The Cobra effect is a kind of perverse incentive where loopholes or weaknesses are exploited in an offer intended to influence behavior to solve issues, making the problems worse.  Recipients of these incentives that could be well-meant but with unintended consequences, include external customers or internal executives. A classic example of the cobra effect, was first observed in India when […]

Esports is a competitive gaming industry where gamers play in organized, multiplayer matches. It is a relatively new industry. In this interview, Ronald Robinson Robins, Founder and CEO of esports pioneer Mineski Global, the largest esports organization in Southeast Asia, shares with us the latest about the esports industry.  Q1:  How big is esports? What was the tipping point that […]

Life insurance was once an uncomfortable service to discuss, but it has now turned into something that can easily be bought online. Insular Life, operating since 1910, is the first and biggest Filipino life insurance company and the only mutual company in the Philippines, with total assets currently over P143 billion. It markets various insurance products (personal, life, educational, health, […]

Bea Evardone is the Group COO of Cebu-based Republiq Group, a digital transformation agency based in Cebu. She won the Mansmith Young Market Masters (YMMA) 2022 and is the first winner in the geographical marketing category. In this interview, she shares her thoughts about hyperlocalization and influencer marketing.  Q1: You specialize in content hyperlocalization for the VisMin market. What makes […]

The Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) is the premier franchising association in the Philippines. In this interview, some of the PFA officers share their thoughts about franchising issues post pandemic. They are:  Chris Lim, CEO of La Z Boy, Sherill Quintana, CEO of Oryspa, Richard Sanz, CEO of Bibingkinitan, Joseph Tanbuntiong, President for Philippines of Jollibee, Glenn Yu, Chairman of Seaoil, Joey Garcia, CEO of Wendy’s, Alice […]

The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) is the premier retailing association in the Philippines. In this interview, some of PRA officers share their thoughts about retailing issues post pandemic. They are: Jorge Mendiola, Director of SM Retail, Bernie Liu, Chairman and CEO of The Penshoppe Group, Rosemarie Ong, SEVP-COO of Wilcon Depot, Ben Chan, Chairman of Suyen Corporation, and Lorenzo Formoso, former Vice Chairman and COO of […]

2

(Note: This Q&A was originally featured on March 27, 2015 with update provided on April 29, 2022) Cebuana Lhuillier is in the Guinness World Record as the largest chain of pawnshops in the world with some 3000 outlets, bigger than many banks combined, serving mostly – the ordinary “unbanked” population. Its president and CEO, Jean Henri Lhuillier was a recipient […]

Steve Sy is the Founder and CEO of Great Deals E-Commerce Corporation, a pioneer and currently the Philippines’ largest provider of end-to-end ecommerce solutions to over 300 of the biggest manufacturers and country distributors in the Philippines. Great Deals was recently ranked by Inquirer and Statista as the fastest growing company in the Philippines, and by Financial Times as the […]

The presidential elections of May 9, 2022 is near. Many things have been featured about the candidates, though perhaps only a few using the dynamics of the decision making process of voters as consumers of a political exercise.  Below is a sequence of tests for political players to consider.  1. The Name Recall Test: Brand awareness is a minimum requirement. Hence, celebrities, celebrity-like social […]

What used to be a feast day of a martyred saint is now a celebration or expression of romantic love and admiration. Gifts, such as flowers, and chocolates are most common, accompanied by variations of “I Love You” messages, including number codes such as 143, 831, 721, 224 among others. Some people find Valentines Day as yet another opportunity for […]

Josiah Go features the movers and shakers of the business world and writes about marketing, strategy, innovation, execution and entrepreneurship

Archives