First Quarter Storm of the ad industry

The First Quarter Storm (FQS) brings back memories of student activism and images of red flag-waving youths of the ‘70s armed with revolutionary spirit. They were out to fight a system that was dragging the whole country down to its worst economic, political and social state. To the familiar, acronyms such as KM, SCAUP, NUSP; names like Satur Ocampo, Nilo Tayag, Gary Olivar, Jerry Barican, Ed Jopson, Nelia Sancho, and Maita Gomez among many others; and rally chants like "Makibaka, Wag Matakot," will surely ring a nostalgic bell.

On May 23, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4AsP) will launch its own version of the FQS. The organization will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. The theme, you guessed it, is The First Quarter Storm. It evokes the same idealism and iconoclastic temperament of the FQS days – shifting paradigms, breaking rules and exploring unchartered waters – which make 4AsP what it is today. It also projects the same radical temperament and calls us to – as they said back during the FQS – serve the people, dare to struggle, dare to win!

"The First Quarter Storm sets the tone for the ad agency sector’s next 25 years – visionary, change-driven, true to its creative spirit, and always questioning the rules and traditions," says 4AsP board secretary Socky Pitargue. The 4AsP’s First Quarter Storm has its own share of acronyms – ARAL, AIDA, CGP, USP, ASF, CE; names like Leni Hontiveros, Jayjay Calero, Tony de Joya, Tony Cantero, Tony Mercado, Emily Abrera, Rick de Guzman, Francis Trillana, Greg Garcia, Yoly Ong, Sev Alcantara, Minyong Ordonez, Lucy David, Tom Banguis, Mon and Abby Jimenez, Louie Morales among a long list of notables; and advertising mantras – "It pays to advertise!" and "Promote Filipino values via advertising!"

To celebrate 4AsP’s First Quarter Storm, a high-powered team of hardworking advertising romantics is now frantically preparing for an advertising summit. This two-and-a-half day convention will be both outward and inward looking, retrospective as well as anticipatory, nostalgic but at the same time celebratory. Aimed mainly at the current practitioners of advertising in the ad agency sector, the students, unlike in past congresses, will share equal importance with regular participants and a nonchalant public who couldn’t care less about 4AsP’s existence. A program of activities has been lined up to promote the art and science of advertising. Major business session topics will include: How sophisticated is the Filipino? Are we ready for side by side advertising? How do we win international competitions? Does award winning advertising Sell?, Do we follow the consumers or do we lead the consumers?

Special evenings during the summit will be devoted to honoring the founding fathers of the 4AsP, the Agency of the Year 2001, and the 25 Classic Pinoy Ads the country has produced over the past century.

Through the years, the Philippine advertising industry has faced and weathered a lot of crises and challenges, and of late three words always come up – brand, global and integration. Building brands requires different touch points. Advertising is not less important, it’s just that other below-the-line communication tools – PR, event marketing, direct mail, advocacy – are becoming equally and at some point more important. Having said that though, advertising will probably remain the primary tool in the future.

Integration & Media Independents

Worldwide, integration is the single biggest challenge facing the industry. The local ad agency group is confronted with the following questions: Does it have the capabilities at the highest levels for other kinds of marketing communication applications demanded persistently by clients? Does it have a way to measure and evaluate their relative importance? Does it have a way to integrate them to arrive at an optimal mix? And of course there is the other side of the equation: Are clients organized to effectively receive and respond to an integrated marketing solution?

The entry of media independents is also changing the advertising terrain altogether. In the 1990s, the traditional above-the-line activity was the domain of the marketing and advertising functions with the addition of the increasingly vital areas of direct marketing, sales promotion, customer loyalty system, digital database management and publicity. With this extension, clients began to analyze and question the benefits of their marketing communication investments. They also felt the need to create a more effective activity mix for their brand portfolios. And with advertising budgets becoming more and more restricted, clients have started to demand a "bigger bang for their bucks." The predicaments of a full-service agency approach have become more evident, and thus, opened the way for media specialization in the country. But the question remains: Are media independents friends or foes of ad agencies?

Creative Awakening

One of the realities of the advertising agency business today is the deep creative slump. "A creative reawakening is called for, where we can at last find and be more comfortable with our Filipino self, in contrast to cloning ourselves after foreign models as we did in the past," Pitargue avers.

It is also hoped that the next 25 years will serve witness to another revolution, where an increasingly sophisticated Filipino audience will demand more creative and innovative messaging to grab its all-important attention.

In the last 25 years, the ad industry may have become more of a billings game than a purveyor of creative thinking, and it may have been characterized more by confusion and self-doubt, than by clarity and confidence. But the industry, as one executive creative director mentions, can move forward in the right direction if it returns to the basic tenets of advertising creativity. Will we see a renaissance of Filipino creativity, winning accolades not only in the local creative awards, but more important in the regional and international platforms?

Advertising Education

As the 4AsP looks forward to its Second Quarter, it might be a good idea for the group to seriously look at the state of advertising education in our colleges and universities. The call becomes one for guiding the academe strategically build the future of the advertising discipline. The 4AsP is being challenged to help review, change, evolve, push, and integrate an advertising curriculum that will be more responsive to the need of the industry. Advertising education programs that muster the courage to think innovatively in recasting tradition will build smarter, stronger, and braver advertising practitioners. And all of us in this revolutionary field will be reminded at every turn why what we do is of value.