From Freebies to Fierce Loyalty: The Impact of Promotional Products

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Promotional products have been a key part of marketing strategies for ages, but what’s the secret to their success?

In a time where digital advertising saturates every screen, it’s notable that tangible, branded merchandise remains a staple of effective marketing strategies. Promotional products—ranging from custom apparel to eco-friendly gift boxes—serve not only as physical reminders of a brand but also as powerful tools that drive consumer engagement, loyalty, and purchasing behavior.

A Thriving Global Industry

The promotional products industry continues to experience strong growth, highlighting its vital role in the global marketing landscape. In 2024, the industry’s global market size was valued at over $26 billion, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for approximately 23%—nearly $6 billion of the total.

Marketing and advertising expenditures on promotional products in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam are anticipated to grow by over 5.3% through 2025 . This surge reflects the region's dynamic economies and the increasing adoption of promotional merchandise as a key marketing tool.

Tangible Impact on Consumer Behavior

Promotional products wield a unique influence on consumer perceptions and actions. Studies reveal that 85% of consumers remember the brand who provided them with a promotional item, and 89% can recall that brand even after two years. These items often become integrated into daily life, with 81% of consumers keeping promotional products for more than a year .

Beyond recall, these products foster positive brand associations. Approximately 52% of consumers develop a more favorable impression of a company after receiving a promotional item . This goodwill translates into increased customer loyalty and a higher likelihood of repeat business, making promotional merchandise a cost-effective component of customer retention strategies.

One venue. Top suppliers. Unlimited gift ideas

As the industry continues to innovate, the 38th Corporate Giveaways Buyers' Show stands as a premier event for businesses looking to harness the power of promotional products. Scheduled on July 2-4, 2025 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, this annual trade show offers a comprehensive showcase of the latest trends and products in corporate gifting and branded merchandise. It is the preferred event for marketing & brand managers, procurement professionals, business owners, event planners and HR executives for finding new ideas for promotional gifts and discovering what gifts are trending every year.

In 2025, branded promotional products continue to be a vital element of successful marketing campaigns. Their ability to create lasting impressions, foster customer loyalty, and adapt to contemporary trends ensures their relevance in an ever-evolving marketplace. Attending industry events like the Corporate Giveaways Buyers' Show 2025 offers businesses the opportunity to stay ahead of the curve, connect with key players, and discover products that resonate with their target audiences.

Admission to the Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show 2025 is free of charge. Register at corporategiveawaysbuyershow.com.

Pluxee is here, your new Global partner in employee benefits and engagement

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Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services Philippines is now Pluxee, as in a strategic move to strengthen its commitment to elevating the overall experience of its clients, partner merchants, and consumers.

The spin-off from the Sodexo Group is a global initiative announced last year to give its gifting business a digital-first brand that reflects its ambition to offer personalized, sustainable solutions to the evolving market.

In the Philippines, Pluxee builds upon the strong foundation laid by Sodexo Philippines, a joint venture with SM Investment Corporation.

Launched in 2003, Pluxee became the pioneer and biggest issuer of gift certificates in the country. Over the years, it introduced industry firsts such as an e-commerce platform to make GCs instantly accessible to businesses and consumers, SMS and email based GCs, and a rewards app enabling partial redemption of GCs and acceptance in online stores. As a proud partner of SM, the country's retail giant, Pluxee also powers the SM Gift Pass and their latest digital rewards solution, the SM Gift Pass Choice. Pluxee ramped up its partnership with the country’s most preferred brands and now boasts of over 17,000 accredited merchants.

Pluxee Gift

A trusted brand in navigating the landscape of the 21st-century workplace, Pluxee addresses the unique needs of each client. At the forefront of Pluxee products is the Pluxee Philippines app, where clients can send Pluxee Gift credits to their recipients via web portal. The credits are partially redeemable in over 10,000 merchants and can also be used in app-exclusive brands such as Angkas, Grab, Klook, Lazada, Shopee, and more. Pluxee Gift also comes as codes that can be distributed via SMS or email. This is API-enabled and can seamlessly integrate with clients’ systems to fully automate incentive programs. Codes can also be customized and accepted at specific brands or for specific products to cater to clients’ preferences.

Pluxee introduces another innovation with the Pluxee Gift card, a physical card that comes with digitally powered codes and may be used instantly in stores. These codes can be converted to Pluxee Gift credits in the Pluxee Philippines app to enable partial redemption and access to app-exclusive brands.

"Being one of the leading global partners in employee benefits and engagement, we’re dedicated to unlocking opportunities to enhance people’s lives at work and beyond,” says Mert Cetin, CEO of Pluxee Philippines. 

“We cover areas such as food, recreational activities, gifts, wellness, mobility, and more. We harness the power of digital to help our Clients give meaningful, sustainable rewards that foster a motivated and satisfied workforce. We make it easy for Consumers to use their rewards and maximize their choice with the continued expansion of our merchant network. We support our Merchants by accelerating traffic and reach so they can thrive in a competitive market,” he adds.

Live Joyful with Pluxee

In line with the launch of Pluxee in the Philippines, the brand kicks off its “Live Joyful” digital campaign, which highlights the many ways that Pluxee Gifts enable memorable experiences.

“A Pluxee Gift is more than just a reward or benefit. It’s a personal, immersive experience from making the most of what you have and enjoying what really matters to you. The campaign is an ode to the vibrant and optimistic spirit of Filipinos who never run out of ways to create and spread happiness,” says Sharon K. Velasco, Marketing Director of Pluxee Philippines.

Pluxee invites clients, partners, and the public to explore its products and services, and the countless joyful moments that these can bring. Watch out for more exciting developments in store. For more information, visit bit.ly/PluxeePhilippines. For gifting needs, you can purchase Pluxee Gifts at shop.pluxee.ph, call the Customer Care Hotline at 8689 4700, or email support@care.pluxee.ph.

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About Pluxee

Pluxee is the global leading employee benefits and engagement partner that creates meaningful, engaging, and personalized experiences to contribute to the well-being of individuals at work and beyond. The company offers a full range of innovative and digital solutions deployed in 31 countries. From meal and food, culture, gifts to wellness and mobility, Pluxee’s products and services are designed to bring more value to people. Pluxee promotes the well-being of more than 36 million consumers. Pluxee accompanies 500,000 clients to develop more meaningful relationships with their employees and improve their engagement. Pluxee simplifies the life of 1.7 million merchants every day. Strengthened by its historical ties with Sodexo, Pluxee with its 5,000 employees is committed to increase its influence as a CSR leader by giving its clients, partners and consumers the means to make more sustainable choices every day.

For more information: www.pluxeegroup.com

foodpanda Philippines Wins Silver in the 2022 Marketing Excellence Awards

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Online food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda clinched a Silver Award at the 2022 Marketing Excellence Awards for its #Cravingfor Emoji Engine campaign on Twitter.

The ad campaign, which ran on the social media platform from October 22 to November 30, 2021 and facilitated by Entravision MediaDonuts, is one of three grand winners in the Excellence in Social Media Marketing category.

According to Lorelei Olalia, Head of Integrated Marketing Communications of foodpanda Philippines, the objective of the campaign was to strengthen the connection of their brand with Filipino foodies. “We turned to Twitter knowing that its food-related conversations can help us reach foodpanda’s target audience and delight them in a unique way even in the crowded food delivery service landscape.”

Through Entravision MediaDonuts, the advertising arm of Twitter in the Philippines, foodpanda created a phased campaign that aimed to drive massive awareness and fuel engagement through Twitter’s innovative execution. The Emoji Engine, an #OnlyOnTwitter format, provided users an easy way to redeem vouchers and discover foodpanda’s partner restaurants in the Philippines.

foodpanda’s #Cravingfor Emoji Engine campaign generated a remarkable increase in conversations and in users talking about the brand. As a result, there was also a significant improvement in positive brand sentiments.

According to Guilherme de Moura Porto, Director of Growth at foodpanda Philippines, “At the heart of this campaign is our goal to build stronger relationships with our customers–whether attracting new app users or engaging existing ones. With exciting innovations such as Twitter’s Emoji Engine, we aim to provide customers with an exceptional experience unique to foodpanda while also driving core business objectives.

“Our deepest thanks to our agency partner Entravision MediaDonuts and Marketing Interactive for this outstanding recognition,” added de Moura Porto.

Anna Dy, Country Head of Entravision MediaDonuts Philippines, said, "At Entravision MediaDonuts we are thrilled to have a long-standing partnership with foodpanda, and are proud that this award-winning campaign came to fruition through our collaboration. This is truly a well-deserved recognition!," she concluded.

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About Entravision MediaDonuts

Entravision MediaDonuts is a leading digital marketing performance and branding solutions platform serving ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Our services include world-class commercial partnerships with Twitter, Spotify, Grab, TikTok, among others.

Entravision MediaDonuts is a business unit of Entravision, a leading global advertising, media and ad-tech solutions company connecting brands to consumers by representing top platforms and publishers. Learn more about our offerings at www.mediadonuts.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Top 5 tips to keep your body and mind energetic while on-the-go

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Health trends come and go, but the emphasis on staying healthy while on-the-go remains, especially with our modern lifestyles. With the rise of social media, countless fitness fads and diets have cropped up in online articles, viral posts and trending videos. And with the alarming health concerns that arose due to the pandemic, the attitude towards taking care of one’s health has become more proactive – incorporating fun activities to health and wellness routines without compromising current lifestyles.

Without exerting too much effort, you can still be healthy and ready to pursue your goals and aspirations in life, especially with the help of food supplements made from natural substances that can boost your energy and immunity while you’re on-the-go. Achieving your personal and wellness goals can be simplified with these five recommendations.

Eat right for you

Eating nutritious food and having balanced serving sizes might be a challenge with food delivery apps always available at our beck and call and new restaurants popping out left and right. There’s no denying that it can be tempting to order food or eat out because of all the New Year promos and discounts. As part of your New Year’s resolution, you can manage your diet and eat healthy, while also not compromising your happiness and appetite.

Do not restrict yourself from eating, but be better at choosing food with the proper amount of calories and nutrients. Meal planning and recipe apps can help support your goal of eating right by planning your meals ahead and keeping track of your calories and diet. APL GO lozenges can also help support your digestion with its Multi-Spectrum (MLS) drops that help maintain your healthy gut microbiome and digestive processes. With proper exercise and a healthy diet, this may also support your already normal gastrointestinal wellbeing and feeling of vitality and renewal - allowing you to have that added support on your journey to eating healthy.

Exercise can be fun

Exercising doesn’t require great feats of strength, speed or agility. There are various alternatives to intense workouts that emerged since staying at home became the norm like sit-down chair exercises, online aerobics sessions, and the like. Doing activities you enjoy like walking your beloved pets or a friendly game of badminton with friends can be considered workouts too, as long as you get your body up and moving. As long as you manage to get 150 hours of moderate physical activity in a week, then you’ll be able to stay in shape.

And with all the activities you have planned, your body needs support in order to keep up. APL GO’s Get Strength (GTS) supports the body’s vitality and endurance while Grow (GRW) drops maintain the body’s natural alert and active immune responses. Perfect to keep you up on your feet all day long.

Get enough sleep

Having enough sleep can improve a person’s health substantially, helping our bodies and minds function properly for the day to come. With all of the activities we try to fit in a day, sleeping is a must to regain the strength we lost and replenish our energy. Do yourself a favor and try to have a good night's sleep whenever you can.

To be able to sleep well, you also have to let your mind and body relax. APL GO’s Relax (RLX) can help take the load off and give you the rest you deserve. RLX drops support your body’s ability to achieve relaxation and mental calmness, perfect for aiding in your sleep.

Exercise your brain

As they say, the mind is the most powerful tool in a person’s body because it has the power to affect the physical status and emotional well-being of an individual. Which is why, aside from exercising your body, you also need to exercise your brain. Puzzles and games can help keep your mind sharp as you shift to problem-solving mode, while reading books, listening to podcasts, or even jamming along on your favorite songs can help your brain make new connections between topics and themes that you care about.

APL GO’s Brainy (BRN) can help support your cognitive abilities, active concentration and focus. BRN drops have essential nutrients that support your established cognitive clarity for learning, thinking, managing mental stress, and alertness.

Spend time with your loved ones

Time flies, so spend it with the people you love the most, doing things that you enjoy - eating your favorite food, retelling memorable stories, hanging out and having fun.

To state the obvious, all these activities require an active and healthy body. Support your body’s daily activities by taking APL GO’s Power (PWR) drops, which comes in lemon flavor for men and apricot flavor for women. This helps maintain vitality for active lifestyles while maintaining your mood balance during times of occasional stress.

APL GO’s delicious candy-like supplements can help support you as you live your life on-the-go, especially as we enter a new year. Enjoy the important moments in life without uncertainties about your wellbeing. With proper diet and exercise and additional support from APL GO, you can manage your lifestyle and achieve your health and wellness goals on-the-go.

For more information on APL GO and its products, visit ph.aplgo.co

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About APL GO

APL GO is a global multilevel network marketing company that specializes in health, wellness and beauty products powered by Acumullit SA technology. APL GO strives to help people achieve their health and wellness goals as they live their lives on the go through our innovative products made from whole food botanical ingredients composed of plants, fruits and herbs. Our tasty APL GO lozenges are passionately made to provide maximum benefits for the body’s immune system which aim to boost natural immune responses, vitality, stamina and strength, digestive processes, natural mental calmness and relaxation, and easy breathing, among others.

Millennials and Gen Z dominate buying market in real estate

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The real estate property sector is gaining a strong and stable market among the yuppies and younger customers in the past three years.

This was further proven during the Property Expo 2022 held recently at the Palm Drive Activity Center in Glorietta Mall, Makati, organized by Carousell, the leading classified ads platform in Greater Asia. According to Djon Nacario, Carousell Philippines’ general manager, the property category remains to be the platform’s top search, of which 65 percent are millennials or those aged between 23 to 38, and 20 percent are Gen Zs or anyone born in 1997 onward.

Djon Nacario, General Manager, Carousell PH (Left) and Shine Resurreccion, Head of Autos & Property, Carousell PH (Right)

Nacario explains that this purchasing power shift can be owed to the generations’ life stage: “The millennials are already moving up in their careers and becoming more affluent that’s why they are more bullish when it comes to purchasing properties or upgrading their places.” He also added that they are moving to a different life stage where some of them are getting married or building a family.

Meanwhile, he’s also seeing an emerging trend where Gen Zs will be the next “property intenders” or those looking to buy property in the next three years. “Gen Z are now entering the workforce and becoming viable customers and investors when it comes to property.”

“In the next three years, we are still expecting 43 percent of our users, which are millennials, to purchase a property but the more significant change is that 40 percent are Gen Z,” he further explained.

Aside from the millennials and Gen Zs, Carousell users very relevant to the property category include parents and students who are looking for places near schools with face-to-face classes now in full swing, the deal hunters, the working class with high spending capabilities, and families with kids.

While Shine Resurreccion, Carousell Philippines’ head of autos and property, admits that the real property sector took a hit during the pandemic, she anticipates swift recovery in no time. “While there was contraction in sales during the pandemic, three years after or at this point in time, we’re already seeing recovery. So based on Carousell data, there is a 40 percent increase in house and lot and more than 30 percent in condominium purchases.”

The Carousell Property Expo, touted as the biggest property event in the country, was held from November 7 to 18, 2022 with a hybrid set-up of online and on-ground activities.

From November 7 to 16, 2022, The Property Expo 2022 held a virtual webinar series discussing everything participants needed to know about buying property to unlock their #HomeGoals.

The webinar series featured renowned speakers consisting of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and industry professionals including the country’s leading real estate broker David Lee Chiu, CEO of Leechiu Property Consultants Inc.; The Property Forum’s Managing Director, Noli Alleje; President and CEO of Conveyance Realty Services Inc., Hardy Lipana, and chief operations officer of Human Shelter Realty Corp., Chris Suarez

Meanwhile, the onsite expo held from November 16 to 18, 2022 gathered property agents and developers and participants where they were able to engage in educational and networking sessions.

To know more about Carousell, visit https://www.carousell.ph/

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About Carousell

Carousell is the leading multi-category platform in Greater Southeast Asia on a mission to inspire the world to start selling and to make secondhand the first choice. Founded in August 2012 in Singapore, Carousell Group has a leading presence in eight markets under the brands Carousell, Cho Tot, Laku6, Mudah.my, OneKyat, Ox Street, and Refash, serving tens of millions of monthly active users. Carousell is backed by leading investors including Telenor Group, Rakuten Ventures, Naver, STIC Investments, and Sequoia Capital India. In the Philippines, OLX joins Carousell to bring consumers a diverse range of products across a variety of categories, including autos, properties, lifestyle, electronics, and fashion accessories. Download the app for iOS or Android, and visit www.carousell.ph/ for more information.

COMCO Southeast Asia Bags Diamond and Silver ASEAN PR Excellence Awards and Gold Marketing Events Award

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As COMCO Southeast Asia culminates its Blazing Sapphire 5th Anniversary celebration with the launch of COMCO Middle East & Africa and COMCO AOX League of Enterprises, the trailblazing regional integrated communications agency also bags Best PR Agency in Southeast Asia - Silver Award and Best COVID-19 Response - Diamond Award for its work with Jobstreet Philippines at the 2021 ASEAN PR Excellence Awards, and a Gold Award for its work with Eastern Communications at the Marketing Events Awards 2021.

The agency’s work with brand partner Jobstreet Philippines for the #TogetherAhead initiative won a Diamond Award in COVID-19 Response in the ASEAN PR Excellence Awards for its efforts in supporting job seekers and hirers during the pandemic, while COMCO SEA’s longtime partner, Eastern Communications, won a Gold Award in Best B2B Brand Experience Category in the Marketing Events Awards for its Link VIP Club Loyalty Events which featured an educational webinar series, online magic show series and virtual thanksgiving event to help businesses learn about digital transformation and uplift their spirits during the pandemic.

COMCO Southeast Asia's Write to Ignite Blogging Project is also a finalist at the ASEAN PR Excellence Awards for Best Comm Use of Social Media and Best PR Campaign in ASEAN while Jobstreet's #TogetherAhead initiative is also a finalist as Best PR Programme in ASEAN.

In its 5 years, COMCO Southeast Asia has won recognition from various prestigious local, regional and international award-giving bodies, garnering a total of 85 awards and has worked with over 70 brands in diverse industries including Eastern Communications, JobStreet, Sunlife ASCP, Teleperformance, Xiaomi, Defensil, Lista.ph, World Vision, WWF, Lenovo and Lamoiyan Corporation’s Licealiz plus its recently won accounts from inter-agency pitches such as global bioresearch and pharmaceutical company Takeda, well-loved milk brand Alaska, international footwear Skechers, global technology company Emerson’s Copeland, development organizations United Nations (UN) Office for Project Services and United Nations Population Fund, (UNFPA) and premium artisan chocolate Theo and Philo.

In 5 years, COMCO Southeast Asia has worked with 70 brands or accounts and has won 85 awards from local and international award-giving bodies

The ASEAN PR Excellence Awards is a biennial event organized by the Jakarta-based ASEAN PR Network (APRN) in collaboration with World Communications Malaysia (World Comm) and Institute Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM). As a globally recognized organization, the APRN’s ASEAN PR Excellence Awards serves as a distinctive badge to recognize and celebrate achievements in public relations practice in the ASEAN region.

The Marketing Events Awards is organized by leading Asian news agency Marketing-Interactive. Designed to discover, recognize and reward the very best in event marketing, the Marketing Events Awards is open to entries from across Southeast Asia, South Asia and ANZ regions.

To know more about ComCo Southeast Asia, visit www.comcosea.com. Follow them on social media: facebook.com/comco.southeastasia on Facebook, linkedin.com/company/comco-hq and @comco_sea on both Instagram and Twitter.

About COMCO Southeast Asia

COMCO Southeast Asia is a powerhouse and global award-winning integrated communications agency formed by the coalition of premier brand architects, inspired storytellers, and communication trailblazers in the region. Based in the Philippines and with affiliate network presence in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, COMCO SEA takes the lead in the innovation of premier brands and growth of up-and-coming businesses through the emerging global disciplines of New PR – a strategy based, content-driven, and channel-agnostic way of doing PR, and Smart Social – a holistic, authentic and integrated approach in the maximization of digital and social channels.

At the core of COMCO SEA is its unique brand of Meaningful Storytelling based on its corporate mantra and the mission to Ignite Brand Love, Social Change, Talent Growth and Regional Collaboration. In just 5 years, the Agency has done groundbreaking works for more than 70 local, regional and international brands including reputable development and humanitarian organizations. COMCO SEA has been awarded twice as Agency of the Year 2nd Runner-up at the IABC Philippine Quill Awards, Finalist for Boutique PR Consultancy of the Year in Asia at Campaign Asia Pacific’s PR Awards Asia, Best PR Agency in Southeast Asia - Silver Award at the ASEAN PR Excellence Awards, and 85 metals from various local, regional and international award-giving bodies.

Whatever your design needs, Kaya sa Canva

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Whether you’re a student, a teacher, a small business owner, a job-seeker, a home buddy, a content creator, or simply someone who wants to express creatively, there’s a template for you in Canva. 

Canva launches ‘Kaya sa Canva’ campaign to highlight its vast selection of free ready-to-use templates that can cater to a wide range of projects and needs.

"At Canva, our mission is to empower the world to design with our easy-to-use design platform," Yani Hornilla-Donato, Country Manager, Canva Philippines said. "Good design is about achieving goals through visual communication. With our campaign, "Kaya sa Canva" we want to encourage our Filipino users to explore our beautifully curated library, and find thousands of free templates that will empower them to communicate with purpose and get things done."

Whatever your design needs, Kaya sa Canva. From advocacy, career development, business, education, special events and more, Canva has thousands of templates that can be edited to fit anyone’s visual communication needs.

1.)   Get your dream job with fresh CV templates

Your CV or resume should showcase your personality and uniqueness. It’s your key to standing out among the other applicants, and   impressing your potential employer. Job-seekers and college and university students who want to enhance employment prospects should maximize Canva’s customizable resume templates with creative, sleek, and professional-looking layouts.

Canva offers a wide variety of CV templates, from college resume

to corporate resume designs and creative layouts

 2.)   Make your business  stand out with amazing marketing content

Micro, small, or medium-sized businesses can build their brand by making the most out of all the branding and marketing templates that Canva offers. With millions of beautiful social media templates, photos, videos and graphics, brands are not only able to create visually appealing online ads, marketing brochures, business cards, but save a lot more time as well. 

Canva offers templates that will help you build your business’ online presence

3.)   Grow your audience with inspiring and engaging visual content

Aspiring influencers and professional designers who make content professionally can design with ease with Canva to enhance their content. Content creators can bring their ideas to life in minutes using Canva’s social media templates, video editing and animation features, and content library. Creators can also design, schedule, and post their social media content right from the Canva platform.

Customizable social media templates that caters to different niches

 4.)    Collaborate with your team with ease through Canva’s presentations templates

In an increasingly visual era, presentations are the way to go when it comes to communicating your idea. And as remote working quickly becomes the norm, presentations are no longer just delivered in a physical meeting room, teams are finding new ways to collaborate online and get things done. Canva Presentation templates allow teams to co-create, review, and comment on projects real-time.

Beyond making your deck stand out, Canva Presentations also brings the entire design and collaboration workflow together more conveniently for teams

Canva makes it easy to design engaging visual content, helping you achieve your personal and professional goals. “Whatever project you have in mind, whether it’s a winning resume, an engaging branding collateral, or a visually appealing content for your channel, Kaya sa Canva,” Donato said. “Our high quality templates make it easy and efficient for anyone to design for any purpose. Individuals and teams can create content with Canva to suit any brand and topic.”

To further empower Filipinos to design, Canva will also roll out new templates in the coming weeks that anyone will surely love. To know more about Canva, visit https://www.canva.com/

World Vision and ComCo SEA join forces for Cause Marketing for Good initiative for MSMEs

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Global development and advocacy organization World Vision and regional integrated communications agency ComCo Southeast Asia through its Citizen ComCo initiative continue their mission of giving companies and brands opportunities to give back, this time with a focus on supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the Cause Marketing for Good Virtual Conference.

(From top left) World Vision Donor Education Specialist Caroline Veronilla, ComCo Southeast Asia Regional Integration & Chief Executive Director Ferdinand Bondoy, Lazada Strategic Partnerships Senior Associate Yshana Wong, AirAsia Head of Branding and Creatives David Viray, World Vision Resource Development Director Jun Godornes, World Vision National Director Rommel Fuerte and IdeasXMachina Group Of Hakuhodo CEO Third Domingo

Created and organized by World Vision and ComCo Southeast Asia, the Cause Marketing for Good Virtual Conference is part of the organization’s larger initiative to orient MSMEs on the value of cause-related marketing or CRM, which is especially relevant in today’s pandemic environment, and to equip them on how to champion social issues through their marketing efforts.

Happening on July 21, 2 p.m., the online conference will include sessions on defining CRM, CRM’s impact on sales from AirAsia, and how to use e-commerce to forward your cause from Lazada. There will also be a panel discussion on how to create effective CRM campaigns featuring experts and practitioners of the field such as ComCo Southeast Asia for public relations and Ideas X Machina for creatives.

The ongoing pandemic has had a massive effect on the economy, with MSMEs taking the brunt of this as they make up 99.5% of business establishments in the Philippines and employ 62.4% of the country’s workforce according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. MSMEs are currently facing huge hurdles to keep their businesses afloat, especially in the face of quarantine regulations and economic slowdown.

But with the challenge brought about by the pandemic comes bayanihan spirit – the value of Filipino community as they work together towards a common goal. This has urged individuals, communities, organizations, and even brands and companies, to band together and help each other during this crisis. It has also shown us how Filipino consumers, especially millennials and Gen Zers, are responding positively to brands and companies who support advocacies and stand for causes and values that they believe in.

According to the Global Millennial Survey 2021 by professional services firm Deloitte, millennials and Gen Zers are concerned about the positive impact of businesses on society. These generations of consumers tend to make decisions aligned with their values, with more than a quarter of respondents saying that businesses’ impact on the environment influence their buying decisions, expecting brands to be aligned with their personal values before they invest in their products or services.

In the eyes of consumers, businesses can and have the responsibility to do good – and doing good actually makes for good business. Through the Cause Marketing for Good Campaign and Virtual Conference, World Vision and ComCo Southeast Asia look forward to helping more MSMEs build strong connections with their customers through effective and sustainable cause-related marketing campaigns – ones that allow them to sell while also creating a positive social impact in the Philippines.

Participants may register for the Cause Marketing for Good Virtual Conference at wvph.co/CauseMarketingForGood.

To know more about World Vision and ComCo Southeast Asia’s partnership, visit www.worldvision.org.ph or follow World Vision’s official social media pages /worldvisionph on Facebook, @worldvisionphl on Instagram, and @worldvisionph on Twitter. 

For more information on World Vision Philippines and its other initiatives, call the World Vision hotline number at 8372-77-77 or Ms. Wichelle Cruz of Private Sector Partnerships Manager at 0917-511-6640.

About World Vision

World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, their families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by its Christian faith and values, it is dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. It serves and collaborates with all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

About ComCo Southeast Asia

ComCo Southeast Asia or ComCo SEA is a trailblazing and global award-winning integrated communications agency powered by the coalition of premier brand architects, inspired storytellers, and communication trailblazers in the region. Based in the Philippines with affiliate network presence in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, ComCo SEA takes the lead in the innovation of premier brands and growth of up-and-coming businesses through the emerging global disciplines of New PR – a strategy based, content-driven, and channel-agnostic way of doing PR, and Smart Social – a holistic, authentic and integrated approach in the maximization of digital and social channels, to effectively reach and engage audiences and help influence change. To know more about ComCo Southeast Asia, visit www.comcosea.com.

ComCo Southeast Asia’s authentic campaigns with clients recognized at the 18th IABC Quill Awards and Marketing PR Awards in Singapore

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Trailblazing communications agency ComCo Southeast Asia, as it kicks off its 5th-anniversary celebration this year, wins Agency of the Year 2nd Runner-up and 13 Quill Awards at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and emerges as a finalist in the Marketing PR Awards in Singapore organized by Marketing Interactive.

Its longtime partner, Eastern Communications bags awards for the entries, “Happy Eastern: Supporting Employees Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic” for Internal Communication and Employee Engagement, “Celebrating Customer Loyalty: The Eastern Link VIP Club Anniversary Event” for Special and Experiential Events, and “Connected: Eastern Communications’ #SafeAndStrongAtHome video series during the COVID-19 pandemic” for Audio/ Visual.

ComCo Southeast Asia’s work with its partner brand, Jobstreet Philippines such as “#TogetherAhead: JobStreet’s Response to the Covid19 Impact” and “The Future Workforce: JobStreet’s Find the Job You Love Campaign” are recognized for Marketing, Advertising and Brand Communication, Media Relations, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

ComCo Southeast Asia’s partnership with WWF-Philippines for the “No Plastics in Nature – The Reinforcement of WWF-Philippines' #AyokoNgPlastik Initiative” and World Vision for the “One for Children – The World Vision “Mother-Baby Friendly Philippines” Initiative” and “CovidComms 2020: Continuing the Race for a Better Future – The World Vision Virtual Run for Children” also made waves at the Non-Profit Campaigns category.

ComCo Southeast Asia’s flagship project for 2020, “Igniting the Nation – The ComCo Southeast Asia Write to Ignite Blogging Project” and its recently launched online magazine, SEA Wave with entry, “Igniting Southeast Asia: The SEA Wave Digital Pop Culture Magazine” were declared winners for Marketing, Advertising and Brand Communication, and Publications, respectively.

ComCo Southeast Asia’s client, Teleperformance also scores win for their entries, “TP is a Safe Place to Work for All” for the Safety Communication category and “A Message from Mike” for the Leadership Communication category.

In Marketing PR Awards, ComCo Southeast Asia’s Write to ignite Blogging Project co-presented by Eastern Communications and sponsored by Electrolux, Jobstreet and Teleperformance, is also a finalist in the Best Use of Niche / Micro Influencers category and is competing against other commendable entries in the Asia-Pacific region. The awarding ceremony for the Marketing PR Awards is happening on April 7.

“We are honored that our authentic and life-changing initiatives that we worked on together with our existing clients and brand partners have been recognized by our peers in the industry, here in the Philippines and across the Asia-Pacific region. This inspires us to do more great work and make a difference along the way, as we kickoff our 5th anniversary celebration this year,” said Mr. Ferdinand L. Bondoy, ComCo Southeast Asia’s Regional Integration and Chief Executive Director.

With these recent wins, alongside other industry recognition from Marketing Event Awards in Singapore, MarCom Awards in USA, Kidlat Awards, Anvil Awards, Asia Pacific Stevie Awards, ARAW Awards, Mumbrella Asia, PR Awards Asia in Hong Kong, and Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity, the Agency was able to garner a total of 76 metals since its founding on March 16, 2016.

Organized by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Quill Award is the world’s most prestigious awards program in the field of business communication. It has been bestowing the seal of approval to the most reputable organizations and corporations in the nation for almost two decades, emphasizing the use of excellent communication to achieve business goals and to make a difference in society.

Back for its eight-year, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE is proud to present the PR Awards 2021. Designed to discover, recognize, and reward the very best in the PR and communications industry, entries are open from across Southeast Asia, South Asia, and ANZ regions. The PR Awards is also known to be the definitive awards programme for all PR professionals.

About ComCo Southeast Asia

ComCo Southeast Asia is a trailblazing and globally award-winning integrated communications agency powered by the coalition of premier brand architects and communication trailblazers in the region. Based in the Philippines and dedicated to the Southeast Asia market, ComCo SEA takes the lead in the innovation of premier brands and growth of up and coming businesses through the emerging global disciplines of New PR – a strategy based, content-driven, and channel-agnostic way of doing PR, and Smart Social – a holistic, authentic and integrated approach in the maximization of digital and social channels, to effectively reach and engage audiences and help influence change.

 

Comm&Sense wins gold, 2 silvers for marketing innovation in 2020 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards

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Public relations company Comm&Sense continues its impressive metal haul as, on its first try, the agency won a gold and two silvers for the three entries it submitted to the 2020 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

Organizers of the Seventh Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards today announced that Comm&Sense will receive the Gold Stevie® Award for Innovation in Content Marketing/ Branded Editorial for the agency's campaign for the hospital ManilaMed.

The agency will also receive the Silver Stevie® Award for HMO company PhilCare for Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing and another silver for the WestLake Medical Center, this time for Innovation in Viral Videos.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs such as The International Business Awards® for 18 years.

President Jaeger Tanco said Comm&Sense plans to continue this emerging winning tradition by having the agency send in more nominations from its growing client portfolio, not just in healthcare, but also in finance and consumer brands.

"We are emboldened to showcase even more campaigns. We are proud of these because these were not just creatively executed, they also - more importantly - allowed our clients to surpass their business goals," he said.

Managing Director Charlotte Fabian - Reyes said getting the Stevie® Awards for the first time lends "an amazing exclamation point" to the growing number of recognitions that the agency has been getting for the past three years since it decided to try the awards circuit.

"For us, the recognition that we have been getting is a testament to the excellent collaborations our team has formed with brands. It is also providential that we are getting our first international award as we approach Comm&Sense's 15th anniversary," said Reyes, who co-founded the agency in 2005 with Tanco.

Communications Director Toteng Tanglao said Comm&Sense will continue to bank on the agency's brand of Intelligent PR not just to get awards but also to win more clients. 

"Intelligent PR relies on data as a smart springboard for content, platform, and amplification, allowing brands we partner with to attain not just engagement but more importantly market relevance. Intelligent PR is, simply put, Comm&Sense's business card," Tanglao said.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the winners will be celebrated during a virtual (online) awards ceremony on Tuesday, 22 September. 

More than 1,000 nominations from organizations across the Asia-Pacific region were considered this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, Award for Innovative Management, and Award for Innovation in Corporate Websites, among many others. 

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 100 executives around the world acting as judges in May and June.

“We are delighted that the seventh edition of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards attracted so many impressive nominations,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Gallagher. “This year’s winning nominations are testament to the resiliency and innovation of organizations in the region, many of which continue to succeed despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we are disappointed that we cannot stage the in-person awards banquet we had planned for Hanoi, Vietnam this year, we look forward to celebrating many of this year’s winners during our virtual awards ceremony on 22 September.”

Details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the 22 September awards ceremony, and the list of Stevie Award winners, are available at http://Asia.Stevieawards.com. 

Email Marketing - Some Information on Permission

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There are a lot of email marketers who are aware that permission is important but they do not understand why this is a vital part of email marketing. Do you know that email marketers who know how to do it often get emails that are clicked and opened by their subscribers? If your company would also get high revenues, then this is a sure sign that your email marketing works. 

What about businesses who do not understand what permission is for? They have a greater chance of having emails that are not opened. They miss out on things that might possibly increase their revenue and their overall sales. 

What is Permission? 

This is the process wherein you would like to get consent from your subscribers to make sure that they agree that you will be allowed to send them email messages regarding your brand. There are times when you can only get implied permission when you already have some sort of relationship with the person that you are sending the email to. 

If not, you may allow people to subscribe with their own free will to gain permission to access your newsletter. They may do this by signing up on your website. Usually, this would be done by entering their email address in a subscribe form. 

Make the Most Out of Permission 

You have been given permission to provide newsletters to your customers. What are you supposed to do then? You need to make the most out of it. Since it will always be their choice if they would continue receiving emails from you or not, you have to make sure that they would always like to get your emails. If not, they would surely unsubscribe. 

What happens when you send people emails even if they have not given any permission? One thing that can happen is they will completely ignore the email. They will send the email to trash without checking what you have to say. The worse option is if they label your email as spam. This will make it harder for you to send emails not only to that email address but the other emails on the same list. 

The more that you understand what permission is for email marketing, the better.