GMA’s election campaign ties up with FB

CEBU, Philippines - Leading broadcast news organization GMA News and Public Affairs bolsters its Eleksyon 2016 voter education campaign as it partners with Facebook, rolling out various projects starting this April.

The tie-up commenced with the launch of “Para po sa Bayan: The GMA-FB Jeepney” on April 23. Tapping the Philippine’s most popular mode of transportation, the “GMA-FB Jeepney” will take FB users to where the vice presidential candidates will be during campaign period.

GMA News will interview each candidate on board the jeepney,? live,? using Facebook Live, with questions coming from FB users themselves. The jeepney will also be open to random people a few hours before the actual interview, which will give them the chance to ask the candidate/s questions on video.

Come Election Day, the same jeepney will go around key places in Metro Manila to get up close with Filipinos who want to share their stories in relation to their voting experience. These interviews will be posted live on FB.

On top of the blow-by-blow coverage on television and radio, GMA News’ Facebook account will also conduct a series of ?Q&As and chats throughout election day. Moderated by GMA’s editorial team, the Q&A will be a venue for netizens to talk to resource persons. GMA News will also publish live FB bulletins.

The collaboration between GMA and Facebook is expected to encourage more Filipinos to take an active stance in this year’s presidential elections.

“Social media is changing the way we connect to people,” says GMA News and Public Affairs Senior Vice President Marissa L. Flores. “With elections coming up, GMA News is faced with an even more difficult task of making sure we have an informed electorate, and Facebook has been a key partner in making sure we reach our target. Its huge and highly engaged Filipino user base also puts a spotlight on how we value our democracy and its processes; GMA News appreciates this unique opportunity to encourage lively discourse among voters through our partnership with Facebook,” she adds.

“Facebook is the destination for authentic conversations about politics at scale,” said Ken Teh, APAC Media Partnerships, Facebook. “It’s a place for Filipinos to learn about candidates, for friends to debate political issues and for candidates to reach voters. Our collaboration with GMA will help viewers engage in the elections conversation and give more voice to more people.” (PR)

From November 20, 2015 to April 20, 2016, 15.2 million Filipinos have participated in election-related conversations, generating 137 million election-related interactions.

The number of monthly active users on Facebook in the Philippines is 49 million—almost half of the Philippine population. (FREEMAN)