MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A typical day out in the Philippines usually entails long hours spent in transit, may it be in private cars, public transport, or through transport network vehicle services (TNVS). It is this cultural landscape that X-Meta Philippines and OnGo Smart Advertising identified to be an ideal market to invest in with a new partnership that promises to bolster digital media for out-of-home advertising.
X-Meta Philippines prides itself to be a Technology Service and Solution Provider that aspires to provide Filipinos with quick and easy access to products such as power bank rentals, cinema tickets, commuting services, vouchers and more — all in the X-Meta app. Recently, it has also ventured into putting digital screens in e-jeepneys to provide advertisers with a platform to engage and entertain their target audiences.
OnGo Smart Advertising, meanwhile, is an out-of-home advertising solutions provider that specializes in integrating customized tablets into TNVS platforms. Its technology allows advertisers to monitor data analytics, utilize geo-targeting, efficiently run campaigns through a cloud-based system, make use of monitors with motion sensor, and more.
At a contract signing ceremony on July 28, X-Meta and OnGo formalized their partnership at X-Meta’s new office space in Parañaque City. In attendance were X-Meta General Manager John Chen with Chief Marketing Officer Yen Lopena-Padlan and OnGo Chief Executive Officer Jeff Alias with Office Manager Nharie Joy Armado. The two teams marked the agreement by sharing their plans and hopes for OOH advertising in the Philippines:
adobo: What does the partnership entail?
X-Meta General Manager John Chen: Of course, the team members and the crew is different, but we share the message and the strategies because we have the same vision. We cover the different markets, so that means every strategy in marketing and sales, we’ll be working together on. Mr. Jeff shares with us the strategies and the reports on how the clients want it. So we will be working together on a lot, and yeah, it’s a really big partnership.
Why is X-Meta the ideal partner for OnGo?
OnGo Chief Executive Officer Jeff Alias: I’ve always been a believer of working together. I believe that if you want to go strong and go big, we should work together. But on why Xmeta, it’s because they have the same vision [as us] about captivating — this is the word we always want. Because people are on the move, we need to captivate the audiences. So how and where can we captivate the audience? The best time is when they are in travelling mode. For example, different target audiences will travel on the modernized jeeps, so those are the people we are going to captivate. This means that they will be inside the jeep probably for 30 minutes to an hour — this is the best time [to engage them].
Therefore, it aligned to what OnGo has been doing the past four years, which is to captivate audiences inside TNVS with ‘infotainment.’ With X-Meta, we’re actually going to the bigger screens, with more passengers. From two to three passengers in the TNVS, now it’s 10 to 30 passengers in the modernized jeep with their digitalized screens which air, not only ads, but information and entertainment at the same time. We have things like daily horoscope, business news, and quote of the day. So when people are in the move, they’re not just getting ads, but also entertainment. X-Meta’s bigger screens expand what we’re doing with our smaller screens, which are more personalized. That’s why we’re aligned.
What do you predict for the future of digital advertising, especially for OOH?
John: Mr. Jeff is from Singapore, and Singapore is one of the best countries in the world. But you know, I told him, when we talk about potential, the Philippines is really the best choice. As we can see, the economy is increasing, and people are opening up to accept digital [solutions] — especially the young people coming up. That’s what we hope for in the future, and we would love to explore the possibilities. We believe sooner or later something will explode [in the industry].
Jeff: For OnGo, we would like to see an advertisement being more captivating. In other words, we want to make sure advertisers get their materials to be seen by real people with real impressions. Authentication is very important. That is why we are here and empowering digital a lot.
For more information about X-Meta Philippines, go to http://xmeta.ph/index.php. For more information about OnGo Smart Advertising, go to https://ongo.ph/.
