It boasts of having more special sections, giving advertisers lower discounts and by experience, the most flexibility in terms of creative executions versus their competitors.
However, there exists a perception among clients and agency people that MB is only being read by old people, and the only popular sections are the classified ads and the obituary. These may not be true but is not entirely without basis. I have seen the changes and if people would only look at the inside pages, they would realise that MB has tried to evolve with the times.
But there lies exactly the problem. People are basing their opinion solely on the front page, not the inside pages.
Unfair as it may be, as long as the news on page one remains very conservative and the lay-out pretty traditional, the negative perception will simply not go away. MB can start by using the front page to report significant stories that are more relevant to the public instead of the usual charity work photo-ops that most Filipinos barely care about. They should also make it more attention-grabbing. Hopefully, this will give them the respect they deserve. Relevance, as for most consumer products, is what really matters.