Pinoy creations take on the world via mobile phones

MANILA, Philippines - Who would have thought that by investing on pure Pinoy creativity and talent, you can create a worldwide craze? Y&R Philippines, an advertising agency for public relations, design, sales promotion and direct marketing, saw the opportunity when it launched a successful campaign that allowed Pinoys to create mobile themes that can be downloaded by Nokia phone users around the world.

Last year, Y&R Philippines, together with Nokia Philippines, launched the Ovi Theme-spirations campaign, which gave Filipinos a chance to submit their own photo or artwork designs that would be converted to mobile themes and uploaded in Nokia Store, the place where Nokia phone users can download and enjoy applications, games, videos, ringtones, wallpapers and themes. Contestants whose designs were selected won cash prize plus a mobile phone each.

This innovative campaign made it possible for the company to be one of the leading Nokia Store publishers globally with almost 30 million downloaded themes from Nokia phone users in the Philippines, India, Mexico, Turkey, and other countries.

Chiqui Lara, president and chief executive officer of Y&R Philippines, says innovation has always been the company’s driving force. “Being innovative is a value that we put significant importance to in everything we do. Our ‘Resist the Usual’ culture frees us to find solutions from various perspectives that are relevant to our clients’ brands and most especially to their targets,” she explains.

Y&R Philippines is also the brains behind other top downloadable apps: Music Mix, a music app that allows users to connect to different music portals and download their favorite tunes to their mobile phones; GimmePerks, a mobile coupon app that enables users to avail themselves of freebies and discounts in different participating stores; and WatchNow, which let users watch the latest episodes of top US series “How I Met Your Mother” and “Gossip Girl.” The company’s role also figured prominently in the success of the much-talked-about Nokia N8-Pier Roxas campaign, launching an app for the activation of this campaign.

Through all its efforts, Y&R Philippines was able to showcase just how talented and creative Pinoys are when it comes to harnessing the latest technology.

Lara shares: “At Y&R, technology is used on a daily basis, not just to keep in touch but to inspire, share knowledge and skills, to work together in a far more collaborative way. No organization can survive in today’s world without harnessing technology.”

Moreover, as a local company that continues to reap success in the global front, Y&R Philippines takes pride in its roots and the potential of local companies like them to take technology to the next level.

“I believe we are just at the surface of all the possibilities in so far as technology is concerned. We have so much potential. Y&R, for instance, is already being recognized as a leader in the innovation front – we have been rated as the top digital partner of Nokia, the biggest mobile company in the world. Our creative work is now being used by major power brands in countries like China and the United Kingdom. Certainly, there’s more to come from the Philippines and we’re just warming up,” says Lara.

Established more than 30 years ago, Y&R has formed a distinguished name in the country for its analytic precision and top-class creative solutions. In 2009, it reinforced its digital team to Nokia Philippines which gave fruition to many innovative apps ideas now enjoyed by mobile users.

Indeed, by fully realizing the distinct skills and capabilities of Filipinos, more global achievements are possible.