Publicus organizes seminar series for Manila Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno and Asenso Manileño Party

Publicus organized a successful seminar series dubbed “Jumpstarting the Campaign Trail” for Manila Vice-Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso/ Asenso Manileño Party last November 21-22, 2009 at Days Hotel Tagaytay. The 2-day seminar presented a cursor view of what it takes to be effective, efficient, and impressive in the campaign trail. It also served as a teambuilding opportunity for the political party with the aim in view of achieving a 100 percent success rate in the coming 2010 elections.

Seminar Topics included:

Day 1:
GETTING IT STRAIGHT FROM COMELEC – Mr. James Jimenez (Director, IEC Department & Spokesperson COMELEC) - COMELEC addressed ambivalence over the use of automated machines through a discussion on what the Commission has done to prepare for E-Day covering among others: the new electronic system and the technology to be used, the forms to be familiar with, guidelines to observe, and the safeguards for voting, counting and canvassing.

KNOWING THE LATEST IN ELECTION LAWS - Atty. George Garcia (Election Lawyer) - An Election Law expert/ practitioner discussed the latest in election laws and pertinent guidelines that deal with prohibited practices, calendar of activities, pointers for poll watchers, etc. in light of the growing anxiety among the voting Filipino populace over the use of new technology and the expediency and reliability of election results with the advent of e-voting in the 2010 National Elections. Candidates and their teams gained a better perspective on how foolproof their campaign is.

MARRYING THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE - Ms. Lilibet A. Amatong (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc.) – PUBLiCUS’ Communication expert discussed how in political campaigning success lies to a great extent on how well the candidate is positioned in the minds of the voters. However, positioning is critical when there is incompatibility between the medium –who s/he really is (his/her roots and upbringing, passions in life, vision-mission statement, legacy agenda, etc.) and the message –how s/he hopes to be perceived by the voters. This seminar revealed some tips on how the candidate gets what s/he wants by being who s/he really is.

Day 2:

CHANGING TIMES, CHANGING MEASURES - Prof. Ronald Holmes President, Pulse Asia, Inc.) – The head of one of the country’s leading polling firms discussed how times have changed and the speed with which such changes take place. To be able to manage uncertainties triggered by population diversity and ever-updating technology development, research must lead the way. This seminar informed, educated, and communicated to political candidates and handlers new approaches in gathering and delivering insights to get relevant strategizing. It zeroed in on a better appreciation of psychographics vis-à-vis demographics to get important information as to: “How Filipinos choose their candidates.”

ORGANIZING & MANAGING THE CAMPAIGN TEAM IN TODAY’S PLAYING FIELD - Ms. Ma. Lourdes Tiquia (Founder & General Manager, PUBLiCUS Corporation)- PUBLiCUS’ Head and Political Managerment expert ran through some strategies in organizing and managing the campaign team given the current political environment. The seminar focused on three aspects: finance, operations, and communications.

BUILDING THE GRASSROOTS TO DELIVER VOTES - Mr. Isagani Tan (PUBLiCUS Consultant on Community Organizing) – A community organizer discussed how to entice the grassroots to engage and if it is it worth the time and resources to do so. Can the grassroots really deliver the votes? So much has been said about launching people’s movements during political campaign season so that Filipinos have become cynical about them. And they have all the reasons to be. Yet, a significant number of the Filipino populace still hope and given this glimmer of hope, are willing to engage for the desired change.