The month of September is the period we’ve all been looking forward to because it is filled with activities concerning our section and the course we have chosen which is Marketing. This activity filled month started of with our Media Tour under the provisions of Mr. Cometa. The Tour covered four destinations such as The Philippine Star, DZRH radio station, ABS- CBN studio tours, and an observation tour of outdoor ad at SLEX which headed to our final stop to Tgaytay.

The day began with a prayer in the coaster before we left the San Beda premises. As Bedans, we believe that the best way to start our day is through the intercession of our Heavenly Father in our lives, and so we seek for His divine presence for the whole day. At last we were leaving, after waiting for some of our late blockmates. Upon the bus acceleration, a lady had been introduced to us by Mr. Cometa whose name was Marjorie who was going to be our tour guide for the trip. Since the whole block had been goofing around with jokes, I only took notice of her trivia on the San Sebastian Church. She imparted us the knowledge about the church as the only kind made of steel in South East Asia and so it should be treasured. It didn’t take us long to reach our first destination, The Philippine Star publishing office.

It was good that we arrived ahead of the appointed time, so it took us a couple of minutes to meet our host. As we waited in a meeting room, the usual laughter of my classmates could be heard. But beyond all that laughter, I was already thinking of how a newspaper was being made, and would the editor of the said newspaper be as rude as J. Jamison, editor of the Daily Bugle in Spider-man. I was surprised to see that a lady was approaching the room, and later on, we knew that she was there to answer our questions about Marketing of the newspaper. She proudly answered the question of their advantage over other competitors which is having the best columnists in the nation. She also included them as being pioneers of colored front page, that later in time was imitated by the others. The lay-out of the paper is also prepared by the Marketing Department, wherein placing of ads are made. A price differential is made during Sundays for it usually covers a lot of features than on regular days which includes extra broad sheets. Publicity is free, but usually, the sponsors give tolkens to the company in exchange of it. An example of publicity is our picture which was out in the Philippine Star last Wednesday, a portrait of our block with Mr. Editor Himself Felix Delos Santos during this visit. Advertising rates depend on a particular measurement of the paper. Glad she wasn’t like “J. Jamison”. But later on, we met the day editor which somehow had similarities with the Spider-man character. His name was Mr. Felix Delos Santos. We met him downstairs of the meeting room were we first stayed, and we found him busy in the middle of his work. I thought he was sarcastic because of his looks and the way he talked. But he was kind enough to leave what he was doing and accompanied us with the whole area. Well, the new venue had a very different atmosphere! It was where the magic really happens. Desks, computers and type writers were lined up in the whole area. But wait, a “type writer”?! I paused for a while in amazement upon seeing the only one of its kind. Then Mr. Delos Santos mentioned that the old school guy using it was the famous writer Ricky Lo. He said it’s not that Mr. Lo doesn’t know to use the computer, but he writes at his best using his old typewriter. Wow! Now that was something. It’s a matter of getting used to. But the important thing as Mr. Delos Santos put it, in order for an individual to become a great writer, he or she should be able to write anytime at any condition and situation given in life. The “BEAT” is the term they use for the assignment or task they have been assigned to work on. As the discussion went on, we knew about the importance of accuracy in covering the stories that happen in the country and around the world. The editor is the sole responsible for all of these. He has to make sure that he and his people are covering up all the events happening twenty-four ours a day, seven days a week. Missing one important event would cause an editor to loose his job. There was an incident when Mr. Delos Santos almost got fired. It was when Ozone disco got burned and cost the lives of many teenagers. When the it happened, there was no one from Philippine knew about it. He said he was so nervous upon knowing about the incident from a friend and yet not being able to publish about it the next day. He was relieved when he knew that none of his competitors got the news, and it was only in the tabloids that it was visible. So they went on to cover some of its details the following day. Then I realized how difficult it was to be in their shoes. It is only in Christmas Day and some holy occasions that they get rest. Other than that, they already belong to the rest of events in this world. Watching our nations is their life! What could be harder than keeping track of the events every single minute of the day? I was astonished how Journalists like Mr. Delos Santos come to accept this truth, but as what he said it’s their passion for their work that keeps them on their jobs. I thought of it and found it somehow exciting. Knowing every bit of information everyday is a great privilege. It is a tool of not getting left out even time takes your age. It is really a noble job, more than that, a vocation, that can be lined up with priesthood, nursing and medical devotion. International news are received from sources like Reuters, through wires and computers. The deadline of all the beats is usually at 3pm in the afternoon and the printing deadline before 10pm. The session ended with our picture with Mr. Delos Santos taken, and as I have mentioned earlier was out last Wednesday on their news papers.

It was just the first stop of our trip and yet, I already learned a lot. As we bid Mr. Editor good bye, my mind was again playing with my thoughts on what to learn from the remaining stops of the day. As we went on our way to CCP complex, home of the DZRH radio station, jokes, laughter and fun was clearly present in the coaster. Beyond joining everyone’s merry making, I kept my focus on learning something new and intrusting. We finally arrived at the radio station, but it wasn’t that long, since it’s just in the Manila area. We were 15 minutes late though. We met Mr. Andy Vidal the radio jockey of the moment. There wasn’t any program going on during that time, just a few voice-overs. Upon being acquainted with him, we immediately got to the point of questions, since we were going to be late for lunch and ABS-CBN if we take long in there. He answered them gladly. We knew from him their VIP clients such as San Miguel, Asia Brewery and some detergent soap companies. Looking into these clients, I’ve come to a conclusion that DZRH is no ordinary station. It is one of the “Big Time” in terms of radio business since their clients who invest in them are also of big names in the business field. They are number one, but their competitors like DZMM and BBM are not too far from their success so they always make sure to keep track of their performances. They also consider TV programs as competitors when it comes to advertising, since they are a solid radio company unlike DZMM which is under the management of ABS-CBN. Even so, they are the biggest radio station that includes 21 locations around the country which makes them the best in the business. Their advertising rates are also high because of the recognition and commercials rate from P20, 000 to P10, 000 for 30 seconds and 15 seconds respectively. Aside from top class dj performance, they added the text message portion where listeners can greet their friends through text read by the dj received through their computers. It was already 11:30 and it was time for “time update” so Mr. Andy Vidal plugged in for air what time it was, and we heard a sample on the radio! Haha! This was great, I’ve been hearing him on the radio since I was a kid and now I see him. Being a radio announcer as I’ve observed has an advantage somehow compared with being a TV reporter. On TV, the public sees you and therefore you become one of their properties. In radio, it is only your voice they hear, which means that you still own some of your being and still manage to keep a little privacy for yourself. It was time to leave, as what the gift of time showed us, our stomachs were also craving for food, so we better eat before we hit the Philippine’s largest network! Mr. Cometa had chosen to eat just across ABS-CBN, at Gerry’s Grill! As soup, Kare-Kare, Chicken Barbeque and rice were served, we didn’t waist time and ate it right away, since we were all hungry already, knowing the fact that most of us didn’t have breakfast.

The moment had come for us to go to ABS-CBN and conduct our studio tour. This was an exciting part, since we were meeting some of the famous personalities in action in flesh! I’m not trying to be a celebrity freak here, I’m just interested to see how these guys look like in person, and how they deal with the reality of being a public property. We were first ask to line up outside the ABS- CBN building where they have the famous place “the LOOP” were a lot of high class commercial establishments such as The Cork, Cibo, and Starbucks were located. We were then distributed with stickers containing the network’s logo and the words ”ABS-CBN Studio Tours”. This would serve as our access to go inside the vicinity. After receiving these passes, we were asked to get inside this room that has a projector and a white screen, where they showed us a short film containing the history of ABS-CBN, starting from its humble beginnings to the largest network that they are today. I really got bored on that part, because they have aired it before on TV and I somehow felt asleep. Regaining my senses, I found out that the film was done, and there was this guy named Aaron who was our guide for the studio visit. This was the time when we get to ask our questions. Through this session we’ve learned so much of the company. One of its edge is that it has the brightest stars, and a great talent center for acting workshops. Their actors are proofs of the workshop’s greatness. Most of them excel in telenovelas, which is ABS-CBN’s prime. The time when these soap operas are aired is also their prime time of which the TV ads cost a lot expensive.The placing of advertisements also depends on the time and the viewers. At these times, their advertising rates range from P200,000/ 30 sec. and up. But above all of the success, ABS-CBN also has its weaknesses. One of which is comedy, wherein they admitted that the show “Bubble Gang” of the other network can not be competed. Aaron says they might as well concentrate on their strength which is drama, rather than compete with their weakness. In lieu of this, the network keeps on working on their Marketing Activities such as Trade Fares and First Class Seminars to capture attention from VIP clients and advertisers. The last question was answered and we began the tour. We visited different studios were various shows were being taped or being held live. We also went to see editing, recording and dubbing stations. We strolled in the whole area of the LOOP, and as we went on with the tour we met various celebrities doing their work. At the end of the visit, I pondered, that fame also has its bad consequences. Look at these celebrities at work. They might all be famous, and glamorous and they seem to have everything in life. I wonder if they still have time for themselves, for their family, for God. I wonder if they still know who they really are, with all those things they have to do to look good in the eyes of their fans. They are public property and therefore should please the majority, or else they get persecuted. I can not imagine my life like that in the future. It made me contented of being ordinary. A life with media around you is too complicated. I wouldn’t exchange privacy, peace and quiet for all of that.

We were all tired after the ABS-CBN tour and all fell asleep. For once there was silence inside the coaster! But it’s not until we reach Mgallanes, for by the time we were there, we were all awake again. We were asked to list down all the billboard ads starting from the toll gate of SLEX to the end. It wasn’t that easy to do that, and so our group cooperated to list down as much as we could from left to right.WOW! that's a lot of billboards!!

In our observation, a back to back billboard is effective, since it is visible to passengers on both sides of the high way heading north and south. In the case of Oishi, we have observed that it has chosen the side going south and we saw two of them consecutively with some allowance of seven other billboards. This is also important for it emphasizes retention, which is one of the objectives of a company, to retain the product in consumer’s minds. It is still an advantage to have a celebrity endorser, because it ads instant recognition to the product. With the likes of Dolphy, Aga, and Sharon, a commercial easily catches attention and therefore retention, recognition and purchase follows, since Filipinos are fond of showbiz. Majority of Filipinos are Masses and they look up to their celebrity idols and easily gets the actor’s sympathy so they buy what they think He or she recommends them to buy. There are also billboards that contain so much words that it complicates the message of the ad, which is wrong. Billboards must be made simple and clear with its messages. At the end, our group would still choose the basic qualifications of a billboard. Its message must be clear, simple and easy to remember. Otherwise, it would loose its purpose.


We all ended up eating at the famous mushroom burger in Tagaytay, and even extended the merriment to the place where Hen Lin, Pancake house, Starbucks and Café Lupe are all together. It was a fun at the same time a fruitful media tour for us. Thank GOD!!

The moment I woke up on the day of interview for this article, I had been getting chills. I can feel my blood rushing through my veins, which is an effect of combined excitement and nervousness. We were going to be an interview with the Marketing Manager of Mead Johnson Philippines, wherein my dad is currently working and was the one who helped us set the appointment. To gain confidence, I started the day by seeking refuge in the presence of our Heveanly Father. This has always been my secret of succeeding through a rough day and the Lord never failed to be there always for me.

School was where my companion, whom I will hide by the name of Ricky and I agreed to assemble for the interview. I got there by seven and waited so long for Ricky. I got disappointed because our appointment was scheduled by eight o’ clock, and it was seven thirty and he wasn’t there yet and the office is in Magallanes which would not be an easy way. At last, after a few minutes he arrived, flashing that grin on me, that got me insulted and resulted on loosing my focus. It would have been better if he apologized, but he did not. He acted as if everything was just fine. All this time, I thought Ricky was a lot Senior than me, but when I found out that he was just a sophomore, my face turned red and I started to feel the temper rising all over my body. But despite that, I chose not to scold him and managed to control this anger. I know I will definitely ruin everything in our day. We immediately got a cab, thank God! On our way, I was still a bit nervous though I already gained a bit of confidence, so I prepared my questionnaires and read my sources about the marketing strategies. I asked my companion if he had prepared some questions. He showed me some guides on what to ask the interviewee, but doesn’t have the specific questions. Oh God, what am I gonna do with this kid? I just ignored him and focused on browsing through my notes.

The time we arrived at the office of the interviewee, we were already fifteen minutes late. I was very ashamed for being late as I approached the secretary mentioning that we have an appointment set at eight. The lady gave us an appointment slip and told us to wait at the visitor’s lounge. It didn’t took long, and we were being called to go up to his office. As we walk through the stairs going to the second floor, I was glad to see my father, who welcomed us and gave us some last minute tips on how to make that interview successful.

The moment of truth finally came for us. The interviewee was already there, and he accompanied us to a boardroom to conduct our activity. As we entered the room, I felt excited and at the same time, still a bit nervous. We sat on these meeting chairs that gave me an imagination of what I could be in the future in the corporate world. We began our discussion by familiarizing with the interviewee’s background. But before he answered the question, he wanted to clarify our objective of being there, so that the flow of our communication would go smoothly. So, we told him that we were there basically to seek his knowledge about the Marketing Strategies. Of course, we can not ask for the specific strategies of the company, for it is highly confidential.

After knowing the objectives of our interview, he immediately familiarized himself by telling us his name, work background and their company. He is Mr. Joeven Gamatero, the Marketing Manager of Mead Johnson Philippines which is a subsidiary of the international company, Bristol-Meyers Squibb. A graduate of De Lasalle University, Major in BS Management. He has been working for Mead Johnson for the past two years and was formerly with Uniliver Philippines as Brand Manager. Upon achieving all of these success, Mr. Gamatero mentioned that it wasn’t that easy to get to where he is right now. He started in Management Training. He explained to us the importance of always starting small in order to achieve something big. After hearing these information, we headed down to business by asking about his knowledge of the Marketing Strategies. We began questions about first the objectives. Basically, the main objective was to gain market share which equates to creating awareness and trial. Second would be brand management and last would be the positioning. These are just the three basic objectives that a company should have which he answered in an expert manner by sighting some real life situations together with its applications. As we went on with the interview, we were mislead, due to the continuous chills and cold sweating. But no matter what happens, I told myself, the interview must go on. I tried to gain track of our objective by asking the factors to consider in formulating the strategies, one of which was the Market. He began emphasizing by telling us that to focus on the Philippine Market, which is composed of class A-B. We should always concentrate on encouraging the consumers to buy our product as their final decision. We went on with the questions, of which contents were about Variables, both internal and external, Marketing decisions, Distribution and Situation analysis. Considering the external variables which consist of environmental concerns and internal variables which involves man power and physical aspects are significant for it concerns all consumers and their conditions. Under Distribution, Mr. Gamatero reminded us to pay attention on understanding consumers, where to distribute the products, determining the product, and last measuring its scale. Situation analysis was not to be left behind for it is where the formulation of the strategy depends. It involves the company’s production, research, finance, and other organizational elements needed in order to achieve success. After having all of these, the end would determine the Marketing decision.

Upon ending our interview, we asked Mr. Joeven Gamatero about his Philosophy in life or his mindset. We were surprised not to here a word from him for some moments. He paused for a while and looked back at us laughing! He said it was so far the most difficult question we’ve ever asked. He just began by telling us that understanding the consumers is the most critical thing to do and ended up by saying that there are things that are never learned from books or through school, but from experience and work.

It was already finished! We have already consumed an hour and a half of his time. When we told him we were done, he said“ I hope I ‘ve given you enough information, because as far as I know, it is far from over”. “Well yes sir. It is far from over!” I said at the back of my mind, knowing that we didn’t get that much information and that we were somehow mislead from the topic in the middle of the interview. Though this was the case, I have learned so much in this interview. Now I know that the course I have chosen to pursue is the dynamic, in the sense that it continuously shifts through time, depending upon the present situations. This is just like the Marketing Strategies shared by Mr. Joeven Gamatero. It continues to shift its gear depending on the analyzed situation. There is so much competition, so many things to consider and so many aspects to innovate By the time I graduate, I already have this perspective on how tough it would be out there, and therefore prepare myself for the life’s challenge. Somehow, I also learned from Ricky. This kid is the cocky type of kid, pretending as if he is already somebody. The truth is, he is still nobody. I included him in this article to teach him a lesson, how to give respect and to realize his lack of humility by not apologizing for coming late and not doing what he was asked to do by someone older than him. He reminded me of myself a few years ago, having the same trait, and even up to now, still possesses the same attitude at some instances of my life. I am not saying that I am perfect now, but somehow I’m trying to live through His ways. I felt that urge to change my life the way it should be, a life of humility, faithfulness and obedience. Through humility, we learn to humble ourselves, realizing we are nothing and the only superior is God our Savior and King. Through Faithfulness, we please Him. Through obedience, we express our humility and faith, humbling ourselves through following Him and showing faithfulness by believing that it is only through His will that we would be better. My day might have turned out to be rough, but it was fruitful though. It has only taken me into a conclusion that it is only through the Lord that I see things more than usual man do and with this, I’ve learned so much on the day that was.

it was a typical day for me.i woke up,go on with prayer time,have breakfast, work on my homework and get dressed for school.as i was on my way,a perplexing question suddenly struck my mind!i began to ask myself, "are'nt you tired of doing the same thing everyday?". then my reply was,"how come i only thought of that now?". Then i realized i was really tired and bored of how my life goes on everyday.i just thought my life was useless.there was'nt any development at all.in liue of bordom, i tried experimenting on various things.i went cutting classes, go watch movies at the wrong time of the day,wonder through different malls in metro manila.i did all of these by my own and when the day has turned into night time, i found myself lying on my bed, reminising on what i've done. i don't know why i felt so bad and so ashamed of myself. i even felt weird when i was about to read my Bible.the feeling of unworthiness was there. i felt i was not even worthy to touch and read the sacred scriptures.then i went on to analyze myself and the day that was.i discovered that there still was'nt any change,that i even worsten my uselessness.then as i look up the white ceiling of my room, several flashbacks of the past brought me back to GENREV CAMP 2004 in CEBU.that was the time i officially accepted JESUS as my LORD and my Savior.it reminded me of great new friends,the people who inspired me,,the berks!then the last flashback was my Bible enthronement performance..suddenly i felt like i came back to the present,like Marty Mcfly from back to the future, and i found myself in tears.it was then clear to me that i have found the meaning of my existence.i realized that "hey!i'm not useless after all"!GOD has been trying to use me.he has given me the light to my murky world.from then on, i never got tired of my daily life.i never got BORED!i enjoyed every minute of it and used in giving GOD all the Glory!

Boredom is an annoying thing!we must admit it really does feel wrong whenever it hits us.but we must always remember that everything,everyone in the world has a purpose.in that case i have learned that GOD created boredom to test our faith,to see if we remain faithful eventhough we wait for so long for Him to come and fulfill his promise of salvation.

feeling bored also means we're not doing anything.in these times, the LORD only wants us to have space to reflect on our lives and the things we've done for the day.have we done things that are not pleasing to him?have we given him the chance to talk to us?these are the moments the we should be quiet and try to listen to the LORD's will for us.

so the next time you get bored and tired of your lives, consider the time to think,reflect and listen to GOD.You'll then realize that boredom doesn't feel so bad at all,rather, it is a word which means we have more time.a lot of time for the LORD!!