none i tell you

none i tell you; none so far i think has anyone used a jeepney barker* to promote anything (other than the crammed ride).

activations is about making people feel a message, a proposition, your main sell. and whether or not actual selling is happening in your area of activation, i think that if you drive the proposition so hard - you make that spatial ad so daaamn good - it will still lead to that sale. because the message is remembered and understood. that's why i believed in our strategy - drive the unlimited-to-more-people proposition in an instance where a big number of people are crammed in a tiny space. because that's where they'd get it. "lot of people here? lot of people to text, too, when you're on the Globe network." ergo - the jeepney barker whose job is to push as many people as he can inside the jeep.

although it's true that it would be harder working if there was actual selling, i don't think this activation is all fluff. it's not just a TV ad; the message is made more relevant by the context of where it was received. it's more than an additional TARP that will cost you the entire run of this jeepney program.

but of course the big kahuna (i still love and respect her) thinks otherwise. she thinks that on-ground activations should always lead to a sale. if it doesn't produce the numbers, it's not worth doing. and the problem with being on client's side, is that i understand where's shes coming from. i don't totally agree with the direction but the safety feeling numbers give is very hard to argue with in an industry with declining profits. it's seems like it's too dangerous to gamble.

however, in the long run, i still believe in the power of brands. and i think that it's the gutsy brands who do their share of adventure (entrepreneurship is a calculated adventure), the daring brands who lead, are the brands who will last. we can always go into a price war and i agree that price wars can kill brands most especially in a market that's all about price value. but, marketing classics point out - prices, promos and offers don't last but strong brands do.

but i will remember lest i get murdered again in the boardroom - as much as possible, bring in the sale. i get that ma'am! but of course, i'm stubborn. i'd still do it in an activations worth remembering. go go!

*jeepney barkers shout (ergo bark) to get passengers into a jeepney in streets where other jeepneys (that are not lined up) poach passengers. jeepney lines are found in urban areas in the Philippines, most especially in Metro Manila, usually in university and commercial districts. it's a device depended on by jeepney drivers to ensure equitable share in their market of passengers within a certain area.