MANILA, PHILIPPINES — When the government officially announced the placement of the whole of Luzon under “enhanced community quarantine” in March of 2020, so began the longest lockdown in the world. Changing the lives of many, it also caused numerous disruptions — in transportation, schooling, and learning, and more so in the workplace as offices abruptly had to shift to a work-from-home setup.
One industry that was not spared from this unprecedented disruption was advertising, whose environment, as cheekily described by AdAge, consists of “old style of easy collaboration: sweaty rooms full of crumpled paper and half-empty coffee cups and glass walls covered in Post-Its.”
A nurturing yet results-driven culture
For award-winning creative house GIGIL, it is almost hard to imagine how such an agency, recipient of the International Small Agency of the Year in the AdAge Small Agency Awards for 2021, was able to not only adapt to the times, but also continuously churn out work that the young firm has built its name on: fun, brave, and all passion. And most of all, Filipino in spirit.
Credit goes to the culture and environment that the agency has set in place even before the pandemic, a safe space that is in equal measure nurturing and creative yet results-driven.
“Firstly, we made sure that employees were all home, safe and healthy,” shares Jake Yrastorza, the firm’s Managing Partner. “We’ve also been frequently checking in on people beyond the usual project meetings. We always want to make sure everyone is healthy, mentally and emotionally,”
We have your back
Towards this end, the agency introduced 3 key initiatives for the benefit of the whole organization, namely: GIG Morning, a twice-a-week informal session where people get to check on each other while also getting to share award-winning work from around the world; GIG Spot, where the agency comes together to celebrate wins, milestones, birthdays and is done twice a month; and GIG It Easy, a “hump day” that allows employees to destress and participate in games, also done twice a month.
For Account Director Micco Balana, who has always relied on physical interactions to get a good grasp of everything that’s running, participating in GIG Morning has been most helpful during the lockdown.
“It’s very important to me that I get to interact with the people I am working with. With the absence of physical contact, GIG Mornings are a nice way to still keep that relationship with the rest of the agency,” he says.
Similarly, in view of how advertising work can get overwhelming, a special mid-year break from July 16 to 20 was implemented, during which the office closed shop, allowing the team to recharge. As well, the granting of a mid-year bonus, expanded healthcare coverage, plus the institutionalization of the GIGIL Hug Program where employees can consult with a Professional Therapist or Counselor for free were all set into motion.
“I had two medical ordeals this year and during those times, the agency never made me feel like I was giving less. If anything, I felt I could focus on myself while they cover for me,” Balana relates.
Creativity cannot be locked down
Interestingly enough, despite the major adjustments that working virtually has brought, not to mention the numerous challenges the pandemic and the lockdowns have caused, the agency has found that, as Yrastorza notes, “collaborating virtually is not only possible; it’s also allowed us to be more productive.”
This was enabled by the strong belief shared across the agency: that they will need to deliver, no matter what. Says Yrastorza: “Our clients have entrusted us with their business. We owe it to them. No shortcuts, no quick fixes. Their success is also our success.”
Balana agrees. “Pre or during pandemic, it’s that gigil to do beyond what’s expected that pushes me — and, I’d like to believe, everyone else — to relentlessly give more in every opportunity I get.”
Thus, the agency was able to produce such impactful work as their campaign for Netflix, which Balana is particularly proud of.
“It is very close to my heart because it’s for Christmas, it’s about food and it leverages on ayuda culture which, to me, is the one of the few good things this pandemic started.”
Further proof that indeed creativity can’t be locked down, GIGIL also took home honors in 2021 from Youtube Works and from such prestigious bodies like ADFEST, AD STARS, CLIO, Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity, London International Awards, and the APAC Effie Awards — proof that GIGIL’s ideas build client’s business.
Clearly, as GIGIL has shown us, creativity cannot be locked down, not even during the most difficult of times. “Absolutely, creativity knows no locks. If anything, it pushes us to go even further,” Balana declares.
