At the heart of this new vision is SMC’s core purpose – "To make everyday life a celebration" – a catch all phrase that we will be seeing very soon, probably as the new theme for its advertisements.
SMC chairman and CEO Danding Cojuangco has described this core purpose as simple as it is heartfelt. He was quoted a saying that the company’s purpose is to meet the everyday needs of its consumers and through its products and services, bring the spirit of fun, joy and laughter into their lives.
Seven values have been enshrined to support this core purposes – integrity, passion for success, teamwork, respect for people, innovativeness, customer focus, and social responsibility. Cojuangco expects that in everything that the company does, it will align its capabilities and efforts around these core values.
Cojuangco believes that SMC has a unique opportunity to participate in the Asia-Pacific consumer markets. But in order to capitalize on these opportunities, he says there is a need to capture the spirit of innovation and passion for success and apply it to anticipating customer and consumer demands.
The following explains SMC’s new core purpose – "San Miguel will be among the top 10 food and beverage company in the Asia Pacific by 2007. We will carry into new markets our over a century-old tradition of quality and integrity. Consumers will take pleasure in reaching for our products and services because they are the best value for money. Our food and beverage brands will be in every household and every retail outlet. We will meet our consumers everyday needs, delighting their every taste. Through our products and services, every occasion to drink and eat will bring enjoyment a celebration."
Two years ago, PC users were enabled to communicate with mobile phone users through SMS through Chikka, the world’s first truly mobile instant messenger. In partnership with leading Philippine carriers Globe Telecom and Smart Communications, Chikka allowed PC users in other parts of the globe to be able to reach 98 percent of mobile phone users in the Philippines.
Last year, Chikka Instant Messenger became the official gateway to texting Globe and Smart subscribers. Chikka likewise designed and launched SMS-based games and promos for large companies like Nestle, Visa Intl.
On July 2002 or on its first year anniversary, Chikka was already a multi-platform company with its core messaging platform, corporate messaging solutions and promos, interactive tv (affiliate Bidshot earlier launched Link TV, the first SMS-interactive TV channel in the country), m-commerce (Bidshot online auctions), and Crush dating/matchmarking (Crushcow) platforms. In November, Chikka became the first mobile data enabler in the country and possibly in the world to be ISO-certified.
But the possibilities are endless for this pioneering group. Three months ago, Chikka rolled out "Lounge" which is the mobile version of IRC in Shandong, China. According to Dennis Mendiola, they expect to rollout soon in other parts of China plus select countries in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Mendiola believes that the largest potential market for text messaging is in the United States and Chikka hopes to start some sort of operations in that part of the globe soon.
For comments, e-mail at rmaryannl@yahoo.com