Warmest Homecoming Welcome to Winter Olympian Figure Skater Michael Martinez

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Filipino ice skater, winter Olympian and homegrown skating rink talent Michael Martinez comes home from a much-lauded performance at the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia as he went straight to SM Mall of Asia this Sunday February 23, for his homecoming welcome and press conference set up by the SM group.

During the warm welcoming for Martinez, an awarding ceremony inside the mall, the SM group prepared  “surprise” gifts for the Olympian.

Figure skater Michael shared his feelings his inspiring journey and dedicates his breakthrough stint in the 2014 Winter Olympics to fellow Filipino athletes who also deserve support for representing the Philippines in the international sporting scene.

Martinez thanked his family, sponsors and the public for supporting his journey in Sochi, Russia, where he captured the world's attention as the first Southeast Asian to compete in the men's singles event.

SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy pledged to support Martinez in his goal to qualify and hopefully earn the country's first medal in the Winter Olympics in the 2018 edition in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

During the press conference, Martinez was given a "Lifetime Skating Privilege" and $10,000 by the SM group. Businessman Manuel Pangilinan earlier gave the same amount to the skater's mother.

“We are very proud of Michael. Not only did he give honor to our country, but he is also a shining example for the youth as someone who saw no limits to what he can achieve. He has already inspired millions by following his dreams and by competing in the Winter Olympics. He will continue to inspire us all as he works towards earning medals in the future Olympic competitions,” SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy said.

During his formative years as a figure skater, Martinez frequented SM Southmall in Las Piñas and much later on, SM Mall of Asia for figure skating competitions despite frequent bouts of asthma.

Since skating at nine years old, Martinez has garnered 194 medals and trophies from various international and local competitions. He is currently ranked 19th in the world based on his recent performance at the Winter Olympics.

Martinez clinched 7th place at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany that qualified him for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Through the years, SM and the Philippine Skating Union have conducted several figure skating competitions that bred international champions such as Martinez.

SM operates ice skating rinks through SM Lifestyle and Entertainment, Inc. at the SM Megamall Building D in Mandaluyong, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, and SM Southmall in Las Pinas.

Michael Christian Martinez is a worth emulating, an inspiration not just for our young people but for every Filipino.

Congratulations Michael and we are proud of you ! 

Tune Hotels continues expansion in Philippines with Launch of Eight Property

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Tune Hotels has continued its expansion in the Philippines with the opening of the 182-room Tune Hotel Ortigas. The new and affordable hotel,  the eighth Tune Hotel to open in the country in the last two years, is located along Shaw Boulevard. 

Other Tune Hotels in the country are located in Angeles City in Pampanga, Ermita in Manila, Makati, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan De Oro and Quezon City.

Sahlee Zaldivia, country head of the hotel’s owner Red Planet Hotels said that there are two more Tune Hotels would open this year.

“By the end of 2014, we will have a total of 1,720 rooms with 10 hotels in the Philippines, cementing our position as the largest internationally owned and operated hotel brand in the country,” she said.

“Not only are we growing in numbers, but we have received a great deal of acceptance among the travelling public for the value for money that we provide,” she said further.

The first of the two Tune Hotels, which would have 200 rooms and open in May, is located in Aseana City, while the second hotel, which has 189 rooms and would be operational by November, is located along Ayala Avenue in Makati City

The expansion would allow the company to take advantage of the 24 percent growth in tourist arrivals projected by the Department of Tourism for 2014.

“We are fully committed to helping expand, and grow with the international and domestic travel industries in the Philippines,” Zaldivia said.

Red Planet Hotels chief executive officer Tim Hansing said they are looking for more sites to build new hotels in the Philippines.

“We see the Philippines as the perfect platform to drive the Southeast Asian expansion of Tune Hotels because of the country’s acceptance and embracing of new and inspiring brands that enable travel to the wider population,” he said.

“Our performance since opening our first hotel in Cebu and Angeles City in February 2012 have given us a great deal of confidence to expand further,” he added.

Tune Hotels was established in Malaysia in 2007 and currently has 41 operating hotels worldwide.  

Tune Hotels is a sister company of Air Asia Airlines.

Singapore Tourism Board's new marketing campaign: "Singapore, "See where the world is heading"

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The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) recently launched its marketing campaign for the Philippines,  entitled “Singapore. See where the world is heading,” a key source market for Singapore. As part of a series of differentiated marketing campaigns previously launched in China, Australia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, this campaign is similarly designed with the Filipino visitors’ needs in mind.

‘Singapore. See where the world is heading,’ aims to encourage Filipinos to experience the pulse of the world through the various innovative and world class experiences Singapore offers. 

“Over the past years, we have been actively engaging the Filipino market to better understand their needs and preferences. By incorporating these insights into the ‘Singapore. See where the world is heading.’ marketing campaign, we are confident of being able to better curate and deliver offerings and experiences that are customised to the Filipino traveller in order to engage them at a deeper and more meaningful level,” says Mr Kenneth Lim, Regional Director, Southeast Asia (II) and Oceania, Singapore Tourism Board. 

Recognising the unique, evolving needs of the Filipino traveller

The Filipino consumer today is becoming more evolved and deliberate in terms of planning and choosing their holiday destination, and vacationing has become an important lifestyle choice. They typically travel as families, ‘barkada’ (group of friends), or couples to bond through shared experiences. A large majority are free and independent travellers (FIT) who plan their own itineraries, and rely heavily on recommendations by family, friends and online communities.

Through in-market engagements with consumers and travel partners, it was found that most Filipinos have a dated and surface-level awareness of Singapore. Those who have visited the city in the past three years were pleasantly surprised by the transformed Singapore, offering a multitude of rich experiences easily accessible in a comfortable and safe environment. 

Tailoring differentiated experiences for Filipino travellers

With a deeper understanding of the Filipino consumer needs as well as recognizing the strengths of Singapore as a destination regarded by the Filipinos, the campaign ‘Singapore. See where the world is heading’ is therefore designed to highlight the evolving and ever-changing landscape of Singapore, and as a destination, being able to provide those aspirational experiences in entertainment, dining, sight-seeing and shopping as favoured by Filipinos, to enjoy with their loved ones. 

Following teaser ads to generate excitement of the campaign launch, STB unveiled its ‘Singapore. See where the world is heading’ marketing campaign on 11 February 2014 at Greenbelt 3 Park.

Filipinos will get to enjoy an amazing Supertree installation inspired by Singapore’s own Gardens by the Bay at Greenbelt 3 Park and have a taste of how far Singapore has come as a destination and truly exemplify a destination that is always pushing boundaries and representing where the world is heading. The Supertree structure offers a unique fusion of nature and technology, just like the country itself. The Supertree display will be up until 10 March 2014, where mall-goers can deepen their awareness of Singapore with snippets of facts, and prizes being offered for trivia organized throughout the day. They can post photos of themselves with the Supertree with the hashtag #SGSupertree.

In tune with how Filipinos regard Singapore as constantly renewing and being at the cutting edge, the campaign will also leverage heavily on digital to reach out to the Filipino consumers. Specifically, the campaign includes a microsite and consumer interactive digital platform called #TheCuriousTraveller at yoursingapore.com/ph and YourSingapore Planner, downloadable itinerary planner mobile application that hopes to encourage Filipinos, not just to look at the aspirational experiences Singapore has to offer, but discover them on their own, provoking and inspiring them to become their own #TheCuriousTraveller. 

Users can opt to download the recommended itinerary based on whom they are travelling with and if they are heading to Singapore for shopping, food, sightseeing and entertainment or all of the above. Or they can choose to create their own itinerary where there are 40 experiences to choose from. The YourSingapore Planner app is available on Google Play or iTunes App Store. 

As the sharing of personal travel experiences and travel tips are important to Filipinos, STB has appointed a key opinion leader to be the face of the campaign through #TheCuriousTraveller. Erwan Heussaff was on hand to share his experiences at the launch and he will be sharing his exciting adventures in Singapore on yoursingapore.com/ph/thecurioustraveller. 

Lastly, to complement the digital efforts, other channels such as PR, above and below-the-line advertising will sustain the campaign in the coming months, with each platform promoting a refreshing side of Singapore.

“Whatever the reason for travelling – romantic getaway, barkada trip, or relaxing family vacation, the Singapore Tourism Board is dedicated to making sure Filipinos have the ultimate differentiated bonding experience the whole year round,” expressed Ms Sherina Chan, Area Director, Philippines & Brunei, Singapore Tourism Board. “We hope Filipinos will take to our campaign positively, be amazed by the bountiful new offerings that Singapore has to offer and see where the world is heading,” concluded Ms Chan. 

About the Singapore Tourism Board 

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a leading economic development agency in tourism, one of Singapore’s key service sectors. Known for partnership, innovation and excellence, STB champions tourism, making it a key economic driver for Singapore. We aim to differentiate and market Singapore as a must-visit destination offering a concentration of user-centric and enriching experiences through the “YourSingapore” brand.

For more information, please visit http://www.stb.gov.sg/ or http://www.yoursingapore.com/

MYX Music Awards 2014 nominees revealed ! Vote for the country’s top music acts online

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MYX Music Awards 2014 list of official nominees was revelated last February 18 at an event held at K-Pub BBQ at Bonifacio Global City.

MYX, the country’s number one music channel presents the upcoming happenings on the Music Awards 2014. And apart from the exciting announcement of which of today’s top acts will be included in the fast approaching awards night, the great night happenings also featured performances by Yeng Constantino, Jireh Lim, Jonalyn Viray, and Luigi D'Avola. and was hosted by MYX's very own VJs Nikki, Chino, Ai, and Karla. 

This year’s announcement of nominees also marks the start of the voting period for the MYX Music Awards 2014. This year’s competition will be taking into consideration sixty percent (60%) of the public’s votes and forty percent (40%) of the results from the artist’s poll.

To vote, MYX has come up with two ways to get viewers’ favorite acts ahead in the game—by logging on to the official microsite of the MYX Music Awards (www.mma.MYXph.com) or by ‘liking’ the official Facebook page of MYX (www.facebook.com/MYX.philippines).

For voting via the microsite, logged-on users can simply choose from the nominees per category in the site’s voting page. Each person can cast one vote per day per category.

For voting via Facebook, people who have liked the official MYX Philippines fan page need to simply access the MYX Music Awards Facebook App. Through this process as well, each person can cast one vote per day per category.

Here's the MYX Music Awards 2014 List  of nominees : 

FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO

CHINITO – YENG CONSTANTINO (DIRECTOR: AVID LIONGOREN)

HKM – CALLALILY (DIRECTOR: TREB MONTERAS II)

IKOT-IKOT – SARAH GERONIMO (DIRECTOR: PAUL BASINILLO & SARAH GERONIMO)

ILUSYON – ABRA FEAT. ARCI MUÑOZ (DIRECTOR: RAYMOND “ABRA” ABRACOSA)

MAGDA – GLOC-9 FEAT. RICO BLANCO (DIRECTOR: J. PACENA II)

FAVORITE SONG

BUKO – JIREH LIM

CHINITO – YENG CONSTANTINO

IKOT-IKOT – SARAH GERONIMO

MAGDA – GLOC-9 FEAT. RICO BLANCO

NASA IYO NA ANG LAHAT – DANIEL PADILLA

FAVORITE ARTIST

CALLALILY

DANIEL PADILLA

GLOC-9

SARAH GERONIMO

YENG CONSTANTINO

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST

JONALYN VIRAY

KZ TANDINGAN

SARAH GERONIMO

YENG CONSTANTINO

ZIA QUIZON

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST

ABRA

BAMBOO

DANIEL PADILLA

GLOC-9

SAM CONCEPCION

FAVORITE GROUP

BANDA NI KLEGGY

CALLALILY

CHICOSCI

PAROKYA NI EDGAR

SPONGE COLA

FAVORITE MELLOW VIDEO

HELP ME GET OVER – JONALYN VIRAY (DIRECTOR: CESAR APOLINARIO)

LUNA – UP DHARMA DOWN (DIRECTOR: NIC REYES & PONG IGNACIO)

MAGKABILANG MUNDO – JIREH LIM (DIRECTOR: JOYCE BERNAL) 

PANSAMANTALA – CALLALILY (DIRECTOR: KEAN CIPRIANO)

TAKE A CHANCE – LUIGI D’AVOLA (DIRECTOR: ENZO VALDEZ)

FAVORITE ROCK VIDEO

BETTER DAYS – FRANCO (DIRECTOR: MARTIN REY AVILES)

CAROUSEL – BAMBOO (DIRECTOR: MARLA ANCHETA)

INSEKTO – PEDICAB (DIRECTOR: RA RIVERA)

PICK YOUR POISON – SPONGE COLA (DIRECTOR: JERICO CATALAN)

RASPBERRY : GIRL – CHICOSCI (DIRECTOR: RA RIVERA)

FAVORITE URBAN VIDEO

HAGDAN – RON HENLEY FEAT. KAT AGARRADO (DIRECTOR: PATRICK EDWARD RAYMUNDO)

ILUSYON – ABRA FEAT. ARCI MUÑOZ (DIRECTOR: RAYMOND “ABRA” ABRACOSA)

MAGDA – GLOC-9 FEAT. RICO BLANCO (DIRECTOR: J. PACENA II)

SALUDO – QUEST (DIRECTOR: JAMES MULETA)

TONIGHT – JAYR & MICA JAVIER (DIRECTOR: ROMSON NIEGA)

FAVORITE NEW ARTIST

BANDA NI KLEGGY

JIREH LIM

KZ TANDINGAN

LUIGI D’AVOLA

MARION AUNOR

FAVORITE COLLABORATION

ANG BAGONG AKO – GREYHOUNDZ FEAT. LOONIE & BIBOY GARCIA

ANG PAROKYA – PAROKYA NI EDGAR FEAT. GLOC-9 & FRANK MAGALONA

DARATING – BBS FEAT. NEY, DELLO & KLEGGY

DATI – SAM CONCEPCION, TIPPY DOS SANTOS AND QUEST

MAGDA – GLOC-9 FEAT. RICO BLANCO

FAVORITE REMAKE

DREAMING OF YOU – JURIS

FOREVER – TOM RODRIGUEZ & DENNIS TRILLO

IT TAKES A MAN AND A WOMAN – SARAH GERONIMO

MAHAL NA MAHAL – SAM CONCEPCION

RIGHT NEXT TO ME – KIMPOY FELICIANO

FAVORITE MEDIA SOUNDTRACK

CAROUSEL – BAMBOO

GOT TO BELIEVE – JURIS

HELP ME GET OVER – JONALYN VIRAY

IT TAKES A MAN AND A WOMAN – SARAH GERONIMO

KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD FOREVER MORE – ELMO MAGALONA FEAT. FRANCIS M

FAVORITE GUEST APPEARANCE IN A MUSIC VIDEO

ENCHONG DEE (CHINITO – YENG CONSTANTINO)

ENRIQUE GIL (MR. KUPIDO – MYRTLE SARROSA)

JULIE ANNE SAN JOSE (BROKEN HEART – KALIGTA)

KATHRYN BERNARDO (NASA IYO NA ANG LAHAT – DANIEL PADILLA)

KIM CHIU (DISCOLAMON – BANDA NI KLEGGY)

FAVORITE MYX CELEBRITY VJ

ABRA

ALDEN RICHARDS

APL.DE.AP

BARBIE FORTEZA

CARLA ABELLANA

FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL VIDEO

BEST SONG EVER – ONE DIRECTION

HEART ATTACK – DEMI LOVATO

ROAR – KATY PERRY

ROYALS – LORDE

WRECKING BALL – MILEY CYRUS

FAVORITE K-POP VIDEO

EVERYBODY – SHINEE

GENTLEMAN – PSY

I GOT A BOY – GIRLS' GENERATION

I'M SORRY – CNBLUE

WOLF – EXO

Cast your votes for your favorite artists as they compete in the MYX Music Awards 2014.

For updates, stay tuned to MYX (SkyCable channel 23), the country’s number one music channel, and visit MYX’s official website (www.MYXph.com) and official Facebook account (www.facebook.com/MYX.philippines).

Smile! It’s a month of love and dental health

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For continued stain removal and maintaining healthy teeth and gums, a range of Sonicare power toothbrushes are available for your choice. One is Sonicare EasyClean. It is proven remove plaque better than manual brushes.

Smile! It’s a month of love and dental health

Focus on overall oral hygiene is of utmost importance this February because aside from being the love month, we are also celebrating the National Dental Health Month.

”Dental hygiene plays an important role in love and romance as well as in day-to-day living,” stresses Me-Ann Achacoso, Philips Consumer Lifestyle Business Development Manager for Health and Wellness.

Always, a smile is the first thing people notice when we are introduced, and this creates a lasting impression. And a great smile owes largely to white teeth. We are often beguiled by white teeth in a smile, and rightly so. This is a sign of good health and nutrition and proper dental hygiene. Evolutionary science explains to us that this a good sign in finding a mate. But a smile and white teeth also play subtle but important part in everyday life.

The importance of a smile

“Flashed at the right time, a smile can help make favorable impressions during job interviews and similar situations,” says Achacoso. “White teeth are a good sign of health as well as your commitment to maintaining it.”

Moreover, she also says that knowing that you have white teeth boosts your confidence, making you self- assured, and people respond to you positively and smile back.

“Thus, it is important we keep our teeth white,” the Achacoso avers.

However, it is inevitable that teeth can get yellow over time, she says. This is aggravated if you smoke a lot or drink lots of coffee. Also, dental hygiene is sometimes neglected.

The dental clinic regularly offers teeth whitening services, and there are a wide range of products at the stores that promises teeth-whitening effects. One is advised to visit a dentist for professional dental recommendations and feedback.

Zooming on whiteness

“Many reliable dentists use and recommend Philip Zoom,” Achacoso says.

“Patients have different needs when it comes to whitening, and Philips Zoom is expertly designed to address these needs,” she explains. “Many patients request their dentist to use Philips Zoom. In fact, over 10 million patients have already used Zoom to achieve brighter, healthier smiles.”

One can opt for a chair side whitening treatment in a dental clinic with Philips Zoom. This is the quickest and easiest way to effectively whiten your teeth. It uses a patented Zoom Whitening gel and a Philips Zoom lamp to bleach the teeth, bringing out a bright sparkling white smile that makes a big impression. Philips Zoom is the only chair side whitening system that has variable intensity setting so each treatment can be customized to maximize patient comfort. The procedure also includes desensitizers to help minimize sensitivity and protect your enamel. This dentist-supervised procedure is safe, effective and clinically proven to whiten up to eight shades in just one visit.

“For whitening at home, Philips offer Zoom DayWhite and NiteWhite,” Achacoso informs. “These products can whiten teeth in seven to 14 days. Moreover, they are the only at-home whitening products to contain amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), which is clinically proven to reduce sensitivity, protect enamel and help improve the luster and smoothness of the teeth.”

Zoom at-home whitening products are completely customizable. Your dentist creates a custom tray made just for you and can tailor the formula concentration and wear times to your sensitivity and lifestyle.

To maintain white teeth between treatments, Philips recommends the Zoom Whitening Pen, which maintains whiteness with just two applications a day.

Maintaining white teeth is not just vanity, says Achacoso. It should be part of your daily health habits, and you reap the rewards in many ways.

Maintaining that great smile

Sonicare EasyClean is an important arsenal in combating decay that may ruin your smile as well as your overall health.

Brushing must be a part of the daily hygiene to keep the teeth white and the mouth healthy, but one has to do it properly to reap its benefits. Dentists recommend doing it at least twice a day with a good toothbrush with gentle bristles. And each brushing must be done for about two minutes, taking care to clean every tooth thoroughly. With the fast pace of living nowadays and unmindfully, most adults are not able to achieve the required time in brushing as well as do it properly. 

But with the help of Sonicare EasyClean power toothbrush, the unsavory consequences of our sweet indulgences can be prevented. This rechargeable power toothbrush enables one to keep track of the length of time in brushing. Moreover, it has a host of features that promises to remove up to twice more plaque than a manual toothbrush so that you can further enjoy life’s sweet luxuries and help remove and reduce stains on your teeth for a brighter smile.

Firstly, the Sonicare EasyClean has a unique dynamic cleaning action that gently and effectively reaches deep between teeth and along the gum line, driving fluid between the teeth. This ensures a thorough cleaning. It can reach a speed of up to 31,000 brushstrokes per minute, something that is hard to do manually.

For those hard-to-reach areas, Philips Sonicare EasyClean brush head neck is angled, making it easier to reach back teeth and other areas.

A Quadpacer interval timer further encourages thorough brushing. This is a 30-second interval timer which indicates when you have completed each quadrant of your mouth and signals for you to move on resulting in more consistent cleaning throughout your mouth. And to ensure that you brush your teeth at the recommended amount of time, it has a timer set to two minutes.

First-timers need not fret as Philips Sonicare EasyClean has an easy-start program to acclimate yourself to the Sonicare experience. It gently increases power over first 14 uses until you feel at ease. People with braces, dental restorations and periodontal pockets may rest well as it is clinically proven safe and gentle even with these conditions.

With consistent use of Philips Sonicare EasyClean, you can get rid of those stubborn plaques easier and more effectively, helping improve the health of your gums, and experience whiter teeth as it can whiten teeth up to two shades in two weeks!

The love month’s indulgence need not make a crack on your dental health as long as you observe proper dental hygiene and use Philips Sonicare EasyClean. You can indulge your sweet tooth as often as you want with Philips Sonicare EasyClean at hand.

 Now, that is something to smile about.