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".
