Business Processing Association Philippines Networking Event
Affinity Express has a close relationship with the Philippines, not only because we have one of our large offshore production centers located in Manila, but also because our parent company, Ayala Corporation, is one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in the Philippines. I was excited that this event would allow me to network with other people who have business interests—or are interested in doing business—in the Philippines.
The event started with a welcome address by the Consul General of the Philippines. We then had a presentation by the CEO of the BPA/P on “Why the Philippines?” Of course, I’m already sold on this topic, but I attended with interest nonetheless.
Later on, I was invited to address the gathering. It was exciting to stand in front of a hundred or so senior business executives and talk about Affinity Express and our presence in the Philippines, hoping that our experience would be of some use to others.
We were fortunate because LiveIt Investments, Ltd., the holding company for Ayala Corporation’s investments in the BPO sector, acquired Affinity Express in December of 2006. At that time, we had an established operation in Pune, India, and there were already plans for an additional facility for back-up purposes. Because of the growth of BPO services, the access to design talent and the presence of LiveIt and Ayala Corporation, it made sense to select Manila for the new site. As a result of the focus on enticing BPOs to come to the Philippines, the strong English speaking skills and the pool of talented designers, we were able to build the Affinity Express operation in record time. We were quickly able to provide the local team with direction on catering to the demands of various types of North American companies in a high-volume and quick turn time outsourcing environment.
It’s a relatively new idea that digital and print media production can be offshored. Affinity Express is an early mover in a new business process outsourcing segment. We bring to our clients the experience of a large team of graphic designers without most of the costs and investment of time associated with a traditional ad agency. Companies are challenged on how to get advertising and marketing production done fast and economically, and that’s where we come in. Our clients are assured that their operations are as cost-effective as they can be, and they can tap into knowledge and expertise that might not exist within the company. By leaving ad and marketing production to us, companies can concentrate on their core competencies and increase speed to market. Even ad agencies and marketing companies outsource to us to take advantage of our cost efficiencies, enabling them to focus on highly-creative work, as well as increase their profitability.
Our presence in the Philippines has reinforced our position as the biggest (and I believe, the best!) company in the field. We will continue to drive initiatives to recruit the best creative and design talent from top Filipino schools. The company will also use the skills of designers in the Philippines to test and expand the product offerings marketed by Affinity Express (for example, interactive services such as website design and Flash video). Furthermore, the systems and workflow in Manila are redundant to those of Affinity Express operations in the U.S. and India, providing the company and our clients with disaster recovery and continuity planning. Ultimately, our operation in the Philippines helps Affinity Express to be more competitive and on the cutting edge of the advertising and marketing production solutions clients demand today.
At the informal networking part of the event later, I was excited to have many people come over and express interest in Affinity Express and what we do. As a sales person and as the CEO of Affinity Express, this was the most gratifying part of the evening for me. The people I met didn’t realize advertising and marketing production could be outsourced, and I’m glad I was able to give them insight into how viable and effective this strategy can be with the right partner.