Monday, August 23, 2010

evil hostage taker

Evil has no nationality, nor class nor race. It has no country.
But the recent event shows that there are issues here in the
country that need to be addressed because evil flourishes.
And so does incompetence and general stupidity.

I hope we rise again.

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.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

i wet my pants watching this



what i like about events is the possibility of making people FEEL something - from the feeling of high to remembering happy memories. the best one can feel is an emotional climax. there have been many times when people cry on the dance floor because of the all-out feeling of happiness happening, going around in the place. and that's what i want to achieve in my dream event - trigger happy emotions that celebrate love, friendships, that celebrate life. emotions that make you smile as you shed your tear just because of what you hear and see; because of what the hair on your skin feels. that's what i want to do. and if i can create an event just like what's in this video, i'd get closer to that goal because that's what i want people to say - "the club can't even handle me right now."

Friday, August 20, 2010

oh

i wanted to post a cool blog about an event at the la salle college of arts in singapore. but i cant.

ergo, ill just post the link.


guarding a celebrity


"nay, huwag niyo pong kukurutin."

that's my usual opening line when i give my roll call of rules among subscribers who'd want to have their photos taken with sarah geronimo. plus other guidelines - no pulling of sarah's hair, no extra poses, no pulling of sarah's clothes. i honestly dont get it why fans would want to touch their idol's skin. she doesn't sing when they do, anyway. i guess that's what being a fan is about. in fairness to the kid (sarah g), she's very professional about it. she waves, talks to her fans. it really feels genuinely real when she says hello, as if she's a close friend they've known for a long time. charisma indeed belongs to the stars.

but whatever the effect, it seems like its my job to literally stand in the way of having those dreams fulfilled just because i need to make sure that our celebrity endorser, an investment on our part, is safe most especially when under our control. that's why i have a phalanx of 15 security guards whenever she visits a business center. and that's usually augmented by the mall's own team. i actually feel like a celebrity when i'm walking with her with all the attention. well, behind her actually together with viva's manager for concerts and other members of the staff who trails her presence.

so, until her concert tour ends, i'll be there around sarah in her mall visits to make sure no one gets a kick out of pinching her. hah.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

soldiers of a new age, we are.





timely called soldiers of the new age, this song by Salamin is an epic. i'd surely want to see them in one of my concerts in the future. and only if i can add performers behind them, that would be the bomb.

i remember this band called Cally Lily who performed in our Davao show and i hated the vocalist to my guts. he really wanted to headbang; his music was melancholic to the point of wailing. and failing to break into climax, he ripped his shirt as a finale. sad. i'll post the pic when i see it.

flash mob is so 2 years ago




and yet i'm doing it again. =) with much pride.

i don't think flash mobs have been executed well in the Philippines. i remember participating in a Greenwich Pizza mob wherein we were asked to stare in front of a Greenwich store. i thought it was a good idea only that, it looked too staged. we were asked to wear green shirts, yes, the brand color, and carry Greenwich paper bags. and we were asked to act as if we were all random people just noticing something at the restaurant. randomly uniformed people, right.

anyway, so the intent in our flash mob was to coincide with a promo we're doing in a mall that visually shows how many people a Globe subscriber can text and call, unlimited, within our network. so we asked people to wear Globe headgears from the MRT to the LRT or vice versa with the promise of a reward to show who are on the Globe network. and to add oomph to the traffic, i threw in truly random people to show that there's really a lot of guys to text and call.

i wont say it's genius but i'd say, it got conversations going and elicited the effect that i wanted. people asked "bakit ang daming naka hat na Globe?" (why are there lots of people wearing Globe hats?). marami, lots --> target response.

achieved? achieved. and more to come.

my life in events


life in events is never easy and simple. the many logistical details that need to be covered, the documents that need to be prepared before and after, and the egos and personalities that need to be managed (hello ms. passive-aggressive) are more than enough to turn me more insane than i already am. but then, i, like the many of us, find joy in creating and doing something that people feel, not just look at or read or listen to. if copywriters are faux poets and novelists and art directors frustrated designers and painters, then events people are your sell-out theatrical directors. because at the end of the day, that's what we do - shows, in school gyms, supermarkets and now, in my newest stage, the jeepney line, that elicit an emotional response and hopefully ultimately lead to a sale.

oh my is the expression that we are after. it's the people's gasp of awe or amusement that makes us know that our message will be remembered. that a step towards the goal has been achieved. and equally, it's the same reaction we give to those who deserve our attention. hopefully with an extra quip:

it's so good, it's so bad.