The advertising world got its time in the spotlight at Rolling Stone Philippines LIVE!, in a panel discussion with industry leaders like Emily Abrera, Tats Cruz, Jeano Cruz, and GroupM Chief Executive Officer Crisela Magpayo-Cervantes, led by Digital Marketing Association of the Philippines Internal Vice President Cynthia Dayco.
To welcome Rolling Stone Philippines’ maiden issue, Dayco moderated the discussion titled “Reinventing Advertising: The Country’s Creative Minds Discuss What’s Next and How to Get There” on Friday, March 21. The panelists discussed the transformation of advertising, the rise of social media, and how it has affected the industry. They also shared their experiences navigating a new era of personalization and creativity and building authentic trust with their target audiences.
“When digital came along, it sped everything up. The growth was exponential,” said Magpayo-Cervantes. “There are now several platforms we all need to navigate and be strategic about creating work for them. At the heart of it is understanding the behavior of the consumer.”
For Abrera, cultural advocate and former president of McCann-Erickson Philippines, the shift to short-form content spells problems and new challenges for the advertising industry. “You cannot build a brand in 15 seconds,” she said. She added later on that five seconds is not enough to tell a brand’s story.
But GIGIL Creative Director and Partner Jeano Cruz said that the advertising industry does not have to worry so much about dwindling attention spans. “We see a generation that would binge watch a series overnight,” he said. “So they have the attention spans and the time. We shouldn’t be looking at attention spans. We entertain them and ask, ‘Is this something that I would spend time watching?’”
Publicis Group Philippines Chief Creative Agencies Officer Tats Cruz said that creativity is key to navigating the digital landscape. “Creativity will impact consumer behavior, whether it’s longform, short-form, static. You need to be able to provide content that is of great impact and that will be relevant to your consumer. The viral ads are there for awareness, but clients still do invest in longer storytelling, more compelling and emotion-building campaigns.”
Rolling Stone Philippines LIVE!
with Ploom and Nordic Spirit
In partnership with Baken
And special thanks to the Moment Group, Brewed Statement, Instamirror, Remy Martin, Event Shaker, Goodness Graze
