MANILA – On the International Day of Women, women were front and center for the Media Specialist Association of the Philippines. This past March 8, the MSAP inducted a new Board of Directors led by Carat Philippines CEO Gladys Basinillo as president for the coming year.
Joining her are OMG’s Mary Buenaventura as vice-president, Leah Camilla R. Besa-Jimenez from StarcomMediavest as treasurer, and Cris Cepeda of Maxus.
After staging two successful Media Congresses that dealt with themes that are important for the advertising world, newly-elected president Basinillo bared plans to stage a third Media Congress simultaneously with the second ICE Awards to establish a biennial tradition for the industry.
“Today, it’s about connections and not transactions,” Basinillo stated in her speech to the MSAP. “It’s shaping consumer experiences to build better brand identity and loyalty. The power of consumer conversation to build businesses has never been greater. And all of this…this revolution is happening in real time.”
In a gathering of some of the most influential media planners and media agencies in the country, it was not lost on the attendees that the Board of Directors was composed purely of women. It was indeed a momentous occasion, if ever there was one.
“Media is so complex that traditional, linear ways of planning has become irrelevant,” Basinillo explained. “Consumers and brands now interact in an ecosystem of multiple touch points, in which bought, owned and earned channels are seamlessly integrated. That holistic ecosystem is what media planning today has embraced.”
Addressing her MSAP members, she stated that, “We need to be more organized. In the end, we owe it to our clients, partner agencies, partner suppliers, and our respective agencies to make a difference in this industry. Most of all, we owe it to the next generation to make sure that we protect our business interest.”
“Indeed exciting times are ahead of us,” Basinillo continued. “I believe that we can effect so much change because of our role in the bigger scheme of things. We know the consumer because of data, we are trained to negotiate for the best deals in the market, we’ve embarked into content – campaigns and ideas that fit within the integrated media ecosystem, we’ve redefined our business model to be responsive to clients needs.”
“I honestly think we will move towards this direction, where media agencies will be evaluated more on the basis of creativity and strategy and less in terms of cost savings and lower fees, she said, before concluding, “everything will be more open without putting at risk the interest of the clients and the agencies. The possibilities are limitless. And it is the role of media agencies to connect these points of possibilities to make them realities.”
In photo are the Media Specialist Association of the Philippines Board of Directors inducted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Sandy Prieto Romualdez. (From L to R) Prieto-Romuadez, President Gladys R. Basinillo from Carat, Vice-President Mary Buenaventura from OMG, Cris Cepeda of Maxus, and Treasurer Leah Camilla R. Besa-Jimenez from StarcomMediavest.
