Challenges keep on coming which helps me constantly feel that there’s always room for growth and possibilities,” he said. 

In November, it was announced that Tony Fernandes, the former Group CEO of AirAsia‘s budget airline, AirAsia X, has relinquished the said position to focus on his group leadership at parent firm Capital A. 

Singapore – Food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda has announced that its on-demand and express delivery service ‘pandago’ will now be made available to customers in the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. 

The service was initially launched in Singapore last August 2022 and has now been extended to Thailand, Taipei, and Davao, with more cities to come in the next few months. It will also be rolled out in other markets next year.

In addition to the expansion, pandago will also provide customers with real-time tracking and a chat function to allow them to track their parcel’s live location and share it with the recipient.

According to foodpanda, pandago has started to gain traction in the Philippines and Thailand in the early launch stages, with the most frequent items delivered in the Philippines being clothes and accessories, while food and drinks, books, and documents are most delivered in Thailand. 

foodpanda also said that delivery fees will start at a reasonable base fee, with an additional per-kilometer distance-based fee in the respective countries.

“Following the successful launch in Singapore, we are excited to extend pandago to millions

more users across the region. Whether it’s to send a gift or something that was left behind, we hope that pandago will go a long way for customers who need instant delivery services,” said Bhavani Mishra, regional director of logistics for APAC at foodpanda.

He added, “Beyond providing convenience and fuss-free service for our customers, pandago represents an important step in foodpanda’s journey to building an all-rounded ecosystem that helps to address the everyday needs of our customers.”

foodpanda has also previously announced its partnership with Huawei to launch its app on the HUAWEI AppGallery for the latter’s smartphone users.

Manila, Philippines – Multinational insurance company AXA in the Philippines has named Bernardo Serrano Lopez as its new president and chief executive officer. He joins AXA Philippines following his recent stint as chief executive officer at AXA Colpatria, the company’s insurance arm in Colombia.

Lopez is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of senior leadership experience. He began his journey with AXA in Chile in 1998 before he was appointed regional CEO for AXA Latin America in 2001 and subsequently general manager of AXA Spain in 2003. 

Between 2006 and 2011, he left AXA to set up his own successful company. In 2011, he rejoined AXA as CEO of AXA Brazil, overseeing the arrival of AXA in South America. He was later appointed as deputy CEO of AXA Colpatria in 2014, where he led the company’s entry in Colombia. He was named CEO of AXA Colpatria in 2016.

Speaking on his new role, Lopez said, “AXA has been part of my professional life for more than two decades, and I am thrilled to join one of the fastest growing markets for insurance, here in the Philippines.”

He added, “I look forward to bringing a fresh perspective to AXA Philippines as we continue to work together to help our customers protect what matters most to them.” 

Meanwhile, Gordon Watson, chief executive officer at AXA Asia and Africa, commented, “With Bernardo’s extensive experience as a chief executive officer in the insurance industry and his entrepreneurial spirit and track record of transforming businesses, he is the perfect lead for our strategic ambitions in the Philippines.”

Manila, Philippines – BLCKBOX, the official apparel and merchandise division of esports company Tier One Entertainment, has launched its first flagship store in the Philippines located at Quezon City in Metro Manila. 

Said flagship store aims to emulate its online success by pushing the brand as a leading esports fashion brand in the local and global market. The store opened on December 15.

BLCKBOX has been an ever-present fixture in its events, and also in various conventions and gatherings throughout the year, including CONQuest Festival 2022, ESGS 2022, and the Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines (MPL-PH) playoffs among others. 

The launch will include the Day One collection which commemorates the 5th year anniversary of Tier One Entertainment. This collection will be an annual release showcasing the history of Tier One Entertainment and provides an opportunity for the fans to be immersed in the culture and iconic moments of Tier One.

Other fresh drops at the store launch include the SIBOL 2022 line, a new BLCK cap, and the MLBB Championship Jersey. The launch will also feature a freedom wall where fans can leave words of encouragement for Blacklist International’s Mobile Legends team before they compete at the M4 World Championship.

Tier One’s first merch offering dates back to Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS) 2019, where they released their first limited collection called the ‘FIRST DROP’, which paved the way for a new business venture for Tier One Entertainment. 

In June 2021, BLCKBOX marked its official launch in the e-commerce space through Lazada and Shopee. This established BLCKBOX’s presence as a new gaming lifestyle brand, providing fans with high-quality fashion items for gamers.

Tier One recently unveiled its Web3 incubator programme ‘ALLIANCE’, as well as partnering with Bent Pixels Asia to help creators develop monetisation strategies.

Manila, Philippines – Maya, the newly rebranded and one of the leading financial superapps in the Philippines, has named IPG Mediabrands’ media agency Initiative as its media agency of record. The win followed a multi-agency pitch in October 2022. 

Initiative Philippines will be heading Maya’s integrated media mandate. This includes business analytics, audience understanding, media strategy, planning, offline, and full-funnel digital performance activation for the consumer and business segments of the total Maya portfolio.

“2022 was a tremendous year of brand and business growth as we relaunched from PayMaya to Maya, but the work has only just begun. With even greater ambitions in 2023, we must ensure that all our capabilities across the board are on the cutting edge,” said Pepe Torres, chief marketing officer of Maya.

He also added that Initiative proved to be the right media partner for Maya for being just as invested in its success as they are and being philosophically aligned with their “cultural velocity proposition.”

Paul Atienza, managing partner at Initiative Philippines also said, “Maya is a bold tech maverick that continues to stretch the limits and defy conventions in helping Filipinos make bolder financial choices. We could not be more thrilled to partner with them, driving Cultural Velocity to further protract growth for the Maya brand in years to come.”

Melody Laogan, managing partner at Initiative Philippines added, “This win is a testament to Initiative’s culturally driven and outcome-focused approach to integrated strategic planning. We share the same values with Maya, of being fearless, bold, and progressive. We are excited to raise the bar together.”

Initiative Philippines’ appointment is effective January 2023.

Last May, Paymaya rebranded as Maya with the aim to be known as an all-in-one finance platform for individuals and enterprises. 

Maya Bank’s parent firm Voyager Innovations has also previously boosted its total valuation to unicorn plus status.

The Philippines – American ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins has announced through a Facebook post that they will permanently close down their stores in the Philippines this coming 31 December.

“To our dear customers, it’s been an incredible journey over the last 8 years, but unfortunately we will be permanently closing our doors on Dec 31, 2022,” the post read.

The post, however, did not indicate a specific reason for the closure. 

To thank their patrons, Baskin-Robbins offered a range of promos available until closure. “As a gesture of our thanks for your valued patronage over the years, we are pleased to offer a range of promos from November 26 – December 31, 2022,” the post stated.

The offers are as follows: getting a free scoop with any junior/value scoop purchase; a Buy 1 Take 1 deal on all pints, quarts and half gallons; and getting a tub of 86 scoops for only ₱3,500.

“Once again, thank you very much for everything. It’s been an honor to be of service to all of you,” Baskin-Robbins concluded.

Baskin-Robbins was officially launched in the Philippines in 2014, with its first local store established at Central Square in Bonifacio Global City. 

The local stores’ closure follows Baskin-Robbins’ global rebrand, which unveiled the brand’s new logo, packaging, and tagline.