'New rules' seen changing media landscape

Filipinos can be a force to reckon with in online marketing, given the right mindset and the recognition of “new rules” that are changing the face of the global media landscape, experts in digital media trends recently said.

A measly 0.2 percent or roughly P80 million of the country’s marketing pie went to Internet and mobile advertising campaigns last year. But the numbers are growing each year, as Internet users in the country are seen to jump to 15 million from the current seven million users – the second in Southeast Asia, said Donald Lim, president and CEO of Yehey! Corp., at the second annual Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) Summit held recently at Hotel Intercontinental.

“Technology-wise, Filipinos are at par with the rest of the world. Creativity-wise, we are superior. Keeping an open mind, this is the challenge,” said Lim, who discussed best practices in Philippine Internet marketing.

On-demand media, such as the Internet and satellite television, will similarly continue to increase its share of the overall marketing pie, said Vishnu Mohan, CEO for Asia Pacific of Havas Media, one of the world’s biggest digital media planning agencies. In last year’s summit, Mohan said the amount of money spent on Internet and mobile advertising can go up to 1 percent a year.

Mohan said a “new set of rules” would govern digital media planning in the information age. Simultaneous media consumption, for one, has brought down the success of traditional media in reaching a once-stagnant audience.

Mohan, who previously worked with Colgate Palmolive, P&G, Compaq, Dell, and Volvo, pressed on the need for media planners to “create conversations” rather than orchestrate campaigns, and focus on “experiences” rather than consumption.

He said the world is currently witnessing what he calls a “rebirth of word of mouth,” which he dubbed as the cornerstone of the New Age in media landscape. Generating buzz and “online conversations” has become vital in any successful digital campaign, he said. This is possible because of the three main things that so-called netizens like to do online: search, share, and create.

Lim cited the case of “the first Filipino Internet celebrity,” Christine Gambito, who rose to cyber-fame via her video blog, “Happy Slip,” which pokes fun at the language and culture of immigrant Filipinos in the US. Her video “Mixed Nuts,” is one of the most viewed in video-sharing site YouTube and has won second place at the 2006 YouTube Video Awards for Best Comedy.

Citing the case of Gambito, Lim said the Happy Slip campaign created powerful buzz, particularly among the second-and third-generation Filipino-Americans, which was seen to have significantly contributed to the increase of tourist arrivals from North America during the period the campaign was launched.

The case, said Lim, revealed the massive power of online marketing. Companies should explore other methods, utilize blogging, and remember to make it human, Lim said.