Blog# 5: The Interview with Mr. Mark Parlade

            In the heart of Makati City (my favorite city in the Philippines), there exists a Marketing Communication Agency by the name of Stratworks. It's not really hard to find . It's just across Paseo de Roxas from Green Belt 1 and just beside the prestigious Asian Institute of Management. You can find their office on the second floor of Zaragoza building. It's a nice cozy place come to think of it. It has good air-conditioning, colorful and well designed furnishings, and a welcoming ambiance.

(Here I am inside Stratworks' office. Sorry for the poor quality. :P)

            But enough about that. I did not go to the Stratworks office just to admire how nice and how close it is to Green Belt.  I came for one reason only, to interview a professional who is seasoned in the field of dealing with the public and with media and he goes by the name of Mr. Mark Christian Parlade, the Public Relations Director of the agency who graduated AB Philosophy from San Beda. Who would have known, right? I always thought one would need a business degree to be successful in Marketing Communications. He mentioned that his course in college broadened his horizons and helped him out in life. But, I guess intelligence, skill, and good interpersonal relations have also a lot to do with his success. I could safely say that I was really lucky to have met such a welcoming and friendly guy  because I thought professionals of his stature are strict and businesslike. But, I thought wrong and I thank Char Vilchez, the friend of my ate, for introducing me to someone with such an inspiring, dynamic personality.

            As I interviewed him in their conference/brainstorming room, I got to know more about Mark. He initially landed a job as a television writer and reporter for "Business and Leisure" a daily talk show. He said that working for TV is hard because one would have to be good in multitasking. Nonetheless, he said that it was a good training ground for people who want to be in the field of Marketing and so here he is. He ended up choosing this profession ever since the agency was just a year old.

(Here is Mr. Mark Christian Parlade in the conference/brainstorming room. He told me that his dream ever since he was a kid was to be a comic book writer for DC) 

            If one would want to land a job similar to his, it would really take a lot from that person. He/she should be able to oversee the campaigns for clients, to develop a good image for them, and should have a sense of story because this story is something that the consumers will relate to. This story tells people about the rich history of companies (Stratworks' clients) and their commitment to quality for their target consumers.

            As the PR Director, his daily routine is to see and to enable people to do their roles the right way for the accomplishment of set goals. His PR team serves as a conduit between clients and consumers, and clients and stakeholders. He makes sure that there is a proper connection and that the relationships "click". The question that has to be answered is "What is the best touch point to reach consumers?". He would say that their agency would also serve as a consultant as well as a partner to their clients. It is interesting to note that maintaining a good relationship with their clients is a key to their success. He mentions that Stratworks is the biggest and most successful 'Below the Line' marketing communications agency. I see that as no surprise because they have Jollibee, HP, JG Summit, as well as other big companies as their clients. Their agency creatively comes up and organizes events for their clients. They work "behind the scenes" and they like to keep it that way. They were the ones who organized the Dancing Cebu Pacific flight attendants. He said that people before take-offs don't listen to the flight attendants because they look and sound boring. That is why they came up the idea of having flight attendants doing a dance while demonstrating how to fasten seat belts and to use the cabin pressurized masks.

Cebu Pacific Dancing Flight Attendants

(Click here to see the video! Stratworks organized the whole thing! It's so cool!)

 (Stratworks was also the agency that organized the event for the product launch of URC's energy drink, Xplode. I was really fortunate to be there and meet Batista. Thank you Char! :D )

            As I got to know more about Mr. Mark, I was convinced that he really enjoys doing his job. He did say that it was fun because there is a whole lot of things to do. He has no routine and that makes his work very appealing and challenging at the same time. He says that there is always something new to be done everyday and that these new tasks bring out the creative side of him. His example is that Jollibee's products are food and HP's products are computer stuff so the approaches and the way they communicate and give value to customers and consumers are totally different, that is why marketing research is also an important aspect to their business. It really stretches your capacity to go beyond yourself. Experiences in everyday life and new learnings can significantly contribute and enhance the way you think. He tells me that he is sick and tired of hearing the term "outside the box" because for him, there is no box. It just does not exist. You get the ideas inside your head and you bring them together in a seemingly harmonious combination. This is creativity for him. He has definitely opened my mind to the limitless possibilities for marketing creativity. Have I mentioned that this is more likely the field that I will be pursuing after I graduate? (which is just 4 weeks away!).

            In terms of the benefits that Mr. Mark gets from his line of work, he says that having fun is one of them. Also, one of the best parts is meeting new people in events. He gets to meet big time businessmen and celebrities in media. Speaking of which, Mr. Mark told me that he can't thank his friends in media enough. Whenever they publish good stories about Stratworks' clients, they put the agency in a good spot. He is really thankful and appreciative of what these people do day in and day out. He would send them text messages saying "Thanks for the great story for my clients!". I have also learned from him that to be successful, you should be nice to people. He says "Take care of your people, and the business will take care of itself". Having good relations with people does not only positively affect your business but also life itself. 

            To be honest, I did not really know what a PR person does and what his/her worth is to an organization until this point, but thanks to this interview I have learned the role of this astounding PR Director. I come to remember what I learned in my Comm class which is the concept of socialization: "The process by which we learn the basic ground rules of a role" (Croteau & Hoynes. p110). I have learned that every professional fulfills his/her role must fit and be according to the organization's expectations. PR people aren't there for nothing. They are there for maintaining good relationships among clients (business owners), media, and consumers. The fact to the matter is, I believe that every professional (whether in media or not) has his/her value based on society's expectations and on his/her contribution to that society. The difference between being in media and marketing and other fields of work is that the formers require  lots of creativity to be successful in the industry. For me, Mr. Mark exceeds these expectations not only because he is intelligent and knowledgeable on what he does, but also because he can easily relate to people of different backgrounds, cultures, and circumstances. These qualities make him a perfect fit for the profession that he is in and I admire him for that.

 (Me and Mr. Mark :D)

            To end with this blog entry, I would like to thank Mr. Mark Parlade for devoting his time for me for academic purposes. It was a really fun and educational interview for me.  Glad I did it. We even got to talk about matters outside of marketing communications such as PS3, DC comics, and a whole array of stuff. Since I informed him that I'm interested and would like to be in this field, he even told me to submit a resume. Who knows, I might be working him with him in the not so distant future. Possibilities in professions that demand creativity such as this are endless after graduation. I feel that my future is going to be really exciting!



Entry 4: Industry Structure and Space

     The studio tour last January 21 was definitely a fun and interesting trip for me though it was quite "bitin" for me because I was not able to meet and greet popular stars such as Anne Curtis. Even though I have been around the area of Tomas Morato several times in my life, it was my first time to really go inside the compound of ABS-CBN, one of the biggest multi-media empires in the Philippines, and to look at the studio sets for various telenovela shows, game shows, variety shows, news studio, radio studio, and other places.

     It was quite interesting to know that ABS-CBN's biggest and most technologically advanced studio (which seemed a lot smaller than expected) is used for several shows such as ASAP (if I am not mistaken) and other telenovelas which use that studio set instead of going on location for shooting. I have also been informed by the studio tour guide that there exist temporary and permanent studios. It kind of puzzled me at first because I thought of why the company would trouble itself in changing the sets but after a while, I came to know why. 

     ABS-CBN, as I have come to learn during the tour, was once two separate entities, ABS and CBN. It was probably in the best interests of the two owners in the 60's to merge and do business together. As a Management Economics major, I see that the merger had economic implications. As I mentioned earlier, the company maximizes its resources by developing a schedule for the place of studio and time for each show they have. ABS-CBN may be one of the biggest conglomerates in the country but it still faces the reality of limited and scarce resources. The company does not have enough studios to provide for its existing shows and it would seem rather unwise and impractical to have several studios for its several shows. The goal, as I saw it during the tour, was the maximum utilization of the "few" studios the company had while aiming for profitability. Therefore in a business management and economic perspective, any industry, including this media empire, is still a profit seeking businesses which seeks to do it at the lowest cost possible without compromising quality for its consumers. The mass audience is the target of most of their shows.

     Based on what I have read in "Media Organizations and Professionals" and learned in my com class, the people who create and select TV programs are faced with the really tough decision of what shows are to be broadcasted by the station especially for prime time shows. In my Marketing class, I learned that it is crucial that the shows have large viewership and high ratings because advertising companies prefer to promote their products when a lot of people are watching the show as well as the commercials in between the show. Advertising sales is the biggest income generated by companies like ABS-CBN. Without it, there probably would not be an ABS-CBN anymore.

     To minimize the risk of failure, I learned in class that it would be a relatively safe decision to imitate a past successful show or create sequels, prequels, and spinoffs carrying the same successful brand name. But, TV series spinoffs such as "Joey" (the spinoff of Matt Le Blanc of "Friends") proved otherwise. This goes to show that creating spinoffs, prequels, and other "safe shows" do not necessarily ensure large viewership because of external factors such as the audience's current mood and appeal for particular programs (Croteau and Hoynes p. 98). This poses a challenge for the creators and decision makers of media companies. I personally feel that I would have a hard time in determining what the people are currently in the mood for. I think that (market) research and surveying will help minimize the risk of failure.

Aside from economic constraints, there is also the political constraint, but to be honest, I hate going into the discussion of politics because it is a dirty and disgusting game in the Philippine context. Let me just say it is obvious that political forces definitely have a tremendous influence on what is to be shown on news and what is not. Therefore, I would rather not talk about it. I just wish that objective reporting is the goal of the major media companies.

     Personally, the studio tour was certainly an unforgettable experience. I do not really watch local shows, but that does not mean that I think low of them. At some random times, I pass through them and end up watching the rather entertaining shows because I get to see attractive stars, a few of whom I have met personally. Maybe sometime during my lifetime, I would probably work in media because it does seem fun and challenging at the same time.

Entry 3:Stereotyping in Media Texts

            Oh yes, the Philippines, home to myself and my family. I have always felt that there is disunity in this country despite occasions like Manny Pacquiao winning his eighth title in different divisions or Charice Pempengco making it to the second season of Glee. The fact to the matter is, the Philippines is a melting pot. I don't mean to sound like a fool who generalizes and jumps to conclusions right away but I believe that the way things work around here have a lot to do with physical appearance. I'm talking mostly about skin color.  The people in this country are born to different social classes and different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Our society is mostly comprised of Mestizos, Chinese, and "pure Filipinos". The latter two have occupied the country and have intermarried with indigenous Filipinos. But to put things back in perspective, what exactly do the two ethnicities have in common? If one had the capacity to reason things out, he or she would point out that they both possess fair skin. And why is it always that the media have used people of these racial descents in their television shows, movies, print ads, and what not? My (somewhat) intelligent guess is that Filipinos as a whole, have passed their thinking to succeeding generations that white is superior to brown. The people of our society up to now have instilled in their minds that fair skinned people are far more superior to the "indigenous" or "native" populations. Everything that is made by white or fair skinned people is perceived to be of high quality and high value. To get the message across, I believe that the media have taken advantage of the fact that we are deeply affected by a colonial mentality. Media have used effective marketing and strategy to get the attention of the masses and to be transformed by them. This leads me to what I will be discussing

            I would like to focus on local print ads seen in relatively affordable and accessible Filipino magazines such as the local version of "Cosmopolitan". It can be seen that the girls on the front covers are mostly, if not all the time, fair skinned. It is quite rare to see dark skinned people with exceptions to tanned and bronzed Filipinos with foreign blood such as Brazilian or Mexican, or maybe even Japanese. What I am trying to point out is that one will see a "regular" looking (by regular I mean a common brown Filipina) Filipina only once in a blue moon, or perhaps once in a lifetime to put things dramatically. In print ads seen in magazines popular to boys and girls aged 18-31, the products advertised are portrayed to be commonly "used" by the likes of the people in the ad themselves. This is definitely stereotyping. Matter of fact, I am reminded of my Marketing 101 professor saying that we should display a person who our target market is in the packaging to show consumers who the product is for. Anyway, getting back to print ads. Anne Curtis may not be a Mestiza technically speaking, but she has the beauty, and probably more importantly, the skin color to advertise. Her L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner ads definitely get the attention of magazine and television audience because of her beauty. But, what most people don't realize is that the reason why they are directing their attention to Anne Curtis is because she has really nice and fair skin. The act of stereotyping has made differences in skin color inherently natural to different skin colored people with the white people being favored in terms of perception and treatment. There has been the notion that the "whites" are successful, rich, happy, and beautiful while the dark skinned thought to be downtrodden, poor, less successful and less attractive. Similar to what I mentioned earlier, white people are  differentiated and separated from other skin colors such as black and brown with the "white" skinned people being considered far more superior. The act of stereotyping as seen in this particular media text seems to divide what is "normal" and "acceptable" from what is not. The way I see it, advertisements such as these use an underlying and non-obvious techniques to indirectly influence the audiences into buying the product. History speaks for itself. The fair skinned people have long been the center of attention, the source of power and influence, and the superior ones. So, for me, what the L'Oreal advertisement is in avertedly trying to say is that Anne Curtis has the power, the wealth, and the fame therefore you (the consumer) should listen to her by taking it to your minds that using L'Oreal's shampoo and conditioner is a good choice and a practical one at that. I believe that endorsement deals, no matter how pricey they are, are good investments because of future earnings that company signed up for. Other products I took notice of in recent years were the papaya soaps and Glutathione. These have been widely popular as evident in the marketing efforts of companies who make these whitening products. Dark skinned people are now given a chance to make themselves "whiter" in natural ways. There is no more need for expensive cosmetic surgery. Therefore, it is safe to say that these products are the best alternative for dark skinned people who are unhappy with the natural amount of melanin in their bodies. Why are they unhappy and what exacerbates their unhappiness? I believe that the media have definitely something to do with it. If one looks at the recent slogan of Glutamax, he or she would see the tagline "Kutis Mayaman by Glutamax". With this alone, people have received the subliminal message or non-verbal code that "white" people are high in society and therefore must be respected by the common Filipino. The woman in the ad is represented as the confident, beautiful, sexy, and wealthy Filipina. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to be the aforementioned? Of course I am joking. I guess that's just how this society works. The fact is fair skinned people are considered more powerful and more influential. This is where the massive inequality lies. "Brown" skinned people try to bridge the gap by making themselves whiter through commercial products offered. By doing so, they might feel that they are as powerful as white people. In reality, this does not hold true. It is just a historical perception and thinking that created this so called "inequality". The phenomenon of stereotyping has gotten the best of us in terms of how we think and perceive our material and social realities.

Entry 2: V for Vendetta Film Analysis

            V for Vendetta has been a movie that was hard for me to comprehend. I believe I was in my third year in high school when this movie came out. It was upon seeing it for the second time that I have come to understand the main idea of the DC blockbuster hit based on a graphic novel. In the start of the movie, I can already see media's role in shaping the futuristic British society. In relation to this, I am reminded of the image seen in the introduction of "Media and the Social World" wherein a teenage girl wakes up and goes through her daily routine which involved her heavy dependency on media.  In the movie, something similar is shown, that people, both young and old, live their daily life dependent on media (mass media in this case) for up to date news, current affairs, and entertainment.

            Media is portrayed as a fundamental part of the ordinary citizen's life. As the reading says, some say that media has become the dominant social institution in contemporary society giving the idea that it has reached a point of displacing older institutions such as schools and religious institutions. This seems to be the case for the people in the movie.

            Media as an institution has the power to shape the beliefs of the people.  It can easily be manipulated by those who hold power over it. News channels in the movie alter the truth in order to control the situation. Adam Sutler's authoritarian figure has command and control over what is broadcasted through television. He does not want any chaos. It was a smart thing for the character of Hugo Weaving to infiltrate a TV station in order to broadcast his message to everyone. Through this medium, he opens the minds of the people to the fact that something is wrong and that change is needed.

            I believe that terrorist acts should never be used to convey a message or an idea that will shape society's thinking, but the way I see it now is that V was desperate. Desperate times call for desperate measures and for him, the end justifies the means. People had to die in the process, but for V the acts he committed and the terrorist plot he planned for was a necessary evil, a propaganda that was instilled in the hearts of the people. Through the use of mass media, he calls the people to join him near the Parliamentary, a symbol which has long been forgotten. Even Deitrich followed V's act by using humor to convey a message, a message that Adam Sutler is stupid and can be stopped. Eventually, Deitrich is dealt with accordingly by the government. It is already too late for the government because the message and idea brought about by mass media already reached the people. Even after the disappearance of the famous talk show host, the people have not forgotten V's plan on November fifth. The blowing up of Parliamentary was a symbol that there is indeed something wrong with this country and something had to be done about it.  I then realized that the authoritarian Adam Sutler resembled Adolf Hitler.

            Mass media made V's execution of his plan possible. His words may be a few given his limited time to broadcast but his message came across to everyone, including a young girl in the movie. V as an agency is able to act independently of the current patterned arrangements which seem to influence and limit the choices and opportunities of the citizens as individuals.

            Mass media has a very powerful use in waking the mind up to certain realities. It pushes people to act against structures which dehumanize them. This made possible that a revolution be started out by V's single idea. The movie would not have been great nor would it have been called to being if it were not for the existence of media. Media is the source of information which influences our daily values, norms, and beliefs. The social effects of mass media in particular may have positive or negative effects and this definitely depends on how one uses or utilizes the power of media. This movie reminded me strongly of Jose Rizal, the Philippine's national hero. He had the guts and the intelligence to challenge the abusive Spaniards. It was through his books, a print medium, that he was able to awaken the minds of the people of the sad reality of the Filipinos.

Entry 1: Let me introduce myself

     Hi! My name is Kyle Joseph M. Lopez. I am a twenty one year old guy who lives really near Tiendesitas Fronta Verde. I am a proud graduate of La Salle Green Hills, the school I have been studying in for thirteen years. I am currently on my senior year at Ateneo de Manila University taking up AB Management Economics. I hope to be a successful and financially stable businessman in the future. I also plan on taking photography as a hobby or even as a profession if I have the skill and necessary equipment for it.

     What else can I say about myself? I am a bit shy when it comes to new people. It takes quite some time for me to warm up but after that, people think of me as a very interesting person. I enjoy playing sports such as basketball and swimming to pass time by and to achieve good health because of the nature of these two sports. These are my stress relievers. I love the outdoors and out of town trips. My family is actually planning on going to Europe this summer after I graduate. Asides from traveling, I am also a car enthusiast. I love driving and looking at exotic sports cars in the internet or magazines which leads me to the next thing I will be talking about, the types of media products I consume.

     I use almost all kinds of media products: my iPhone, my Sony Ericsson, my Apple MacBook, my older iPod which I bought in Singapore in the year 2006, my PS3 which has a new Logitech G27 steering wheel for my new GranTurismo 5 game which I bought just last Friday (I have to say it one more time, I really love driving!), my blu-ray player, my Sony Bravia LCD television, my Toyota's AM/FM radio, and my desktop computer which by the way is the master PC connected to our modem and router. In other words, my room is the source of Wi-Fi, a relatively new technology that took my breath away. Even up to now, I am still amazed at the thought of connecting to the internet without any wires. Anyway, I am not sure though if I mentioned all the media products I consume. This goes to show that I am heavily dependent on these media product which makes me ask the question: Who isn't dependent on media? Almost everyone has access to media, whether it be an old television receiving a local broadcast from a news channel or an old radio receiving FM signals. People who I never thought would use Facebook are using Facebook, which by the way is the medium through which I connect with friends and family who are in the Philippines or in other countries. To end this short blog entry with a point, I cannot imagine a world without media. Everyone has been so dependent on it that it will be extremely inconvenient if our lives did not have it.

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