The 2019 Board of Trustees of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As) were sworn in at the organization’s general membership meeting and induction at the Glass Space of Ayala Museum, last February 15. In the photo are: (from L to R) John Lucas of Campaigns and Grey, David Guerrero of BBDO Guerrero, Maya Roldan of VMLY&R, Teeny Gonzalez of Seven A.D., Tats Cruz of Publicis Jimenez Basic, Alex Syfu of DentsuJaymeSyfu, Golda Roldan of JWT, Melvin Mangada of TBWA\SMP, Inducting Officer Mariles Gustilo of Ayala Museum, and Raul Castro of McCann-Worldgroup.
Bringing together heavyweights in the advertising and communication industries, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies (4As) of the Philippines inducted its 2019 Board of Trustees last February 15 at the Glass Space of the Ayala Museum in Makati City.
This year’s Board of Trustees is led by BBDO Guerrero Chairman and CCO David Guerrero, who has been elected as Chairman, and Seven A.D. CEO Teeny Gonzales, who is now the President of the organization.
“As technology becomes dispensable and is here today and gone tomorrow, great ideas that build businesses will become more and more of a necessity and will be key to making us indispensable. So let us not lose sight of the value that our craft and expertise bring. Because at the end of the day, technological innovation will come and go, but creativity is here to stay. And so are we,” Gonzales said.
Aside from Guerrero and Gonzales, the members of 4As Board of Trustees are: Tats Caluag-Cruz, Client Service Director of PublicisJimenezBasic as Vice President; Maya Roldan, Client Services Director, VLMY&R Philippinesas Corporate Secretary; Golda Roldan, Managing Director of JWT as Treasurer; Alex Syfu, Managing Partner and Chief Client Officer of DentsuJaymeSyfu as Corporate Comptroller; Raul Castro, CEO of McCann WorldgroupPhilippines as Trustee; John Lucas, CEO of Campaigns and Grey as Trustee; and, Melvin Mangada, Managing Partner and CCO of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno as Trustee.
For this year, the board has devised a more focused vision for the organization as ‘Champions of Creativity,’ which is symbolized by a refreshed logo designed by John Ed De Vera, Creative Director of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno. These changes are intended to help marketers in the Philippines and around the region to tap into the globally-recognized power of Filipino creativity. The organization further resolves to put “creativity at the heart of everything we do” because of the proven connection between creativity and marketing effectiveness. This is summed up in the theme for the year—’Creativity Means Business.’
“The 4As is for Business – we are dedicated to showing the link between creativity and effectiveness in our awards shows like Agency of the Year Awards, CreativeFest, and Ad Summit. On top of that, we will support more initiatives to make clear the link that shows why our solutions are worth paying for,” Guerrero said.
Programs for the year will revolve around talent development, including hosting qualifying competitions and offering full sponsorships for six of the country’s best young creatives to the Asia Pacific AdFest in Thailand, the Spikes Asia Festival in Singapore, and the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity – the world’s leading creative competition.
The 4As will also inaugurate, through the 4As Creative Guild, the first-ever CreativeFest in Manila, along with the long-standing Kidlat Creative Awards, which has been recognizing creative excellence since 2007. These activities will be led by this year’s Creative Guild President Merlee Jayme (Dentsu Jayme Syfu) with the full support of the 4As.
Other programs include the Aral continuing professional development seminars, which are open to all 4As member agencies. There will also be the 22nd annual Agency of the Year awards to be held in July, the most highly regarded awards event among creative, media and production companies. The organization will also back the annual SportsFest as its way of promoting sportsmanship and healthy competition among advertising and communication professionals.
In addition, the 4As will look at the issues of welfare at work more generally and will advocate for issues affecting the entire marketing industry, especially those concerning regulation, brand safety, and the promotion of values that increase social good in the community.
