GMA Network bags six trophies at NAMIC Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards

GMA Network, Inc. (GMA), through its international business unit, was once again recognized by the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) after winning six EMMAs (Excellence in Multi-Cultural Marketing Awards) for its highly innovative international marketing tactics.

This is by far the most number of awards won by GMA compared to previous years, and the Network’s first time to earn two first place recognitions in its long history of winning in the competition.

“We have been recognized by NAMIC almost every year since GMA Pinoy TV was launched in 2005,” said GMA International Vice President and Head of Operations Joseph T. Francia. “It is worth noting that the awards we received this year honor different tactics in our integrated marketing mix covering the gamut of our 360-degree approach to reaching our existing and potential subscribers, from our digital initiatives to more traditional schemes."

The “Support Manny Pacquiao” online campaign for the boxing hero’s most recent fight against Juan Manuel Marquez was awarded first place in the Digital Category. The campaign was recognized for effectively engaging Filipinos living in the US, Asia-Pacific and Middle East to send in messages for Pacquiao via GMA’s citizen journalism tool, YouScoop. Highlighting Pinoy pride, these messages were later aired over GMA’s international channels.

The GMA International magazine dubbed as “Kapuso Abroad” (KA), meanwhile, won first place in the Grassroots category. KA is dedicated to making Filipinos living abroad feel closer to home by providing them with relevant and entertaining information about their favorite Kapuso programs and personalities. The magazine is circulated worldwide and the increasing demand for KA prompted GMA to create a digital version of the magazine in order to reach more Filipinos globally. 

Winning third place in the Experiential Marketing category is the Eat Bulaga Live in San Francisco show held last March 30. Being the country’s longest running, most awarded and most influential noontime show, bringing Eat Bulaga to the US allowed Filipino-Americans to experience the classic brand of Pinoy entertainment that only a show like EB can offer. The event gathered over 6,000 attendees from Filipino-American communities in San Francisco and Northern California, and significantly increased the subscription base of GMA Pinoy TV.

GMA also won third place in the Diversity Awareness category for its participation in The Outstanding Filipino Americans (TOFA) awards. TOFA honors Filipino-Americans who have helped uplift the Filipino-American community through their outstanding achievements in their chosen profession. GMA leveraged on this opportunity to celebrate the excellence of the Filipino race by providing media mileage and trophies to all awardees. GMA was able to connect with more than 14,000 voters of TOFA via Facebook and reached out to around 300 attendees from various Filipino-American communities.

Meanwhile, GMA’s environment-friendly non-woven bags won third place in the Premium category. These fully functional, eco-friendly bags represent the Network’s active participation in Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental protection. The bags are always a sought-after premium during events and marketing activities stimulating brand recall. They also resonate well with subscriber cities like San Francisco that aggressively promote the use of reusable shopping bags. 

Finally, the one-minute free advertising offering “Pinoy Inbox”, which ran from June 2010 to May 2011, finished third place in the Television category. This marketing tactic was built in the hopes of building affinity with GMA Pinoy TV subscribers. This proved to be successful as subscribers continue to pour in giving birth to its spin-off, “Pinoy Photobox.”

“This is a fitting reward for our hard work especially as we celebrate our 7th anniversary this year,” said Francia. “These awards are a validation of our efforts to innovate and be more creative in our marketing efforts, and to be even more relevant in today's highly competitive, fast-evolving pay-television landscape. We are truly honoured to receive these recognitions from a prestigious organization such as NAMIC,” he added.

NAMIC is an international organization that recognizes superior multicultural marketing practices in the cable industry. Established in 1980 as non-profit trade organization, it has over 2,700 professionals belonging to a network of 16 chapters worldwide. The awarding of winners will take place on September 11 and 12 at Hilton New York.

GMA’s international unit oversees the distribution overseas of flagship channel GMA Pinoy TV, as well as GMA Life TV, GMA News TV International, DZBB and DWLS. To-date, the channels reach over 2 million viewers on various pay-TV platforms in 90 countries worldwide.