We were challenged by the President of Resorts World Manila, Mr. Kingson Sian, to do the #ALSIceBucketChallenge. In response we did ceremonial dumping of ice cold water and we also donated as a company to the ALS Foundation and the East Avenue Medical Hospital in Quezon City. We’re challenging Google Philippines, J&J Marketing, and Fonterra Marketing! Enjoy the video below folks....
We’re barely just a few days away from 2014 and I just wanted to take a quick look back at the year that was. 2013 was an amazing year filled with a lot of challenges, blessings, and losses. To celebrate the last 12 months, I compiled thirteen major blessings and milestones that I’d like to call “13 Cheers for 2013” (lol). It was actually a surreal experience compiling these moments and looking for photos to visualize them. Writing this post was an enriching activity in itself and I’d recommend it all of you guys (if you can find the time to do it, hehe). Okay so in no particular order, here my the 13 Cheers for 2013! Making the Big Leap to Advertising — Joining Di9it-DM9 Leaving TV5 was a very difficult decision but it turned out to be a wise one! With Digit I’ve been able to learn so much at such a short amount of time. I’ve only been here a year but it actually feels I’ve been doing this for much more than that, hehe. Anyway, thank you to Merlee, Alex, Bonat, GGC, and Eugene for the trust. 2014 will be much bigger and better for all of us! Here’s the write-up that Adobo Magazine made about my career switch (thanks Angel, Apple, and Janelle for the feature). Goodbye Tiffany Mansions, Hello One Beverly Place! One of the biggest literal “moves” for 2013 was when we left our condo in Tiffany Mansions and moved to a bigger 3BR unit in One Beverly Place (still along Annapolis Greenhills area). The unit was actually the condo that Pastor Dennis’ family used to stay in! 3BR set-up is awesome — Masters, Home Office, and Guest Room. Hopefully we convert that Guest Room into a Baby Room this year! RAWR! Building the Team — Di9it Growing and building the team was just as exciting as changing jobs, hehe! We’re still a pretty lean and small group but I’m very happy and proud of the people in Di9it! We’ve done so much in just 1 year and I strongly believe that we’ve set ourselves up for a superb 2014. Thank you Eugene, Buboy, Peepo, Leng, Belle, Bea, Carlos, Archie, Max, Alex, Rogin, Ila, and Nike! Mobile World Congress at Barcelona, Spain Earlier this trip we went on our first Europe trip! We went to Barcelona, Spain so I could attend the Mobile World Congress. Other than tech stuff, this was also the first time I had a long vacation with just my wife in a far-away land (lol). I was also able to meet Mich’s half-sister, Chrissy (currently studying in Spain). Definitely one of the best weeks in 2013. Rumfold the Scottish Fold Around October we bought and brought home a new member to our family — Rumfold! Rumfold is a male Scottish Fold with a pedigree and official papers. Ridiculously sweet and loving cat! Got him from Bonnevie Cattery. So I rode an Elephant in Thailand Company outing was in Bangkok, Thailand! Great bonding time with DM9 peeps especially since I just joined the company. Highlight of the trip? Riding an elephant. That was a crazy experience. Momo As luck would have it we found a really good deal for a Honda Accord. Since the tires read “Momo”, Mich and I decided to name the car… “Momo”! Lol. Anyway, always been a fan of Honda and one of the cars that I drove that I loved the most was the Honda SIR way back in college. Cheers to Momo! 😛 Winning an Award! Winning an award from Globe even if our podcast and our tech site was sponsored by their competitor, Smart! Awesomeeeeee! Kulala Lumpur, Malaysia Got invited by the awesome folks from Sony to cover the regional launch of the Sony Xperia Z1 in KL, Malaysia. Had an awesome time there! Played with new gadgets, met with the Sony regional team, and had some free time to go around KL and see the sights. Two thumbs up Sony! 🙂 The Day I Did 16,899 Steps Mich and I went to Hong Kong and one of my goals was to go around the shopping centers in Mongkok. Earlier that day I bought a Fitbit Flex, a gadget that tracked the number of steps I took. After a grueling day in roaming the streets of Mongkok (and getting lost twice), I checked the number of steps for the day — a whopping 16,899. My Wife is Hotter than a Supermodel Went to Singapore to cover the Singapore Digital Fashion Week courtesy of Opera. Met and had a conversation with supermodel Naomi Campbell. She was definitely beautiful but my wife’s hotness is beyond words, hehe. It was my first time covering a fashion event. Felt sooooo out-of-place but fortunately I was able to find an angle for it that was related to tech and gadgets, hehe. Awesome moment of the trip — we met with one of our friends, Mavie, and she treated us to a superb crab dinner at a restaurant called Crab Party. Arguably the highlight of the whole trip! Celebrating in Singapore Went to Singapore again in December but this time with officemates from DM9 for our annual planning session. There we received the bestest news ever — DM9 won as the Campaign Brief Asia Creative Agency of the Year for the Philippines and our Chairmom, Merlee, won as...
A long overdue post Last December I left TV5 as their Business Unit Head for Online Publishing. Working for a TV network was definitely one of the most fun, enjoyable, and educational experiences I’ve had in my professional career. I will forever look back at my stay at the Kapatid network with fondness especially when I think about all the friends I’ve made and how working there gave me a better perspective into the work of my wife (who happens to be a TV5 reporter). At the start of this year I embarked on a new adventure as the Managing Partner & Director for Di9it (Digit), the creative digital agency of DM9 JaymeSyfu. Jumping over to agency side was initially daunting but I knew it would be the perfect way to round off my digital career. I’ve done product, brand, publishing, blogging, online freelancing, consultancy, and media. The last thing missing on the CV for digital was really agency work. Also the opportunity to work Merlee Jayme, Ronald Barreiro, Alex Syfu, and Eugene Demata, creative powerhouses and industry icons, made it even more appealing! It’s only been six months since I made the jump and it truly has been one of the most challenging and fulfilling times of my life. I’ve learned so much from the team and I have no regrets whatsoever making the jump. Speaking of the team, one of the most exciting things about having a new job is forming and building new relationships. Recruiting and forming a team has always been a challenge but has always been a rewarding experience for me. 🙂 So far we have a pretty good team at Di9it. We still have a few slots open but for now I’m very happy with the guys we have. I’m definitely looking forward to growing with them in this new company! If ever we have more openings I’ll probably post it here. New work. New Relationships. Exciting Times. 🙂 Thank you Lord for this new season and this...
December 28 was my last day working for the Kapatid network, TV5. I worked there for a little over 2 years and it’s been one of the most rewarding posts I’ve ever had. Not financially, but more of the learnings, insights, and experience that a digital/techie marketer can only get by working for a masa-based, traditional, go-for-the-heart TV network. In lieu of the usual “things to be thankful for in 2012” article, allow me to just share the top 5 lessons that I’ve learned working as New Media dude over at TV5. Lesson 1: Hit the Heart Sometimes digital marketers get lost with the technical or creative aspects of their campaigns and their materials. At the end of the day it boils down to your message resonating and connecting with your audience. Regardless if you’re using pictures or text you need to be able to tell a story and build an emotional bridge to the heart of your target market. The temptation to go all-out with features and complex executions will always be there but sometimes a single image can even be more powerful than a website that took months to create. Lesson 2: Web design is not just about creatives or user interface, it should also be about user emotion When people come up with sites they usually zero in on the creatives, the programming, and the user interface. Sometimes the problem with the creative side is they stick to much to templates and stops them from creating something that’s really innovative. Adopt a “there can be no wrong” attitude during brainstorming and let the wildest ideas fly. Ask yourself if this kind of execution will illicit or evoke a certain emotion that you want to tap for your message. Lesson 3: Crisis is inevitable, have a crisis management plan Social media has arrived. It is part of communications now and those that ignore it can do so at their own peril. While social media offers so many promotional and marketing benefits, it can also be the biggest source of headaches for companies. Here’s the bad news: crisis is inevitable. The question is: are we prepared for it? Be preemptive. Create processes and systems for dealing with crisis online. Lesson 4: Never assume everyone understands digital Not everyone can understand and appreciate digital yet. This goes for your target market, your co-workers, and most especially, your bosses. Be patient and relentless in explaining digital. Be the champion, evangelist, and authority in your company. Never ever give this up because the moment you do you will end up being an order-taker. Keep sharpening your mind and always learn the latest trends. Be in the know so you are ahead of everybody else. Lesson 5: Collaborate because you will fail if you do it alone I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant minds in the TV industry in my stay at TV5. Not all of them are digital folks and in fact some of the best learnings I’ve had are from people who haven’t “bought into” the digital craze yet but they have so many insights when they question our work. I know I only said 5 lessons in the the title but I will add one last. And this one is for everyone in TV5 New Media. Lesson 6: Give ownership to your team and let them spread their wings 🙂 To those asking where I’m going next, stay tuned! Can’t say yet but it’s definitely exciting! Happy 2013 everyone!...
I can still vividly remember the first time I stepped into Victory Greenhills. My wife (girlfriend back then) were going through tough times and she convincing me to attend a “service” in Music Museum on Sunday. Going to a place and interacting with people I didn’t know made me uncomfortable. I was very uneasy about the idea because believe it or not, at that phase in my life I was very anti-social. I was very jaded about friendship and had trust issues. Anyway, I parked the car and we started to walk towards Music Museum. I can still remember thinking to myself that it was just 1 hour and I’d just have to go through it once. Boy was I wrong. When we entered the Music Museum lobby, a fairly old man approached us with a bright and warm smile. I had no idea who he was but it felt like I knew him since forever. He went up to me, shook my hand firmly, and then gave me a hug. I almost broke down in tears. It was as if a sledgehammer hit the stone wall around my heart and mind and made an opening wide enough that made me receptive and open to the preaching later on. To make a long story short, the message of that day was about relationships and at the end of it the pastor did an altar call and we gave our lives to Jesus. I eventually found out that the man who gave me that life-changing hug was one of the volunteer ushers and he was called “Uncle Delfin” by a lot of people. Sunday after Sunday he would go and greet people coming to church with that trademark smile and hug of his. I can’t count how many times I felt reassured of God’s love each time he’d come up to me and give me that hug and I’d feel as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. Sadly it’s been a while since I last saw Uncle Delfin though because he moved to Victory Fort and I stayed with Victory Greenhills. Last Sunday during the Sunday service, Pastor Dennis Sy said that one of the volunteer ushers was in the hospital battling it out with cancer and that he was dying. Despite how sick he was, the man kept on saying that he wanted to keep on serving Jesus as much as he can. That he wanted to get up from the hospital bed, go to service, and keep on serving as an Usher. I had a bad feeling when I heard this. Fast forward to today. I just found out from Abijov Ong that Uncle Delfin is the usher Pastor Dennis was talking about and that he was dying from pancreatic cancer (click to read Brix Briones’ account of his experience with Uncle Delfin as shared by Abijov). As soon as I read the update my heart broke and I found myself in tears. Just like Brix, I never really knew Uncle Delfin but I felt God’s love through him. I’m writing this because I know that a lot more people have been touched by Uncle Delfin’s kindess and love. Even if you haven’t met him I hope that this short entry will give you at least an idea of how great this man is. Please do say a prayer for his complete and total recovery. Uncle Delfin is proof that random acts of kindess can change lives. He changed mine. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. – Psalm...