THE PHILIPPINES, FEBRUARY 13, 2012: With their minds set to go against the grain and lean towards unconventional ideas, Collab Manila and Media Contacts Philippines forged a partnership last December and immediately worked on their first pitch, which they ultimately won days later. Such is the potential of this team-up of two small groups (Collab Manila with a headcount of only four as of this writing), that they already have a slew of projects in the works for this year.
Ed Mapa, CEO of Media Contacts, admits that they’ve had Tonypet Sarmiento, chief collaborator in Collab Manila, in their sights for quite some time. “We first met when I invited him to be one of the jurors in the IMMAP (Internet and Mobile Marketers Association of the Philippines) Boomerangs during my chairmanship in 2009. I’ve always been fascinated with his creative thinking and his award winning works. So, last year when the word was out that Tonypet left his previous agency, I gave him a call.”
Sarmiento, on the other hand, is interested in the social media platform and how a simple yet strong idea can spread quickly and effectively – one of Media Contacts’ areas of expertise. “(We see) this team-up with Media Contacts as an opportunity to create something new and different amidst an already cluttered above-the-line market.”
Mapa promises that their win of the AirAsia Philippines account is only just a preview of what the two agencies can do together. “It was a good example of ideas and social media playing nicely to solve real-world marketing concerns,” commented Sarmiento.
Media Contacts also views the partnership as a chance to up the ante of Havas Digital, its parent company, in the Philippines. “(We have) always been in the forefront of creating digital media ideas that transcends across all platforms. With Tonypet and his creative collaborators on board, we are able to provide to our clients fresh perspective in creative thinking and elevate the value of a powerful idea,” said Mapa.
Sarmiento couldn’t agree more. “With Media Contacts, we have a good chance of ‘pressing play’ faster and reaching our goals sooner.” Ideas partnered with a deep understanding of consumer behavior, executed in true creative fashion, and spread by effective new media strategies are dreamt of, said Sarmiento. With this partnership, he hopes to achieve them. And then some. “We’d like to show our clients and the rest of the industry what we can do. Soon.”
And as Mapa puts it: “It was the perfect fit and the missing piece of the puzzle we needed.”
