Pinoy-made app converts FB likes, branded selfies to cash

CEBU, Philippines - Monetizing ‘Likes’ on social media posts and giving leverage to brands or companies by exploiting ‘selfies’ are just a few of the technology breakthroughs introduced by Cebuano-owned Hoytechnology Asia Corporation.

Conceptualized by undergraduate duo Seph Mayol and Royce Albert Dy, Hoy! App, which is now available in both android and iOs platforms, has immediately made strong appeal to social media users and brand makers as it provides an avenue for both sides to cash in on posts and likes in social media.

In an interview with Mayol, who sits as the chief executive officer and in-charge of business development and branding, he said that this social brand platform gives real rewards to social media users who engaged in taking selfies with the brands.

Brand makers or companies on the other hand, will be able to leverage on this platform by monitoring the matrix of brand users, and selfies showing their products, or taking pictures with their brand's murals, icons, or simply pictures of people using their brands.

"Everyday, from the time we wake up we already interact with different brands," said Mayol adding that social media users are taking selfies and pictures wearing several brands, eating and hanging out in business establishments, yet they don't even get rewards. At the same time, companies are oblivious of their publicity matrix made out of posts from the real (in-expensive) brand ambassadors or brand endorsers nowadays — who are the ordinary social media users.

These Cebuano whizzes, who did not even finish college, pioneered the evolution of making everyone in the social media as brand endorsers, as number of likes will be given actual reward from respective brand owners.

Hoy! is a brand placement in social network that allows users to capture memories together with a brand and get real rewards.

Companies will be engaged by this new dimension of advertisement by registering to the app platform. This way, aside from providing rewards to users, they are also assured of the real time matrix of their brands' popularity.

"Other than making a profitable company, one of our primary goals is to make Hoy! known as the first ever Philippine made app used widely by everyone not only in the country, but also internationally," said Mayol, a Cebuano graphic/interactive designer and developer who used to do big projects for Walt Disney, Ricky Martin, Universal Music Group, Paramount Pictures, and other multinational names.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Waze, YouTube, Uber, Viber, GrabTaxi, are just few of the common apps used by the majority, and none of these are being made locally or by group of Filipino founders.

Because of the high commercial potential of the app, the company already received several offers of partnership or even acquisition from big conglomerates, but Mayol said the company is upholding its commitment of not losing itself from being "made in the Philippines," or a Cebuano.

To date, since its commercial roll out last month, it has already registered 42 brands and given over 200 real rewards to over 5,000 app users nationwide, three weeks after the app was launched in Manila and Cebu.

Participating brands include, Smart, Globe, My Joy, Burger King, Dreamworks, Giordano, DC, Chowking, Greenwich, AirAsia, Pancake House, Bonchon, among others.

The company is currently raising seed funding via Venture Capital (VC), to enable them to go worldwide, and expand the platform. (FREEMAN)