Margot, what really happened to the Baguio AdCon?
It was a tough decision to give up Baguio. We had our minds set on it. We had everything planned. Nobody wanted to harass everyone five weeks before the event and say “Hey, let’s change venue.”
But people in Pangasinan told us that the dikes were affected, and any downpour in Pangasinan would make it worse.
We sent teams out: one team to Subic to assess the fallback venue, and another team to Baguio. Our Baguio team took nine hours on the NBCC recommended route—Manaoag, Urdaneta, Rosario and then Marcos Highway. Along Marcos Highway, there were five areas na inaayos pa ng DPWH.
Furthermore DPWH said that the repairs would take long. “Di kayo aabot. You’re risking it in time for the Congress.” If we add pa to the all the traffic, it’s going to slow down the repairs of the road.
And there we were, lobbying [in Pangasinan], “Could you fix the Rosario Bridge in time [for Ad Congress]?”
Of course, the local government was saying, “We have other priorities—the people who got flooded here in Pangasinan.” We were the least of their problems.
So the question was this: Do we force Baguio and stay pristine as a committee in the public’s eye or put the 3,000 delegates at risk?
Wala eh. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. But I’m not going to have the lives of 3,000 people on my conscience.
And how did the sponsors feel about your predicament?
In fact, that was also our problem. If we had pushed for Baguio a lot of our sponsors would have really pulled out. Aside from the 3,000 delegates, we actually have millions of pesos worth of equipment that are being brought up that are also at risk. Of course, it’s not as valuable as the lives of the people, but still at risk.
What about all the other scenarios: cancellation, postponement…?
That was the first thing that cropped up. Not even [the issue of] Baguio. Remember that Ondoy hit Metro Manila first. And that’s when they asked: “Itutuloy pa ba ang Ad Congress?”
The whole “Let’s cancel the congress” movement’s premise was this was not the time for celebration, so I threw it back: Who said that the Ad Congress was a celebration? It’s actually a business meeting. It’s a gathering of the industry, and it’s a time to learn.
Besides we all felt, how could we actually make a difference if you don’t do anything? This was the best time, in fact, to change the whole congress’s purpose and get the industry to talk about it.
Then there was another movement pa: Let’s postpone the Ad Congress. Maybe by that time, Baguio will be accessible. Or kahit Metro Manila na lang (except all venues were already booked).
I heard everyone’s opinion in the last 14 days, and [the analyses led] to the same thing: If you postpone, if you don’t get the industry together, you can’t get it behind a new purpose. In January, it would be too late. So, that’s the way we all felt.
Plans are in place. Companies have made their commitments. Sponsors are 100 percent behind us. Let’s do this.
Now, that AdCon is moving to Subic, are you keeping the theme of Perspectives?
The premise of Perspectives was an economic crisis, that we’re faced with challenging times, and that you should look at things now at a multi-dimensional way. Now actually, it’s more challenging. It’s not just economic, it’s now socio-economic and even environmental. So the branding is still appropriate.
And the content will be more meaningful. When they hear about this Brand-Aid concept, they’ll really see “wow, my job isn’t just approving an ad or writing one. Or preparing for an event.” There will be real meaning.
So this might actually be a transition to what the Ad Congress should be. Maybe the whole era of “the Ad Congress is one big celebration and junket” will finally be over, and people will start to realize that it’s really a different Ad Congress, which really, it is.
What about delegates who aren’t looking for more meaning?
We still have a great program. We’re retaining the digital speakers; it is still a hot topic, typhoon or no typhoon. We have marketing to children and more topics. We still have the exhibit.
But no matter how you skew this, AdCon will still take a hit, right?
I think we’re going to lose about 30 percent of our income. That assumes that we will recover the money that we already disbursed to Baguio. Part of the net income still includes the donation of 100 percent of proceeds from Araw Awards tickets and registration fees to our sports activities—that’s about PhP 3 million. Without the donation, our income projection is half of the original.
But nobody’s complaining. I think the committees have been really great in finding how to scale down expenses and removing the unnecessary. Really? You think the Ad Congress is going to fail because there’s no bowling?
And does this mean the end of the long love affair between AdCon and Baguio City?
No. Not at all. The Camp John Hay people have been very accommodating and the Office of the Mayor also. In fact, Mayor Bautista’s coming to Manila on October 22nd, and we’re having lunch. We want to meet him, offer help and ask him how we can help move forward…There are other ways we can help Baguio beyond this Ad Congress.
Your team put in so much work towards a Baguio AdCon, and now that almost everything has changed, how do you feel?
Actually, I thought that planning for it early would be an advantage…. Come to think of it, it is.
If we didn’t plan it well with such an experienced and dedicated committee, we probably can’t turn it around in five weeks. It was so clear in everyone’s minds what they would do without and what the implication of the venue change would be to them. And Subic just happened to be available on the right dates.
Aside from the fact that I’m persona non grata in Baguio right now, I’m still happy with how things are coming along and falling into place. I mean, how lucky can you get?
