More young people on Relic’s Facebook

Age demographics of "Saint John Bosco relic pilgrimage (Negros-Cebu) Photos" Facebook page.

More young males, most likely Bosconians within the 13-24 age bracket, clicked “Like” in our Facebook page “Saint John Bosco relic pilgrimage (Negros-Cebu) Photos” than their older fellow Bosconians aged 35-54. More interesting, the number of females within the 45-54 age bracket surpassed by nearly half their males counterparts.

No, this does not this mean younger Bosconians who are still in high school or just graduated within the past eight years vastly outnumber those who graduated at least 29 years ago in their interest on the pilgrimage of Saint John Bosco as shown in the actual turnout during the alumni vigil last December 16, 2010.

The Facebook initiative was carried out to stir interest and participation in the ongoing relic pilgrimage and the coming Pilgrimage Commemorative Book.

We, in PRworks Inc., believe this demographics tell us something else. It shows how products of a technology school at various age levels have embraced social media and how they behave online.

For example, some 15 alumni from class 77 of Don Bosco Technological High School (DBTHS) came during the vigil. But only one or two liked the online pilgrimage page.

“I seldom use the Internet or logon in Facebook. My kids (who are already teenagers) use the computer most of the time,” said one class 77 alumni and an engineering graduate. A batch mate said he had his teenager set up his Facebook for him.

Meanwhile, while more males joined the Facebook page than females, the figures showed that more females within the ages 45-54 are more active on Facebook than the supposedly technologically-savvy males within the same age bracket.

So it is not just the teenagers who are more into social media. The number of females, from ages 45 to 54 years old and who are most likely mothers and wives, are more active online than males.

Though the number of samples are still small (just over a hundred as of this writing), the figures culled from the Facebook Insight of the relic pilgrimage page provide us with an idea on who are most likely to respond to advocacy and marketing efforts online.

This is just an initial observation though. We intend to update this analysis in the coming days. Check us out from time to time.

Filed under: Case Studies, Projects in Progress, Cebu, demographics, Don Bosco alumni, Facebook, Negros, Philippines, relic, Saint John Bosco, Visayas

Initial foray into social media boosts GT cosmetics

GT Cosmetics events are getting posted in other sites ...

Expansion beyond the shores of Cebu to other Visayan Islands and Mindanao for a local cosmetics maker could not have been as fast this year without a boost from social media particularly bloggers based in Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Iloilo Cities.

This developed after the Cebu-based GT Cosmetics began expanding its market for products like its carrot and whitening soaps this year with a series of media launches in key urban centers in the Visayas and Mindanao. GT Cosmetics products are now displayed in practically all major malls in the Visayas and Mindanao and convenience stores like Watsons.

“Aside from members from the local media like print, radio and television, we also extended invitations to bloggers. Not only was I surprised by the interest of the blogging community, the impact of write-ups in blogs continues to astound me,” said Engineer Leonora Salvane, owner of GT Cosmetics.

She noted that even after the initial excitement weeks after each launch, the articles posted in the online versions of local media outlets and the blogs continues to stimulate interest and interaction online.

“The articles even got posted and commented in a Las Vegas online paper and product review websites,” an excited Salvane said. Because of this, the company now intends to develop this presence in social media especially with its goal of expanding its present foothold in Metro Manila.

For GT Cosmetics, this foray into social media has a lot of promise considering that the Philippines, which has a population of some 99 million Filipinos, already has 29.7 million Internet users.

Internet World Stats recorded that the number of Internet users in the Philippines has grown tremendously from a mere 2.6 percent of the population in 2000 or a growth of 27.1 percent in ten years.

Doris Mongaya, PRworks Inc. managing director, noted that in 2009, Filipino Internet users numbered 24 million. This means there was tremendous growth of some 5.7 million Filipino users by July 2010.

Growing communities of bloggers, people who put up and regularly write in web logs popularly called blogs, are making their presence felt online and offline.

Concentrated in Visayas and Mindanao urban centers, many bloggers are attending and writing about community developments including their experiences with GT Cosmetics products, said Mongaya.

PRworks, which has been helping GT Cosmetics in its ambitious expansion plans, is now laying down plans for broadening the online presence of the cosmetics maker especially in popular social media platforms such as Facebook.

“We, however, recognize that building successful online communities for GT Cosmetics is earned and a result of hard work. The recognition and support online are a result of experiences with quality products. It is largely free but must be won through word-of-mouth online,” said Mongaya whose agency has also made its mark online.

The PRworks Online blog (prworks.wordpress.com), which now has over 12,000 unique views, has earned for the agency choice clients like NEO Laptops and a cell phone manufacturer.

“We believe our experiences with marketing online will further boost GT Cosmetics as its looks forward to markets beyond Visayas and Mindanao,” Mongaya said.

Filed under: Case Studies, News, blogs, Cebu, Cosmetics, Facebook, GT Cosmetics, online marketing success, Philippines, Prworks, social media

Cebu’s strategic location in southern Philippines

NEO has carved a respectable market niche in the Visayas and Mindanao as faces the global competition.

Ehda Dagooc of The Freeman wrote about Dell, the global technology company, making Cebu as a gateway to southern Philippines. This is a logical move for Dell because of Cebu’s strategic location in central Philippines.

Aside from being a progressive metropolis with an international airport and seaport that connects it with major economic powerhouses in Asia, Europe, the United States, and Australia, Cebu is nearer to the major urban centers in other Visayas provinces and in Mindanao.

Thus Ms. Ehda wrote:

“Dell, which does not only boasts of its quality technology hardware, but also for its superior technology solution products, is now targeting the SME market in Southern Philippines by partnering with the Cebu-based IT solutions provider Ng Khai Development Corporation.

According to Dell Global BV, country manager of the Philippine Representative Office Christopher “Chris” Papa, the Philippines offers good growth opportunities for the company, especially the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

With about 980 thousand businesses and over 80 million population in the country, Papa said there is a big untapped market for Dell here.

Dell’s partnership with Ng Khai backs the global technology giant’s bid to expand its regional coverage.

‘Cebu being the second biggest growth center in the Philippines next to Metro Manila, boasts of large-scale manufacturing companies, IT parks and complexes ranging from business process outsourcing, technical support, IT consultancy, up to web development. It is also a major gateway to other major commercial districts as well as the prominent academic community in the Philippines,’ Papa said.

Papa expressed optimism that Dell will be able to address the growing demands of the local business communities across industries for high-end technology offering and solutions.

The recently inked partnership will enable Ng Khai to provide for the IT needs of customers in the Southern Philippine market, as Dell’s Premier Partner in the region.”

Indeed, the market for various products and services in Cebu and southern Mindanao is vast as recognized in the experience of PRworks clients GT Cosmetics, the International NKYR Academy (INA), and NEO, the Filipino laptop maker.

Since last year, PRworks had been helping the three companies (two are based in Cebu while NEO is based in Metro Manila) access and make their presence felt in the Visayas cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, and Tagbilaran as well as Mindanao urban centers particularly the cities of Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga.

This is a vast and growing market far away from the Philippine capital of Manila.

GT Cosmetics, which produces and sells among others beauty and whitening soap products, has for instance carved a respectable chunk of the Visayas-Mindanao market despite the massive marketing campaigns of its Manila-based competitors.

INA, on the other hand, increased enrollment of students from neighboring Visayas provinces and Mindanao wanting to improve their skills and knowhow in massage. This is in line with INA’s vision of upgrading the quality of the wellness industry in the country.

Meanwhile, the Filipino maker of quality laptops NEO is carving a market ahead of the global competition not only in Metro Manila and Luzon, but more so in Cebu, other Visayas provinces and in Mindanao.

Based on their experiences, PRworks is all the more convinced of the vast potentials on the Visayas- Mindanao market not only for its clients or even Dell, but also for other global as well as Cebu and Manila-based companies.

Filed under: Case Studies, News, Views, Bacolod, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Dell, General Santos, GT Cosmetics, Iloilo, INA, Manila, massage, Metro Manila, Mindanao, NEO, Philippines, Tagbilaran, The Freeman, Visayas, wellness industry, Zamboanga

Keep cash flowing when business is generally down.

When people become stingy and start to cut down on spending because times have become difficult, should we panic as we watch our customers stop buying our products or engaging our services? Should we merely wait for the economic situation to brighten while our cash flow dries up?

No, we are not panicking. No, we are not merely waiting at the sidelines. We are tightening our belts in our struggle to keep costs lower. Many even decided to also cut down on their communication and publicity efforts.

Are we doing the right thing?

In a noisy marketplace, is it wise to lower your volume or just stop telling people you are there? How will your consumers, customers, or clients find you? When your competitors are coming in noisy and loud attracting the people who once enjoy your products or services, should you give up the publicity battle and just hope that they will miss you and return eventually?

When sales go down, more competitors eye your consumers, and cash flow begins drying up, one of the best things you can do to kill the business is stop investing on publicity. You will sever your business lifeline and future hope of potential growth.

Robert Kiyosaki, in his book Rich Dad’s “Guide to Investing,” believes spending on communication is not an expense. It is an investment to ensure increasing cash flow. “The better at communicating you are, and the more people you communicate to, the better your cash flow will be … The world is filled with fabulous products, but the money goes to the best communicators.”

The following passage from Kiyosaki’s book is particularly specific:

” ‘Cash flow flowing into your business is in direct proportion to communications going out.” Whenever I find a business that is struggling, it is often a reflection of poor communications going out, not enough communications going out, or both. In general, I find a six week cycle between communication and cash flow. Stop communicating today and in six weeks you will see an impact on your cash flow.”

For PRworks, which is in the business of helping clients in their communication needs, we recognize this reality time and again in our own efforts to communicate our presence and services as well as that of our clients.

GT Cosmetics, a Cebu-based business engaged in producing beauty soap products lines for example, grew by leaps and bounds when people began to read about the product and the company in newspapers, see models on television extolling its virtues, or interact with bloggers who tried and liked the GT products.

This happened after PRworks devised an integrated and strategic public relations campaign in key Visayas and Mindanao urban centers along with Metro Manila.

Today, satisfied users of GT Cosmetics products are growing in numbers in other key cities in central and southern Philippines, and even in Metro Manila. The market share of GT Cosmetics has grown tremendously in two years despite the huge marketing noise of giant competitors which are based in Metro Manila.

Remember, before we delight our consumers with our products or clients with our services so they will come back and even talk about our products and services to their friends and colleagues, we need to publicize our existence and what we have to offer. This should keep our cash flow not only flowing, but more important, also growing.

Filed under: Case Studies, Views, business downturn, cash flow, Cebu, GT Cosmetics, marketing, Mindanao, Philippines, public relations, publicity, Visayas

PR campaign key to Diva2Diva hit

Filling up a plush hotel ballroom with 4,000 Cebuanos on a Monday three days before payday proved to be a challenging task when organizers of the Cebu hit Diva2Diva concert began selling tickets during the long 2008 Christmas vacation.

To recall, both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fell on a Thursday. Considering that the Philippines celebrated Jose Rizal Day – to commemorate the death of the national hero – on December 30, 2008, the whole country experienced the longest Christmas holiday in years. Filipinos came back for work only on January 5, 2009.

The concert was set on December 12, 2009 – the Monday right before Cebu’s grand Santo Niño feast and Sinulog festival the next weekend. Competing for attention was another concert at the same venue on a Friday featuring a comedienne Pokwang of a popular television noontime show that appealed to a wider audience.

Two contrasting feedbacks immediately met PRWorks Inc. Managing Director Doris Mongaya on December 29, 2008, the Monday after Christmas. The agency handled sales and marketing for this grand pre-Sinulog event.

Cebu socialites, business executives and top government officials who stayed in Cebu during the long Christmas vacation were excited to learn that three Philippine divas – Kuh Ledesma, Pops Fernandez and Zsa-Zsa Padilla along with popular male singers Erik Santos and Jed Madela – would perform in a pre-Sinulog concert at the Grand Pacific Ballroom of the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel and Casino on January 12, 2009.

They began buying tickets for choice seats in bulk. After New Year’s Day, practically all the choice seats in the first five rows were filled up.

However, tickets in public outlets in Cebu City’s top malls – Ayala Commercial Center and SM City – were not selling fast as expected during the long vacation. Many prominent Cebuanos were out of town while others complained that a Monday several days before payday was not a good day for the difficult Cebuano market. The middle class meanwhile preferred to buy tickets for the Pokwang show.

With most of the Diva2Diva tickets pegged at P2,500 and P2,000, the initial feedback from ticket outlets was negative in the sense that Cebuanos are accustomed to less expensive concerts in the past. Moreover, the neophyte producer refused to invest in full-page newspaper ads but instead focused on posters placed in malls, call center officers, restaurants, and Cebu nightlife hangouts.

With only eight days to sell tickets starting on the day people begin going back for work, PRWorks Inc. was presented with a dilemma. Would it push for a slashing of the ticket prices to respond to the feedback received from ticket outlets? Or would it persevere in the set pricing scheme but focus on specific niches to fill up the rest of the plush Waterfront ballroom?

After assessing the situation, PRWorks Inc. decided to push through with the pricing scheme.

However, the agency also launched a public relations campaign designed to reach out a non-traditional concert market. According to Doris Mongaya of PRWorks Inc., “We set out to reach out people who have money to spend and don’t rely on the 15^th day paycheck but have yet not decided on what entertainment fare they intend to enjoy during the pre-Sinulog days.

To achieve this, the agency pushed for the putting up of a big billboard befitting a grand pre-Sinulog extravaganza at the busy Gen. Maxilom Avenue. Then, instructions were issued to place the remaining posters at luxury dining destinations around Metro Cebu.

This was followed by press releases positioning the concert as the grandest pre-Sinulog event with a special focus on the Cebuano glitterati falling over each other seeking choice front seats. The subliminal message sent was: “This is THE pre-Sinulog concert. One has to be there or you’re not ‘in.’”

On December 8, 2009, PRWORKS Inc. conducted a press conference at the plush Chinese cuisine destination The Ching Palace that featured phone patch interviews with the divas. An excited local entertainment media responded with prominent features about the Diva2Diva show that week until weekend.

These moves worked like magic on the target audience. Ticket sales grew exponentially especially the premium P2,500 tickets as well as the pang-masa and middle class P300, P700 and P1,000 tickets.

Known socialites who came home from their extended vacations outside Cebu started calling the different ticket outlets reserving what choice seats were left.

Hours before show time, Cebu’s well-heeled high society crowd came in their party’s best quite early to settle in their reserve seats. The hundreds who came to buy at the last minute had to settle for the remaining seats worth P2,000. The other categories were already sold out.

True to their reputation as Philippine divas, Kuh Ledesma, Pops Fernandez and Sza-Sza Padilla wowed Cebu’s high society crowd – which is admittedly a difficult audience to please – with a grand three-hour extravaganza that set the tone for the week’s Sinulog festivities.

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Links to Diva2Diva publicity that appeared online:

Ticket sales are up for ‘showdown’ of divas

Diva2Diva: Kuh Ledesma, Zsa-Zsa Padilla, Pops Fernandez, Live in Cebu

Text bahin ni Cutie alang kang Pops nakapaukay sa media

Related articles

• Sinulog 2012 Route Maps (mycebuphotoblog.wordpress.com)
• Think Cebu (inbetweencolumns.wordpress.com)
• Public Relations in southern Philippines this 2012 (a) (prworks.wordpress.com)
• Sinulog 2012 Schedule of Activities (mycebuphotoblog.wordpress.com)
• Virgin Island (?) Cebu @ Sinulog 2011 (whoanderpul.wordpress.com)
• Public Relations in southern Philippines this 2012 (b) (prworks.wordpress.com)
• Public Relations in southern Philippines this 2012 (c) (prworks.wordpress.com)
• Public Relations in southern Philippines this 2012 (d) (prworks.wordpress.com)
• New tourism slogan is trending in Twitter (prworks.wordpress.com)

Filed under: Case Studies, Events, Public Relations, case study, Cebu, concert, Diva, Festival, music, Philippines, Prworks Inc, public relations, Santo Nino, Sinulog

Cebu Motorshow Benefits Vis-Min Entrepreneurs

Transport entrepreneurs in the Visayas and Mindanao are among many exhibitors who will benefit from the 8th Motorshow Cebu International at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) on October 16to 21, 2007.

Haydee Kwan, Motorshow Philippines International, Inc. Director, that is spearheading the only event of its kind and magnitude outside Metro Manila, revealed this

Over the years, small and medium-scale transport entrepreneurs in the countryside have survived and grown on their own merit. Now, we want to make sure that their industry and ingenuity will get the attention that they deserve, Kwan said.

Located away from major manufacturers of automotive and motorcycle accessories and parts, provincial Filipino entrepreneurs are known for their ability to produce alternative transport products often made from scrap materials.

In lieu of accessories and parts that are difficult to access in remote areas, these ingenious innovations often amaze even the more established manufacturers of auto and cycle parts, bodies and engines.

The Motorshow Cebu International will provide a good exposure for these small companies who fill a special niche in a rapidly expanding transport market. Throughout the six-day event, meet-and-match possibilities between buyers and sellers are endless, Kwan explained.

Filed under: Case Studies, Auto, Business, Cars, Cebu, Cebu International Convention Center, CICC, Commerce, Economy, Motoring, Motorshow, Philippines, Visayas

Launching a web resource for entrepreneurs in Cebu

The decision to re-launch SME.com.ph in Cebu, in central Philippines, shows PR savvy for Planters Development Bank marketing strategi

sts in reaching out to small and medium entrepreneurs in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The web site provides entrepreneurs with a wealth of resources and other support services online. “SME.com.ph connects you and your business to the world market the quick, easy and affordable way,” says bank officials.

Aiming to reach out to the growing number of SMEs in southern Philippines, Plantersbank demonstrate its commitment to be a relevant player in the development of the countryside.

Located some 500 kilometers south of Manila, Cebu is considered an engine of economic growth in the south largely fueled by small and medium enterprises in the export, import, IT and service industries.

Filed under: Case Studies, Business, Cebu, Commerce, Economy, Mindanao, Philippines, Plantersbank, Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, Visayas

SME Industrial Park

Plantersbank has, in effect, observed the principle “Act local, think global” when it contracted PRworks Inc. as its event and public relations partner in the unveiling of the 40-hectare SME Industrial Park at the 120-hectare Naga Township in Cantao-an, Naga town on July 11, 2007.

Prworks Inc. is more than an event organizer. As a public relations firm, it has close access to the local Cebu media as well as the local government leadership under Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong. (Refer to our work for Salcon Power Corp., which included close coordination with the local government unit).

Filed under: Case Studies, Business, Cebu, Commerce, Economy, Naga, Philippines, Plantersbank, Prworks Inc, Small and Medium Enterprises, SME Industrial Park, SMEs, Visayas