The Campaign

Instead of simply enumerating the Ayala group’s accomplishments, the company decided to veer away from the traditional corporate-style video to show how dynamic, fast, and essential the corporation is through a video entitled “Ayala: In Motion”. This featured people whose lives Ayala has helped innovate, accelerate, empower, connect, transform, and diversify. Below are some stories that inspire Ayala to keep going: PJ Villanueva had a simple dream of being an engineer. He rose from the ranks at IMI, and is now a Principal Engineer who pushes innovation by designing automated/robotic systems and training engineers around the world. Ben Monteiro took the chance to accelerate his life as a microentrepreneur by opening two Generika stores in 2009. Today he owns 16 stores. Rey Reyes, a former rare wildlife hunter, had a change of heart that transformed his life when he started working at El Nido Resorts as an Environmental Enforcement Officer.

Execution

We interviewed different people, from customers, beneficiaries, stake holders, employees, investors, representing the different business units to extract thoughtful and insightful stories. These were strung together to create a poetic montage of inspiring quotes that collectively express the overall theme. We then deployed production units, from run and gun camera teams to drone operators to film in a cinematic, documentary style, the different Ayala locations. Each shot was designed with carefully planned camera movements to create transition points to visualize motion. We used a combination of handheld shots, time-lapse footage, aerial photography and a wide range of styles to create a tapestry of images that, combined with dramatic musical scoring and cinematic sound design, captured the energy of the scenes and locations. This is how we envisioned our film to be, a dynamic tapestry of impactful stories, transitioning into each other, always in constant motion.

Overall, the video reached over a million citizens and garnered close to 370,000 views. This was the most engaged that Ayala has been with the online public, earning the Facebook Page more positive sentiment. For a company that seems out of reach to ordinary people, this encourages Ayala to move forward to keep improving the lives of every Filipino. But beyond its online engagement, Ayala continues to push forward to improve the lives of every Filipino.

The Situation

In the Philippines where economic gaps are highly pronounced, it is important for ordinary Filipinos to know that private corporations genuinely care about their needs. More importantly, doing good business doesn’t just drive good returns; it brings positive change in communities. Profit can co-exist with responsible business goals. With a good PR strategy, Ayala Corporation seeks to uplift the people that it serves, and highlight its commitment to improving lives.

The Strategy

During the week of its 2018 Annual Stockholder’s Meeting, Ayala took advantage of the media’s expected spiked interest. The company released a video that went beyond its usual earnings and numbers report. Instead, it showcased the true stories of ordinary Filipinos whose lives were profoundly changed by Ayala. The video was first released to the shareholders at an on-ground event, then later disseminated on its official website and Facebook page, and on the social media of some of the country’s top publications.