Values win at the Tambuli Awards 2010

MANILA, Philippines - In this industry, it’s easy to get lost in all the color, creativity, artistry, technicality and wordplay that make up a marketing campaign. But if you take a step back, you will see that when a marketing initiative really works, it’s because it’s tied to an intrinsic social value that makes the audience want to share it with everyone they know. Tambuli Awards, one of the most prestigious award-giving bodies in the country today, recognizes those campaigns that have been able to capture both business and societal values, to prove that it is possible for integrated campaigns to deliver positive results for both the companies’ shareholders and the society at large. And in the recent Tambuli 2010 Awards, non-traditional campaigns such as Toblerone’s Thank You Day and Bayan’s Lola Techie stood shoulder to shoulder with the best that traditional integrated marketing campaigns had to offer.

Teaching the Philippines to Say ‘Thank You’ What do you do when you’re faced with a brand that advertising can’t seem to budget?

For Toblerone, we saw the potential in the inherent value of gratitude to help us drive the campaign. Our strategy was to tie in a socially relevant equity to a brand that was already considered “ad-proof.” As a result, Thank You Day was born in 2007 — a campaign so successful that it jumped sales by 132 percent, putting Toblerone ahead of its closest competitors and garnered a first-ever win for Asia in Kraft’s prestigious global marketing awards.   

So how do you top that? Its second leg, which began in 2009, went beyond asking Filipinos to say “Thank you” more often. Taking it on a national scale, Thank You Day 2009 asked the entire nation to honor extraordinary and inspirational Filipinos who deserved to be shown the country’s appreciation and the response from the public was enormous. This is evidenced by a 30 percent increase in product sales, prompting public and legislative support to make October 20 the nation’s official Thank You Day; active engagement from a continuously growing online community; and the silver for Best Media-Initiated Campaign and bronze for Best Insights and Strategic Thinking at this year’s Tambuli Awards.

Bridging the Generation Gap

What do you do when battling technology giants? Foster a sense of warmth and approachability never before associated with the telecommunications industry. Bayan sought to bridge the gap between the elderly and the younger generation. Another multi-awarded campaign, “Teach Lola” was a 360-degree campaign that was a product of creative synergy between GeiserMaclang and BBDO–Proximity Philippines.

The campaign originated from a PR initiative that encouraged the youth to reach out to their grandparents through the Internet. One of the fundamental drivers of the campaign was the creation of a composite online personality based on the Lola Techie character portrayed in the television commercial. This represented the first time a Filipino corporation was able to present a human-like manifestation of its brand essence.

Lola Techie was a hit online and offline, perfectly synergizing the PR and advertising efforts to create a large, active online following, spontaneous televised parodies, a 700 percent increase in product inquiries and a 50 percent increase in sales. The campaign has been cited worldwide as best practice for synergized social/digital campaign through the Shanghai and New York Marketing Awards. Most recently, it was awarded a bronze Tambuli for both Best in Creative Idea and Execution as well as Best Innovative and Integrated Media Campaign.

Driving Value

The successful Toblerone Thank You Day and Bayan Lola Techie campaigns are further evidence of what GeiserMaclang has always believed in, which is that doing good can always be in some way incorporated into the profit-generating business model of a corporation. Doubters need only see the results to change their minds.

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Brad Geiser is the managing director of GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications. GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications is the only PR and Social Marketing Agency to be multi-awarded by Tambuli IMCEA for integrated marketing excellence. GMCI operates in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Visit www.geisermaclang.com.