R-words are in the air. Words like reuse, reduce, recycle — and not to forget, recession. Everyone’s hit, but ZenithOptimedia is taking a stand on maximizing another R-term: ROI.
Billing itself as the country’s only ROI Media Agency, ZenithOptimedia held the Philippines’ biggest and first ROI conference at the Mandarin Oriental Manila this Tuesday, May 19. The conference aimed to provide a venue to discuss recession and how media can help maximize ROI in a slowdown – essentially, to take action. How else can you deal with it, right?
First to take the stage was Guy Abrahams, ZenithOptimedia’s Regional Director of Communications Planning for Asia Pacific. Abrahams discussed the term “new premium” wherein he said that, “During recession times, people are spending more on stuff that cost more. People economize and save and get to that stage when they say ‘Please let me have a little special thing. I’m not eating in a fancy French restaurant, I’m just having a beer so let me buy a premium beer.’” Understanding changing consumer habits is important and when consumers use brands more, more ROI will be driven.”
Abrahams focused the audience on ads showing consumer empathy, price consciousness and community togetherness as effective campaigns in these difficult times. T Mobile’s “Life’s for Sharing” campaign focuses on togetherness, with a 15,000-strong Hey Jude sing along. Reserved Brits they were not for 5 minutes. Imagine 15,000 eager Filipinos who are undoubtedly better singers doing the ad! Another campaign, for Hyundai Assurance, guarantees that buyers can return their newly purchased Hyundai should they lose their income or their job.
“Cut projects, not budgets,” was Abrahams’ succinct advice. Fewer projects, but better planned and well-supported. The recession is the best time to grow market share, he adds. Spending more money on digital will generate ROI as well. He then explained the importance of search, saying, “Search has increased dramatically in every single market across Asia and that’s more than the Internet penetration across markets.”
If only for the afternoon, ZenithOptimedia played peacemaker between warring TV giants GMA and ABS-CBN, as representatives from both networks gave their standpoints on how TV can provide an advantage in an economic slowdown. If your eyes were sharp enough, you would have seen both greet each other warmly during the event. Ceasefire! Leah Nuyda, VP for Entertainment TV Sales of GMA, and August Benitez, SVP for Customer Development Group for ABS-CBN, discussed their networks’ techniques for riding out the slump. The event was topped off with the Media Manager of ADMAX Network Philippines, Jeffrey Saez, who inspired the attendees on how digital advertising can improve ROI despite the recession.
Speaking of ROI, the letter I does not just stand for investment. Nor does I stand for myself. It stands for individuals with imagination! For improvement and innovation. And that’s what ZenithOptimedia is advocating – action, amidst the recession.
On the latter, readers can take their cue from the event’s hostess, the bubbly Tessa Prieto-Valdez. Adorned in her usual eye-catching style, the ultra-consumer shared her justification for shopping: she buys people’s products because they need to sell their products after all. It’s what her husband jokingly calls her “recovery economic point”. Recovery… that’s the R-word we can all anticipate.
