A whole lot of clicking going on, and it’s not high heels. Filipino women are online, and have so much to gain for it. And it’s with a little help from TV. QTV, that is. The Philippines’ youngest TV channel and media bigshot GMA Network underling, the channel has discovered a creative way to convert its viewers into online users. And advertisers are raking it in, bigtime.
In May 2009, WMN.ph, an online portal designed for women was launched. Like many such sites before it, WMN.ph needed its market of females to start clicking on their mouse and tapping on keys to justify its cyberspace residence. Enter QTV, and “Love to Watch Love to Bid” was born.
The partnership has produced the country’s first promo between TV and online-interactive, as well as pioneered the first cashless, sponsor-driven marketing between the two media. The campaign has seen the fluid transformation of QTV viewers from passive audience to wired, online, interactive participants.
In lieu of cash, viewers gained access to points by simply becoming users of WMN.ph. Going through normal online activity: Logging, subscribing to newsletters or referring a friend, posting comments, clicking on sponsors’ ads, and joining sponsors’ quizzes earned corresponding points. With two weeks to accumulate a cache (not cash) of points—begging, bribing, bargaining, and even pooling points, allowed and encouraged—users could then bid for the prizes on hand. And these are not your simple oven toaster or electric fan.
QTV programs heavily promoted the partnership with WMN.ph amassing an extravaganza of prizes for auction from QTV’s sponsors: a Disneyland trip for four, a Hong Kong food trip for two, a P100,000 shopping spree, a home gym system and an assortment of electronic delights.
Results from the TV-to-online transfer, have defied targets and forecasts. Figures show WMN.ph surpassed its target of two million page views over six months, more than doubling at 4.6 million page views in four months.
Figures show WMN.ph’s registered users: 84% females of which 50% are 17 to 25 years of age, and 36% aged 26 to 35, logically, as QTV’s main target market.
Beyond the happy winners and the market figures, add the ecstatic sponsors milking extensive mileage, the partnership has brought to light two key elements. One, that resident TV viewers do visit online, if not taking up residence as well, albeit transient. Another, that the tech-savvy Filipina exists and is a formidable market of its own.
