Inside GMA’s heart

On the day GMA Network announced it would not increase its advertising rates for six months, the cell phone of GMA Marketing and Productions, Inc. president and chief operating officer Manuel Quiogue carried similar text messages from advertisers.

"I remember one message because it said it all. It read, ‘Talagang kapuso ang GMA’," said Quiogue.

At that time, GMA’s corporate re-imaging program called "Kapuso ng Pamilyang Pilipino, Anumang Kulay ng Buhay", was barely five months old.

The kapuso or one-in-heart campaign was launched in October 2002.

"It is a corporate philosophy and equity program which is unique to GMA and meaningful to our stakeholders. We want to deepen the emotional ties that link us with all the people we do business with," said GMA Network, Inc. president and chief executive officer Felipe Gozon.

The company’s stakeholders not only cover its owners–Menardo Jimenez, Sr., with a 35% stake; the family of Gilberto Duavit, Sr., 35%; and Gozon, 30% –but also its employees, its viewers, its advertisers, and the country as a whole.

"Our message is that we are one with the Filipino family, in good times and in bad times," said GMA Kapuso Foundation executive vice-president and chief operating officer Carmela Tiangco. "Aside from the business side of ratings and pricing, there’s public service in real time. While our reporters are telling our viewers about an ongoing fire, they are also telling us what we can do for the fire victims in terms of food, clothes, and medicine."

The foundation’s work is complemented by corporate representation in about a dozen non-government organizations and advocacy groups ranging from making the arts more accessible to the masses to the rehabilitation of the Pasig River to helping jail inmates cope with their new life.

Meritocracy

Key to its kapuso campaign is knowing what each of its stakeholders want.

In the case of its core assets, the employees, the company has created a culture of meritocracy and higher accountability.

"We have in place an objective evaluation system which determines if an employee needs additional training to be the best that he can be in his job," said GMA Network executive vice-president and chief operating officer Gilberto Duavit, Jr. "Employees are more involved because there are terms of reference. We believe in getting ideas from below because they know their jobs. Our people take the extra effort to come up with quality programs that push positive values."

One of the company’s core values are discussed during the monthly assembly presided by Gozon. The CEO also hosts a monthly birthday lunch for employees.

"More often than not, the birthday celebrants are told ahead of the board how the company is doing," said vice-president for human resources Dexter Mendoza.

Based on its January to May performance, for example, the company is tracking a growth of 60% compared to the industry’s growth of 20%. "Our five-month tracking is on the conservative side. Our gross revenues for the first five months totaled P2.4 billion, 77% more than last year," said Quiogue, whose company handles the marketing of GMA Network’s programs on Channel 7.

May gross revenues alone hit P654 million, 90% over May 2002. Historically, May is one of four peak months in terms of advertising revenues. The other three months are April, October, and November.

"We expect to meet our net income target for the year. For the first four months of the year, we have already netted P277 million," said Quiogue.

For the entire 2002, GMA Network posted a net income of P402 million, which was 33% higher than its target of P350 million.

Research

Based on the April surveys conducted by two independent groups, GMA and its major competitor, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., each have a 14% viewership in the highly lucrative Mega Manila market.

"To increase program ratings that would ultimately lead to better sales, we rely on scientific research to find out what makes a celebrity or a show click, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We rely on research to tell us what our viewers really want to experience. We have also introduced interactivity in several programs," said Gozon.

"But beyond rating and revenues, we want to truly entertain, educate, and inform our viewers," he said.

Including block-timers, locally produced shows content account for 60% of the company’s programming mix.

"Cost efficiency is the general rule among advertisers. With the same number of viewers but more competitive pricing, it’s obvious where the advertiser will bring his business, " said Duavit. "What we want to do is increase the viewership factor. If two programs have the same content, we are hoping the viewer will stay tuned to the channel they can identify with."

GMA Network is betting that will be the case when it increases its advertising rates by 15% starting next month.