Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – On August 12 in Manila, Vishnu Mohan, industry veteran in marketing and previously CEO of Havas Group for APAC markets, together with his C-suite team, officially launched his integrated digital and marketing agency, Avyan, in the Philippines. The media launch, which took place in Makati, was graced by Partner & CEO Valli Lakshmanan, Partner & Chief Growth Officer Jack Lim, Chief Strategy Officer Ed Mapa Jr., Chief Technology Officer Art Gabriel, and the company’s country head for the Philippines, Kaye Enriquez.

Mohan first introduced the firm exactly a year ago, being upfront about his goal of making the Philippines its regional hub – a fresh new move from the usual direction of regional companies making Singapore their centre of operations 

At present, Avyan in the Philippines is 30+ strong, with plans to further beef up the team count, said Mohan to MARKETECH APAC. So far, brands that Avyan in the Philippines has done work for are local bank RCBC, blockchain-based company AltSwitch, and PH leg of insurance provider AIA. 

In the media launch, Avyan’s leaders presented the agency’s core mission of helping ‘to design the future’. Avyan is a collective that invests in start-ups by helping them achieve their goals of growing their potential through designing and building products that enhance the digital landscape. 

With its goal of working towards “advancing human possibilities through design and technology,” Avyan presents its extensive capabilities roster which includes strategy formulation, design, coding, data, media practice, and commerce and content creation. 

In a brief interview with MARKETECH APAC, Founder and Chairman Vishnu Mohan shared that in line with making Manila their regional hub, they will be continuing to build a very strong design and tech team. He shared that they have brought in roles such as head of technology which had not been present a year ago. 

Regarding playing in the competitive market, Mohan said, “I’m not worried about the competition because I’m not trying to compete against anybody, to be honest…I said my aim is to give back to society. I want to do good work.”

Meanwhile, in the press statement, Partner & CEO Valli Lakshmanan commented, “Best way to predict the future is by creating it. As tomorrow builders, we, at Avyan, focus on designing a relevant, commercially successful future for our clients by creating products and services touched by millions of people worldwide. Our strength is our people and the love for what we do.”

Country Head Kaye Enriquez said, “We are all bound by the same purpose. And we will always strive to design experiences that will allow brands to stay relevant to their customers now and tomorrow. Our ultimate goal is to drive business outcomes for our clients, no matter how big or small.” 

Mohan also candidly shared the meaning behind Avyan’s name, which is in fact, a variation of his own – ‘Vishnu’ – which means perfection. 

Avyan currently has operations in Singapore, India, and the Philippines, with plans to expand into Indonesia and Vietnam, shared Mohan. 

Manila, Philippines – Pizza Hut in the Philippines recently launched a new ad campaign featuring popular Filipino boyband SB19. The new ‘Make It Great’ campaign is the brand’s attempt to reach out to the younger market segment. 

Chacha Juino, COO of PPI Holdings, said, “Pizza Hut is great barkada fare and given this, we wanted to make the brand more relevant by connecting to our younger market. We believe that SB19 can effectively connect with this young market, which makes them a perfect partner for Pizza Hut.” 

“SB19 is the hottest P-Pop band right now not just locally but they’re also being celebrated in the global scene with sold-out virtual concerts and millions of fans,” Junio added.

She also shared that the idea of getting SB19 came from Araneta Group Chairman Jorge Araneta himself. The Araneta Group is the owner of the Pizza Hut franchise in the Philippines.

According to Juinio, Araneta was very impressed by SB19’s virtual concert, which was held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abigail Marzan, business director of Havas Media, which led in developing the campaign further explained that “the brand wanted to make itself more relevant. To do that, they needed to become younger and more ‘everyday’. SB19 had that massive and young appeal combined with their music makes them the perfect brand endorsers.”

The new Pizza Hut ad is about turning good times with friends into something great with the help of the delicious pan pizza. The TVC features Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin singing a new Pizza Hut jingle based off SB19’s hit song ‘Go Up’. A music video, which is an extended version of the ad, was also released. 

Integrated media and creative agency Havas Ortega said it was a “treat” to work with Pizza Hut on the new campaign. After being away from their friends for more than two years, young people are craving to reconnect ‘IRL’, and the agency wanted to be part of those moments, expressed its Executive Creative Director Angie Tijam-Tohid.

She adds, “So, we designed the campaign to be a delightful experience in every way for our audience. The video is a feast for the senses – a hit track, enjoyable dance choreography, and the young idols having fun while prepping pizza. After watching, it will really make you crave for your fave Pizza Hut [flavours]. That’s why we’ve made it easier for our viewers to get their fill simply by scanning the QR code at the end and have it delivered to their doorstep — it’s a music video they can directly order from.”

Tohid also hinted that this is just the start of the collaboration and that more “treats” will be coming out in the future.

United States – ABS-CBN, a media giant in the Philippines, has been reportedly planning an international expansion by opening its new office in Los Angeles, California.

ABS-CBN’s actress Sharon Cuneta broke the news on her official Facebook page by reposting a job ad by Cinema Sala, a platform showcasing Filipino and Filipino-American work in film and the performing arts. It said that the network is planning a physical office in Hollywood, and is looking for an assistant/coordinator.

According to recent news by Bilyonaryo, the international expansion comes after ABS-CBN signed a landmark investment deal with TV5, another media giant in the country under Manny Pangilinan.

“The goal of opening the LA office is to develop, collect, and curate material to produce from Hollywood, for the US and the world,” said Cinema Sala in the job ad.

Manila, Philippines – To celebrate COMCO Southeast Asia‘s sixth anniversary, the integrated communications agency based in the Philippines has unveiled its new global headquarters in Makati, the business capital of the Philippines, as part of its expansion. 

The new headquarters will house COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises’ current and upcoming ventures – COMCO SEA, COMCO Middle East & Africa (MEA), Camp COMCO Alumni Society, and Citizen COMCO Advocacy Program, as well as SEA Wave Pop Culture Studio, and Taro Digital AOX.

Each area is inspired by different pop culture references rooted in COMCO’s love for movies, series, music, books, and all the emerging platforms out there. The COMCO SEA workstation is called the ‘Millennium Falcon’, while the executive office is dubbed the ‘Cerebro’. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the areas are ‘Rivendel’ for the Corporate Services Unit, ‘Black Castle’ for the Digital and Multimedia Arts Unit, ‘Watch Tower Hall’ for the conference room, ‘Bifrost Bridge’ for the reception, and ‘Room of Requirements’ for the stock room, as well as ‘Wooley Hall’ for the lounge area. 

Following its launch during COMCO SEA’s Blazing Sapphire anniversary event last year, COMCO Middle East and Africa is now in full blast servicing various brands in the market. In its first year, COMCO MEA has already worked with notable brands in the Middle East such as Buono Buono, Nolte, Open Thrill, Paus, and POPC Live!, as well as Red Shrimp, and TruCARE, amongst many others.

Moreover, COMCO MEA, together with COMCO SEA, also recently conducted property roadshows for Philippine property firm RLC Residences in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as amongst the group’s first of many synergy initiatives.

COMCO SEA also continued to strengthen its client portfolio for its sixth year, winning major accounts in recent inter-agency pitches for premiere brands/organisations such as MR. DIY, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and Lenovo, as well as Skechers, and Lalamove, amongst others.

Manila, Philippines – Multinational food and beverage company Universal Robina Corporation (URC) has partnered with the Philippine subsidiary of Japanese drink company Asahi in order to tap into the cultured milk business, valued at PHP6.5b.

The partnership, done with Asahi Beverages Philippines (ABP), will see Goodday cultured milk drinks be soon available in stores nationwide. The cultured milk product contains the probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei MCC1849 to help improve immunity.

Goodday is ABP’s first foray into the Philippine beverage market, and both companies are introducing Goodday as Filipinos – having gone through adversities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – now have a stronger appreciation for their health.

Irwin Lee, president and CEO at URC, said, “Consumers have made health and wellness a priority over the past few years, and URC’s joint ventures and product innovations in beverages are ready to address their needs. With our partnership with Asahi, we look forward to the addition of Goodday Cultured Milk Drink to our portfolio of beverage brands to better serve Filipino consumers.”

Meanwhile, Hemalatha Ragavan, CEO of ABP, commented, “We strongly believe that Goodday will be made available in all of URC’s distribution networks across the Philippines, and in the hands of our loyal consumers as the demand for immunity-boosting health beverages continue to rise.”

She added, “My team and I are ecstatic as we look forward to establishing Goodday as a household Filipino brand like how URC has done for all its current brands.”

Based on Nielsen’s Retail Audit 2020 on ready-to-drink beverages, cultured milk is the fastest-growing ready-to-drink beverage category in the country. It has outpaced yogurt and milk, while other categories have seen a decline. 

Manila, Philippines – Global visual communications platform Canva has launched ‘Canva Whiteboards’, a new and collaborative way to seamlessly organise ideas and bring them to life. This is available for free on the web, desktop, and mobile.

From workshopping projects to project planning and brainstorming, Canva Whiteboards is a simple and interactive way to map out big ideas with all the familiarity of the Canva editor. It offers seamless integration with Canva Presentations, which allows users to expand their page to a Canva Whiteboard with a simple click of a button — creating an infinite space for brainstorming, and real-time collaboration, which empowers users to capture ideas and brainstorm with their team instantly, as well as extensive media library, which enables users to access to Canva’s media library of over 100 million images, videos, audio tracks, and graphics.

Melanie Perkins, CEO and co-founder of Canva, shared that after more than a year of development, they are excited to launch Canva Whiteboards to the world – bringing the power the community knows and loves about Canva and enabling them to collaborate with their team on an infinite canvas

“In this day and age with teams working worlds apart, we believe the right visual communication tools will not only help teams come together with ease but will also fuel greater collaboration and productivity in the workplace. This is at the heart of Whiteboards, and we’re excited to see the magic it will unlock for our community around the world,” said Perkins.

Canva has also unveiled Canva for Teams, a new paid subscription plan for teams of all sizes looking to create professional content together and collaborate with premium workplace tools and content management workflows.

The new subscription plan includes all the magic previously in Canva Pro and unlocks features exclusively on Canva for Enterprise, to become the new plan for teams of two or more people. It includes features like brand controls, approval workflows, and template locking. With the rollout of Canva for Teams, Canva Pro is now Canva’s paid subscription for solo users like entrepreneurs and content creators. 

Jen Howard, VP of Canva for Teams, said, “As companies embrace flexible and hybrid-working models, there’s an increasing reliance on technology to communicate and collaborate. In today’s visual economy, workplaces need compelling ways to meet the needs of globally distributed teams. Canva for Teams, our new paid subscription plan, is built to empower millions around the world to seamlessly create and collaborate together.” 

Meanwhile, Yani Hornilla-Donato, country manager of Canva Philippines, commented that they are happy to unveil both Canva Whiteboards and Canva for Teams in the Philippines as they continue to empower content creators, entrepreneurs, and teams of all sizes to collaborate at scale, wherever they may be.

“With Filipinos going digital now more than ever, Canva Whiteboards will be instrumental in bringing any team’s ideas to life while the introduction of Canva for Teams will empower businesses with an all-in-one design tool they need in creating impactful content,” said Hornilla-Donato.

Manila, Philippines – Buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Atome has partnered with global financial services company Mastercard to launch the Atome Card in the Philippines, offering Filipino consumers a new way to pay with credit. 

The Atome Card provides cardholders with an Atome line of credit that can be used to pay online and in-store retailers by simply presenting their Atome Card during check-out. It offers no annual fees, sign-up fees or other hidden charges, easy application on mobile, payment flexibility, virtual or physical card can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted, and easy view/manage of payment schedule.

At launch, consumers in the Philippines can register their interest for the Atome Card with one click, directly via the latest version of the Atome app, or via the Early Bird registration in the Atome website. Selected consumers from the Early Bird phase will receive an email inviting them to apply for the Atome Card.

Magic Tang, Atome’s payment partnerships director, commented, “The launch of the Atome Card marks an exciting new chapter for Atome, as it’s the first financial service we offer apart from Buy Now, Pay Later. With no annual fees and minimum income requirements, the Atome Card will give many underserved segments in the Philippines access to a flexible credit facility, the first such innovative solution across the region with more markets to come in the next few months.”

Meanwhile, Simon Calasanz, Mastercard’s country manager for the Philippines, said that Mastercard is delighted to partner with Atome on this innovative product that will contribute to building a cash-lite society and drive financial inclusivity by serving more than 70% of Filipinos who are unbanked or underbanked and do not qualify for credit cards.

“The Atome Card will enable cardholders with choice, control and flexibility to manage their finances and is available to use anywhere Mastercard is accepted. For merchants, this also means increased sales and better conversion rates, extending the benefits of digital commerce to more consumers and businesses in the Philippines,” he added.

In July 2022, Atome partnered with local-based online payment processing platform PayMongo to expand BNPL acceptance among merchants in the country. The partnership will enable PayMongo’s over 10,000 merchant network in the Philippines to offer their customers flexible deferred payment options, with no additional annual or service fees as an alternative checkout payment option.

Manila, Philippines – Local telco giant Globe has launched a new portal called www.makeitsafe.ph which aims to educate and raise awareness within the public about internet safety, especially cyberbullying, which affects many young people.

The site includes a glossary that lists the most popular terms and emojis that the youth currently use in chats and social media. This urban dictionary can help parents and guardians detect if their children are being exposed to offensive language or being bullied online. 

In addition, the site also gives free access to eModules from the Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP), a series of workshops developed by Globe based on the Optus Digital Thumbprint in-school program in Australia. It aims to promote digital citizenship and cyber safety among the youth for a safe online experience. The e-modules may be used by teachers, parents, the youth, and the general public.

The site launch is aligned with Globe’s commitment to equitable access to quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Yoly Crisanto, chief sustainability and corporate communications officer at Globe, said, “We would like the public to learn more about responsible online citizenship to keep netizens safe and protected from cyber violence, scammers, malicious attacks, and other online threats. At the same time, we are able to provide access to professional help if these concerns are already affecting their mental wellness.”

According to Globe, the site is crucial in bringing light into the safety of children online which largely rests upon those who watch over them. The site aims to arm parents, guardians and caregivers with the know-how that would enable them to get actively involved in teaching online safety and responsibility to children.

Manila, Philippines – Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Philippines has named Meryl Yap as the agency network’s new general manager, which bolsters the network’s leadership bench strength on the back of OMG Philippines Unilab’s win.

She will report to Mary Buenaventura, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Philippines, and will officially assume her new role immediately.

Yap has held client leadership roles throughout her career working in global and local advertising agencies. In her previous client leadership roles at Mindshare, she oversees the planning and strategy portfolio for various Unilever brands across the food, confectionery, oral and skincare categories.

Prior to her leadership in Mindshare, Yap was previously the head of digital sales and sales strategy at media conglomerate ABS-CBN, and was in charge of expanding and developing ABS CBN’s digital ecosystem selling strategy.

Her client leadership experience across a diverse portfolio of blue-chip clients such as Beiersdorf, Google, Nissan and Visa will see her lead OMG Philippines in the new era of growth.

In her new role as OMG Philippines’ general manager, Yap will be overseeing the agency’s client accounts, managing new business pitches and streamlining agency processes to ensure the continuous growth of its clients’ businesses. 

Buenaventura said, “Meryl’s extensive client servicing experience within the industry along with her knowledge and capabilities, makes her the right person to continue the success of OMG Philippines. With her on board, I am confident that OMG Philippines has the best team who are focused on building meaningful partnerships with our clients to help them accelerate their business growth.”

Manila, Philippines – OpenMind, a bespoke team within GroupM that serves as the agency of record for Nestlé Philippines, has been awarded the FMCG giant’s total search business, which includes SEO, SEM, and e-retail search. This move effectively consolidates Nestlé Philippines’ entire media business under one agency.

Emm Ordinanza, vice president and head of media integration at Nestle Philippines, commented, “We are looking forward to our partnership with OpenMind on Nestle’s search strategy, knowing full well their commitment and capability to deliver a smooth and focused search experience while embracing a cross-channel approach that will synergically reinforce each other.”

Meanwhile, Puneet Arora, GroupM’s CEO for the Philippines, said that they are thrilled to secure Nestlé’s mandate to activate a truly integrated media strategy – founded on OpenMind’s Pervasive Performance model – that will cultivate long-term value and good growth for Nestlé Philippines’ business.

He added, “Using GroupM’s proprietary consumer and industry insights, we tailored a holistic plan and innovative approaches that will accelerate demand and drive preference. With a dedicated team working exclusively for Nestlé, we look forward to positively impacting their business in this thriving market.”