“Confluence” is this year’s theme of the MSAP Media Congress. It stands for “convergence” and “influence.”
MANILA, Philippines – In Nick Gabunada’s opening remarks in the biennial Confluence Media Congress 2015, he underscored the need to embrace the media revolution by creating significant shift to cater to consumers’ changing wants and needs for technology.
The two-day event by the Media Specialists Association of the Philippines (MSAP), encourages practitioners to reimagine, rethink and reshape the future of media by understanding “confluence,” or by capturing the convergence and influence of media touch points.
The Philippine media industry now advances through the use of data and technology. Unlike before, enticing the consumers is not as simple as posting ads on newspapers. One now has to consider embracing platforms across various digital devices.
Here are some ideas the media revolution has taught us and ushered in, as mentioned by the speakers in the Confluence conference.
Social media is key in tourism promotion.
Every Filipino is familiar with the Philippine tourism campaign. “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” the brainchild of of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. Jimenez said social media is key to the success of the campaign.
“It’s more fun in the Philippines started with three versions only, but now it already has more than 178,000 versions, counting so far only those that we have seen,” he said.
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Because finding a place to visit and booking hotel reservations are just a single click away, domestic travelers in the country have rapidly increased. Jimenez said the number of domestic travelers has gone from 28 million from the past years to 52 million today.
The public is an effective source of the message.
The advent of technology has made it possible for the public to unleash creativity and realize ideas in various digital platforms. Social media accounts, in particular, let people create content that can spread like wildfire. After all, FOBO or “fear of being offline” is a growing trend in mobile, said Facebook Southeast Asia managing director Myung-Jo Choi.
The public decides which of the topics they want to talk about and they also decide when they want to stop talking about it. It is in this time that the public has been more powerful than ever.
The role of brands is to start something that the public will respond to.
Since the public gets to decide how the information dissemination will carry through, brands must get the public to agree on a topic or idea to make dissemination successful. The role of the media is to stimulate the public. Creating an idea without the acceptance of the public, regardless of how significant and promising the idea is, will not work out.’
Traditional news networks like CNN, for example, had to evolve from the role it has been known for. “CNN is no longer a television company. We are everywhere,” anchor Kristie Lu Stout said. Multi-platform presence and approach enable media firms reach more people, making content more influential and more quickly disseminated.
Modern advertising is all about a strategic, creative and engaging content.
Paolo Mercado, senior vice president for communications and marketing services at Nestle Philippines, said “hyper competition” exists when companies fight over the same share of the market and for consumers’ share of mind.
In order to stand out, strategy needs to be solid, while content must be meaningful, lasting and valuable to its market. A brand campaign needs to be a brand experience. Do not just listen to what the people say; understand and engage them, he advised.
Media APAC commercial director Lee Risk shared a rather surprising data on magazine consumption. “Print and magazines have a very highly engaged audience,” he said. While the medium does not enable feedback the way digital does, consumers spend more time with ads on print. “Ads are seen as new sources of information,”Risk said.
Information is not enough. You have to connect to the public and rise from the clutter.
Of the voluminous information the public is getting, one has to create content that will make the public engage with the brand. “People don’t care about ads; they care more about the content, amazing content,” Mercado said.
To be able to catch consumers’ attention, one has to understand their needs and stand out above the rest. Make them want to view your content before getting out of bed, on their way to work, while their eating their lunch and before going to sleep. People want stories that would touch their hearts and that they can relate to. Give them stories and earn their loyalty.
Chot Reyes, former coach for national team Gilas and now TV5 Sports Digital Head, said they adopted a new strategy for the broadcast of PBA games. The network brought the games, usually aired during, to laptops and mobile phones through live streaming. “Prime time of people is now commute time,” Reyes said.
Merging of commerce and content will be at the forefront.
According to Mercado, back in 1980s, China only has one television channel, and to this date, they already have 2,000 channels, excluding those that they see on the Internet, and this is because they embraced the media revolution. They have seen the link between commerce and content. An example is their Mobile Online TV, their own version of Netflix. The only difference is that, they can view all the movies or series they want to view for free. Eighty percent of what can be viewed on Mobile Online TV is licensed, including US shows which can be aired simultaneously as its US airing.
Chinese brands, moreover, make purchasing convenient by letting them shop through websites and by delivering their orders straight to their doorstep. This includes baby formula and any other goods. Brands in the Asian powerhouse have also embraced the fact that people today do not have much time to dwell on burdening tasks, such as going to the grocery store.
Innovate or die.
ABS-CBN Corp. chairman Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III could not emphasize on the value of innovation and innovation in technology more. Although innovation requires a significant amount of time and money, companies should not ignore its need. “It is only by doing things differently can we serve our evolving community,” he said.
Building a good relationship with the public is important.
“Brands that form good relationships with consumers deliver success,” said Pauline Gatera-Fermin, president of Acumen Strategic Consulting. Besides investing money to innovate, investing in consumer understanding is relevant. Know your most loyal consumers and pamper them. Make them feel special because losing loyalty is a big stressor.
Starcom Mediavest regional director Joanna Vonfelkerzam, meanwhile, advised brands, “Have empathy! Don’t call them consumers!” She also said that companies should also learn to move away from thinking about demographic to thinking about individuals.
It was something Coca-Cola Philippines marketing director Jasmin Vinculado also believes. “Big data is the new normal, but small moments matter,” she said, referring to consumers’ stories as part of the experience of the mega success of the Share A Coke campaign. – with Camille Diola
