ABOVE all else, it’s the message.
More than riding on the crest of popularity and super stardom of BTS, the latest commercial of Smart Communications that has the worldwide phenomenal K-pop group carries with it a very timely message. Altogether it is a call for everyone to reach for more, for goals, for dreams. And Filipino fans, just like my daughter Allysa -- a medical student herself, are going gaga over it.
Released last April 22, this Live Your Passion with a Purpose campaign by the telecommunications giant, has two of their most recent blockbuster hits “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On.”
The “Keep” messages as explicitly shown (and written) in the TV ad state the obvious. The graphical representation like going up the stairs may also be redundant. But they are what we exactly need these days when the world reels from the pandemic. It is what we need to permeate hope and an atmosphere of optimism amidst the scourge.
Keep -- Inspiring, Learning, Moving, Chasing Your Passion, Exploring, Living Your Purpose, and, Connecting -- the seven key points in the commercial very well sum up what everyone needs these trying times.
It is the kind of message we want to hear for people who lost loved ones, who lost jobs, who lost momentum, who lost motivation, who lost focus in achieving their goals. Whether they be in their families, studies, relationships, communities, personal and corporate targets. There are countless of these people. People who are forlornly sulked brought by the gloom caused by the pandemic.
The over arching theme in this commercial is way, way a lot better than the previous campaign of the group “Love Yourself” which I find to be centered on one’s own self.
But for this one, there is even a touch of spirituality in this commercial that is reaping praises. Particularly for the “purpose” part where the ultimate basis has always been the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.
Chapter 3 states: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...”
Even top executives of Smart admits that the music of this amazing 7 member K-pop group is a welcome respite from the challenges of the times.
“Aside from their remarkable talent, BTS emerged as the biggest band in the world because of their meaningful and uplifting music that brings hope and encouragement to fans especially in the bleakest of times,” Smart President and CEO Al Panilio said in a statement.
News sources also quote Senior VP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart, Jane Basas, "BTS won over the hearts of millions all over the world not just with their talent, but also with their messages of hope and inspiration” as saying.
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If there is another telecom company that keeps going and growing big, that has to be Converge ICT Solutions, a company which in a way traces its beginnings from a Betamax/VHS rental in the 1980s.
Fresh from racking up more accolades such as the “Growth Champion” by consumer data firm Statista, together with international publications Financial Times and Nikkei Asia, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Converge ICT Solutions has just inked a project that calls for a US$100 million investments.
Converge has signed a binding term sheet with KEPPEL Midgard Holdings Pte. Ltd. (KMH) for the Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) for one fiber pair on the main trunk of Bifrost Cable System, which directly connects Singapore to the west coast of North America.
In addition, KMH and Converge will jointly develop a branch on the Bifrost Cable System that will land in Davao, Philippines, with Converge also being granted an IRU on the entire Davao branch. Converge will be engaged as the landing party for the Davao branch segment.
Simply put, this means significant increase internet speeds and network diversity for businesses and consumers in the Philippines and enhanced inter-connectivity between and among Asean countries.
We can only be proud of our own Dennis Uy of Angeles City as his company will now be utilized in connecting Philippines, Singapore to the west coast of USA.
As the "Fastest Growing Fiber Internet Service Provider" in the 2020 International Finance Awards for the second year running, Converge has continually grown and is expanding briskly to reach both the unserved and underserved markets in the Philippines.
Converge reported earlier that it has more than doubled its fiber network in 2020, laying down more than 28,300 kilometers of fiber optic cables or an expansion of 107 percent from 26,600 km from 2019.
Its domestic network expansion reached over 6.1 million homes, covering 25 percent of all households in the country. This puts the company on track to meeting its target of reaching 55 percent of all households in the country by 2025.
Converge has also doubled its subscriber base from 2019 and breached the 1-million mark by end-2020, pushing its revenues to grow by 71 percent year-on-year.
Did somebody ask what should keep going and who is growing?