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Apr 14 2012
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industry, thoughts, work

@immapPH #OpenMicNight is a wrap!

Last night was amazing! Seeing the community converge in a big way and hearing a lot of conversations going on is just thrilling. Last night (or well, this morning!), as I prepared to sleep, I looked back at how this event came about and the ride it went through behind the scenes both on cam and off-cam to how it went last night at The Peninsula Manila and realised that this industry is worth innovating and fighting for.

It all started with a call for volunteers which in less than a day since the call was posted on Facebook generated more than 25 volunteers, then it progressed to a series of big meetings then a lot of breakout meetings. Then I got a message from my partner, Ysobel, saying that The Peninsula Manila is willing to host the 2nd IMMAP Open Mic Night. Together with Andre A. Yap, we finalised the format which we instantly felt was going to be an engaging format of unconference… Then in one of our big meetings, TV5′s Carlo Ople volunteered to have a sponsorship deal approved.

Without having to market the event and in less than a month, we were ready to execute with teams formed: Creatives, Audience Engagement, Programme and Praxis, Production and Marketing.

If we look at how this event happened more closely, just like last year’s maiden Open Mic Night, we see the strong, willing spirit of the volunteer — from those who organised to the sponsors to the speakers who volunteered their time and talent to provide the community insights and stories that spark even more conversations to happen offline.

And with great intentions always come great support from the community. There are no hiccups that could get in the way of great intentions. And we proved this again last night.

Attendance was outstanding; we had a cap of 200 people as what was budgeted for the food and drinks — the venue, in fact, could only host 150 people at any given time. And yet, more than what was expected for the event came.

Our friends from other non-digital industries were also in attendance — even our friends from mainstream press covered, willingly providing the event extra legs through their own channels. Our friends from NGOs, LGUs, even the Chairman of the AdBoard of the Philippines were present to support and mingle. Because of last night, it is clearer to me now that everyone is indeed a digital marketer – one way or another, everyone is part of this community. It ain’t just a few, but it is everyone that wants this practice, this discipline, this space to grow.

People were also willingly tweeting the whole time providing their friends and followers who couldn’t go to the event a chance to know what was going on at the Salon. Everyone was a journalist last night!

We have one learning to bring with us as we shape the next Open Mic Night: provide breakout venues with ample space and great acoustics so people could listen in easily. We will keep in this mind as we continue working to improve our events.

It seems to me that we have cracked a good formula of engaging the community: great conversations, good food and drinks, a venue that allows an exchange of ideas, awesome friends and luminaries in attendance talking and building ties on the same level where everyone is a peer to another, and the wild spirit of a volunteer. This makes the community alive and kicking.

As the 2nd IMMAP Open Mic Night came to a wrap, we concluded that the Digital Marketing community in the Philippines is a powerful group of people with insights, stories, experiences that matter. Again, thank you to everyone who made this event happen. It wouldn’t be a success without the volunteers’ talent and efforts, the sponsors’ willingness to make a vision happen, and the audience’s profound interest to connect, exchange and contribute to the community.

Mad props to TV5, The Peninsula Manila, and Casa Noble. Additional thanks to Adobo Magazine, Rappler.com, and Inquirer. Cheers to Nokia Pilipinas, Lenovo, Chrysanthemum Flowers for helping us too!

See you all at the next IMMAP Open Mic Night!

Feb 12 2012
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personal, thoughts

Goodbye, Whitney.

I remember hearing her songs on the radio and watched her on MTV when I was still a kid. Of course, like other children, I didn’t know much about her and just knew she was a popular celebrity in the US. Growing up, I heard her pepper the airwaves with songs whose titles I don’t even know by heart. But I knew they were great songs performed with so much passion, fervor, and elegance. Her voice flowed through the airwaves just as how every great performer would (and should) do.

While most people grew up with Michael Jackson and maybe the Beatles in the background, I grew up with Whitney’s music. The occasional top charters, the strong association with the Bodyguard, and her jarring and very well talked about battle with relationships and drugs make her one of my top of mind names of artists to even leave an impression so lasting that even though her songs are left without titles in my mind I feel sadness for what the world lost but I keep dearly in my childhood memories.

It’s like losing an aspect of your past that while they linger there, you realise they’re no longer somewhere out there and that you will no longer see nor hear them. Not now, not anymore, not ever again.

So long, Whitney. Thank you for leaving me one of my most favourite songs of all time.

R.I.P. Whitney Houston 1963-2012.

Dec 31 2011
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personal, thoughts

Dear Lord

Dear Lord, 

 
Thank you for this wonderful year. 
 
You make all greatest things possible, and I thank you for giving me a fraction of it. Thankful forever for all the blessings you have given me and my family, my friends, and colleagues.
 
Thank you for giving us challenges that make us better people.
 
Thank you for the life you have given me and to all those around me and those whom I do not know yet.
 
Thank you for a life that only you make so succulent through others, through the world, through my everyday living.
 
Thank you for giving the world brilliant, creative, very sharp people. 
 
Thank you for giving me a chance to be good and live life succulently.
 
Thank you for loving parents, a loving life-partner, caring family, wonderful friends and teammates.
 
Thank you for giving us the ability to engineer, design, create.
 
Thank you for giving us life.
 
I dedicate my 2011 and 2012 to you. 
 
I love you. Every new year is a year dedicated to you.
 
Humbly,
 
Pao

Dec 27 2011
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industry, Leo Burnett, personal, thoughts, work

2011: Tough, victorious, inspiring

I will never be a prominent blogger like some friends I know. I am bad at creating my own content. The best I do is post mobile photos to my Facebook, rarely on Instagram… my Twitter is luckily linked to my Foursquare check-in so that’s a bit of solid content there. Other than that, this blog is virtually a seasonal thing.  
Some excuses:
No time
 
Okay, that’s the only excuse I use. No time. Quite true especially this year which witnessed me swirling about fast. There’s the new job at Burnett which required me to be on top of my game internally and externally. There’s IMMAP which required me to attend meetings at frequent intervals. There’s the drive to make money both for myself and the company I work for. 
 
I didn’t even get to travel this year – not at least the level that I’d want to. This year I had hope to go to Nepal, revisit Europe, see NYC and club in it, and a whole lot more places to seize but left not done. 
 
For all that I learned this year, one that tops my list is opportunity cost. 
 
Opportunity cost is simply the cost of having chosen something over another – what you lose in the course of having chosen one over the other. And this is what I learnt most this year – and which I am now cherishing a lot.
 
Had I not decided to leave Globe, I would have received a generous amount of discretionary and performance bonuses. I would have been able to file my vacation leaves ahead and traveled, bought a new gadget here and there. Maybe bought a bag to replace my one year toddler, my everyday (and already tired)  YSL bag that I got over a year ago in Paris. More money, no problem.
 
But I did. I decided to leave Globe. And there a ripple of effects was born. 
 
Everyday I second guessed myself: can I do this? Can I handle this? I doubted myself if I could really do it. You know, facing clients who think they’re better than you is a problem for someone who has superiority complex. I will not deny it, it takes a lot of patience to listen and swallow your pride granted that you’re not part of the decision, you are the one at the mercy of a decision.
 
Then I always think of my revenue targets. It isn’t my first time to deal with revenues. At least at Globe, I was mandated to manage cost, to manage my expenses not revenues. Over at Zing.vn, I was mandated to bring to market a new service and manage my cost for bringing it to market. At Level Up, I had to manage my revenues, but the revenues were manageable, not crazy. 
 
At Burnett, I woke up with it, I slept with it. I thought: Is this the track to being a general manager? I’ve always wanted to head a company and put everything under my control. I knew it was my training to becoming one. I have a lot of ideas on how to run companies effectively, efficiently, and how to inspire employees around a vision and how to create an atmosphere of friendly competition in order to achieve goals. And I knew this was my training. Something bigger is out there and I have to train for it. 
 
Maybe I am dreaming too much. But this is where it all started: a dream. So be it. 
 
I never thought 2011 would end on such a high note. Two weeks ago, I was doing my revenue tracking and I was literally harassing my leadership team over their revenues. I sent templates and called each of my staff’s attention to how much *more* we needed to generate in a few weeks’ time. Then I got a call from our comptrollership saying that as of that moment we were already hitting 108% of our revenue commitments.
 
I was caught in my own disbelief. 
 
There were tears swelling in my eyes. That was an affirmation of, more than anything, that I could do it…. that I could turn around a company that was swelling with a lot of baggage. That I could inspire, that I could help others become what they want to be from a seven-year hiatus from the industry. That we are alive, we are a real large-sized agency *in* business.
 
So that’s how that story ends. Victorious.
 
Sometimes the opportunity cost is to be feared. I might have earned more had I not left, but the opportunity cost is less valiant when placed in comparo with the higher wave one could ride and risk. 
 
Everyday I face personal challenges that I always promise to rise above. Some caused tears of anger, of pain and of pure stress. But it *is* bliss to see people smiling, people inspired to do and be more. 
 
That is the highest order of commitment for me: to make people win, achieve, and be more. That is my promise in 2012. Nothing less.
 
To the best team, cheers!

Dec 03 2011
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Leo Burnett, thoughts, work

What planning sessions are made of

My LB Arc leadership team goes on business planning for 2012. 
Our first planning exercise  was held when I was just less than a month old at work – when I was still the new kid on the block. Some of the guys who are now with our group weren’t in the first planning session… But much has changed.  
 Our first planning session was made of dreams, hopes and wishes… And some baggage, which was expected especially that this ain’t a start up, it is an agency that has been built over years of hardworking and perseverance from my predecessors and of those who are still part of this proud agency that I am now leading. Our first planning was fun, honest and hopeful and this is where we carved out what identity we want for the group we were renewing.
 
After eight months, much has changed… We are still hopeful, proud, and strong but all these are now more strongly grounded on experience that we will carry with us as we move into 2012. Quite challenging, I must say, especially that we have set pretty high standards for ourselves next year in terms of revenues, industry presence and quality of work.
 
But much is yet to be done. For one, much of these aspirations require massive support from all sources possible — management, peers, clients, even from the industry. Sometimes I wonder whether our dreams could even be supported if not only by ourselves and those who wish for us to succeed. But real faith doesn’t wither. Hope can only stem from a strong belief that ‘things’ will happen if we will them to.
 
Planning sessions are not only made of numbers, it is made of clearly drawn hopes, wishes, and even desires; all of which must be grounded on reality and the sincere, deliberate choice to not be simply caught by inertia, but by the choice to move and make things happen ourselves.
 
Potential energy vs kinetic energy… Inertia vs motion. The answer is clear. Planning sessions need to be about motion, force, and direction; the very same ingredients of success required to win next year. 
 
 
 

Nov 25 2011
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personal, thoughts

My personal and professional thanksgiving post

I have been very busy these past few weeks, unbelievably busiest than ever before. On top of the full official work schedule and many things to do are ‘other’ things that require the same level of attention to detail and actual manual labour, ie. the massively successful first-ever IMMAP Open Mic Night and the recently concluded fun, alcoholic and insightful Ad Congress 22 in CamSur. Both these events would have called for individual blog posts but, as they say, that moment has passed.

But that is not an excuse to stop typing my thoughts; in fact, I missed it, but time and energy just didn’t permit words to come to this blog. At least if only for a time.My thing with thanksgiving since I am Filipino is that the spirit of giving thanks for me is livelier and much more climactic on Christmas and New Year’s Day simply because it is a great feeling to end and start a new year with. So every year-end I write or do something to give thanks to everyone who made that year possible through the difficulties and joys of being. Actually, not just ‘made possible’ but also for those who made it an awesome year.
This year, however, I find myself wanting to write a string of thanks even on Thanksgiving Day (in my case, +1 day after) simply because this year presented me a lot of changes, challenges, and great milestones both in my personal and professional lives. 

That said, I have so much to be thankful for this early on, way ahead of my scheduled year-end post.

Let me start by thanking destiny, fate and the One for allowing my destiny to take place in my career. It was a difficult decision I had to make. I loved and still love Globe, but I gave in to the call of change in direction. That decision to leave Globe and join an ad agency (Leo Burnett) wasn’t easy at all given the circumstances: I built a team of highly competent digital marketing experts from the ground up, people from which have become my real friends beyond work… people I care so much about. Turning my back at them to say that I am moving forward was difficult to do. But at the same time it gave me a good feeling about how much more they could grow then that they were already on their own poised to do great stuff without – though temporarily – a leader.

For this I thank my Globe team for allowing me to move on and learn things only change could give. It was hard to leave them behind, but I know it would help everyone to grow bigger, fiercer, better through new opportunities, windows of perspectives.

In the same manner, I thank my new team at Leo Burnett where I face new challenges, new perspectives to take and learn from, new horizons to seize. It was not immediately easy doing digital marketing that is fundamentally the same as what I did back in Globe but different now in terms on which side of the desk I was on. But time allowed me to grow into it together with my team whom I’ve quickly learnt to understand, nurture, and appreciate. They cannot be compared to how my team was before — different personalities, different stories, different talents, different potentials. After downing how many Maker’s Marks, Malibus and Big Ass beers… we’ve bonded beyond the scope of the typical JOs and briefs we receive. Through all the difficulties, this team was able to rise above and are well destined to be the ones to change the face of digital in Leo Burnett. Together with them, I learn a lot about this new craft I have yet to master; but through it all, I see winners on our side of the fence.

This year also marks so many milestones I only fancied about before… this I think I have to thank people who left their identities anonymous except for a few who got me engaged on what I secretly really wanted to work on.

Late last year, I became a first time director at IMMAP… I fancied being on its board, secretly so but the opportunity came with a nomination to be a director. Voting happened and I got in. I loved it because I felt that I could contribute more to this industry where my mouth is, to do things in big ways that could help shape other people’s view of the digital practice. For this, I thank the people who nominated and got me into the board this year. Through that trust (I dare not dabble with politics because I only love doing things for their own good sake not for politics’ sake), I was able to help shape which by far is the biggest and most positive digital Summit and the massively successful IMMAP Open Mic Night. It’s hard juggling office work and industry work together and even saying those two in the same sentence without gasping for more air, but because the people I work with outside work are fun, insightful, big time experts much could be learned from, it was possible. I don’t really give a damn about what people have to say, but I love what I do and I thank those who have become instrumental to actually making things happen and generate positive results. (I cannot be dragged by sheer politicking based on unfounded, pedestrian rumour-mongery.)

If there’s one thing I absolutely love about this year is my realisation that nothing could go wrong if you are truly passionate and persevering about doing that things you love. That’s what moves generations, shapes the face of the earth, and changes mindsets for the good.

Above all these, I thank my family who though I don’t get to be with everyday I know loves me and wishes me well. Our silence in the family, particularly on just one side of the equation, is deafening but that is no reason for me to go astray or to hate or to feel numb about. I know there is love in each of us, we just have to find it back and live it.

I thank my sister, Ellaine, for constantly making us feel your love through your thoughtfulness and sweetness. Your children are your most visible achievements and for that and all that you are, know how proud I am of you and what you have done to your life, love and family.

The two most important people in my life deserve the most premier of spots, the finale:

Thank you Mum for being there for me and Rhex (and Bobby!) every day never failing to show your love through everything you do. You are indeed my truest, my most superlative (double!) of best friends. Thank you for the warmth of your embrace and kiss before I go to work and when I get home tired from it all. Always, I promise to take care of you and I will keep that promise.

Thank you, Moitie, for yet another fantastic year with you! Never a dull day even when one of us is not feeling well, or when we’re both tired… this love has made us grow together in very fun and yet profound ways never making our relationship taxing or a chore. Thank you for all your understanding, patience, and affection that never fail to soften even my hardest of mood swings. You make it light because you’re one funny partner only others could wish for. Thank you for love, sweetness and understanding that makes everyday and every moment happy. Thank you, Moitie! 365.26 ad infinitum.

It has been a great year so far and I look forward to the next…. thanks to the brilliant, loving, soulful, passionate people in my life. Thank you, thank you.

Nov 14 2011
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thoughts, work

The New Role of TV Advertising

Whilst the Philippines may be far from our American or EMEA counterparts, it might be a good idea to slowly position TV advertising in the context of a transmedia engagement where, and these points from an HBR blog entry I liked much (some have been paraphrased for brevity):

1. TV will be trailers into deeper brand experiences, ie. on digital. Impact will be measured not only when it airs but also on its residual effect on other engagement channels.

2. TV becomes part of an engagement strategy not necessarily the starting point of a marketing plan. In fact, maybe TVC don’t necessarily have to launch *on TV* first. TV can be used to fuel a bigger engagement strategy on digital.

3. Media planning will change since we can now know which shows and ads causes higher engagement on social. From simple GRPs/TARPs to GRPEs (or TARPEs) where E is a measure on engagement caused by TV.

4. TV and other traditional advertising executions will have to embrace digital participation happens in real time; When Beyonce showed her pregnancy during the MTV VMA’s, that was a real-time moment. It lit up the web with conversation and savvy brands jumped on the buzz to promote related products and services. This will soon become common for all marketers.

5. TV will reflect digital cultures — and to me, this is by far the easiest to do as in the sense of reflecting pop culture in TVCs.

I quote the HBR author, and I couldn’t agree more:

These are indeed exciting times and not just for the networks that try to brandish their digital credibility, but also for savvy marketers who suddenly are discovering that the world doesn’t start or end in a 30 second spot. The TV spot has become the trailer for something bigger, broader and more interactive. 

Nov 08 2011
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industry, personal, thoughts, work

It’s going to be an exciting #IMMAP year in 2012!

We just had our elections for officer positions on IMMAP’s Board of Directors hours ago and I am very happy and grateful to have been given the privilege to serve the digital industry as the organisation’s VP.

Politics aside, I really feel that there’s so much opportunity to really connect the organisation to many parts of ecosystem that we have not yet tapped in order for digital to grow profoundly in the Philippines.

My programs (not projects) that I hope the Board will pursue will be my advocacy next year and it has not changed since my speech during the board election last month.

On top of that, together with the rest of the Board and IMMAP’s members, I hope I can help bring the cool and new into 2012. It’s going to be a fun, challenging, and exciting 2012 and I am already beginning to gleam at what possibilities we could and will achieve by December next year.

This year’s Board Officers are:

  • President: Manny Fernando of MyMegamobile
  • Secretary: Roshan Nandwani of BBDO Proximity (welcome to the Board!)
  • Treasurer: Coni Cruz of eLearning edge (welcome to the Board!)

Cheers to an exciting new year. Thank you for the trust, fellow Board members!

Nov 02 2011
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industry, thoughts, work

Chicken-and-egg digital conundrums

Stumbled upon this on my Instagr.am newsfeed. I was shocked. Is he really, seriously looking for recruitment leads via Instagr.am? Which makes me ask — did digital do this to him? Or did his behaviour and how he interacts with his world (both online and offline) caused digital to evolve?

Cut to: We were proposing Foursquare to a client. Client rejects how Foursquare was used in the proposal. I requested for the idea to be reconsidered (it’s one of those very few concepts I really like myself, which I would say could be potentially a great case on location marketing and shopper) on the basis of using Foursquare (and other emerging channels) as a competitive advantage ahead of others — competitors and even people themselves.

But Foursquare is relatively small here in the Philippines perhaps due to low ownership of smartphones. Maybe. So when is the perfect time to get into an emerging channel? Is it when a channel still hasn’t hit critical mass but shows great promise? Or is it when people have already settled in as though when newly built condominiums have already been fully sold and filled?

In both these cases, one can argue in favor of either side at any given time because clearly both arguments have merits.

The Instagr.am example above shows quite clearly how people have evolved in terms of how they opportunistically use the social internet to achieve certain tasks and goals. If Instagr.am would give me great recruitment leads, why not? It wouldn’t be as far fetched if we were to think that there would be people curious enough to apply via the photo by leaving their contacts as comments or hearts to the photo. So which changed first – digital or behaviour?

My Foursquare example above shows quite a difficult conundrum to deal with because there is no correct answer to it. Do you start owning a channel while it is still new or when it already has become popular? There are pros and cons for getting into emerging channels.

You get into a channel while it is still fairly new:

  • you get a smaller, niche community
  • no guaranteed success which might be regarded as being an experimental spend
  • But you get to master the channel while you still have the freedom to
  • You also get to scale the service up once numbers hit high notes
  • You also get ahead of competitors; if they copy, people would know

You get into a channel when it already has gained mass adoption:

  • you get numbers by the millions; so better chances of moving the needle
  • quite guaranteed success because of sheer volume
  • But your share of voice just drops dramatically; therefore harder to grab attention vs other players
  • Also quite hard to grab attention away from people’s own friends and networks (of course, their friends and gossip come first before brands!)
  • Doing it commercially when spaces have “arrived” will also require deeper pockets and signature wallets!

This you see is a classic digital conundrum. And our life in digital marketing is peppered with lots of this. Quite appropriately, I think brands have the higher ground on these things. Brands have the power to lead people to channels that are still just emerging and not just follow and do what people do (they watch TV, we do TVCs; they surf the net, we do search). I think because brands are compelling stories in themselves (especially when you stimulate the motivation further with tangible rewards), people would be willing to explore new lands they have not been to before. Brands have the power to influence people which technology to try especially if the technology is worth it and even more worth if I, as a user, get something from it.

The role of digital marketing practitioners is clearer: we have to be very specific on driving why we use digital and for what. I think a lot of digital marketing conundrums fade with very sharp role of digital (or like what HBR calls ‘purpose’) accompanied by very measurable and inspiring targets (not just ‘numbers’ per se). Having both the role of digital and results and at what cost in mind should justify the use of an emerging channel. When all your cards have been laid on the table and you see that the results do not justify the use of a new channel either you got your role of digital or targets wrong or you really just have to let it go. Innovation, after all, only makes sense if it is relevant not only to people but also to business.

Nov 02 2011
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industry, thoughts

The purpose of digital

In the real estate world, there is a saying: “The three considerations that most impact value are location, location, and location.” In the world of social media, they are purpose, purpose, and purpose.

Nothing impacts the success of a social media effort more than the choice of its purpose. Because purpose becomes the cause around which people will rally and be inspired to act, it is also the source of social media’s business value.

What is a good purpose for social media? Would you recognize one if you saw it? And if you could identify a good purpose, would you be able to mobilize a community around it and derive business value from it?

If you’re like most executives (and you’re being honest), probably not.

No wonder most organizations struggle with gaining tangible and significant business value from social media. This single most important criterion for success is also the biggest leadership skill deficiency.

That deficiency often leads to a worst practice we call “provide and pray.” Leaders and managers provide access to a social technology, and then pray that a community forms and that community interactions somehow lead to business value. In most cases, adoption never really materializes; communities may form, but their activity is not considered valuable to the organization.

The lesson? People rarely rally around a technology. Success in social media needs a compelling purpose. Such a purpose addresses a widely recognized need or opportunity and is specific and meaningful enough to motivate people to participate. Every notable social media success has a clearly defined purpose:

Facebook’s core purpose is for people to easily track what their friends are doing.
Wikipedia’s purpose is for the masses to collectively build an online encyclopedia.
LinkedIn’s purpose is for people to leverage their professional networks for employment and hiring.
Yes, some social Web environments have strayed from their original purpose. But they made a name for themselves because they started with a clearly defined and tightly scoped purpose, gained critical mass, and mobilized their respective communities.

Choosing the right purpose is difficult (much harder than providing the technology). It requires a new management approach we call “purpose roadmapping” — planning how to use purpose to engage and sustain productive communities. A purpose road map shows how community collaboration and related business value can evolve over time, and provides critical guidance on the required investments and risks. It also informs all lower-level implementation decisions such as technology selection, content seeding, policy, moderating, and tipping-point marketing.

Purpose is a business decision. And business leaders must get involved in strategically choosing and pursuing the right ones. This is why success with social media is primarily a leadership and management challenge, not a technology issue.

Since I started my career in digital back during when there were not many mavens, I’ve always been passionate about identifying the specific ‘role of digital’ in the marketing mix, in an organisation, in a process, in an operation… This article from HBR echoes the same through what they call ‘purpose.’

I knew I was right. Thankfully.

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