TBWA Philippine affiliate beats 13 in congress race

MANILA: TBWA Santiago Mangada Puno beat 13 rival agencies for the

biennial Philippine Advertising Congress account ahead of the year-end

event in Cebu.

Multinational contenders included J. Walter Thompson, Leo Burnett,

D'Arcy Jimenez, Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, Lintas and AMA-Publicis. Six

local agencies also pitched for the business.

TBWA's newest affiliate agency is looking to boost attendance targets -

from 1,800 delegates two years ago - to between 2,000 and 2,500

participants at this year's gathering. Despite the weaknesses in the

domestic economy, organisers are confident of surpassing previous

attendance targets.

DDB Philippines deputy executive creative director Roger Pei said this

year's AdCongress expects to tackle issues such as technology and its

use in developing creative advertising. Pei, who is also vice-president

for the Creative Guild of the Philippines, said the highlight of the

congress will be the awarding of the 'Ad of the Year" prize. There will

be awards in 30 other categories, including automotive, consumer

durables and corporate.