Top PH brands volt in to battle COVID-19
‘Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat’ campaign gets off the ground
Faced with a common powerful enemy, fierce competitors across different sectors have willingly set aside their rivalry to marshal combined resources behind a timely cause: to restore consumer confidence and restart the battered economy while ensuring consumers’ health and safety amid the COVID19 pandemic.
Thus for the first time in Philippine marketing history, competing brands appear in a single commercial as part of the “Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat” campaign.
The ad that runs for 2:20 was uploaded on Youtube last Sunday and has so far garnered close to 900,000 views. It is just one of a number of branding executions that will be rolled out as part of the campaign. It was also aired by television stations.
The objective is to “send a message of resilience, hope and inspiration to boost businesses to continue to increase operations while ensuring strict safety standards and to encourage Filipinos to once again enjoy activities outside the confines of their homes.” This is in response to the call to inject more activity into the Philippine economy badly hit by the lockdowns imposed since March to contain the spread of COVID19.
Economic activity
The economy has taken such a beating so far that the International Monetary Fund projects that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year will contract by 8.3 percent, considered the biggest drop in annual GDP in history.
While quarantine restrictions have been gradually lifted since June, economic activity has remained sluggish as thousands have been stripped of their livelihood following the closure of businesses due to the pandemic and many consumers remain concerned over their health and safety.
Thus the campaign’s primary message that consumers can safely go back to some semblance of their old routine—eating out, shopping, meeting friends and family—as long as minimum health and safety protocols are religiously followed by both consumers and establishments.
Behind the creative idea of the campaign and its tagline Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat is
Tbwa/santiago Mangada Puno’s managing partner and chief creative officer Melvin Mangada.
“The tagline and the supporting visual brands and materials, which can be adapted by any brand, help promote the message of Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat, creating a sense of solidarity with the whole business community and our consumers,” Mangada said.
Consumer confidence
These visual aids include branding guidelines, logos and templates that business groups can download and adapt to their operations. All companies are free to use them, as long as they are not used for selfpromotion but rather to contribute to the goal of restoring consumer confidence.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez welcomed the Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat campaign as he stressed the importance for businesses to unite and win back flagging consumer confidence and get the economy back on its feet.
“At this point in managing the COVID19 pandemic, balancing health and the economy is our main priority. This is why we are pushing for the gradual and safe reopening of the economy. In line with the spirit of the campaign, we can only move forward by supporting and keeping one another safe while protecting lives and livelihoods,” Lopez said in a statement.
The Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat campaign is part of the private sector’s support for Taskforce T3 (Test, Trace, Treat), the multisector initiative put together in April 2020 to work closely with the Department of Health, the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID19, and the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to manage the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.
With the reopening of the economy, the group realized the importance of rebuilding consumer confidence with health and safety remaining the top priority.
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chair and CEO of Ayala Corp., a founding partner of Taskforce T3, underscored the importance of continued publicprivate sector cooperation.
“The private sector has found a new front where we can be supportive of the fight against COVID, and that is in restoring the confidence of our citizens that we can all resume our lives and livelihoods, so long as we strictly follow the minimum health standards recommended by health experts,” he said.
Margot Torres, managing director for Mcdonald’s Philippines and Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat communications advocacy colead, for her part, is banking on Filipinos’ optimism and vaunted resilience.
“Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat aims to transform the mindset of consumers. We are breaking through the helplessness many felt at the height of the pandemic and helping lead Filipinos to empowered vigilance and continued safety during this period,” Torres said.
Lending support to the campaign are some of the country’s top corporations and brands, including Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Alliance Global Group (Megaworld, Resorts World, Emperador), Jollibee Foods Corp., Mcdonald’s Philippines, Goldilocks, BDO, BPI, Metrobank, Paymaya, Alaska, Champion, Century Pacific Food Inc., Coca Cola Philippines, Oishi Liwayway Marketing Corp., Pepsico, Procter & Gamble Philippines, RFM Corp., Unilever, Petron/ San Miguel Corp., Shell, Ayala Malls, Filinvest Development Corp., Robinsons Malls, SM Supermalls, Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, Angkas and Food Panda.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer is also one of the media partners.
Concerns
On concerns that the campaign was selfserving and just there to promote the involved brands, Torres brushed these aside, saying that on the contrary, the campaign shows the commitment of multiple brands to work together to help the country.
“It is unprecedented to have competing companies and brands join forces for a campaign. These companies and brands have set aside differences to help restart the economy safely,” Torres said, “The response has also been largely positive. We thank everyone for the support.” George Royeca, cofounder of Angkas and also a lead proponent of the campaign, meanwhile, called on more companies, especially small and medium enterprises, to get on board with the campaign.
“This campaign is for all businesses—not only the big brands, but more so for small and mediumenterprises. Weinvite all businesses from all over the country to participate and embrace this advocacy. Let us all help each other get back on our feet safely and surely,” Royeca said.
Royeca also stressed that the Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat is but one of the many initiatives being pushed to address the adverse effects of the unprecedented public health crisis, the others being the test, trace, treat program of the NTF.
“The challenge is to rebuild our country safely so we can protect jobs and livelihood. We can only do this if we all work together. This responsibility rests on all of us and not just the government or the private sector but the public as well,” Royeca said.