MANILA, PHILIPPINES — RMN Networks’ Marketing and Media Ventures, Inc. (RMN-MMV), the sales and creative marketing arm of one of the largest radio networks in the country Radio Mindanao Network, hosted a metaverse-inspired virtual media trade event called RMN 360X MMVerse (Multi-Media-Verse) last September 23.
The highly immersive virtual event was RMN’s celebration of its 70th anniversary with a media trade launch show as the key event exclusively created and developed for media agency partners and advertisers.
RMN 360X MMVerse Experience
As part of the digitally progressing media networks, RMN-MMV wanted to establish how traditional media such as Radio can co-exist with Digital media. RMN-MMV was able to demonstrate this in an interactive, metaverse-like experience for its clients and partners as they celebrated the team’s platinum anniversary with them.
The journey to the virtual event started with an EDM (Electronic Direct Mail) that was sent weeks earlier to all invited guests, who are mostly from the media agencies. The EDM is a way to encourage them to register in advance and to allow them to create their own 3D avatar that will serve as their “digital twin” inside the virtual universe.
On the event day, around 300 registered avatars simultaneously logged in and landed on the 360X virtual playground. They were greeted by RMN’s own avatar, RadyoMan, and given instructions on how to navigate the MMVerse. The avatars were also able to interact with the other avatars present via live chat.
All avatars were given 45 minutes to roam freely and explore the virtual playground, particularly the seven virtual product booths that showcased RMN’s on-air, online, and on-ground products and services. Each virtual booth had interactive and gamified features, making the exploration more engaging. Similarly, for each booth visited, an avatar gained virtual points that determined their avatar rankings. The rankings corresponded to special prizes like a 360 camera, sports watch band, retro-style radio sets, cash for e-wallets, and more.
The Media Trade Launch Show was streamed live, and avatars were virtually transported to the 360X stage to watch it. The show had three parts, and started with the two short documentary films. The first film, #AngKwentongRMN, visually narrated RMN’s 70-year history as a radio network. The second film, #AngKwentongRMNKo, was a testimonial narrative from respective media industry practitioners who have worked and partnered with RMN over the years.
The show concluded with #AngBagongKwentongRMN, which focused on the new and upcoming product stories of RMN as a digitally-transformed network.
RMN MMV Executive Vice President and COO Erika Canoy-Sanchez stated that this is also a way for RMN to pave the way to the digital future of the network and continue to provide creative media services to all media agencies and brand partners.
“We have pretty much set the stage for all of [our media partners] to see and experience the overall digital transformation of the RMN Network,” Erika noted.
With the help of Imagine Realities Inc. (IR) as the virtual tech development team and Wishcraft Creative Affairs Team Inc. as the line event production team, the RMN MMV 360X Trade Experience is made into a “virtual reality,” and successfully gave the media agencies and brands the innovative and creative overall virtual trade experience never done before by any radio network.
The RMN 360X Media Dashboard launch
The main feature of the show was the launch of the RMN 360X Media Dashboard, an A.I.-powered media planning tool that unifies all of RMN’s products, from on-air (radio), on-ground (events and activations), online (social and web), and on-point (media research products), enabling media planning and buying agencies to strategically and effectively plan, create, curate, and negotiate in real-time with the network to get the best RMN media package that suits their budget, target audience, and other planning KPIs. All they have to do is add their media product selections to a campaign builder cart and instantly, they get a customized summary of their RMN media plan which they can send to RMN sales for final negotiations.
The Innovations and Marketing team of RMN-MMV, led by Innovations and Business Development Director Tristan Nacino, spearheaded the development of the RMN 360X Media Dashboard. “It is just one of RMN-MMV’s product innovations exclusively created and developed to cater to the planning needs of our business partners, the media agencies, and clients today, particularly digital solutions complementing our on-air product offerings,” Tristan shared.
“In addition to that, the RMN 360X also serves as a tactile solution to locally iterate and complement the media planning approach of many brands today, known as ‘ALWAYS ON,’ and our strategic and hyper-local articulation is what we call ‘ALWAYS-ON-TARGET,’ a planning discipline that you can only get from RMN,” he furthered.
“ALWAYS ON-TARGET” is more than just a media planning strategy in RMN, it’s a progressive and encompassing mindset that guides RMN-MMV’s creative and ideation processes to be more purposefully relevant to its client’s needs.
The Future of RMN
“As we turn the pages of the past, we use [our] history to move us forward into the digital future,” Erika expressed in her parting message.
Closing the show, Tristan shared, “At sa patuloy [na] pagsuporta [sa RMN], sabay-sabay din nating itutuloy ang paglikha ng mga Bagong Kwentong RMN, hindi lang sa radyo, maging sa makabagong media.”
The immortal and visionary words from the network’s founder, Don Henry R. Canoy, accurately describe RMN’s future endeavors: “I have faith in the next generation, though I won’t be around to see it happen, I know that they’ll take RMN to greater heights and turn it into something bigger than I ever dared imagine or aspire for.”
