ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC), home of the most widely distributed premium and on demand channel and producer of Filipino content outside the Philippines, earned two nods from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) on July 5 at the Marriott Hotel in Manila for campaigns that address its global audience - its overseas voting campaign #Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH and virtual get-together for these Filipinos and their families, Kapamilya Reunion.
With the registration for the overseas voting in full swing, the government’s campaign gets a boost as TFC’s #Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH born out of a partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA OVS) and Commission on Elections Office for Overseas Voting (COMELEC OFOV) gets another nod from the PR industry by getting an Excellence award and vying for the over-all top five awards under the Corporate Social Responsibility category from this year’s Philippine Quill.
#Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH earned the judges’ nod for Communication Management and for inspiring Filipinos to capture the Philippines in photo at its current state and tell other global Filipinos how they can still paint a better picture, with the right vote.
#Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH among top five over-all winners for Communication Management
According to ABS-CBN Global Head of Corporate Affairs & PR Nerissa Fernandez: “The PR industry’s recognition of ABS-CBN TFC’s #Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH campaign affirms the value of our joint efforts with our government and community partners in reaching out to Filipinos worldwide and connecting them to the homeland through the most powerful means of involvement: the exercise of their right of suffrage. Through the power of media, this allowed them to have a voice in the political conversation and in building the future of our homeland”.
The campaign was launched in 2015 first to help the government agencies increase the number of registrants and sustained in 2016 to turn them into voters. The campaign harnessed the power of social media to encourage Filipinos overseas to use the hashtag across all their social media accounts with the help of key influencers such as news personalities Atom Araullo, Julius Babao, Jing Castaneda, and Cathy Yang; entertainment reporters Gretchen Fulido, Tina Marasigan, Barbie Muhlach and Ginger Conejero; celebrities Pokwang, Dimples Romana, and Amy Perez; young celebrities Gretchen Ho, Ai dela Cruz, Nathan Lopez, and Joj and Jai Agpangan; music industry’s Morissette and Jamie Rivera; ABS-CBN Regional Network News Bureau reporters headed by Stanley Palisada; and radio personalities Amy Perez, DJs Jai Ho, DJ ChaCha China Paps, and anchor Ahwel Paz.
Yang, an award-winning broadcast journalist did not think twice about supporting the campaign. Yang said: “I was once an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) too - fifteen years. I know how it is to be an OF worker and overseas voter. I voted and covered in Hong Kong so I played two roles. There, I saw the sad and happy part of having a voice as a migrant worker. I could say my experience was whole”. Yang covered the opening of the election precincts in HK in 2016.
At the end of the 2015 registration, total turnout was 1,376,067 or a 46.39% increase versus 815,307 in 2012 registration while the total number of voter turnout in 2016 was at 430,695 or almost 300% increase versus the 2013 elections with 118,823 voters.
According to DFA OVS Vice Chairman Ed Castro, media played a crucial role in the success of the OV in 2016. “Media is an indispensable partner of public service. And it so happens that the DFA OVS serves the interest of the OFs. We politically empower them. Therefore, TFC having the widest reach in network for overseas is a logical partner of the campaign. Thank you very much to TFC’s partnership and others for all the help, we were able to set a record-breaking turnout for the 2016 national elections”.
COMELEC OFOV Chairman Atty. Arthur Lim adds: “The media, specifically TFC is broadcast all over the world which covers the 85 foreign posts of the Philippines. The same helped a lot in propagating the OV act. Considering that prior to the agreement with ABS-CBN or TFC, there were only 815,307 total number of registered overseas, the volume of applicant increased after August 26,2015 because of the information campaign conducted by the office and its partners”.
Kapamilya Reunion wins first Quill for Advertising, Marketing and Brand Communication
Meantime, Kapamilya Reunion, a virtual reunion that harnessed the power of technology to bring together overseas Filipinos and their families in the Philippines, earned its first Quill for Communication Management under the Advertising, Marketing and Brand category.
Launched first in 2015, Kapamilya Reunion brought the families together in one of the most memorable events in the lives of Filipinos - Christmas. Recreating the elements such as Christmas decors, Noche Buena and exchange gifts, the virtual reunion also was able to relive the Christmas feels that overseas participants miss back in the Philippines.
According to Ailene Averion, ABS-CBN Global Managing Director for Asia Pacific: “Kapamilya Reunion is one very memorable occasion where we momentarily managed to bridge the physical gap between overseas and their families here in the Philippines. Even for a day, we at TFC, together with our content celebrities and Kapamilyas all over the world, were able to celebrate as one family during this important season of Christmas”.
According to Richard Aroboleda, Quill Awards Organizing Committee Chairman, out of the 724 entries, only 228 awardees passed the acid test. “Tonight’s winners are not just words on a document or a Powerpoint presentation. They have now metamorphosed into sterling examples of how communications when done right have lasting effects on the audiences they intend to touch. Just like the mighty quill which has throughout history, again, when used right, can become instruments not only to put words into paper but also to ignite positive change. We see these modern-day communications have the ability to do the same”, Arboleda ends.
In this year’s Philippine Quill Awards, TFC’s back-to-back wins contributed to ABS-CBN Corporation’s win as 1st runner-up in the Company of the Year category.
The Philippine Quill for Excellence was received for Fernandez by Global Corporate Affairs and PR Associate Marianne Ferrer - de Vera and PR Specialist Jocelyn Jimenez; DFA OVS Vice Chairman Edgardo Castro; Regional Finance Officer Lawrence Reyes; Marketing Communications Creative Director Jay Dustin Santiago; and one of the brand ambassadors, Cathy Yang.
