3^rd PANA GMM: Media in the time of recession

The Hard Rock Café in Glorietta III, Makati City was brimming with advertisers last March 26, 2009 when the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) held its 3rd General Membership Meeting (GMM) for the year.

PANA Director Yoly Crisanto led the invocation to start the program and updated the PANA members about the recent developments in PANA and the 21st Ad Congress. Afterwards, Mr. Arnel Doria, former PANA Foundation Trustee, gladly announced the implementation of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) of the winning entry in the 9th PANA Foundation Students' IMC Competition. He encouraged the PANA members to lend their support to this worthy endeavor by printing the Ligtas Lakbay campaign materials in their respective publications or by uploading the TV commercial in their websites.

Ms. Rosebelle Lazatin, Starcom's Associate Media Director, shared with the advertisers some tips and techniques in maximizing their limited media budgets. Despite the grim economic outlook this year, Lazatin was positive that there could still be an increase in industry spend since growth was similarly posted during the 1997 Asian Crisis. She predicted that the ad spend would be driven by local advertisers as they are taking this opportunity to grow their market share against the multi-national brands.

Before discussing the different media strategies that the advertisers can go into, Lazatin emphasized that a deep understanding of the target market is essential in identifying the crucial touch points.

Looking at the consumers in light of the present economic situation, they are expected to lessen consumption, eliminate unnecessary expenditure, and shift to the use of cheaper products. As consumers tend to cut back on spending, Lazatin said that they now opt to stay at home and watch TV for entertainment. Thus, TV is still the primary medium to reach mass consumers. She suggested that advertisers should consider using 15-seconder TV commercials to double their reach with just the same budget.

Lazatin also recommended that advertisers should take advantage of station-produced tactical ads but she cautioned that the stations must work closely with the brand, the creative and media agencies to observe consistency.

Further, Lazatin encouraged the brand managers to sit down with the TV networks to discuss how they can maximize their TV exposure. An example could be incorporating the brand's value in the storyline of their TV programs.

An important concept she also discussed is "affinity buys", which is about developing a relationship with the target market by communicating with them through the channels that are important to them. Instead of the regular TV spot plans, advertisers can tap the lifestyle channels, sports, anime blocks, mom-oriented programs, etc.

Lazatin also strongly urged the advertisers to look beyond television. Radio and out-of-home media are cheaper alternatives. Radio can be used for mass advertisement to cover a lot of ground. Out-of-home, on the other hand, can be explored and must not be limited to just billboards. Online campaigns can also work for certain products, especially the high-end ones, while non-media options such as sampling, leaflet distribution and in-store promotions can also be applied for other categories.

For multi-brand companies, Lazatin advised that they must leverage on total corporate volume to maintain presence in major OOH sites and retain core radio and TV buys. This way, the brands will share the cost and they each have their turn of exposure.

Another effective strategy is to bring initiatives closer to point-of-sale. Lazatin shared that marketers can link distribution and sampling opportunities with media-based activations. Media savings can be utilized to support other activities from the marketing mix.

Lastly, Lazatin imparted with the advertisers two of her key learnings. First, process-oriented improvements such as planning early and being firm about these plans can mean great savings. Second, advertisers must have the courage to try new things, especially if they believe that these are the right contact points to reach their market.