New Year… It’s more fun, really!
http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/
This is the stuff that true-blue media and advertising execs are made of. Its not just about creativity, its not even about originality. Its about numbers and reach and what it does to and for the brand.
I’m sure Sec. Jimenez, at some point, knew that it is identical to a Swiss campaign back in the 50’s. Marketing to Masang Pinoy is a skill very few have mastered. He knew exactly how everyone would react. Although, I’m sure he didn’t predict trending in Twitter in the first 30 minutes alone. Imagine how many would-be tourists have already gone to the teaser site at the cost of one tweet.
But alot of the gurus and would-be lawyers in the Facebook Court of Public Expert Opinion are failing to see the beauty of the campaign: The Results.
While originality, mediocrity and such remain debatable. The numbers that the campaign is drawing in are concrete. I challenge anyone who says its a bad idea to come up with something they think is “better” and put up a free website and send out as many tweets and updates as they can and lets see if they can get anywhere close to the popularity of this campaign. That’s all you are criticizing anyway a slogan, a tweet, and a website. You haven’t seen the rest of the campaign… yet.
So, whether its intentionally copied or not, here’s what its done so far. Millions are talking about it. Millions have gone to the website. Millions have read this:
“Wherever you go in the Philippines, it’s the Filipinos that make your holiday unforgettable.” «<That’s the point of this whole campaign… you experts!
What the likes of TV5 fail to see…
Now its Sharon Cuneta’s billion-peso contract with TV5…. I would have been happier if she won it in some lottery in the US. But knowing that TV5’s biggest advertisers are mostly composed of MVP’s other companies, the spend on Sharon would most likely be offset from consumer purchases of Smart, PLDT, etc… products. If within the same economy, when someone gets rich, a few others pay for it.
But that’s not this post’s topic. I could care less about Shawie, in fact the only time I watched 5 of her movies was when I had to. (I was on a grassroots promo cinema caravan that featured her movies.)
TV5 and much like the rest of the broadcast industry that are not ABSCBN or MBC or sige na nga GMA to some extent, seem to have little clue of the fields they’re playing in. They seem to be still living in the 80’s or 90’s where the artistas were the sole reasons for ratings. Where the Thursday group in That’s had more fans the Monday group.
TV and Radio are now antiquated. And much like structures that have withstood changing environments and governments, only those networks that have built solid foundations are left standing. The rest will only be struggling to recreate cheap versions of the real thing, like the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas.
Ruffa jumps ship, Aga obers da bakod, Sharon “moves on”.
So what if they could afford to pirate every major artista from the 2 giant networks. Unless they come up with scripts and concepts that offer something significantly more interesting than the what ABS can offer, only a handful will flip the remote to watch Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum. I can’t even bring myself to switch from Melissa Ricks to seeing Marian Rivera’s tight behind.
Celebrities bring in the audience but do not rake in the ratings. Take for example Anne Curtis, one could easily assume that it is because of her celebrity stature that despite her horrific singing her record has still reached platinum. People in GMA must be puzzled as to why not any of the mestiza’s in their stable can do such a feat.
Its not just the celebrities. Its also and mostly the people behind the scenes that make the difference. Anne was groomed perfectly that any of her flaws will still make money. The Manahanagement knew exactly when and where Anne’s star would shine the most.
The industry is at a point where the giants rule and will squash anyone attempting to steal their golden eggs. Before you challenge the giants you must first become a giant yourself. Getting big guns does not make you big. It just gives you better aim. The people behind have already built strong foundations for ABS within its audience that it makes it hard for GMA and the rest to snatch a even a few in the ratings. Their strength now is built on the foundations set by Palibhasa Lalake, Sa Linggo Napo Sila, Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata and all their other shows that at their time were groundbreaking innovations in Philippine TV which up to now ABS has a hard time replicating. Was it Goma, or the Gwapings that made the ratings? In part yes. But overall it was the brains behind the concept of a sitcom set in a boarding house in Singalong, ran by a drunk Gloria Romero and her daughters alongside a perfect combination of up and comers and matinee idols concocted by the skilled eyes of the casting crew.
Same holds true for the country’s Radio industry. MBC through Love Radio, did not just try and reshape radio, but came up with breakthrough ideas that would build solid foundations within its audience that would now take war or a natural calamity for anyone to come close. Remember Lala Banderas? The first one. She went somewhere else, that paved the way for Nicole and Cris. Why do you even know Papa Jack? Contrary to the popular notion, it is not their skills alone that gather ratings for the station. Love Radio was already a couple of years on top before the tambalan became popular. It was and still is the programming brains behind the network that knew exactly how and what to put on the air. It was the management that knew how to promote from within and look for talented station managers in Baguio and Zamboanga. It was the instinct to put a child’s voice on the air in Love Radio Zamboanga to sound off what now has become a colloquial phrase as popular churva and tarush… “Kelangan pa bang i-memorize yan?”
Now, why won’t pirating the DJ’s or Celebrities work for the other networks? The answer is simple. They are not enough to break people’s habits. That’s the solid foundation that the wisemen built. If you’re in for the long-haul, you’ve got to build the habit within people to tune in to your channel or station at some point of the day. Consistent content all throughout the day. Reliable entertainment.
It’s just irritating to see people infuse money to kill NU 107 and turn it into a Love Radio clone without knowing the foundations of what made 90.7 what it is now. It pains me to see millions showered on a celebrity hoping that his game show will be enough to go against the telenovela habit.
Yup cool evening. Just looking for inspiration and breaking free from procrastination.
