Going Digital Multiplied

In the mid- to late-90s, “going digital” was a phrase limited to computers, mobile (now smart) phones, and other electronic devices that used binary codes or digits in order to operate. Fast forward to some ten years later, and “going digital” has been given an entirely new meaning—one that no longer just refers to digits, but also to promoting a brand on digital space, otherwise known as the Internet.

Blazing the digital trail

It was in 2007 when Donald Lim, ABS-CBN’s current Chief Digital Officer, considered by many as the founding father of digital marketing in the Philippines, established with like-minded industry friends the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, or IMMAP.

The association, composed of the brightest minds in the marketing communications industry, realized that movements in the country’s digital landscape were accelerating at an unprecedented pace, experiencing growth rates that rivaled those of more progressive countries. Thus, IMMAP saw the opportunity to help open the minds of local companies and to encourage them to harness the power of the Internet and mobile—two forms referred to as interactive or digital media—in marketing their respective brands.

“We created IMMAP with the intention of becoming part of the Advertising Board of the Philippines, to make digital marketing part of the mainstream. We were really excited because we knew that IMMAP was in a unique position to blaze trails in the relatively young industry of digital marketing, ” says Lim.

But just like any group that introduces and advocates change in a community, IMMAP was met with challenges. “Though everyone was excited to learn digital, no one really wanted to invest just yet. Companies could not fully grasp the value of digital marketing to their business.”

Fast forward

It was tough during IMMAP’s early years, but as technologies improved and as consumers further integrated Internet and mobile devices into their lifestyles, the mindset of companies began to change. As IMMAP educated more advertisers, many of them started to view digital media as a valued platform to connect with consumers directly and to establish with them a more interactive kind of engagement while spending less. Changes in marketing investments were noticed; companies began allotting 10-20% of their advertising spend for digital media. “The biggest challenge then was attribution. While everyone still preferred traditional media, the challenge was on how brands could attribute marketing results to digital initiatives. Marketing is usually performance-based and digital can offer a pay for every click model. Everything in digital is also done practically real time, and analytics are very scientific and accurate. Companies know the bang they get for every buck,” says Lim.

Ten years since its formation, IMMAP is now considered the premier digital marketing organization in the country. Lim says that the association has embraced the entire Philippine digital ecosystem, now very huge and evolving. “More industries today are going purely digital, and we are expecting the digital transformation of many more companies in the future,” he adds.

The 1^st DigiCon

Lim still vividly remembers the first IMMAP Summit organized in 2007 with the theme “Heroes” to recognize proponents of the digital marketing industry. This interactive summit saw 200 people in attendance. Many more summits followed after that, and each year, more attendees and companies have jumped on the digital media bandwagon.

Now, 10 years after, Lim is even more excited after being handpicked to be the Overall Chairman of this new and first digital congress that IMMAP is mounting. The IMMAP Digital Congress or IMMAP DigiCon, themed “The Power of X: Digital Multiplied,” is a grand event that aims to encourage digital marketing practitioners to amp up their skills in the country’s rapidly evolving digital industry. For the first time, IMMAP fuses together other regular digital marketing conferences—the Mobile Marketing Summit, Digital Commerce Summit, and the IMMAP Summit—into one event, expecting to draw around 3,000 delegates from various industries across the country.

Through the DigiCon, IMMAP aims to bring everyone in the ecosystem together. “Just like we did 10 years ago when the 15 of us rallied to make the industry understand digital as part of marketing life,” Lim says. The congress will be 10 times bigger than before as IMMAP once again enjoins members of the evolving Philippine digital marketing industry and demonstrates to them how brands can grow exponentially with the power of digital, multiplied.

Why “Power of X?” Lim explains that“X” is one of the most powerful letters in the alphabet. It has many possible usages, but it also stands for the unknown. “When it comes to digital, it’s up to you to determine what ‘X’ stands for. In many ways, digital is still misunderstood, and so it gets the ‘X’ mark or is crossed out of an advertiser’s consideration list. How will you be able to amplify your brand in the digital space? It’s for you to define your ‘X,’” he says.

The IMMAP DigiCon is unlike any other digital congress the country has ever seen, with 10 subject matter tracks and 10 speakers in each track, for a total of 100 speakers. A pretty tall order, you may think, but Lim says that IMMAP didn’t just pluck the names of the speakers out of thin air. “We chose these thought leaders meticulously because we want the best people to enlighten us about the 10 subject matter tracks. So this is a conference you should not and must not miss.”

The topics for the 10 tracks include “Branding and Marketing,” “Content and Distribution,” “Start-ups,” “The Digital Creative,” “Social and Search,” “eCommerce and Payments,” “The Digital Agency,” “CRM, Data and Analytics,” “Research and Measurement,” and “Media and Ad Networks.” And the likes of Steve Kalifowitz of Twitter, Sunita Kaur of Spotify, Eleanne Hattis of Waze SEA, and Sandhia Devanathan of Facebook SEA will be among the 100 speakers expected to provide the learning and sharing of knowledge on digital marketing in the 21^st Century.

Unlike any other event, the 1^st IMMAP DigiCon is not a “selling” event but a working and learning event. Local players, Lim said, “will be able to get a regional perspective about how things are done, improve learning, and discover more about other digital industries from other speakers.”

So will there be another IMMAP DigiCon next year? Lim says it’s going to be up to members of the next IMMAP board, who will be deciding based on the success of this year’s event. “In this DigiCon, we have very sincere intentions to educate the industry and converge the players today. We want to differentiate and educate the people further for continuous learning. Then we will top off the congress with the Boomerang Awards to celebrate the best of breed in the industry. We want to create a big stir in the industry and then assess how we’ve grown and how successful we’ve become. Then let’s probably talk about another congress.”

The first “IMMAP DigiCon, The Power of X: Digital Multiplied,” will be held on October 10-12, 2016 at the Philippine International Convention Center, Vicente Sotto Street, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Pasay City. For more information and registration details, go to www.immap.com.ph or www.powerofx.ph. Also, visit Facebook page, www.facebook.com/immapPH/ and Twitter, @immapPH.

ADVT.