MANILA – “Yan ang tunay na lakas!”
It’s a familiar line– and one repeated happily when the people of FCB Manila received the welcome news it had been waiting for: that Asia Brewery, Inc. awarded its entire Cobra Energy Drink business to the agency after a two-round, 5-way pitch against top advertising agencies in the country.
With strong agencies battling for the brand, what was the one thing that led client to choose FCB Manila? Why did ABI feel FCB Manila is the most suited to address the needs of the brand in today’s changing times? Where was FCB Manila strongest?
“FCB’s core strength is based on deep consumer understanding and excellent execution of the brand idea into advertising communications”, says Chay Cruel, ABI’s VP for Marketing, Business Development and International Business (non-alco).
The Cobra brand has always stood for power and energy. Its previous campaigns have managed to define the essence of its function and personality very well. But changing times represented new challenges for the brand- and new opportunities as well.
For an agency whose DNA is based on creating change, however, this was a challenge it not just welcomed, but embraced. For the new campaign, this meant creating a deeper meaning for the brand, and heightening its relevance for the people the brand serves.
Creating relevance meant digging deeper into the psyche, motivations, and aspirations of the market were the first order of business–-one that the strategy team led by Strategy Director Lizette Santos did very thoroughly. The result: a full-color portrait of the Cobra man, and a strong strategy that guided the team through all aspects of the campaign.
Power and strength were still definitely the prevailing Cobra themes. But for those working on Cobra pitch, there was a new theme that came directly from the client and strategy briefs.
Inspiration.
When the main requirement of the client brief is to inspire people to be extraordinary– it’s hard not to be inspired. The result was something the team–Executive Creative Director Jake Tesoro, Creative Director Bong Pedro and Senior Art Director John Suguitan. Great ideas were in fact flowing, according to Bong, the hardest part was to choose the strongest ones to execute.
Client Services Director Sheryl Gregory, supported by BUD Kristine Verzo and Senior Account Manager Regine Mercado, sees the new assignment as a great opportunity to demonstrate the agency’s “malasakit”-based servicing with building client’s business a the core.
For FCB Manila’s General Manager Ellen Samano, the win represents a new level of strength in the agency’s business relationship with ABI. The agency has been part of the growth and success of ABI’s Vitamilk, making it a major player in the category within a short span of three years since its launch in 2013. She says the agency looks forward to even greater achievements together, with this new assignment as well as other ABI brands.
