Emotions will shape the future of media
In last week’s 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress, Gabby Lopez, chairman and CEO of ABS-CBN Corporation, shared his thoughts on what he thinks of the future of media. I am yielding my column space to what he said. Here it is:
“The easiest prediction would be this: In the next Ad Congress, which is two years from now, we will be talking about media revolutions caused by technologies that don’t even exist today. Or not even imagined today.
“Even if many may think that the future of media is unknown, we still know where ABS-CBN would go. That’s because we have a guiding light: the motto that ABS-CBN is in the service of the Filipino. It was first articulated in 1959. My father, Eugenio Lopez Jr., said that anyone who attempts to change our motto should be fired from the company. So it hasn’t changed except for the addition of ‘worldwide,’ which we put as soon as we gained the ability to reach our overseas brothers and sisters.
“Next year, Philippine television will be celebrating its 60th year. We are very sentimental about it because TV was introduced to the Philippines by a small company that later on became ABS-CBN. Over many years, we were able to maintain a meaningful relationship with the Filipino audience, being the media company that connects our countrymen all over the globe through all kinds of media platforms. This gave us the privilege to know so much more about their nature and their aspirations. And that is why we can make this assumption — the shaper of future media may appear to be technological, but at its core, it will remain emotional.
“ABS-CBN now allows people to consume media content at a time, place and through a medium that they choose. Soon, we will have more digital offerings that are multi-touch hubs of information, experiences, services and conveniences. At ABS-CBN, we believe that technology will change everything, except the human nature to crave for recognition, affirmation, connection, and the inspiration to be the best that they can be for self-fulfillment, for family and for community. And that’s what’s really important to us.
ABS-CBN’s teleseryes can now reach every Filipino in the world with the help of cable, satellite and Internet protocol TV. With iWanTV, they can even catch up on missed episodes. But we were only compelled to make these access technologies available because we know that we have content that truly lifts spirits … that reflect our people’s joys, pains, values, passions and dreams. We all have relatives abroad. Maybe many of them have told you how Filipino dramas on TFC soothe away the pain of hard work and isolation in strange lands.
“The first edition of Pinoy Big Brother was voted as 2005’s most phenomenal TV show. It was the first local show to have 26 cameras rolling 24/7, live streaming on cable TV, a variant edition on UHF and massive text voting. The investment in technology was huge. But we were sure, even bigger was the emotional cache of ordinary people in a journey of transformation through extraordinary tests.
“The series Imortal is no longer on TV today. But the community of viewers continues to interact on the website, which shows the country’s first webisodes of a TV series. The site had over 15 million page views in 12 months and 12,000 user-generated content submissions in three months. We have been heartened to put up more digital properties than any other in the country, because we recognize the Filipino’s desire for self-expansion through knowledge and experiences, to connect with others and to express themselves.
“Having journeyed with the Filipino for a long time, we have confirmed that the Filipino’s love for country is special. Boto Mo iPatrol Mo, the country’s first citizen election vigilance campaign aided by the web and mobile phones, earned the gratitude of the Comelec for contributing to the big turnout of voter registrants. I am happy to mention that the success of the Boto Mo iPatrol Mo campaign has been recognized by many award-giving bodies here and internationally.
“ABS-CBN news.com is now the number-one Filipino news website globally while its IOS app became the most downloaded app when it launched. During P-Noy’s visit to North America in September of 2010, TFC held the first Global Town Hall sa TFC shown simultaneously in TFC areas around the world. Viewers were able to ask questions real-time, both through the Internet and via satellite.
“YouTube and Google also partnered with ABS-CBN News.com and ANC to bring Asia’s first YouTube World View. It gave citizens all over the world the chance to ask and listen to our leader’s view on where the Philippines is headed. It engaged 40,000 netizens and over 3,000 of them sent questions. These technologies would not have succeeded if the Filipino nation was not burning with patriotism and yearning for redemption.
“Still fueling the flame of Filipino pride, we launched the website ChoosePhilippines. As of today, it has received over one million page views. Its Facebook community has more than 250,000 members that have generated 130 million interactions since it launched eight months ago from people who root for the beauty of the Philippines and the businesses that tourism can spur.
“We are currently in test broadcast for Digital Terrestrial Television, or DTT. The service will give clear digital signals and additional channels to people who can’t afford pay TV. We know this will be welcomed by those who dream of more enriching and life-transforming experiences.
“Like the world’s most progressive media companies, we will invest in enabling technologies. But more than obsessing about connecting gadgets to gadgets, we will continue leveraging our ability to connect to the emotion.
“In Apple’s tribute to Steve Jobs, Al Gore talked about the overwhelming amount of love that people had for Apple products. And Steve Jobs knew that earning love from customers starts with the amount of love you put in your work. At ABS-CBN, that kind of loving relationship is what we want to continue to cultivate with every kapamilya. Recently, 99 percent of Filipinos surveyed said they would opt to receive calls from TFC because they are kapamilya. We think of it as a measure of our loving relationship.
“So, even in this age of gadgets, we believe that the right buttons to press are those in the hearts of people. The true connection of longings and passions will be the best edge in an age of clutter and thousands of choices. Going into the future, we are encouraged by our strong heritage in content that affirms, that inspires. We are confident because we believe that technology only follows where the human spirit wants to go. Thank you.”
* * *
E-mail bongosorio@yahoo.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions and suggestions. Thank you for communicating.
