Sun Cellular is Agora Marketing Company of the Year

MANILA, Philippines - Five months after Sun Cellular was internationally recognized as Asia Pacific’s Most Promising Service Provider by Frost and Sullivan, another prestigious award-giving body — the Philippine Marketing Association through the AGORA Awards — hailed Sun as this year’s Marketing Company of the Year.

Now in its 30th year, the Agora Awards are given to outstanding individuals and companies who embody marketing excellence. The nominees pass through a stringent judging process and the panel is composed of top-level executives from leading Filipino corporations and institutions. Every year, corporations, institutions and individuals are 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.

“This 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,” says Sun Cellular CEO Charles Lim.

The Marketing Company of the Year Award, which is known as the pinnacle of marketing achievement, is only being given by the Agora to the elite few who have displayed creativity, ingenuity, and innovativeness in making the Filipino brand world-class.

In 2004, Sun Cellular pioneered the 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited in the country, which has been the flagship product of the network ever since.

One of the judges said that “Sun rocked the industry, and their strategies have ultimately benefited the consumers.”

“If I were to choose one word that would describe this year’s winners, it would be the word ‘giant,’” says Mernardo “Butch” 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 — the giants in their field.”

In his acceptance speech, Lim pointed out their significant contribution in the telco arena. “We in Sun Cellular are truly privileged and grateful to have played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the way Filipinos communicate through their cell phones,” he said. Their aggressive marketing and pricing strategies, he said, have benefited the growing 2G and 3G markets. He, together with JG Summit chairman & CEO James L. Go and other Sun executives, received the award during the ceremony held Nov. 10 at the Hotel InterContinental, Makati.

Sun Cellular’s win gave further honor to the JG Summit Group of Companies, as it ensured a grand-slam win for the conglomerate. In 2007, URC won the Marketing Company of the Year Award, which was then bagged by Cebu Pacific the following year; both companies under JG Summit. “No other conglomerate in the country has earned such recognition,” says Edith Dychiao, PMA’s director in charge of the Agora Awards.

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

“But our work is not yet over,” added Lim. “We intend to keep the momentum going as we aim for market dominance. It is our strong commitment to provide the consumers the best products and services as we strive to pursue the unlimited possibilities of advanced mobile communications.”