Making Pinoy pride a world-class, lucrative venture

MANILA, Philippines - Despite fierce competition, making a Pinoy brand stand out globally is definitely a lot easier now, thanks to the power of dynamic technologies like the new media. New ways of communicating to people prove to be even more effective if a business caters to Filipinos living abroad, or for any Filipino looking for a way to connect to the country.

A “dot com” entrepreneur

According to Jovel Cipriano, a web entrepreneur and founder of the highly-successful Filipino delicacy online store, www.PinoyDelikasi.com, using the Internet as a marketing tool is cost-efficient, and it delivers results at the shortest time possible.

Because of new media, anyone who knows how to use the computer and the internet can already market their business. “Therefore, if you decide to do internet marketing, you have to have a good website with the right content, a good marketing strategy to use the right platform, a good payment process, and good logistics. To be noticed, you have to be first, fast, and focused,” said Cipriano.

It all began by his observation in 1999 that many Filipinos abroad have been asking to have packages of Filipino delicacies such as dried mangoes, dried fish shipped to the country where they are residing.

He realized that bringing Filipinos abroad closer to home by “delivering” food can be a profitable business. Back then, Cipriano was an exec at an IT firm, so being the techie that he was, he launched his e-store website with the name, “PinoyDelikasi,” which stands for Pinoy delicacy in vernacular spelling, and at the same time a gist for “Lutong Pinoy, Delicious Kasi.”

The catchy domain name caught the attention of many overseas Filpinos, which equated to an overwhelming number of orders. Since then, the business thrived with the growing network of countries served, a wide assortment of products it offers through many factory-fresh suppliers, as it continues to be the first website in mind when it comes to buying Pinoy delicacy items.

Living the awesome life, starting with a blog

On the other hand, Anton Diaz, internet marketer and avid blogger of Our Awesome Planet, encouraged marketing and business students to practice blogging, as it is not just a way of publishing one’s thoughts, but also an avenue to advance his advocacy.

For his part, Diaz started to promote Philippine tourism through blogs whenever he goes out of town. Eventually, he became a full-fledged travel blogger who gets invited to various beautiful places just so he could feature a nice resort, a restaurant with delicious food, a hotel with great service, etc.

“Redesign your life to live the ultimate day. For me, it meant showing my true love for the Philippines by telling others to explore the islands here first before going abroad.” he beams.

Diaz adds that the youth has a competitive advantage because they are more tech-savvy and have fresh ideas that will interest the bulk of age groups online. People as early as 13 years old, he shared, were already earning money through blogging.

Indeed, the youth has been known to be one that brands in the local market are not to be underestimated, especially in this age of globalization.