The art and science of event styling
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 has concluded its search for the country’s most inspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc. with the participation of co-presenters Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Stock Exchange. In the next few weeks, BusinessWorld will feature each finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017.
Robert Blancaflor
Managing Director
Robert Blancaflor Group, Inc.
CONFUCIUS once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
This was the case for Robert Blancaflor, 49, who gave up a successful banking career to pursue a creative calling to pioneer the first events styling company in the Philippines.
Mr. Blancaflor graduated from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas with an Accounting degree. After becoming a Certified Public Accountant, he moved to Manila and became a banker specializing in operations and government infrastructure. He held key positions in the local offices of notable global banks, becoming one of the youngest vice-presidents for the Manila office of a global bank, and was involved in the formation of the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines (SCCP) and Philippine Central Depository, Inc. (PCDI) under the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Despite being a successful young banker, he wanted to do something more creative. He he had always been aware of his creative streak because of his mother’s garden. He would always encourage his mother to dress the table or decorate their family home with flowers.
Mr. Blancaflor’s first foray into events styling was serendipitous. His then soon-to-be-wed brother asked Mr. Blancaflor to help with all the arrangements. With this as his first “project,” Mr. Blancaflor, who was then partly based abroad, started to curate materials to bring back to the Philippines. The success of his brother’s wedding elevated his profile as a professional event stylist.
He officially established 1816 Flowers Company in 1997 and eventually rebranded it as Robert Blancaflor Group, Inc. (RBG) in 2007. He has since styled celebrity weddings like those of Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzales, Ruffa Guttierez and Yilmaz Bektas, Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos, as well as the Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto’s nuptials. He also styled the wedding of Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse and Chinese singer Cecilia Chung and newlyweds Vicky Belo’s and Hayden Kho’s ceremony in Paris, France. His clientele include non-Filipino clients, such as a tycoon in India, a datu in Malaysia and a Southeast Asian prince. He has handled local and international events including the Star Magic Ball as well as recent ASEAN, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Asian Development Bank summits.
Mr. Blancaflor claims to have coined the term “events styling,” with focus on overall design, floral and non-floral décor, production and management. In 2015, he started Eighteenth Floristry & Event Rentals Company, Inc, which he says is the biggest equipment rental company in the industry. Unlike others that can provide only some needs of events, Mr. Blancaflor envisions RBG as a one-stop event shop offering a complete range of integrated services.
“It’s all about track record,” Mr. Blancaflor explained.
In an industry where you’re only as good as your last job, one faces the challenge of consistency.
He said he applies a transparent approach to ensure client satisfaction, clearly delineating what he can and cannot deliver. By setting ground rules and pushing his team to always go the extra mile for clients, he is able to manage expectations. He has also instilled a quality assurance system within the company.
RBG also benefits from a professional organization structure. Between its two companies, RBG is composed of 40 full-time employees and a pool of 250 people, with operation, human resource and accounting departments, among others. Using his operational background from his banking days, Mr. Blancaflor also came up with business continuity plans and other policies to ensure efficient day-to-day operations. He contrasts the flexibility, cross-functional capabilities and logistical expertise of RBG against his contemporaries, who are mostly one-person teams.
RBG imports heavily, with around 90% of flowers and rental furniture sourced from overseas. Hence, the peso’s current weakness against the dollar is a concern.
In addition, there is now an influx of foreign players in the local events scene.
Despite these challenges, Mr. Blancaflor is confident that his understanding of local tastes and cultures give him an edge.
RBG uses social media as both a marketing and research tool, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and making these items and designs available in the Philippines. It also innovates by pre-fabricating elements of frequently used stage designs to improve mobility, deployment and set-up, reducing costs.
Last April, Mr. Blancaflor was one of 100 awardees of EventsVenue PH’s Seal of Excellence. The award was given to events industry members who exemplify excellence and quality.
His social responsibility projects include pro bono event hosting for the Philippine Red Cross and the Philippine Cancer Society.
From banking to styling, Mr. Blancaflor’s journey to becoming one of the country’s leading events stylists has always been driven by passion. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “Find a business you can put your heart into and commit to it.”
The official airline of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2017 is Philippine Airlines. Media sponsors are BusinessWorld and the ABS-CBN News Channel. Banquet sponsors are Bench; Bounty Fresh Food, Inc.; CDO Foodsphere; Fiori Di Marghi; First Metro Investment Corp.; Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.; Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.; Intermed Marketing Phils. Inc.; Jollibee Foods Corp.; LBC; SteelAsia and Universal Harvester, Inc.
The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 will be announced in an Oct. 18 awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La hotel. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is produced globally by Ernst & Young.
