MANILA, PHILIPPINES– When posts all-too-relatable stopped the thumbs of ad-people on the last week of October, it was normal to hold down the like button and look for the appropriate reaction. From there, it was easy to send the said post to private work chats and have a laugh or two; except, it was not easy to miss that the publisher is one that is an authoritative body in the industry. Such is the signature magic of IdeasXMachina Group of Hakuhodo for the Philippines’ (IXM) 4As takeover.
The word on creativity, adobo magazine, went straight to the horse’s mouth and dissected the takeover that brought light to the symptomatic of the systemic malady of the industry. What we’ve learned is at the core of IXM is the value of sei-katsu-sha (pronounced sā-kat-sha), which goes back to the most basic, humanistic point of view in everything they do.
“Sei-katsu-sha means the evolving human being, being our customers,” explained IXM’s CEO Third Domingo. “When we talk to people, we don’t see them as target markets, we see them as human beings who need the truth in order to perform well. We are being true to our new self.”
Taking the brief seriously
“We asked ourselves if we were going to takeover the 4As, what are the things we’re going to do? What are the new rules we’re going to implement? What are the new value system and beliefs that we might encourage all our member agencies to embrace? So those are things so and obviously if it resulted into some of the ideas and suggestions.”
“We did it knowing full well that, that it might not sit well with most or some of the people in the 4As, but also know that we are going to be speaking the truth, and therefore that you should not be scared about it.”
Weighing in, IXM Hakuhodo’s Accounts Managing Director, Edge Montero, Accounts IXM, admitted that REVISIONIXM is something that they could not resist doing,
“If we do not say something about the industry, something about how we feel, how we handle advertising moving forward. We are not making the most out of that opportunity. If they pay attention, then great. If not, then we would have laid the foundation for a discussion at the very least.”
Cogs and gears
It was not a question of feasibility for an agency with a system such as IXM to be critical of the advertising industry at large. With a unique mechanism that is tailored to their very own people, IdeasXMachina proves that it is possible to thrive in the industry without the culture that was shaped by its archaic ways.
Sometimes in the name of expediency, we try to avoid mess too much
“…and the result is a lack of quality,” said Domingo.
“We’ve seen the business landscape change so much over the years and yet so many things about the advertising industry have stayed the same, and that’s not necessarily a good thing,” echoed NYJYN’s CEO Lawin Bulatao.
“It’s part of our culture as IdeasXMachina, I think we also imbibe the kind of personal culture where we don’t want to do things the same way as the others did. If we’re going to do something, might as well do it really well,” agreed Domingo.
A case in point is the PRISM’s Head Dutch Paulino who has been minted in the ad industry and has since then, established a boutique agency of his own, which he has later on integrated into IXM’s PR agency.
“When I talk to the team, I tell them na langit na sa IXM.” Paulino’s sentiment rings true with every cog and gear that synchronously mechanize the agency.
One of IXM’s senior art directors gave proof to claim. Christine “Rain” Gamboa said that at her entry level position, IXM’s ecosystem has nurtured her into her current standing as the Southeast Asia Young Achiever of the Year:
“I may only be an art director but our mechanism here has made it possible for me to be driven to be the best both at my craft person.”
But there is no effort too meager in Domingo’s playbook. Such is the case when Gamboa admitted that Domingo sometimes offers raket (side hustle) to who he calls the art director par excellence.
“Sometimes, Third would be the one to offer me a raket and I would say the brands I am doing work for outside of the company. It demonstrates how much trust he has in us as his people and the freedom we’re allowed to practice.”
It was inevitable
The mindset of Domingo cascades into everyone in the agency. IXM’s Managing Director at Brand-Y Jedd Ilagan demonstrated how anyone who is not in the industry had no idea what is it about beyond the output which is commercials. Ilagan who is keen on developing Filipino talents outside the saturation of Metro Manila, expressed that to affect real change, it should not only be individualistic but infectious to the other factors in the equation as well. “
“Taking over something means that if you actually had to be at the top of it, what would you be doing to make things a lot easier and a lot better for a lot of people,” Ilagan shared.
However, even with such a mechanism in place, the advocate of the employee remains an important part of the equation. Ly Sepe, the Director of Human Resources, and Kate Alconga, Support Services Division Head, gatekeeps the welfare of IdeasXMachina’s employees.
“Back in 2017, when we wanted to propose a local flavor to the 4As Sports Programs, usually it’s bowling, volleyball the 4As olympics” Ly recalls, “something that made a mark on me was their comment that Third was ahead of his time. Back then, I had no idea what that meant, were his ideas good but we were not ready to execute them? But my years in IXM is a testament and my head is no longer clouded about that.”
For a CEO to inspire company culture to be dinner table conversation is unique to a handful of companies, and how Domingo does it is through a safe space for creativity, with a culture of trust and openness.
“What reaction to REVISIONIXM I got from my initial circle was affirmative of their values. ‘IXM lang talaga makakagawa nito e.’ (IXM is the sole agency that could have executed this),” says Alconga, adding that even her family was able to relate to the campaign because of her stories from work that she brings into their home.”
From the inwards out
In its current landscape, it is indeed only IdeasXMachina that is capable of calling out its own industry. However, Revisionixm is not a move that was created for the sake of being brave, but a necessary one to safeguard the sustainability of the industry.
“Most of the things in the campaign are actually the things that we also practice and our employees appreciate,” Ilagan added and at the same time, it is ”putting 4as in a position that inspires excitement among the young creatives on-boarding the industry.”
Bluntly put, Revisionixm is not a new idea but it is the first rightful bold execution.
As Ilagan put it, the call-out will rally the revisionists fragmented throughout the industry. “Once an immediate action taken, there would be a lot of revisionists who would like to contribute to what we’ve done already.”
Needless to say, a takeover execution that is bare of self-promotion and speak truth to power can only be done by an agency that amplifies its values by practice: from the inwards out.
