Philippine exports – from grains to brands—took centerstage during the Philippine Marketing Association’s 7th Agora Conference, titled “Marketing Possibilities, Global Opportunities.”
The unexpected opener for the conference was Henry Lim Bon Liong, President/CEO of SL Agritech, with an impassioned account of the quest to produce high-yielding super hybrid rice. Lim Bon Liong, also the CEO of Sterling Paper, focused on the Fil-Chinese resourcefulness, hard work and research poured into creating the new grain, despite repeated failures and all odds of climate and terrain. Today, even as the Philippines continues to import rice, our super-hybrid rice is sold abroad.
“Marketing Filipino Brands Overseas” is a maxim that Willy Arcilla, president of Business Mentors, Inc., carries in his heart. Having successfully relaunched C2 in Vietnam, Arcilla is no stranger to cross-continental brand-building. His rousing presentation of internationally successful Philippine brands sparked a healthy exchange among the audience that went beyond Philippine pride into government and politics.
The 7th Agora Conference also included Dr. Leonardo Garcia Jr., Dean of the College of Business Administration of Lyceum of the Philippines, who spoke on “Rock the Global Marketplace through Non-Price Competition.” Also from the academe, Dr. Karen V. De Asis of the De La Salle Graduate School of Business, added spice to the sessions through “Brands as Social Statements.” The afternoon closed with Discovery Enterprises International’s Regional Licensing Director, Pinky David, who provided several Singapore-based examples in “Licensing a Global Brand: Deal or no Deal.”
Send an email
