PANA President’s Message
The Philippine Association of National Advertisers’s (PANA) President, Adi Timbol-Hernandez of McDonald’s Philippines recently shared her 2023 plans for the organization during the induction ceremony held at Ascott Hotel, Makati last Feb. 22.
As the event coincided with the general membership meeting whose topic was “Brand Recovery to Growth: Anchored on Values, Accelerated by Purpose” she also took the opportunity to share her thoughts on the past challenging years.
She attributed the fast-paced mode of growth today to what began in 2020 recalling it as a year of drowning - “being thrown into the deep end of the sea, frantically swimming to stay afloat. It was a year of response, a year of just aiming to survive. 2021 was a year I liken to staying afloat—while no longer drowning, we couldn’t seem to reach the shore. We were just adrift. 2022 was a year I liken to finally reaching the shore—exhausted but just so happy to be back on land. It was a year of recovery and rebounding, where we could breathe and start anew, which we all did. 2023 is a year that I will liken to once again getting back on the boat, setting off back to the sea where we drowned but this time, smarter to wear a life vest, and equipping the boat with state-of-art lifeboats.”
“McDonald’s Chairman, Founder and Owner, Dr. George Yang has always said that every crisis breeds opportunity—he often said this to us, even during the most challenging of times in the past years, but it is only recently that I fully understood how this could be. Today, everything seems the same but different. We’re back to living our lives without the fear, without the mask but how we live. Our habits, our preferences and how we do things have changed and it isn’t just us, it is everyone. It is our customers, our people, our communities, and everyone in between.”
As the PANA President, she states that her goal this year is simple: “how do we as an organization better support our members in a time of accelerated growth and opportunity?”
She has summarized the game plan into 3Cs as follows:
CONNECTION.
“How might we as an organization better connect with our membership through programs that are relevant, insightful, and more importantly actionable? This will start by improving member retention rate through learning and engagement initiatives. Last year, we offered special rates to members to avail of various learning opportunities from Franklin Covey, Synergy, CDM, Fiera De Manila to Asian Institute of Management. I encourage our members to avail of these discounted courses as learning is a shared responsibility and we must make time for it. More than this, we will remain committed to developing regular learning opportunities for our members through our progressive and carefully curated monthly general membership meetings. We will also focus on topics that drive brand trust as purpose has the power to build brands. Today, to build trust, it is both doing things right and doing the right things“
She continued to divulge a bigger and more significant 2023 PANA Brand Master Session with global industry thought leaders and rockstars to share their insights on trends and how brands can leverage on them. “As to who and where it will be this year is something everybody should look forward to.” Another exciting update she imparted is the learning opportunity for junior marketers, the PANA Brand Academy— “fully recognizing that investing in the next generation of marketers and communicators will futureproof our industry and champion the values we espouse today… it will be one of PANA’s early offering this year so watch out for it… very soon! One major way to forge stronger connections is through engagement and recognition. I am very excited for this year’s PANATA Awards, now in its 14th year.”
COLLABORATION. “If there is one thing I learned during the pandemic, it is that we are better together. We get things done better, when we work together. This 2023, we look forward to working more closely and more collaboratively with our industry organization partners—experts in their respective fields that can add value to our members to become better brand builders”.
CHAMPION. “What a great industry we are in. There is no industry that is more fun, dynamic, and evolving as ours. And as we navigate this period of opportunity and growth, amidst all the changes, one thing should remain: our commitment towards responsible brand building and consumer protection. I fully realize our responsibility to consumers and the public as well as our members on the matter of self-regulation. Being a self-regulated industry is not a right but a privilege-and therefore we must be responsible for it. Being responsible does not mean rigid or inflexible. It is being open and adaptable, encouraging discussion and diverse POVs to arrive at decisions that are progressive yet faithful to consumer protection and levels the playing field. That is why one of PANA’s main priorities this year is working more closely with the Ad Standards Council or ASC as it enters a phase in their history, ensuring that they remain relevant and effective for more years to come.”
With all these actionable plans, Hernandez rallied the membership to an exciting year ahead. Lastly, she assured everyone “Know that together with the rest of the 2023 PANA Board of Directors, we are committed to bring these Cs to life in support of the brand and business growth of our members not just today but for the future.”