MANILA, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 – The shortlist for the 2013 Festival of Media Asia Awards has been officially announced. Running for the second time in Asia, the awards are showcasing the best work of the region, representing campaigns that demonstrate the very best in creative media thinking.
“These awards are all about creative media thinking and I was impressed by the high caliber and quality of the entries – beautifully executed and concisely explained,” said Leonardo O’Grady, jury chair and director for ASEAN integrated marketing communications at Coca-Cola.
The sole entry from the Philippines to make the cut for the 2013 Festival of Media Asia shortlist is an in-store tablet marketing campaign by Mobext Philippines for Procter & Gamble. It is the first and biggest tablet marketing campaign in the country, built around creating ‘Next Generation P&G In-Store Marketers’. Mobext provided an integrated technology solution to enable P&G merchants to provide more product information, launch in-store raffle promos, digital couponing, and games. The agency’s work also includes customized apps for several P&G brands, tools for database-building and sales analysis, and an asset management system to track and audit the deployed tablets.
The campaign was used by P&G brands as a gateway for the merchandisers to offer more product information in-store. Specifically, these brands were Ariel, Tide, Bonux, Downy, Joy, Ambi Pure, Pampers, Vicks, Duracell and Oral B.
Some of the apps Mobext created for P&G include the Pantene Hair Analyzer, which lets users take the Damage Meter Test and customizes Pantene products for them; and a skin analyzer for Olay. For the home care products, the tablet provided home care solutions, linked with the products.
For database tools, users who participated in the tablet activities were asked to submit their details to sustain the conversation via SMS promo updates, etc.
The campaign empowered the "mobile" ambassadors of P&G or its merchants who are on the field, interacting with the consumers. It made product information more mobile, putting it right when consumers most need them – in the store, as they make purchase decisions. The tablets served as a hub for the brands to reach consumers where they are.
"A mobile campaign being the only finalist from the Philippines is not just a victory for Mobext but for mobile marketing in the country," shares Arthur Policarpio, head of Mobext APAC. "Our work for a top brand such as P&G will hopefully open more advertisers to tap mobile for more integrated and innovative mobile campaigns. Mobext is very much inspired to continue its momentum, especially now that we’re celebrating our first year of operations here in the Philippines."
Judged by a panel of nearly 60 senior industry professionals, the shortlist is made up of 117 campaigns from over 10 markets. Australia and India dominated the field, but face stiff competition from other regional markets. There has been an impressive 180% increase in campaigns from India, for example, while both China and Thailand have doubled the number of their entries. Indonesia and Japan are new additions to the field, represented in the Awards shortlist for the first time this year. Starcom, Mindshare and Universal McCann lead on the agency network front.
Founder of the Festival and CEO of C Squared Charlie Crowe commented “We were impressed with the creativity and calibre of the work coming out of Asia. The judges will have a difficult task picking out the winners – competition is fierce.”
Winners will be announced at the Festival of Media Asia 2013 at the W Singapore – Sentosa Cove from March 3 to 5 in Singapore.
More information about the Festival of Media Asia 2013, is available at its official website. The full Awards shortlist can be downloaded at the Awards page.
