ABS-CBN Corporation received the coveted 2015 Agora Award for Marketing Company of the Year from the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA) for its innovative, strategic, and effective marketing campaigns.
The Marketing Company of the Year award is the highest and most prestigious honor conferred by PMA in honoring excellence and contributions in the marketing field. ABS-CBN beat other companies across different industries nominated in the category that went through a stringent judging process by the Agora Board of Judges.
ABS-CBN COO Carlo Katigbak attributed the success of the company to its continuous effort to promote the Filipino spirit through the campaigns, programs, and projects.
“Our shows, our advocacies, and our new products reflect the stories of the admirable Filipino character. It is a privilege to help uphold the true wealth of our country. Through both traditional media and new digital platforms, we are happy to bring such inspiring Filipino stories to our local audiences, to overseas Filipinos, and even non-Filipino markets all over the world,” said Katigbak.
Some of ABS-CBN’s achievements include producing most of the top 20 programs nationwide as indicated by data from Kantar Media, as well as films that breached the ₱100 million mark in receipts, including The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin, the highest-grossing Filipino film in history.
While ABS-CBN has sustained its TV ratings dominance and box-office feat, it has also found success in other business ventures by remaining focused on its mission and vision of providing services to Filipinos.
The company’s groundbreaking ventures include its own mobile telephony brand ABS-CBNmobile, which satisfies its audiences’ craving for ABS-CBN content by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and programs whenever and wherever they are.
ABS-CBN displayed versatility, innovativeness and ingenuity in the launch of O Shopping, a partnership with Korean company O Shopping that allows Filipinos to conveniently shop at their own homes, and ABS-CBN TVplus, which finally made digital TV a reality in the Philippines and gives Filipinos an enjoyable TV viewing experience.
Katigbak, however, said ABS-CBN’s most successful marketing activity was the 2013 “Tulong Na, Tabang Na, Tayo Na” fund-raising campaign that motivated the country to unite and help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda through the selling of T-shirts and fund-raising concerts.
The simple yet innovative campaign raised close to P1 billion in cash and in kind donations – the most received by any private organization – and has given relief and rehabilitation to over 700,000 families. The rebuilding efforts led by ABS-CBN were in the areas of education, livelihood, and housing.
“This was not a proof of our marketing prowess. It was, in fact, a showcase of Filipino heroism, generosity, and ‘malasakit,’” said Katigbak.
Last year, ABS-CBN chief digital officer Donald Patrick Lim was also named the first awardee of the Agora Award for Outstanding Achievement in Marketing Communications for revolutionizing digital advertising in the country.
The Agora Awards, known as “the Oscars of marketing,” celebrates the programs and people who have created an indelible mark in marketing. Through the Agora, the Filipino is hailed as a world-class marketer endowed with a proven flair of out-of-the-box thinking and trailblazing achievements.
Prior to the Agora Awards, ABS-CBN won the Gold Stevie Award in the Company of the Year – Media and Entertainment category at the International Business Awards and Gold Stevie Award in the Services Company of the Year category at the Asia Pacific Stevie Awards.