Lilu: Cebu’s advertising guru

CEBU, Philippines — She is a teacher by heart, and she continues to be even after she found her place in the advertising business.

In Cebu, Lilo “Lilu” Itaas - Aliño is an authority when it comes to advertising, brand building, and marketing. Her company, Lilu Advertising and Marketing Solutions Inc., played a huge part in the success of many local and international brands here.

Not only that this power woman made her name in the advertising industry, she also shares herself in many social and civic organizations, including the chairmanship of Cebu’s biggest business event the Cebu Business Month (CBM).

Lilu is responsible of this year’s Cebu Business Month (CBM 2019) celebration, a big task she gracefully accepted in the middle of her demanding schedule as an entrepreneur, a teacher, a mother, and a wife.

A learner

A graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at St. Theresa’s College (STC), Lilu credited her success in advertising largely to a person she dearly looked up to as a fresh graduate and up until now.

After graduation, she wanted to be a broadcaster. But fate brought her to the desk of respected businessman Norberto Quisumbing, the founder of Norkis Group of Companies.

At 21, Lilu was introduced in the demanding and dynamic field of advertising. Mr. Quisumbing may have seen sparkle in her eyes when he interview her as an applicant, that the Norkis boss put her in the company’s in-house advertising agency called “Approach” which managed the national advertising requirements of the Group.

Her raw talent in advertising, her innocence in the ballgame of business did not matter. Mr. Quisumbing assigned her to different branches in the country, and pushed her to handle some critical business meetings in Metro Manila—where she recalled, was too intimidating.

But the pressure that was put in her shoulder at a young age made Lilu who she is today, a persistent entrepreneur, generous in her expertise and time, a teacher whose heart goes beyond the four corners of the classroom, and loves her students like a mother.

“I learned a lot from Mr. Quisumbing,” Lilu recalled. More than a teacher, Lilu acknowledged that she is a great learner.

From the time she accepted the challenge to be part of Norkis Group’s nationwide advertising operation, she opened her heart and eyes to absorb the learnings and considered the demands, pressures and challenges as tests to be passed in order to get to another door of opportunity.

“I really thought I’d become a businesswoman. But it’s more of I wanna test what I was learning,” she said.

Inspiration

As an employee, Lilu desired to become like her boss. She said Mr. Quisumbing inspired her to put up her own business in advertising.

“NQ [Norberto Quisumbing] inspired me to get into business. He is loaded with sharp ideas. He mentored me. He pushed me up and motivated me to stand tall in everything that I do,” the teacher-entrepreneur shared the effect of her former boss to life’s journey.

“I was young, here is this accomplished a very successful man who believed in me. It was empowering and inspiring,” she continued.

Instead of convincing her to stay with his company much longer, Lilu said NQ encouraged her to go and start her own.

In 1984, Lilu established her company she named “Creatron Ads” and her former boss’ company was one of her firsts and major clients.

Lilu was still single when she started her own business in advertising. She was one of the pioneering Ad agencies in Cebu that made project partnerships with international brands.

Inspired by the examples of NQ, Lilu’s ad agency gained attention of a multinational ad agency—Leo Burnett.

The strategic partnership ushered Lilu’s company a lot of opportunities. From there, she learned the science of research and brand activation.

Learning to teach

At the height of Lilu’s role in leading the advertising industry in Cebu, which in the 80s is still in its infancy stage, she squeezed her busy schedule to join the teaching circle at her own alma matter—STC.

Since 1983 Lilu has been part of the STC faculty, teaching mass communication and business management programs. She absorbed learnings and experiences from her business associates and corporate clients in the advertising practice, and shared these “secrets” to her students—without fail.

It’s a perfect stroke of give-and-take which put her on balance, therefore a magnet of opportunities.

It’s in nurturing her passion being a teacher that Lilu draws her strength and motivation to learn more and give much.

“I am a teacher. I always update myself,” she said adding that being an industry practitioner gives her a wider platform in teaching how to effectively communicate to different types of market segments.

Married to Favian “Dongie” Aliño, Lilu considered her husband as her “knight in shining armor” as he not only helped her in the domestic front, but he is Lilu’s refuge when things get tougher—in business and in teaching.

“My husband is a great positive thinker. He always stay on the positive side,” she is proud of her salesman husband.

Over the years, Lilu has been a mother to her students, more than a teacher.

Her nurturing heart, generous hands, are just a few of the subtle powers she is gifted with.

NAME BUILDER

Lilu’s Creatron Ads Inc., was responsible in building the now reputable brands like Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) while it started to developed the Cebu Business Park.

Her company also helped the successful campaigns of several brands like SM City, Rustan’s, Sulpicio Lines, among others.

Her ability to easily connect with the market and developed effective strategies to get the message across further carved Creatron’s name and hers in the advertising industry. Effortlessly, she became Cebu’s advertising “guru”.

Lilu’s name is always in the list of companies in Cebu and other parts of the country, even abroad when it comes to making advertising and marketing campaigns, especially those who wanted to capture the attention of the discerning Cebuano market.

Acquisition

Her reputation in Cebu’s advertising industry may be too intimidating that aroused the interest of German billionaire Michael Gleissner.

Gleissner, who set the Bigfoot Group of Companies in Cebu convinced Lilu to acquire her Creatron Ad agency and invited her to join the global firm.

More than the acquisition package, Lilu was also thrilled to learn from the serial entrepreneur who introduced a lot of breakthrough companies especially in the field of technology and digitalization, film, outsourcing, to name a few.

In 2003, Lilu’s gave up her Creatron Ad agency to Gleissner and joined Bigfoot Global Solutions Inc., as head for creatives and production. It was also the time when Gleissner opened the Film Academy, and other subsidiaries.

“It was the start of the digital transformation era, and I wanted to integrate that into our system so I decided to sell the company to Bigfoot,” she recalled.

She was sure it was a right decision and she was right. At Bigfoot, Lilu was immersed to sophistication in graphic design, animation, video production and other skills necessary to stay ahead in the competitive game in advertising.

The acquisition meant another level of experience and learning. Indeed, the major decision brought her to the new world of digital sphere.

Even before the outsourcing boom, she already was doing outsourcing, managing the animation team. In fact, her team was able to create over 500 animation programs for Cleverlearn, an English learning arm of Bigfoot.

But six years after her productive stay with Bigfoot, Lilu gave in once again to another offer. This time, paying attention to her heart—offering something she could not resist—the seduction of freedom.

Freedom

Being a career woman may be a good thing, but for some, like Lilu owning their time and be their own boss is the only place where they can thrive and function very well.

In 2009, Lilu returned to entrepreneurship home and formed the Lilu Advertising and Marketing Solutions Inc.

She realized that being in the corporate world albeit rewarding, is just not for her.

“I wanted to experience again the freedom to decide on my own. I wanted my ideas to come into fruition and also because my clients were still there, urging me to come back,” the soft-spoken, articulate teacher-entrepreneurship shared her quest to find her place while listening the profound urge of her heart.

She is certain that she was born to be a teacher, but Lilu is also sure that in order to strike balance she has to be an on-ground practitioner of what she teaches.

Along the way, Lilu made meaningful relationships in the academe, business as well as social-civic organizations like Rotary.

With feet on the ground, with awareness where to draw her strength amid too much happening around her sphere of influence, Lilu’s trademark is “excellence.”

When she chose freedom over other irresistible offers, Lilu found her home and she’s happier when she is able to serve and share herself unconditionally. (FREEMAN)