Start-up offers integrated services through five business units
THE PHILIPPINES, AUGUST 1, 2012: An integrated marketing communications group Hot Air Balloon (HAB) has launched boasting a digital core, according to its founders.
HAB comprises five business units that are the backbone of most integrated communications programs these days. “It’s five for now,” said Resty Magno of the initial range of vertical units that have been unveiled.
Magno was managing director of Admax Network before leaving the digital group after eight years early this year to roll out HAB.
The group’s agency operations will reside within Hot Air Balloon, mobile in Gondola, production outsourcing in Burner and media in Envelope, which has its eye on digital media platforms.
HAB has secured a reseller deal for mobile app with application in retail, iButterfly, which it will market under Gondola. Burner has earmarked app development as a speciality, an area the group believes could provide it with a global market through its outsourcing model.
A fifth unit Altitude for events and activation is tentatively set to launch in August.
Two launch options are being explored – a joint-venture with another group operating in the space or appointing an MD to set up the business from scratch.
Magno has been joined at HAB by partners who left long careers at established companies to strike out on their own. Jay Bautista was Nielsen Philippines’ managing director when he left last year-end after 19 years with the research company and T J Parpan founded INDIO and later became the managing director of DentsuINDIO, serving for a combined 15 years until the office closed down in June.
Parpan is group chief executive overseeing the five business units. Bautista, Jojo Tanjuatco and Rufi Parpan are respectively managing directors of Envelope, Hot Air Balloon and Burner. Gondola is currently led by a business director, Almina Libao, formerly with Admax and Mindshare.
HAB has been helped in its launch phase by a number of DentsuINDIO clients, which shifted shop after the agency’s closure. The shift has been seamless since both companies had collaborated on work for most of these clients in the past. HAB had provided planning, buying, direct and production services, and DentsuINDIO in turn offered strategy development for HAB clients.
“We are digital at our core and the business units can create engaging experiences through their respective contact points. However, there is always the ability of the group to effectively integrate these contact points,” said Parpan.
Citing events as an example, he pointed to opportunities to leverage digital in a way that would allow brands to maximize use of this touchpoint.
“Right now, events are an analog experience but we see a lot of lost opportunities in events to better engage or capture users’ information through real-time user participation, social media integration of on-the-ground activities, creating a virtual extension of the events and innovative promotional executions.”
