I met Dexter Chee Ah about a decade ago when he asked for a meet-up to explore the possibility of him becoming a speaker and marketing consultant at Mansmith and Fielders Inc. He came prepared with an endorsement letter from no less than Dr. Eduardo Roberto, his professor at the Asian Institute of Management. He must have made an impression on the hard-to-impress Ned, one of the […]
Q1: What is IdeaSpace? Why was it set up? What is its vision? A: IdeaSpace is aimed to help grow a Philippine economy through science and technology. We were set-up by the First Pacific Group of Companies to foster a spirit of technopreneurship in the country and encourage more young people to consider becoming entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists. The goal […]
Last July 2012, I was blessed to be invited to speak at both the Asiannovation Conference of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), and the Franchise Asia Convention of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA). I talked about marketing innovation in PMA while I talked about premium branding in PFA. In both talks, though I presented several marketing case studies, there was […]
Q1: Your name is synonymous to volleyball. Yet, your first love was basketball. What life lessons have you learned shifting from basketball to volleyball? A: I’ve learned that you have to accept the realities in your life and make the most out of what you have. At that time, we didn’t have a basketball team in high school and I […]
(An anniversary tribute to my late dad, Dr. Charles Gosingtian) Rich girl, poor boy is often the theme of many movies, and it is the story of my mom and dad. Dad was a market vendor at age 11. His maternal uncle helped him with his study money. He struggled but he succeeded in being a student leader. He often […]
Q1: You were a La Salle brother for 5 years but decided to be a marketer of P&G, Citibank, Pepsi and Sara Lee, what attracted you to marketing that made you give up a vocation? I did not leave the La Salle Brothers to pursue a marketing career; the latter was coincidental. In 1977, after four years of formation in […]
Don’t celebrate yet – hold that promotion to the next position! Review your expansion plan first. Know that many situations of high sales may not be sustainable. 1. Few Repeat Customers When sales are mostly from new customers with only a handful of repeat customers – you may have lost many customers, accounts, and distributors. Retention is the problem. 2. […]
Q1: Your competitors have attacked your makeup and skincare categories. How are these products doing now and what did you do then to defend your turf? A: Being the world’s number one beauty company gives us two huge competitive advantages in “defending our turf.” The first one involves product innovation. Given our huge investment in our Research & Innovation division […]
It is always good to be mindful of mass-based consumers and the poor and marginalized. It’s even better to stay with them to watch what they do and why. A. Family heritage Dad became a market vendor / kargador at age 11. He had to support a family struggling to make ends meet. I have always embraced this fact and […]
Q1: As someone who rose from the ranks, what are some of your most unforgettable experiences while starting out as a rookie? A: Fresh from college, I joined Gillette as a sales trainee where all new recruits were required to survive the grueling 6-month long boot camp training. Each month, at least one trainee would be sent home for not […]