Q1: I met you close to 25 years ago when you were country manager of Pioneer Hybrid Corn in the Philippines. Now you are Asia Pacific Corn Marketing Head for Syngenta, a merger of the agro division of Novartis and Zeneca. As a veteran in this field, can you share the highlights and developments that has changed the way business […]
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Q1: Decades ago, Goldilocks had popular cake competitors like Rolling Pin, Merced and Joni’s – all of which are no longer active in the market. Giant Jollibee Food Group acquired Red Ribbon in 2005. What has Goldilocks been doing right all these years for it to hold on to market leadership in the cake industry? I believe that the main […]
Q1: Your company deals mostly with generational transitions. What are some issues confronting family businesses that are usually overlooked by families? To their credit, most of the family business leaders we meet think a lot about succession. The vast majority are very interested in having what they have built continue into the next generation. More than anything else, the senior […]
There is a saying that “If you give a man a hammer, he will see everything as nails”. Similarly, when a person learns about the marketing mix (product, price, place and promotions) as a way to attain marketplace advantage, he may apply it without questioning the bigger picture for validity. My journey in analyzing marketing as a lifelong student continues to allow me to […]
Q1. Your company is owned and managed by a group comprising of five friends (including a brother). How has this worked out for all of you — in terms of business relationships and in terms of personal bond. Have you worked together in a previous organization or association before incorporating? Jimmy Thai: Johnny and I informally worked together in a family business, […]
Q1: You became the first Asian President of the World Marketing Association a few years ago and you have made Asia proud. How has the role of marketing in the Asian region then and now evolved at an international level? In the last decade, we can see that the role of marketing is evolving so rapidly in the Asia. In […]
“Research results should be “used directionally” and not necessarily to be “followed directly” Edwin Totanes Q1: Congratulations on your winning the prestigious Agora Awards for marketing management from the Philippine Marketing Association last 2013. What do you consider are your biggest marketing achievements so far and why? I have selected 3 examples from my previous employment at a) Kraft Foods, Inc.; […]
Q1: You have been with Gardenia since its launch. What was your launch strategy and if you were to change something in the launch, what would that be and why? When Gardenia started in the Philippines in 1998, it marketed Cowhead milk and Gardenia loaves with its sales force selling more milk than bread. The company refocused its strategy in […]
Q1: Not many people know your history, but you actually took over FERN Inc. as a turnaround operation. Please tell us about your early days. We Bring Prosperity to Every Home by Tapping the Entrepreneur in Every Filipino. This is the vision, which the pioneers of FERN Inc. had when they first started in 2003. We envisioned uplifting the lives […]
Q1: Wrangler is among the top 3 to 5 brands in a crowded marketplace of over 20 brands in every department store. What did you have to do to earn that? Magnificent Jeans, Inc. took over the helm of Wrangler in the Philippines in May 2009. The takeover was abrupt and we did not have the benefit of having a […]