In 2006, the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) started the annual tradition of recognizing the country’s most outstanding chief finance officer through a permanent partnership with Dutch financial giant ING Bank N.V., one of the world’s largest banks.
Today, the ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award is the Philippines’ longest-running and only search that honors the top financial stewards of the land. This joint venture between two major institutions is envisioned to herald a legacy for future generations of Filipino financial leaders.
Previous winners were Delfin Gonzalez, Jr. of Globe Telecom, Inc.; Sherissa Nuesa and Luis Juan Oreta of Manila Water Co., Inc.; Jose Sio and Danny Yu of SM Investments Corp.; Ysmael Baysa of Jollibee Foods Corp.; Jaime Ysmael of Ayala Land, Inc.; Jeffrey Lim of SM Prime Holdings, Inc.; Felipe Yalong of GMA Network, Inc.; and Jose Jerome Pascual III of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.
This year’s search revolves around the theme, “The Agile CFO: Enabling Change.” The 2017 winner will be announced on Nov. 20 at the New World Makati Hotel during the FINEX general membership meeting with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. as guest speaker.
SPOTLIGHT ON DIGITAL MEDIA
Dr. Donald Patrick Lim, Country CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Philippines, headlined a forum on out-of-home (OOH) media in the digital age held last week at the Tower Club in Makati City.
He noted that digital media has been growing aggressively over the past two years. Based on data from AGB Nielsen, media marketers are now looking into the “big three” of advertising – television, radio, and OOH. The Philippine digital market has been growing at 30 to 40%, with Metro Manila having the highest point of reach among the country’s 17 regions.
According to Dr. Lim, the displacement of print media by OOH in terms of advertising share can be attributed to the rise of digital media, with more people getting connected through mobile devices, personal computers, and light-emitting diode (LED) displays.
Citing EDSA traffic as an example, he stressed that an artfully crafted billboard or OOH display next to a bus stop leaves motorists with no choice but to notice it, becoming interruptive to being a point for recall. He said the current trend for marketers is linking online data to digital billboards, with LED displays gaining ground after the once-static billboards became capable of showing video ads.
For Dr. Lim, billboards can pose a challenge to blockbuster movies and TV commercials in generating massive brand awareness. He said: “It’s all about strategy in placement, it’s all about creating ‘talkability’ and finding ways to cut through a cluttered market through creative OOH executions ranging from static to dynamic billboards.”
Alvin Carranza, President of McGraphics Carranz International, observed that consumers nowadays could opt not to watch free TV for their favorite series and not to read newspapers for the latest reports, but they cannot avoid passing the common routes when going to work or other destinations. His firm is at the helm of larger-than-life displays in Metro Manila and key cities nationwide.
Since marketers compete for the most strategic locations in major thoroughfares, it leads to a spot battle among OOH providers in metropolitan areas. Messaging can now be sustained 24/7 and is not likely to be missed by its target audience, with OOH fast becoming the most cost-effective advertising medium.
“In this day and age of user-generated content, marketers can take advantage of OOH’s low cost and wide reach that have made it a game-changer in advertising,” Mr. Carranza said. He believes that OOH is reinventing itself in the digital realm because content follows people everywhere – from transit ads and online promotions that push viewers to social media sites, to hot-air balloon displays and directional stickers embedded on pavements for pedestrians to follow as they walk along sidewalks and underpasses.
Dr. Lim predicts that the future of OOH in the digital age paves the way for a new experience that is technology-driven, generates talk value, transforms other media to OOH, and evokes feelings through physical engagement. Under this scenario, there is no escaping the OOH experience as it redefines the way we work and live.
J. Albert Gamboa is Chief Financial Officer of the Asian Center for Legal Excellence and serves as Co-Chairman of the FINEX Media Affairs Committee.
