DLSU Manila wins PR Grand Prix
MANILA, Philippines - The De La Salle University Manila was recently proclaimed grand champion of the prestigious 2010 Students Grand Prix Competition organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP). The tilt, held within this year’s National Public Relations Students Congress at the University of Santo Tomas, witnessed the presentations of excellent public relations plans from seven student team finalists representing universities and colleges that passed the rigid screening phase of this year’s cycle. The entries this year focused on the theme “Re-branding the Philippines in the 21st Century,” inspired by the new leadership of the Aquino administration, the recent challenges faced by the country, and the various wins and successes of outstanding Filipinos here and abroad. DLSU Manila romped away with the title with their entry “Ipagmalaki mo Pilipino, Kasama ka Rito!”
In second place was DLSU Dasmariñas with their entry “Sikat Pinoy Sikat!” and in third place, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila with “Shine Shine Pinoy!” Other finalists were the University of Santo Tomas, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Southville International School and Colleges and St. Paul College-Manila. Judging the competition were Tomasito Umali of the Department of Tourism, Jesus Matubis Jr. of NBN 4, Cherubim Ocampo of Maynilad, Kate Alconga of Aboitiz Power and Harold Geronimo of Stratworks.
Prior to the competition, hundreds of mass communications, journalism, public relations and marketing students all over the country witnessed the talks from leading PR, social media practitioners and society leaders for the 2010 PR Students Congress with the theme Bagong Pinoy! Bagong Pinas! Keynote speaker was Manuel L. Quezon III, who shared the current efforts of the Philippine government in re-branding the country. The first plenary gathered three top-caliber resource persons to talk about the role of PR in the new Philippines: Dr. Anthony Leachon of Pfizer, Paul Mercado of the ABS-CBN Foundation and Quintin Pastrana of Chevron Philippines. The next plenary tackled how the new media affects youth perception and reaction. Bloggers Carlo Ople and Kring Elenzano led the segment.
Students also had the chance to interact with established PR gurus discussing “what students should know and what graduates should do” focusing on three PR fields: crisis management and communications, stakeholder relations and corporate social responsibility. These were discussed by Ed Timbungco of Holcim Phils., Junie del Mundo of EON Inc., and Jeffrey Tarayao of Globe Telecom. Culminating the congress was a talk by acclaimed film director Brillante Mendoza, who shared how PR helped outstanding Pinoys in the international arena.
The 2010 PR Students Congress was presented by PRSP, UST and the 400th Year Committee and Asiawide Refreshments Corporation, makers of RC Cola. Sponsors are Pfizer Inc., Smart, Maynilad, Mr. Softy, Sun Life Financial, PAGCOR, San Miguel Corp., Aboitiz Power, Energy Devt. Corp., NGP PR and M2.0 Comms. Donors are Globe, Holcim, GSIS, ABS-CBN, GMA7, MediaBanc and Geiser Maclang. For more information, contact the PRSP Secretariat at 638-0010 or e-mail publicreltions.prsp@yahoo.com.
