Shopper marketing expert Ben Reyes of ASPAC Creative Communications advises marketers to look into behavioral and psychological insights concerning consumers on the subject of his expertise.

He explains that shopper marketing involves everything that goes into the shopping experience, online or offline.

Brand activation tends to be confused with shopper marketing. Alan Fontanilla, managing director of Lowe Open Philippines, differentiates brand activation in his talk as a marketing process that bring a brand to life through a variety of brand experiences.

The experiences resulting from activation campaign help a brand make a connection, and a good activation is relevant to consumers.

Andy Saracho, communications and outreach specialist, discusses public relations in tandem with Rochelle Hilario, head of corporate communications of Light Rail Manila Corporation, for crisis management – because crisis management is a function of public relations.

The talks underscore that communication is a tool rather than a solution, and the most important thing in crises and in public relations is to speak the truth.

Gino Borromeo, chief strategy officer of McCann Worldgroup Philippines, brings the PANA Brand Academy full circle with a lecture on integrated marketing communications (IMC).

IMC drives the overall strategy of a brand so that all efforts put into it work together as a unified force and offers consumers a seamless experience.

An IMC needs a clear business objective and insights – insights about the brand and product, the consumer, the culture, media and technology and the product category and competition.

Ultimately, there is no formula to ensure a blockbuster IMC. Borromeo believes it is a combination of math and magic, and marketers only need to try their best.

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