Globe Telecom exits print and OOH for digital

Globe Telecom is booting print and out-of-home media out of its marketing mix as the country’s 6th largest advertiser finds a better return on investment on digital than from traditional channels.

Speaking to creative and media buying agencies this Wednesday, chief operating advisor Peter Bithos (pictured) said they will keep TV and radio but will now focus its attention on media that is relevant to the brand and to its customers who are increasingly found online.

He declined to detail the breakdown of Globe’s ad budget allocation in response to the changes.

“We at Globe no longer advertise on print. We at Globe made the decision to exit outdoor. So that the ad dollars that we buy do not increase, shifting the least measurable and the most speculative media and the least aligned with our customer segments into digital where we can measure it, grow it and prove it.”

Bithos said that Globe saw the need to make tough top-down decisions to better understand and increase the effectiveness of the money it spends.

Globe devotes upwards of US$ 70 million in advertising annually. A hefty investment that has helped the telco secure 40% of its market, Bithos shared that the company is “very unhappy” in spite of.

“We cannot measure it. We don’t know the returns on it and we don’t know if we are making the right decisions,” he adds.

Bithos vented his frustrations in a fairly emotive talk, saying that after observing the situation for the last three years, Globe has grown tired with lack-luster marketing strategies that have been used year after year.

“No brand marketer, no advertising middle manager, no junior analyst ever got fired for doing what they did last year. So we started realizing this as what kept coming up through the brand campaigns – the same media plan where we do this amount of outdoor, we do this amount of print, we do this amount of TV and that’s what we did last year and even the year before that.”

Digital marketing is undoubtedly an inventible path for Globe to take, taking advantage of its core strengths as a top broadband provider and mobile network for over 30 million users. Together with Globe Mobile Advertising and Entertainment Gateway Group, larger and bolder developments are to be expected.

Their biggest challenge now, Bithos admits, is on how Globe can stand out where virtually every business in the Philippines are all competing for tweets, likes and online attention.

“If you are doing Facebook advertising, guess what, you are doing Facebook advertising just as everybody else. Really? Is that the way we are going to innovate? Is that the way to stand out in the market place?”

He appealed to the agencies in attendance to present campaigns that both make business and creative sense.

“We are not satisfied with the measurements we are getting, the creatives we are getting, with the innovative approaches we are getting. We need your help. Bring innovative ways to advertise to us. Bring new ways to reach our customers,” Bithos said.

Sun expands prepaid broadband

Sun Broadband has unveiled its affordable prepaid broadband kit for more consistent, reliable, and faster service, it was learned.

Because of this, broadband users can now enjoy social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, video-sharing portals like YouTube, Wikipedia, and Google, Michele Curran, Data and International Services Marketing Head at Sun Cellular, said.

According to her, each Sun Broadband prepaid kit comes with free one hour of Internet surfing so subscribers can enjoy the benefits of having their own broadband connection wherever they go.

PLDT allots P1.3 B to beef up fiber network

Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is pumping in P1.3 billion over the next two years to strengthen its fiber network in northern Luzon.

PLDT network group head Rolando Peña said the strengthening of almost 600 kilometers of domestic fiber optic network (DFON) in northern Luzon would be completed this year.

 “The ongoing fortification program for our northern Luzon DFON will make our network more resilient and less susceptible to fiber breaks that could result in the disruption of our services. These areas are vulnerable to fiber cuts due to typhoon, landslides, and public works diggings,” Peña stressed.

The fortification program would benefit the estimated 11 million subscribers of PLDT mobile subsidiaries Smart Communications and Sun Cellular and around 450,000 customers of PLDT HOME as well as enterprises in northern Luzon.

He reported that PLDT has so far completed work in the network covering Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, and Cagayan Province.

Pena noted that below-ground installation is ongoing for the San Fernando, La Union to Candon, Ilocos Sur link. This segment is expected to be completed by March this year.

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Meanwhile, the Cagayan province link from Tuguegarao to Ballesteros covering 124 kilometers is expected to be completed by October.

The PLDT Group has continued to invest in its fiber optic network to reach over 78,000 kilometers, far ahead of competition.

As a result, PLDT’s network remains unrivalled in terms of capacity, coverage and resiliency.

PLDT earlier this year completed the installation of over 150 kilometers of submarine fiber optic cables that would link the island of Bohol with the major network centers in Visayas and Mindanao, boosting the telco’s services in the fast growing tourism and business process outsourcing (BPO) hubs in central Philippines.

It has also completed the rollout of nearly 300 kilometers of state-of-the-art submarine fiber optic cables linking Palawan province in western Philippines to the rest of the PLDT network to meet the rapidly increasing demand for robust and reliable telecoms and data services in one of the country’s top tourist destinations.

PLDT is spending P29 billion for its capital expenditures this year about two-thirds of which would be used for its growing broadband business.

Of the total amount, about 65 percent would be allocated to expand its broadband business while 25 percent would be used to further expand PLDT’s fiber optic fiber network by about 10 percent next year.

PLDT’s cellular subscriber base stood at 72.5 million as of end-September. Wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. had 24.7 million subscribers while value brand Talk ‘N Text ended with 31.9 million.

Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. had 15.8 million Sun Cellular subscribers.

On the other hand, PLDT’s combined broadband subscriber base stood at 3.3 million in the first nine months of 2013. For the fixed line businesses of both PLDT and Digitel, the subscriber base remained at 2.1 million.