Sun Cellular is Agora Marketing Company of the Year

MANILA, Philippines - The unparalleled Call and Text Unlimited has brought the prestigious 2009 Agora Marketing Company of the Year Award to Sun Cellular.

Formally known as Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (DMPI), Sun Cellular epitomized marketing excellence in offering its breakthrough 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited to Filipino consumers in 2004 in a bold bid to get a chunk of the telecommunications business then dominated by only two players, Smart Communications and Globe Telecom. Sun Cellular’s 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited enabled Filipino consumers to enjoy advanced yet affordable mobile communication.

“The Agora Award is a testament to our enduring excellence as our unparalleled Call and Text Unlimited products and other services continue to stand out with a distinctly unique proposition in the industry today,” said Sun Cellular CEO Charles Lim.

Sun Cellular made its name known to Filipinos through quality but affordable products which also include the Sun Group Plans, Sun Broadband Wireless and most recently, the Sun Double Unlimited, which combines the convenience of mobile and landline usage in one SIM. These unlimited services are made possible by Sun Cellular’s highly advanced and reliable network.

Sun Cellular’s value-packed products and relationship-enhancing services helped revolutionize the telecommunications industry, with players trying to match the network’s products and services. A revolutionized industry, in turn, benefits subscribers more in the form of better products and services.

Stressing Sun Cellular’s significant contribution to the burgeoning telco industry in the country, Lim said: “We at Sun Cellular are truly privileged and grateful to have played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the way Filipinos communicate through their cellphones,” adding that the company’s aggressive marketing and pricing strategies have hugely benefited the growing 2G and 3G markets.

To date, Sun Cellular boasts of over 5,000 cell sites and the company is still on the roll-out for network expansion all over the country. With a growing prepaid and postpaid subscriber base, Sun Cellular remains confident that its network is reliable and robust enough to cater to consumers with unlimited yet affordable services.

“Our work is not yet over. We intend to keep the momentum going as we aim for market dominance,” added Lim.

Starting with a P100-million capital, Sun grew to earn P7.36 billion in revenues in 2008. The network now accounts for a 12-percent market share. In a bid to continue uplifting the lives of Filipinos through advanced yet affordable telecommunication services, Sun Cellular invests more than $300 million annually for additional network infrastructure.     

The Agora Award came only months after Sun Cellular received international recognition as Asia Pacific’s Most Promising Service Provider by Frost and Sullivan.

Given by the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), the Agora Awards is now on its 30th year of recognizing outstanding companies and individuals that embody marketing excellence.

The Agora awardees passed through a series of stringent judging processes laid out by a panel of top-level executives from leading Filipino corporations and institutions. Every year, corporations, institutions and individuals get nominated for various Agora Awards, such as Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship, Marketing Education, Export Marketing, Marketing Management, Advocacy Marketing and Overseas Marketing Excellence. Among these, the Marketing Company of the Year award is considered the most coveted and most prestigious.

One of the judges said that although Sun Cellular is not the No. 1 player in the local telecommunications industry, “Sun rocked the industry, and their strategies ultimately benefited the consumers.”

“If I were to choose one word that would describe this year’s winners, it would be the word ‘giant’,” said Menardo Jimenez Jr., 2009 Agora Awards chairman of the board of judges. “Because this year’s winners are either giants in their field, or are competing against, and we might add, making headway against their field.”

Sun Cellular’s award further adds honor to the JG Summit Group of Companies, as it ensured a grand slam win for the conglomerate. The Marketing Company of the Year Award was given to Universal Robina Corporation in 2007, and to Cebu Pacific Airlines in 2008.

“No other conglomerate in the country has earned such a recognition,” said Edith Dychiao, PMA’s director in-charge for the Agora Awards.