MANILA – Philippine National Bank (PNB) wants new blood for its relaunch by choosing IdeasXMachina (IXM), the reigning Independent Agency of the Year, as its creative AOR.
IXM emerged as the winner after besting four unnamed agencies in a pitch last June. The media assignment will be handled by Dentsu Aegis Network’s Carat arm, upon the recommendation of IXM.
In an apparent response to the booming consumer economy and the recent influx of advertising for banking and financial services, PNB, which acquired Allied Bank to become one of the top five biggest banks in the Country, decided it is about time to rekindle its hey days of banking supremacy in the Philippines. Instead of going with name-brand ad agencies, the marketing team of PNB led by new Chief Marketing Officer Martin Reyes and Retail Operations Chief Joven Hernandez picked IXM for the creative assignment.
The bank, which is now under the management of the Lucio Tan Group (LTG), is poised to reclaim its status as the nation’s premier financial institution, putting in place innovative customer-centric assets and services since 2013. IXM got the attention of PNB for its work on Asia Brewery’s alcohol brands Brew Kettle and Tanduay Ice, also under the Lucio Tan Group.
IXM CEO Third Domingo said that the win is a testament to the growing capabilities of his young boutique shop, not only on creatives but also on its sound strategic thinking.
“PNB is unlike most of the other brands we handle. Our seasoned PNB clients can see through the emptiness of a creative reco, so to win them it was important to back everything up with data and ingenious thought, and to present it with honesty and maturity. Long gone are the times when Agencies can still regale their clients with bullshit, or be chosen (by a potential client) on the strength of personal connections. I am glad that IXM proved once again that we can rise above that with work that we hope push the standards of advertising in Asia.”
