I did say every step..

In today’s age of online marketing and social media, is there still room for traditional marketing? While it is true that a post from someone you know, a forwarded email from a relative, or an SMS may get more of your attention, there are cases when traditional marketing can trump all? When you live in one of the busiest cities in the world, it is possible.

To drum up interest for the opening of their flagship store at 5th Avenue, Uniqlo made themselves present in New York’s public transportation system. This included walls, turnstiles, waiting sheds, trash cans (yes!), and included in their ads considerable price drops on their Heattech warmers, as well as an irresistible $9.99 deal on a particular style of Uniqlo jeans.

Uniqlo didn’t stop at just that either. They supplemented their marketing with “brand ambassadors” to identify with their consumer. After all, New York is about diversity.

NEW YORK, September 6, 2011 UNIQLO is proud to announce the cast starring in the brand’s marketing campaign that is launching today throughout the metropolitan area. The cast members include celebrities, professional athletes and community heroes that UNIQLO believes exemplify the Made For All philosophy in their own daily lives. Made For All is the UNIQLO brand philosophy that encapsulates the company’s vision of providing basic clothing that is made for all people regardless of age, gender, race or any other category. The UNIQLO cast is an important part of the marketing campaign currently in progress and building excitement for the opening of the two new global flagship locations that will be the two largest for the brand in the world. Link

See what I mean after the cut.

Here’s a complete list of the Uniqlo brand ambassadors:

• Greg Breinberg, Director of PS22 Chorus
• David Chang, Owner and chef of Momofuku
• Darren Criss, Musician and actor
• Shayna Crowell, Chief Happiness Agent at Charity Water
• Joshua David, Co-Founder of the Friends of the High Line
• Vera Fabian, Edible Schoolyard Manager
• Lorraine Gordon, Founder of the Village Vanguard
• Joe Hall, Founder of Ghetto Film School
• Robert Hammond, Co-Founder of the Friends of the High Line
• Paloma Herrera, Principal Dancer American Ballet Theater
• David Karp, Founder and CEO of Tumblr
• Laura Linney, Actor
• John Leguizamo, Actor and comedian
• Carlos Mendes, Soccer defender on the New York Red Bulls
• Suchin Pak, Co-Founder of the Hester Street Fair
• Lili Salmeron, Community Liaison of NMCIR
• Susan Sarandon, Mother, actor and activist
• Esperanza Spalding, Jazz musician and singer
• Yoshi, Blogger The Adventures of Yoshi

How do I get your attention?

As I was pondering what to write about this week, I realized that the Philippine Advertising Ad Congress may already be in its final stages. Hence, I am using this medium to show how much I respect the people who work the longest hours — the account managers. I used to work with them everyday, and credit should be given where credit is due.

For one, they own the unenviable task of trying to convince advertisers that that their medium is the best vehicle to hitting the right demographic. Not only do they have to deal with demanding clients, they have to compete with others who are willing to go as far as they are just to “close the deal”. I actually know someone who had to pick up his client’s kids from school just to get on the latter’s good side. You get the point.

Secondly, and in my experience, the industry also has a huge dependency on personal relationships. How can you vie for advertising spend if your competitor has a direct line to a media buyer’s personal cellphone number? You can have all the connections you want, but the truth of the matter is, someone who is related to a former colleague’s sister’s husband will always have the inside track. You can also see yourself as the most likeable person in the world, but that decision is not entirely up to you.

Lastly, anyone who has made the commitment to be a part of the advertising industry has one way or another given up a huge chunk of his/her personal life. Whether it’s that dinner you missed because of a pending approval, or going through that 12-hour day because of a rush project, all the back and forth on the road, the pressure of an advertising career will beat you down.

Truth of the matter is, the advertising industry can also be unpredictable. What I mentioned above may even have no bearing at all. I have been in New York for almost a month now, and my move made me realize that while there are many similarities, there are generalizations and unsaid truths that can be said about the advertising industry in the Philippines.

Let’s go on ahead and talk about a few “Advertiser Tiers”.

Tier 1 is what I would call the “Money Cows”. Media and advertising agencies know that when those who belong to this segment start to spend, it’s do-whatever-you-can-to-get-the-most-out-of-them time.

I am talking about everyone in the FMCG industry (basically anything Unilever or Colgate-Palmolive). They know they have the power, because everyone wants a big chunk of their advertising budgets. If for some reason you manage to piss off one of the brand managers of these companies, you can kiss your advertising targets goodbye.

They hold the power and they know it. They will not care if you are trying to protect the integrity of your brand, publication, radio, or TV station. You have to include items such as product placement, editorial features, and mentions in your proposal. You can try to reason or resist, but in the end, you have no choice but to give in to these money players’ demands. There’s a whole year of placements that depend on it.

To be continued..

So it snowed today. Yeah I know, this is New York, so that shouldn’t be a surprise  — until you realize it is only October. Well, you do experience something new everyday.

Like the feeling of having to step through sloshes of snow using your preserved Miles Davis Kobe V’s. How about the silly notion that wearing a thick wool coat will keep you dry? Pfft. The apartment building where we stay is about a hundred paces to the subway platform, but I looked like a ran through a minor snowstorm.

My current snow/rainboots

One thing I managed to get right, was purchase two pairs of Heattech under layers from Uniqlo the other day. If you can manage to look past the thermograph/heat-retention mumbo jumbo, the fabric that they use is definitely lighter and feels more natural than your typical thermal. This counts for a lot since people will feel the need to put on more layers as the holidays come around.

Time to stay warm

I’m starting to get used to all the walking, but this winter thing is something else.

*Images borrowed from Sneakernews.com, Syracuse.com, and Trendland.net.

The picture does not do Pio Chicken justice.

I’m not a food blogger or critic, but I just had to post something about Pio Pio.

specializing in pollos a la brasa (rotisserie chicken), pio pio is new york city’s premier peruvian restaurant group.

well-known to new yorkers and countless visitors, pio pio has honed its culinary skills since 1994 when its first restaurant in rego park, queens was opened.

Pio Pio may look like one of those swanky NYC restaurants that need a reservation, but it is not. One look at the menu and it screams comfort food. This isn’t a bad thing, as this limited selection was probably created to say “Hey, you came here to try out our kickass chicken”. And that indeed we did.

We ordered their signature chicken ($16!), and paired it with a serving of brown rice and beans, some fried bananas, and thinly sliced avocado on the side.

Here’s a picture of everything that we ordered.

Are you hungry yet?

New York, New York

I took this picture last Thursday while sitting in a soup kitchen on 51st and Lexington. The skyline was hazy, the wind blowing just hard enough to make all those umbrellas turn inside out. It was difficult to imagine that it was only half past four. It was New York’s way of saying — Hey man, this is the real deal.

If you look at my previous post, I sincerely hope that the big change in my geographic location counts as the “upward spiral” I have been waiting for. I am optimistic because of the loved ones I have left behind, my fat dog who I have had as my roommate for the past 5 years, and my friends who have managed to help me realize where I should be. I am doing this for all of them.

Most of all, I am doing this for my wife, who has had to endure several years of what you see in the picture above.

Ask the people close to me, and they’ll tell you right away that I’m the type of person who doesn’t like a day to go to waste. If I had the flexibility, I’d want to eat breakfast at 5, be at the gym by 630, and at my desk by 9am, and be able to watch a movie by 6. Sadly, the traffic in Metro Manila makes this kind of schedule impossible. Instead, I am up by 430, at the office by 6, and off work by 430 at the latest. When people hear this, you’d usually hear “ano yan graveyard shift?”.

These people can call it what they want, but while they are still going after a deadline, I am already on my way home.

The main point of this post is this — growth isn’t only characterized by the job title that you have, or the places where you think you should be at, or the amount of money you should be getting paid. At the risk of sounding like some middle aged guidance counselor, growth can also be characterized by the time you have for your other passions. This can include sports, videogames, school, or whatever you think floats your boat. Some people even have to leave their current jobs just to find out how lucky they were.

If you think you are stuck, just keep this quote in mind. My wife Mariel got it from one of her Yoga instructors (who was just inspired by their studio’s move from the 2nd to the 3rd floor lol). You can also read about her experience here.

“It is when when we move around in circles and find ourselves in the same spot that we ask ourselves, ‘Why am I here again? Why is it that I never learn?’ When in fact, we’re actually moving in an upward spiral, not in circles; that when we end up in the same spot, we’ve actually gone one level up.”

If you’re one of the few who have managed to come back and check if I am still alive, well, here I am. Along with my nth blog theme change, I’ve also changed the secondary header of my blog to “So many sports, too few days in the week”. You have no idea how much I would like to define that phrase even further.

And now, he already looks bigger than me (and I’m 6’1).

So please, take a few minutes off and do the following:

1. Visit the Bow & Wow Facebook Fanpage here.
2. Like the page (I know, I know, this has become routine).
3. Click on the PetParrazi tab. When you see the page, click the image again to make the gallery come up.
4. Choose dog on the filter dropdown on the upper right side of the image.
5. Find Basti or Sebastian (just look for the yellow lab), click on the image, and click like (again).

That’s it! If by some miracle, he gets to catch up in the voting, just know that you will make this loyal dog very happy.

P.S. If anyone finds out how to share the actual vote page, please don’t hesitate to tell me!

*Good job with the social media campaign Bow & Wow team. Aside from not being able to share the actual vote page, having to click on like multiple times, and looking for the actual pic of the dog or cat I want to vote for, this campaign is really cool.

See complete details here.

Much criticism has always been heard regarding the volume of quality games that have been coming out for the PS3. With formerly exclusive franchises such as Resident Evil and Final Fantasy making their way to Microsoft’s gaming machine, including the recently announced Metal Gear Rising, Gran Turismo 5 for me, will be (pun intended) driving  most of the hardware and software sales this coming holiday season.

I used to see myself using this for GT5, but now I’m dreaming of this.

So many toys. Frak.

Besides, it’s perfect — The King as a Ginebra Gin King.

If you chanced upon this page and don’t know what the PBA is, it’s a professional basketball league in the Philippines.

Visit Hoopswallpapers.com for more.

There was a time when I used to buy around 2-3 games a month. This was back in high school when I still relied on my trusty old Playstation (yep, the gray thingamajig that changed gaming forever). Aside from having the free time to play as much as I wanted, the games were just so damn cheap. Piracy just allowed middle class kids like me to purchase games on a monthly basis. And I didn’t even play or finish all of them.

Almost 10 years later, and I find myself in a different situation. Time no longer permits daily gaming sessions. One thing I’ve learned to value over the years however, is the amount of creativity, imagination, and work that goes into creating a videogame.

This is precisely the reason why:

1. I no longer treat all videogames as racing games – In my first weekend with my first Playstation, I played Resident Evil for 10 straight hours. If the game normally takes 5 hours to finish, make sure you play it for 10. Treat every game that you play with the mindset that it’ll take a few years before anything like it comes out again.
2. I now buy original games - Not that pirated software isn’t available for the Playstation 3. I chose this console because it had the exclusives I wanted to play. God of War 3 and the long delayed Gran Turismo 5 are on top of this list.

It is also because of these reasons that I am quite disturbed at some game publishers’ efforts to discourage reselling videogames.

Having successfully introduced one-time codes that can be redeemed for DLC with Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age, Electronic Arts is extending the concept to its line of sports games.Electronic Arts announced today that new copies of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will feature an “Online Pass,” which can be redeemed for title-specific features. Additional passes will be available for $10.00, and EA will be offering seven day trials for the service.

What’s wrong with reselling a game you’ve already finished? It’s only a clear indication that the replay value, nor the downloadable content isn’t enough to keep the gamer interested. Unless you’re talking about MMORPGs or socially driven games such as Little Big Planet or Modnation Racers, selling “one playthrough” games is obviously the next step if you plan to keep your gaming hobby alive.

I completely get the coupon strategy that most publishers are now employing, and I experienced this first hand with God of War Collection. The game came with a redeemable coupon that allowed users to download a demo of God of War 3. I bought the game because I wanted to play through God of War 1 and 2 and try out God of War 3. What if I had only wanted to play through God of War 1 and 2, and not care about the coupon for the demo?

My bottom line is reselling videogames do not diminish anything from these gaming companies’ bottom lines. We’re not exactly talking about a dying industry here. These DRM issues do nothing but punish consumers who pay good money for their videogames.