The other side of me

I am more than a marketing-loving capitalist who likes to read about, attend, ideate, plan, produce and manage events and activations.

Just as Alex Bogusky is more than an award-starved ad maverick and who actually is a great father, based on his blog, I am more than a marketing guy. I've already explained that I'm in marketing because it is consistent with my beliefs and ideals.

I'm also a very serious guy who believes in the power of Hope and tries to inspire others to move forward in peace, love and hope; and a nationalist who, knowing a fair amount of my country's history, thinks of how we can make ourselves and our country better. So jumping from this blog is the other blog of me - please click on the picture but you can also click on the click. Lol.

What everyone's going cuh-razy about

Event in Paul Smith and why lifestyle brands are important

I had a long chat with my friend Charles, brand manager of Paul Smith here in Manila, about why I want him - and ergo Paul Smith - to succeed in the local market.

Of the many luxury brands that have set up shop here in the Philippines, the hippest for me is Paul Smith. I like the color and the irreverence. The fact they they have ceramic bunnies all over their stores underscores the brand's playful nature which appeals to my own impish impulses. That's why when we launched a concept phone that celebrates a person's individuality, the Modu phone, which performed poorly unfortunately due to the price vis-a-vis its (lack of) functionalities, it was natural for me to do it at Paul Smith's store in Philippines' swankiest Greenbelt 5.

So why, in a country always portrayed by media as poverty-stricken, would I want a luxury brand to triumph? Because the triumph of luxury brands is the triumph of an argument: that the person who works best to better himself achieves the best. Paul Smith to me is not just about aesthetics but the expression of man's dream and achievement to distinguish himself from the uninspired masses (men-sheep) through his own hard, committed and passionate work, his intelligence and creative brilliance. Paul Smith and luxury brands, simply put, celebrates the triumph of man's work, genius and creativity. And in a country that strives to move forward, it measures the amount of achievement this society has fulfilled. The more inspired men who can buy Paul Smith in this country, the more men who put their creative labor into the betterment of their environment and ergo this nation.

I remember F. Sionil Jose. He blames, not the masses who just follow orders (but of course he blames them too but not entirely) for the laggard performance of our country, but the elites who refuse to take charge. The land-backed, indolent elite with no dreams, who sips his buko juice on the back of a farmer who starves. Both are blind. Both have no spirit of initiative and ergo both are doomed to live a life of cyclical struggle.

Ok. That's too serious. =) But that sparks a blog of its own, soon. May reader o wala. HA!


- V -

3rd papercut for the day.

They come in threes.

Eating at Izume Sake Bar @ Burgos Circle

Terribly tired, I had to spend 10 minutes debating with myself on whether to give in to my craving as a pat on my back versus dealing with the guilt I will have to contend with for eating expensive dinner alone. Of course, craving won. My tongue is salivating for something light and exquisite - which to me can only be delivered by a bowl of Ebi Tempura on noodles (what d'you call that again?). Yumyum.

Btw, that's my bag and wallet above against the wall lighting. Beautiful things do complement each other. Hopefully, the food delivers

Globe Mall ad

I really like this ad which complements my on-ground executions. For me, what makes it outstanding as an ad is the context that it creates, immediately followed by the most relevant message. This is super cool.

And that's Super Mikki on my shirt

I love Super Mikki. I hope to see more shirts. Plus the fabric they use is incredibly soft and light.

Dropping by at Commune

I met Pox. He's cool. Lucky that he opened shop earlier than usual.

Visiting Paul Smith Manila's Brand Manager - Charles de Jesus

While wearing my Unschooled shirt that I just bought from Commune on the same afternoon that I visited Charles. I love my shirt!!!

Pimping the jeepney pimp

In Manila, if you don't know a street corner that serves as a jeepney line, you're either blind or... the tint on your car is at 50%. Jeepney lines, the gallant (but usually futile) attempt by jeepney operators and drivers to instill discipline among themselves crucial for the equitable sharing of passengers, are as ubiquitous as the jeepneys themselves. And when you have a jeepney line, you have a barker - that person with the dogged attitude to get passengers into the jeepney. In hiphop culture, he would've been called the jeepney pimp because of what he does.

So friends, colleagues, students of life and other stumblers-upon-my-blog, presenting -- how we have pimped the jeepney pimp to pimp our product. Lol.

The Four P's of Partying

As I was enjoying myself and my bottle of beer (or a glass of cocktail? can't remember. =p) at the inauguration party of Bates 141 Manila's new office in Bonifacio Global City, I realized a few
things about parties. That just like in academic marketing, Parties have their four P's:

PURPOSE

A party without purpose is a den of people getting drunk. A party with a purpose is a celebration. Purpose dictates everything - the who, what, when and where of a party. It dictates the theme and mood. At the end, the success of a party is measured versus its purpose.

PEOPLE

Of course. We don't want to party with people we don't want near us. I think, generally, people party with people whom they share something with be it a lifestyle, belief, shared experience, loyalty, etc. If you're not happy with the people you're partying with, then there's no fun to that.

PLACE

It dictates the logistics of the party - what you can and cannot do, what you can hang if you need to hang anything or erect something. It also shapes the cost in a huge way. Just like in concerts, a place with no walls is harder to secure because of the too many physical variables that are set to affect it (e.g. weather, animals, odor, temperature, etc.), and ergo the effort needed to control these variable, which makes it more expensive. Also, and most importantly, the Place sets the parameter and creates the context of moments going to happen. Romantic beach moments are impossible in an ice factory.

PARTYING (!)

Not to be philosophical, but like youth being a mindset and not the number of years counted on the calendar, partying is the mood to party. Without that mood, you can be with the most beautiful people on the best place on earth and still have a sucky time. Partying, the spontaneous spirit of fun shared with other people, is the modern word for an age-old ceremony - that of communal celebration. Partying is the manifestation of the purpose.

And just like in marketing, each P has its own set of elements. But that's for the next blog.

Lastly, let me share a message (not verbatim) from Singapore-based Mr. Sonal Darbal, Regional Executive Creative Director of Bates 141 about renewal, Manila and the Philippines -- that the opening of the new Bates 141 office at Bonifacio Global City is symbolic of the renewal Manila is going through. In an urban district with wide roads, functioning traffic systems, efficient mass transport and submerged lines and cables, in an area where everything wrong in the old Manila is being undone, corrected and renewed, the arrival of an agency that triumphs change is a testimony to the resurgence of the country. OR something like that; I might have made it more dramatic but that's how it sounded to me. And then he sang a song from Bollywood which, though we couldn't understand, didn't feel alien at all. A truly global experience of change. Cheers to the Change Agency!

Let's keep on partying folks!

The sunset that made me stare into the sky

It was magical, I'm glad I caught a glimpse of it. The Fort skyline was already beautiful at sunset but I marveled at how it was made more beautiful by something far greater, far more majestic than any human mind can conceive nor human hand can build.

I stood at awe at one of Earth's glorious moments.

Only music could have completed its perfection.

More Baguio videos

Should I video blog Mr. Coy Caballes? =p

Reviewing Manor Hotel during the half-rate promo days. Because if it's not on promo, I wouldnt be able to justify the price. It's priceless.




And this is after having lunch at Oh My Gulay. OH MY GULAY!

Tired in Baguio

I actually forgot to say that I hated the local producer here. They actually caused much of the stress. But I always, always have to go to Oh My Gulay along Session road. One of the quaintest, most authentic and artistic dining experiences in the world which will leave you saying OH MY GULAY. Plus of course they only offer veggie food. Or food without animal content. Haha.

This is an old video that I only got to upload today. Maybe a few months old when we started touring with Sarah Geronimo. This was the first.

You know how it feels?

When as if a person you've just met seems to be at the exact same situation where you're in. It's as if you've found your soul in another body. And it feels like you've met, hopefully finally, a worthy companion.

Sa aking rosas ng digma, sana dire-direcho; marami tayong magagawa.

Experiencing Mindanao through concerts

Who doesn't want to travel? Not me definitely. I'm very lucky that since the first year of my career, I've been asked to go to different places both abroad and around the country. And it's truly exciting to see what makes a place unique, from its architecture to its food to the habits and values of the people living in it. But it's equally exciting to find out familiarities and similarities that you find in places where you go. This is true most especially when you visit a foreign land.

This year, I've gone around the country and visited the Philippines' top urban areas (ergo commercially viable for our business to be in) and towards the end of this month, I'll be crisscrossing Mindanao as I do events in Gen. San (Sep 26), Iligan (Sep 29) and Zamboanga (Oct 1). This is very unplanned and I just realized it as I was lining up my events. Tiring man... From Gen San, I will take a bus (or hopefully a van) to Davao then CDO then Iligan. And then from Iligan, I'll go back to CDO, fly to Cebu and then fly back to Mindanao via Zamboanga. I imagine that would be most grueling. Gaah. But the adventurer in me is also excited. I already have visions of mountains, farms, forests and seas and everything beautiful that makes Mindanao the land of promise and equally, consequently, a land of dispute, rivalry and contest.

Speaking of dispute, I've never been afraid of secessionist hostilities affecting my events since I'm usually in areas where there seems to be genuine peace among the local population. But what I'm usually afraid of is the volume of the crowd that we usually attract. The youth of Mindanao I noticed, are not really wild (compared to what I've experienced in other parts of the country). They generally follow harmonious etiquette towards each other but still, the usually large number of attendees scare me and my security team. In a sea of people, it feels like something's bound to happen. Fortunately, we've not yet (hopefully never would we) encountered a problem with securing the band and the crowd and sometimes, it's actually the band creating problems for us. Being rebels, I think it's natural for them to stretch the limits of our security's resources and test 'til where they could go. Ergo, you have this lead vocalist who rips his shirt off and then throws himself to the crowd, outside the safety barricades we've put up, but to the delight of the crowd of course. Was I delighted at that sight? Hmn. I wasn't totally amused but I get his act.

So Mindanao, a land of my roots, I shall come home to you again. =)

It's me on the Philippine Star's YStyle! Fantastic!

I look like a retard but it's still me! Haha! (Please click on the photo for a clearer version)


Pardon the excitement. I totally thought that the picture taken by Smokey Delfino, an ex-client from British American Tobacco, was just going to be part of the usual clutter of pictures in a photographer's file. I didn't think it would end up getting printed - ergo the weird smile. And I was holding a tissue, nice.

It's a little something that made me smile today. This was taken in Paul Smith's "Dance to the Nines" event last Tuesday at Amber Lounge at the Fort Strip. My friend Charles de Jesus, Paul Smith Brand Manager in the Philippines, took the lead. Actually, I had some suggestions but they came in too late. It was all planned. Charles had always been supportive of me so I thought to return the favor (Last year, I did an event inside the Paul Smith store in Greenbelt, awesome!). But yun nga, the favor came in late. Argh.

Anyway, I had a very good time at the event, the vibe was truly Euro. And my experience was authentically British as I talked to an intern from the British Embassy whose stay here in the country is focused on the study of Human Rights and Mindanao issues (he came in with the UK Embassy's economic attache in Manila). I cannot help but share my points of view on Mindanao given that the complexity of the subject cannot be understood by observing the surface, the obvious and reading what's written on the press. What should be read, if you're going to read Mindanao, should be what's written on books.

But before I get totally political here, here are two articles about the event:

Let's hear it for the boys in dapper garb
TALK SHOP By Anne Bella (The Philippine Star)

Great Looks for Men: How to be stylish, forward and well-groomed this season
SHEER APPEAL By Jake Galvez (The Manila Bulletin)

TGIF!

Wow Urbandub!

Hahnep (no translation meaning ohmy-awesome; also expressed in moments of disbelief due to incredibility)!

I know Urbandub has a following most especially in the Visayan-speaking regions in the Philippines but I didn't know how HUGE they are among students until I heard the whole audience (or pit) sing along with the band. Maybe it's my age or preference (or lack of knowledge in Pinoy rock music), I honestly didn't know a thing. Their music sounded nice though, I liked it. But when it comes to Filipino bands, I prefer songs sung in Filipino not English. Maybe it's the band's way to bring down the language barrier as Cebuanos (Urbandub is composed of Cebuanos, yupyup) generally speak English better than the Tagalog-based Filipino. (Down to Tagalog colonialism! (Although I am a Tagalog-loving Tagalog))

Anyway, Lalay, the female basist, was the biggest star in the band. She sure is pretty and ergo a sure hit among a generally male crowd. AND she literally rocks! With a bass guitar! Daamn. Her name is the only name actually being shouted by the crowd. LALAY!!! And then she smiles a most charming smile and the guys melt. She rocks.

So it was another event by our brand for the youth of Dumaguete City. Truly, the youth rocks in Dumaguete, a city that seems to be created around the mission of educating the youth. Dumaguete is known for hosting four of the best schools not only in the Visayas, but also in the country. They are Silliman University, Foundation University, Negros Oriental State University (popularly called as NORSU) and St. Paul University Dumaguete. Silliman, where the concert was held, is a very romantic campus. I think it's the only university in the country that is literally in front of the beach. It reminded me of the University of the Philippines Diliman campus because of it's openness and the trees that line its main avenue.

Anyway, back to the event, we were actually just part of Silliman's Founder's Day celebration. The concert ground looked like a fair with the different booths of school orgs all around. They were not booths actually, they were nipa huts in different designs, sizes and variations. My favorite was the ROTC hut that had three levels. I assume a person would be able see much of Dumaguete from the top-most level of their structure. Actually, it might be more proper to call it a Nipa tower because of its height. Hehe. The whole concert went pretty well. It started with our hip hop dance competition and ended with the main act. The kids were happy, I was generally ok (I still had problems with the set-up due to expectations on standards (I hated the coco lumber stage with tons of merchandising from other sponsors so I had them taken out. Sorry Samurai Energy drink.)), no one got hurt, it helped our sales. SO... it was a good run. =)

Thank you Silliman. Thank you Dumaguete. Ok fine, thank you too Eventscape. And thank you Urbandub. Oh, btw, watch their full concert here; the only online concert in the Philippines (among the few in the world. WOW!). Also from Globe! Double Wow (Oh my, we can do these things? Wowowow!)!

PS
My company doesn't pay me to write nor promote our company, our brands or products on my personal page. But since my work is part of my person, surely bits of promotion will find their way here. And speaking of promotion, here is our latest text offers! Tadaaa!