Q1: Back in college at De La Salle University, you were captain of the Debate Team (among other achievements) which won a national championship. When you graduated from La Salle, you became its Director of Placement, where you were quickly promoted from Placement Officer to Director level even when you were a fresh graduate. How did you choose your extracurricular activities […]

East West Seeds is the market leader with some 80% of the market in vegetable seeds in the Philippines. It wanted to grow knowing that the per capita consumption of vegetables in the Philippines is only half (39 kilograms) of the World Health Organization’s 80 kilograms annual consumption recommendation. Compared to other Asian countries, this is way below Vietnam’s 54 […]

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The 36-year-old TV show “Eat Bulaga” has reinvented itself recently with the “Kalye Serye” (street series) segment featuring the Aldub love team. Aldub is short for Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, the latter better known on TV as Yaya Dub. According to Kantar, Eat Bulaga has so far attracted some 2.3 million new households (almost doubling from their 2.5 million […]

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. Below are two truths espoused by over 99 percent of […]

One of the questions often asked in my marketing seminars is about defending against attacks from competition and even substitutes. When brands become successful, they are bound to attract the attention of others who may want to share a piece of the pie.  My advice to clients is to understand the pattern of competitive attacks and to never underestimate competition.  Be sensitive to the obvious signs of a potential attacker – new […]

Without a market-driving strategy, a marketing plan focusing solely on the served market is incomplete as it risks losing the underserved or unserved markets (sometimes even bigger than current customers) to other competitors.  Thus, market-driving strategy should be viewed as a source of innovation and growth for old businesses as well as a new and major revenue source of firms. Market-Driving […]

Q1: You were in consumer advertising before marketing political campaigns. How do you influence decision making of specific voters? Do you use the same framework as marketing products or services? A:  The same principles are involved: a good narrative, authenticity, and a compelling reason to buy or vote, in the case of politicians. Q2: Say some politicians have approached you. What do you […]

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

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