Basics before Social Media

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For every marketing professional, Brand Building has always been the responsibility, role or subtle essence of marketing. Nowadays in the age of social media such as Facebook and Twitter for that matter, more and more companies use and leverage social media to their advantage with fewer results than expected. Some may disagree but if has to look closely, reality is will speak for itself.

Most practitioners would say that their company now has a voice and they can get the work out to people  (like advertising isn’t enough) but in reality the immediate market responds back with even a greater voice.

How many times do we see local companies use the phrases, “like us in Facebook and follow us on twitter”. Others may use incentives as “get the chance to win the latest iPhone or iPad just visit our Facebook page at”. Although these catch phrases are meant to increase brand awareness thru engagement but only a fraction of those who actually do the labor are already loyal followers of your brand. The rest are a myriad of trollers and unstable customers just in for the opportunity. Likewise, how many times would be see that the majority of comments from the online community would say “great promo but your customer service sucks!” comments like these are are hitting on a deeper more essential issue that goes beyond social media.

Getting personal, connecting individually is all great but in today’s unsympathetic online environment a company’s brand value is derived from its product and service value not from basic marketing and advertising.

Some 4 Point to consider:

1. Fulfill your Promises – what is your company’s brand promise? For whatever it is have all those working for the company share one voice and work on delivering its promise to its customers.
2. Excellence and not perfection – having a perfect system never works. From the get go, everyone including your customers perfection is in the state of utopia. Excellence persuades and moves people in your company to be the best they can be with efficiency.
3. Back of the House – in the restaurant industry the term back of the house refers to what happening in the kitchen and often regarding with the same importance of the front of the house where the dinners are. Having your operations in tip to condition gives a glimpse of the what the customer may be expecting. How many times do we need to see a dirty toilette and immediately think how management tolerates this?
4.  Build before broadcast – opening up your doors on Social media with hopes of building a community to gain loyalists, fans and engage customers may not be a good idea unless you have actual communities and followers in the real world. Having someone to forcibly like your page and group does not make sense and the possibility  of re-visting your page again may not come as planned.

Conclusion

Get the basics done first before stepping into the world of Social Media despite all the seminars and so-called online guru’s would tell you to. The real essence of business success is keeping your promises to your customers. Social Media is great if used correctly, it is mere a communications tool and not a life vest to save your brand.

Businessing on eCommerce at PUP

Like any typical university, the atmosphere is filled with energy and zest as students zip away the hallways and corridors to and from the next class. One thing I noticed with students of PUP for that matter is their innate sense for creativity and spunk. I could only wish the best for these students and be the next game changers of society. Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

The business landscape has surely changed since the advent of the internet with more changes happening in the past decade where the typical bricks and mortar retail stores are now replaced by virtual shopping malls and carts to fill one’s fancy on anything and everything. A few weeks ago I was invited to talk about eCommerce among the best and the brightest students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). I must honestly say that it was my first time to set foot in PUP and the first in 5 years to do a talk in front of students (the last one was with de La Salle and FEU graduating business students in 2008) as I have been active with my current employer and more focused on companies and professionals per se.

The Future

Business student of PUP

My invitation was specific for the consumption and audience of business students with a program event called “Businessing its a good start” and I had the task of talking about eCommerce, somewhat a throwback from the past from my usual talks on marketing and branding. I must thank Rhizza for the warm accommodation and care as well as the student event organizers who have made my afternoon quite enjoyable despite some delays which is expected at any event.

I must admit that my discussion about eCommerce was light and casual, purely targeted to students and soon to be entrepreneurs and professionals with direct usage and examples with my present company St. Peter Life Plan and Chapels whose famous eBurol value added service is quite known. In typical fashion, I began with a definition and introduction of what eCommerce was all about and varied types eCommerce models presently then moved towards the importance the changing and evolving virtual landscape. The shift from desktop purchases from home or office is slowly leaning towards mobile. More and more people use mobile devices for web surfing, content acquisition and socializing and sooner or later full time business transactions would be more evident for those on the go. Hence, telecommunication companies are integral and play an important role in the corporate landscape -less downtime and more bandwith must be expected very soon.

Good friend Vice Mayor Isko Moreno as one of the speakers

It was definitely a fun experience for me to be surrounded by talented and spirited students whose nubile and innocent minds are ripe for change and learning. Surely, I can only wish them “true advancement and corporate success” as their theme for the day suggests.

Color Matters

Feature taken from One Liliy Creative Agency and colormatters.com

Kuya ng Bayan, Kuya Kim Atienza

Kuya Kim endorsing the importance of a St. Peter Life Plan with representation among Filipino professionals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Claro Hamili for Vision Magazine

The leading pre-need company in the Philippines St. Peter Life Plan, Inc. partners with the Kuya ng Bayan, high profile celebrity, environmentalist and weatherman, Kuya Kim Atienza to be its latest brand endorser!

Alejandro Ilagan “Kim”Atienza better known as Kuya Kim was born on January 6, 1967 and is the eldest son of former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza.

His TV career started when he began hosting “Animalandia”, a segment in ABS-CBN’s “Magandang Umaga, Pilipinas” early morning show. He went on to become the resident weatherman in TV Patrol’s segment, “Weather, Weather Lang” with which he is still currently active. After just a few years of impressive broadcast journalism, Kuya Kim was awarded his own full length TV show, “Matanglawin”. Kuya Kim is also presently a co-host of the noon time variety show “It’s Showtime”.

An avid marathoner and triathlete, he has participated in a number of popular and big events locally and abroad, training with Team Gotta Tri alongside Erwan Heusaff, Sen. Gilbert Remulla, Isabelle Daza, among others.

Known for his love for the environment and nature, he is the Habitat Ambassador of Habitat for Humanity Philippines. He also promotes community development and encourages learning among young children, an advocacy that is close to his heart.

Even with his full schedule, Kuya Kim still manages to balance his time with his three children, Jose II, Meimei and Eman, and with wife Fely, who is the President and founding member of the Chinese International School Manila.

Kuya Kim embodies the spirit of a true St. Peterian – Passionate, Dedicated and a True Professional. He is always persevering and aiming high to achieve both career and personal goals without compromising his values. The quality Kuya Kim puts out in his work reflects the same quality of service that St. Peter gives to its clients.

Kuya Kim’s ability to reach out to a broader range of audience and mass appeal is instrumental in bringing the St. Peter brand to every Filipino household as well as giving a sense of trust and security. ABS- CBN programs continue to dominate viewership ratings including “It’s Showtime” and “TV Patrol” where he proudly promotes and greets St. Peterians on air.

Certainly Kuya Kim lives his life to the fullest; and this, more than anything, is the underlying message that St. Peter is advocating with this endorsement. Suffering from a stroke in 2010 without any long term effects, this experience made him realize the importance of being prepared for any eventuality. St. Peter provides the sense of security that enables one to enjoy and experience life to its fullest without much worry. No one can better recommend this than Kuya Kim himself.

Kuya Kim has established his credibility by being the go-to personality for trivia and information and this credibility will certainly lift the St. Peter brand and secure its position as the number one Pre-Need DeathCare Company in the country.

The best of Kuya Kim perfectly matches the best of St. Peter Life Plan, Inc. The future is certainly not “weather, weather lang”.

An ad that makes you proud to be Pinoy

Have you ever wondered how local ads evolve and become what they really want to convey? Has there been an ad that evokes Filipino pride and a sense of belongingness? Conveying a message thru creativity is quite easy, somehow most expert Ad men and marketers can do this in their sleep but do an ad with Filipino pride, wit and humor can be challenging. Years ago, I could vividly remember a TVC with such emotional ingredients for Sarsi, a localized soda drink. If I am not mistaken it was just a few years after People Power 1 and remnants of finding unity and nationalism was evident among Filipinos. Sarsi being local going against giants such as Coke and Pepsi business wise was a feat. The purpose was aspirational as well as challenging and coming up with a message to drink a local product given the love of Filipinos for anything foreign.

Here comes another TVC Ad that I personally think is one of the best there is. The brand is no other than our country itself. The execution using meme’s is fresh and alluring deviating from the glossy take of most commercials nowadays. Content is right on the money. Casual, friendly and inviting, what more can you ask for for marketing our country to the world. I among the millions of other Filipinos, salute the Department of Tourism for a magnificent take in our beloved country.

DOT TVC

SARSI TVC

St. Peter’s Pink Casket Photo Booth on local news

ABS-CBN’s news respected program TV Patrol recently featured St. Peter’s Marketing Communications Plan the St. Peter Pink and Barkada Casket Photobooth to commemorate the All Saints Day and All Souls Day thru the company’s own CSR initiatives called DeathCare Week.

 

Another feature of St. Peter’s Pink & Barkada Casket

Program feature at ABS CBN Ch.2 Umagang Kay Ganda with hosts Iya Villania, Venus Raj, Andrie Felix and myself representing St. Peter Life Plan and Chapels.

GMA 7 Unang Hirit featuring St. Peter Chapels Pink and Barkada Casket

Nationwide Ad Campaign taking Notice

Nationwide campaign of St. Peter Chapels announcing  “50% OFF on all At Need Services” spanning 8 cities from north to south. Presently, the current ads are turning heads with interest among Filipino citizens with its humorous and delightful take on its promotions. Catch the latest updates on twitter #pinkcasket

Pink Barkada Casket

Following after the famous Pink Casket campaign by St. Peter Life Plan Inc., the company once again comes into the forefront by use for (promotional purposes alone) the Barkada Casket still in the same inviting, casual, cool color pink. For St. Peter, the week ending October till November 1-2 marks their special event called DeathCare Week. The message is quite simple and clear of addressing the importance of living life to the fullest and taking heed of life’s eventualities such as death. A subject that is sensitive in nature and often eluded by the public, pre-planning is all but important and has to be considered a necessity. The leader in memorial life plans, St. Peter offers several products/services suited for every Filipino family.

 

Barkada Pink Casket