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Once upon
a time, in the days before mass media, heightened
superficiality and consumerism, life was easy. Our social
roles were handed down to us from previous generations in
the shape of norms and respected institutions. We each had
a clear predetermined identity and role in society that
shaped how we lived.
But then
we rebelled and set ourselves free to choose our own
lifestyles and our own identities. And with this freedom
came a hefty price tag. According to one ad veteran, we
now are threatened by “dilemmas of the self” like
uncertainty, powerlessness and commodification. We are
lost, struggling with a “looming threat of personal
meaninglessness.”
And that’s
where our consumer culture fits in. Brands provide an
answer to our identity crisis by giving us meaning. They
help us construct our social world. In other words, in our
search for place and purpose in life, consumer culture is
replacing tradition.
PANA’S new chief Charmaine
Canillas: “No challenge is insurmountable if you enjoy
what you’re doing. And I most certainly do.” -- ROY
DOMINGO
It should
come as no surprise that while consumers are increasingly
looking to the marketplace for meaning, the Philippine
Association of National Advertisers (Pana) pushes
consumers’ right to choose by promoting truth in
advertising.
“This
means that the [new] board will come up with general
membership meeting topics that will help the membership
optimize its marketing communication budgets—helping the
membership explore alternative ways of reaching target
audiences; being open to new and fresh ideas of connecting
with the consumer at the instance at which he or she is
most receptive. We will ensure that the advertisers know
their rights,” Pana’s new chief and advertising and
promotions director of Petron Corp. Charmaine Canillas
explains, in an interview with this columnist.
Pana has
308 regular members whose advertising budgets represent
more than 85 percent of total national advertising
expenditures. As advertisements produce a direct impact on
the tastes and thinking of the public, Pana has a
“social/moral responsibility to the consumers as far as
advertisements and products are concerned.” Pana believes
that “the interests of consumers should be the primary
concern of advertisers, and in cases of conflict, the
interests of consumers should prevail.”
Toward
that end, Pana embarked on a “truth in advertising”
campaign. Through continuing education programs via
seminars, workshops and open fora, Pana hopes to cultivate
a healthy exchange of ideas among its members for the
advancement of the advertising profession.
“The new
board will build on the gains of the previous boards led
by reelected Pana Foundation and vice president for
marketing of Alaska Milk Corp. Blen Fernando and outgoing
Pana president Raul Alavarez, who successfully turned
around Pana and made it more professional,” Canillas
points out.
The
association has set its sights on going back to basics.
“It means leveraging on the strengths of our industry
partners, working closely with them, to get the most out
of diminishing budgets,” she says.
The new
board, according to her, will work at getting preferred
rates from media and production partners, especially for
advertisers with limited resources.
Because
the media portion of one’s allocation of advertising is
the largest and most significant share of it—the remainder
is for production—where one’s ad messages are placed is
one of the most important decisions in the entire
advertising planning process. Rate negotiation is a way of
life. Published rates are viewed as an asking price, and
most print buyers say that, despite their public stance,
even newspaper publishers accept negotiation of price and
other elements as a normal aspect of doing business. The
best approach is to figure out exactly what you want.
Canillas
stresses that negotiations are easier when there is mutual
respect. “I’m a strong believer in maintaining long-term
partnerships, in fairness and in mutually beneficial
tie-ups within the membership and with other players in
the ad industry,” she says.
Pana is
steadfast in its pursuit of its goals. “This is the golden
year of Pana and—like what I said in my induction
speech—we really want to help bring about a golden age for
a united advertising industry. We have an enthusiastic
board with a fresh perspective, eager to give back to the
industry that we love the necessary assistance to ensure a
seamless and synergistic ad-industry system,” Canillas
says.
She adds
she is very happy in her new task. “It’s a challenge to
maintain a balance between my career, home life and now
the Pana presidency. I’m working with very good people,
though, especially the Pana secretariat led by Digna
Santos, and this eases the load tremendously. The Petron
management is also very supportive of this added role.”
A great
motivator, she says, “No challenge is insurmountable if
you enjoy what you’re doing. And I most certainly do.” And
still, her entire life is the company and her craft.
Citing a phrase she came across in a leading broadsheet,
which captures the essence of Pana’s
self-regulation—“coming together is a beginning; keeping
together is progress; working together is success”—Canillas
says, “It struck me as benefiting of how I see Pana’s role
in the industry. It is also our message to our partners.” | 
