A quick look at PANA-PANAF projects

In a bid to champion responsible brand building among its members and throughout the advertising industry, the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), and its advocacy arm, the Philippine Association of National Advertisers Foundation (PANAF), conduct annually several projects and programs aimed at developing better marketing professionals, imbibed with courage and creativity, and guided by industry standards and criteria in crafting effective marketing and brand building executions. Here are some of the PANA-PANAF projects:

1. PANAF Youth Congress

PANAF’s main advocacy is in providing relevant education to marketing students. PANAF’s commitment is to ensure that students enter the professional world much more equipped is mutually beneficial.

In 2010, the foundation created, and staged, the first Youth Congress that featured the experts, veterans and top professionals in advertising and marketing. Through diligence and care, PANAF continues to sustain the Youth Congress, growing in strength and relevance every year.

Still relatively young, the event has grown from a couple of hundred student delegates from Metro Manila on its first year, to over 600 delegates, from all over the country. It is the timely delivery of what is relevant and necessary to the well-being and success of the youth that is the backbone of the congress.

By providing firsthand exposure to real-life business scenarios, students become aware of work ethics, develop confidence and grace under pressure, and cultivate the ability to make good decisions. Corporations, on the other hand, have a long roster of capable minds from which to choose the best candidates. This saves businesses precious funds, and time.

2. PANAnaw, the PANAF Students’ Competition on IMC

Seventeen years ago, PANA launched the Student Competition on IMC to cultivate the right minds and attitude for those set to become brand, marketing and advertising practitioners. For these students, joining PANAF’s annual competition is a step in the door of a tough industry.

Rebranded as the PANAnaw, the PANAF Student Competition on IMC is an annual event where the finest students share one stage, to face one set of judges, in serious competition with their counterpart institutions across the Philippines. Competition judges scrutinize finalist entries on creativity and insight, and presentation skills. But, the event goes beyond the numbers.

In the PANAnaw, the current national issue becomes the focus of the competition. The yearly PANAnaw theme is meant to draw beyond the creative, and beyond the data. The competition urges students to reach deep into the core of subject, and mine nuggets of social consciousness and responsibility from which brilliant marketing communications arise. The PANAnaw is a test of will and skill, where ideals creatively transform into actions.

3. PANA Brand Academy

The PANA Brand Academy is designed to deliver workshops and programs that will mold the minds of fresh graduates, new hires and junior marketers. Call it a crash course for a career in integrated marketing communications, plus research and production. Course descriptions include creative brief writing; market research; sales promotions and brand activation; media planning; the Ad Standards Council Code of Ethics; and commercial production.

The PANA Brand Academy is the solution to a dearth of graduates with the requisite skill sets for a successful career in brand marketing and marketing communications, despite highly commendable efforts by academic institutions. It is designed to build and enhance their knowledge of the marketing profession. Speakers are industry authorities with a vast wealth of experience and wisdom. It aims to produce skilled and responsible communicators who would become the future leaders of marketing. 4. PANAta Awards The original PANAta Awards was conceived in 2009 to recognize PANA members for advertising and marketing campaigns that highlight Filipino values. PANA reinvented PANAta in line with the organization’s mission of “Beyond Truth in Advertising,” thus, the PANAta Marketing Effectiveness Awards was established.

The PANAta Marketing Effectiveness Awards distinguishes brand communications that strengthen and build business on top of espousing core PANA values. The competition has since opened up to the industry at large, which involves advertisers, advertising agencies, media agencies, advertising suppliers, academe, government agencies and non-government organizations.

Its categories include academe, advocacy marketing, brand and internal communications, with subcategories under advocacy marketing, brand and internal communications.

Entries are judged on four criteria: business challenge and objectives for 20 points, big idea for 20 points, execution for 20 points and business results for 40 points.

A score of 85 points in a category qualifies an entry as a PANAta Awardee. The top three scorers are bestowed the Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Gold Award, however, requires a score of at least 90 points.

5. T.R.I.P – The Roadshow on IMC by PANAF

The Roadshow on IMC by PANAF (T.R.I.P) is an Integrated Marketing Communications project in partnership with the Rebisco Group of Companies. It aims to build better appreciation for Filipino values, culture and arts as an anchor to responsible advertising among the youth community, and to enable young marketers to develop a global marketing mindset with a Filipino heart.