For nearly a decade now, Philippine delegates to the Cannes Lions have competed in the Young Creatives. In 2010, the same year that the Philippines sends two teams to the Young Lions, it also fields its first team to the first Cannes Lions Young Marketers competition: Bayan’s Mary Loise Marasigan and Dave Buenviaje.
They were chosen during the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) Brand Camp last April 29 to May 1 at the Taal Vista Hotel. Teams from Bayan, Jollibee, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Nutriasia, SMART, Unilab, Unilever and Wyeth competed for the prestigious event, with Unilab fielding two teams.
Given the project, "What’s Next for Brand Aid?", the eleven teams were given overnight to create their brief, in the same manner as the actual competition. The Cannes Lions Young Marketers presented a five-minute brief to a panel of creatives and media strategists, using no more than eight slides, including the title slide. The panel then had five minutes to grill the Young Marketers on their brief.
PANA Brand Camp judges Mitos Borromeo, GroupM CEO; David Guerrero, BBDO Guerrero CEO and chief creative officer, and Jos Ortega, JWT Manila CEO chose Team Bayan over eleven teams. The team identified its market as individual consumers, with the project open to company sponsors, and espoused placing a common ad in all relevant platforms for one day.
"We wanted to put structure into one idea, and making it a continuous process," said Buenviaje, drawing from his brand experience. "We only used three sentences in our presentation, that we really believed in," added Marasigan.
Earning second and third places, respectively, were Team SMART (Carla Yap Sy Su and Gladys C. Co) and Team Unilever (Jacqueline Yuengtian and Vic Gutierrez).
PANA Brand Camp was organized after Philippine representative to the Cannes Lions, the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Group Sales Director Pepito Olarte, approached PANA to choose representatives from its member companies.
PANA Brand Camp prepared the teams through speakers Peter Rodenbeck, DDB Asia Pacific vice-president and regional director; Peter Sandor, Bates 141 Philippines CEO, and Raymond Arrastia, Leo Burnett Manila managing director, as well as Hermie De Leon, Omnicom Media Group Philippines and PHD Network president and CEO, who imparted valuable tips to the pioneer Brand Campers.
After the speakers, the teams presented prepared briefs to a panel of mentors which further drilled the on the nuances of a brief. Joining De Leon as mentors were Teeny Gonzales, Seven A.D. managing director, Bebot Ngo, Publicis JimenezBasic joint-CEO, and Raoul Panes, Leo Burnett Manila executive creative director.
PANA President Margot Torres hailed the first Brand Camp a success, stating "4As and MSAP, as well as the delegates, gave positive feedback."
adobo magazine. The Word on Advertising.
