Practicing kindness
to Switzerland, for one. At other times, she would be asked to appear on television shows to promote their brands. These included
— a show popular among kids who grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s and spanned three decades (1961-1992)—to talk about children’s vitamins and
a local variety show famous for featuring actress-emcee Coney Reyes (mother of newly minted Pasig City mayor, Vico Sotto) and then-child star Aiza Seguerra as well as a dance show.
“Marketing is such a dynamic field, and I saw that I could really exercise my creativity there. My marketing campaigns were always unique,” De Torres says proudly, and without hubris.
After a decade in “pharma,” De Torres was chomping at the bit for another challenge, but still in the marketing sphere. She set her sights on consumer marketing, but focusing on food and beverage. “I wanted more,” she explains. “The food industry is more diverse as compared with pharma, which is limited in terms of consumers.
“It’s also more challenging in terms of budgeting, creativity and message. Especially when you think of consumer campaigns. Attention to detail is key. For example, if your presentation involves a wife, you have to make sure every detail is accounted for. Does she have a wedding ring? It taught me to be more observant of a lot of things, especially the small things.”
So good was De Torres at her job that she became the president of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA) in 2011. “It was another challenge for me as there were about 800 corporations,” she narrates. “But at the time, our funding was only half a million pesos, which was practically nothing. How could this organization work with that small a budget?
“So, I put on my thinking cap and produced marketing strategies, which worked. We were eventually able to buy office space in Tektite in the Ortigas-Pasig area out of the profit we made. I left them with money in the bank, about three million pesos. While it was a small amount, it was definitely much better than half a million pesos.”
Since marketing always involves working with others, De Torres has honed her people skills. Of this, she says: “My forte is really organization,