Da Marketing Code and Blogging

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to an audience of almost a thousand marketers during the 38th National Marketing Conference, aptly titled "Da Marketing Code".

It was no easy feat.

The conference theme was based on the movie "Da Vinci Code" and everything revolved around that... down to the title of my talk "Google Marketing Secrets". In their opening speeches, PMA President Ricky Alegre and NMC Overall Chair Donald Patrick Lim promised that the conference was geared towards unlocking the code to the best marketing secrets.

The 2-day conference evolved from the traditional marketing strategies to new media on the second day. I was unfortunately not able to attend all the sessions.


Below are some of the key points I spoke about.

1. Why it is important to be searchable online. Read more about search marketing in a previous posts I made.

2. How to get found in the resulting chaos through all the marketing messages that consumers get bombarded with. Find the answer here.

3. Google products and services that can help your business. Learn also how you can inculcate Google in your daily routine by reading this. Check out also links to different Google products at the right side of my blog.

4. Do an integrated marketing approach. It is a MUST to have offline AND online campaigns.

5. And, new media trends. What tomorrow's landscape will be.

Missed my talk? I'll be talking next month in the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association Philippines general membership meeting and I'm doing a workshop series with the Philippine Trade & Training Center.

Over lunch with bigwigs such as Mr. Mon Lizardo, VP-Business & Linkages of Inquirer.net, Mr. Ricky Alegre, President, Philippine Marketing Association, Dr. Nards Garcia, famous full professor of De La Salle University, Ms. Lizanne Uychaco, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, PhilamLife, Mr. Rene A. Espinosa, President/CEO, Powermax Consulting Group Inc. and Mr. Christopher Paris Lacson, President, Habitats, the topic veered towards blogging. I was quite surprised that they were very much interested on blogging (I kept mentioning during my talk that Euro RCSG Manila Managing Partner/COO, Mr. Ed Mapa has a blog). They had many, many questions about it and I indulged them and encouraged them to set-up their own blogs. (I even got an offer for a consultancy job after, but had to decline gracefully :p).

I told them about a discussion I had with a UP professor that there should be a project to preserve the minds of the silver generation, those who are experts in their own right, be it in business, parenting or what-have-you. It was a very exciting discussion and they've requested to have a "blogging for CEOs" workshop since they had to go back to the conference and I had to run to my meeting.

Game! :)

Monks and the 38th Marketing Conference

Wrote this post at the 38th National Marketing Conference...
Seated on the speakers couch

I am so glad that I woke up early today to catch the opening of the 38th National Marketing Conference, aptly titled “Da Marketing Code”. I arrived as the “show” was about to start. Good thing I saw past colleague, Maeyeth Cadungog, and she got me through the throngs of people outside of the ballroom. We trailed behind monks. Yes, MONKS!

The ballroom was transformed into a monastery/The Louvre to mimic the setting of the movie, “Da Vinci Code”. It’s a good thing I didn’t read the program (and wasn’t able to attend rehearsals last night) because I was surely awed by the opening program. As Maeyeth asked, “Kinikilabutan ka na ba?” Just to give a glimpse of the atmosphere here at the conference, the video walls are framed with museum frames, bookended by “stained glass” on tarpaulin and paintings adorn the wall. The last time I felt this way was the opening number in the 2003 Advertising Congress (Baguio) and, uh, the fireworks at Disneyland.

Here's Ricky Alegre, Philippine Marketing Association president, during the opening ceremonies:



Here’s a video of Donald Patrick Lim, executive committee head from the Philippine Marketing Association, opening the conference.

38th National Marketing Conference: Da Marketing Code

I don't mean to scare off people with my photo, but that's the overall them of the 38th National Marketing Conference which will be held on May 23 to 24, 2007 at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

The Philippine Marketing Association, the organizer of the conference, held a speaker's briefing the other night and believe me I've never been this excited for a speaking engagement. We even had a photo session after the meeting (check out my scary looking Silas look-alike photo).

I'm looking forward to attending the conference and listening to all the marketing experts. Here's a rundown of the topics:

Day 1

Customer Experience - Managing the two moments of truth in business

Marketing Strategy - Lessons learned on the road to becoming a global brand

Advertising Agencies - How advertising agencies are addressing the challenges of specialist marketing communications companies?

Media Trends - Understanding the Consumer Generated Media

Digital Marketing Trends - Unlocking the Evolution and potentials of Digital Marketing

Day 2

Global Consumer Trends - Prosumerism: The emergence of a progressive breed of consumers borne out of today's revolution in new media

New Trends in Internet Marketing - Google Marketing Secrets

Innovation Trends - Discovering the way people see Health and Medicine

Pinoy Consumers - Understanding the Filipino shopping code in Metro Manila

Media Convergence - Changing the way people see print media

Consumer - The new code on marketing evolution

Marketing Forum on Sunrise Industries - Unearthing the potentials of sunrise companies

I heard that they're raffling off a brand new car through an interesting raffle - you have to unlock the code to get a chance to win the car. Wow! I hope I get a chance to win it!

There's still time to sign-up for the conference, get in touch with Ms. Sarah Velasco at the PMA office through +632-6344890 or 636-1451.

Will Print Become Obsolete?

There are talks and there are talks. But personally I don't think print or any of the other traditional media will become obsolete. Not for a hundred years perhaps? Think of it this way, would you logically and practically accept the fact that every single person on this planet will have a gadget to read the news electronically? In the first place, literacy has never reached the 100% mark and that's the biggest hurdle.

New media complements traditional media. A few weeks ago I was speaking to the president of an advertising agency. He said that they're looking for new ways to advertise their clients. He has accepted the fact that doing traditional media is very expensive and advertisers are looking for new means to promote their products and services.

Fact is, media has transformed in so many ways in the last decade. Mass marketing is no longer the way. Marketing your products and services has to be more personal, direct. Why? Because consumers now have more power. They have more ways to get information. They can easily turn off the TV and find better entertainment on the net. New media bridges the gap.

I was telling the president of the advertising agency that new media is not something that would make traditional media obsolete. It in fact complements it because it reaches a different segment of the market. It's no longer just targetting the "16 to 34 year olds" because these consumers have different profiles. One would be a techie, another would go for traditional print, another would be into music. So profiling your target market accurately is very, very important.

So where do we go? As I said new media bridges the gap. Businesses have to make themselves searchable online and provide content for their consumers. Websites/blogs is the online form of print. Podcasting, online form of the radio. Videos, online form of TV.

Methinks, advertising agencies should take new media more seriously. That's where we all are going.

For more info, catch me at the 38th National Marketing Conference (NMC), organized by the Philippine Marketing Association on May 23-24, 2007 (I'll post more details soon).