Global vision helps BBDO make it big in Philippines

After just two years in existence, BBDO/Guerrero Ortega has begun making an impact on the Philippine advertising scene. It recently won the New Zealand Milk and Pizza Hut accounts, which bill about US$4 million annually. The agency is also the Asia-Pacific creative centre for FedEx and it has been tasked to adapt Pepsi campaigns for several other markets in the region. In addition, its total billings are now close to US$20 million, which is double the figure, compared with 1999. Chairman and executive creative director David Guerrero acknowledged that the agency was still in a start-up phase and that exponential growth was to be expected. However, he said the jump to prominence was due to BBDO/ Guerrero Ortega winning advertiser of the year at the local Philippine awards last December. "Our strong showing surprised a lot of people and, since the show was televised on the country's main TV station, it put us on the industry map overnight," Mr Guerrero told MEDIA. He added that having a global vision also helped in winning clients and formulating strong creative strategies. "Our primary goal has always been to put the Philippines on the international map. So we are focused on becoming internationally competitive, rather than simply focus on the local market." Mr Guerrero said that there was tremendous opportunity for the country to be a major creative centre on a regional and worldwide stage. However, he noted from a recent MEDIA/CNBC poll most regional clients don't see the Philippines in that light and as a result Filipino talent was being lured away to work for agencies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Because of the Internet, speedy and virtually instantaneous global communication has become the norm and this means that location is no longer important, according to Mr Guerrero. "The critical issue is assuring clients of a world-class creative product and that there is nothing magical about the location of an agency's office. It's all about the talent." Mr Guerrero described the Philippine advertising market as sophisticated, with agencies rigorously analysing consumer behaviour and market trends. However, he said that less attention is paid to finishing the creative product to a high standard. "While many extremely effective campaigns are produced, they are probably not that enjoyable for consumers. And, consequently, in our opinion, you don't see truly enduring brand values being built up," he said. This problem, he said, was due to an industry-wide perception that "a great strategic idea is more important that a great creative one and that a great creative idea in itself is more important than a great execution of it".

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