So You're Coming to the Philippines

Great news that you're returning to the motherland and to do advertising at that. Where you'll end up is anybody's guess. Asia is so the place to be, and be whatever you want to be. Advertising as always is the rock and roll of the business world, pushing all new genres of art, culture, and business forward, simultaneously.

I'm at Mccann now as you can probably see, and i only intended to stay as such for a couple of years, but i have to commit longer as we just completed a (and now just starting another) round of pitches for digital business. So being in digital, the competition for business is high. Lots of budget is being shifted to digital. But the competition for me is non-existent, meaning i haven't had any offers yet :-P

However, i can tell you that the demand for astute talent is reasonably high. We are all learning on the job, so if you can handle a steep learning curve, you're in.

Traditional advertising seems dead here, as a lot of it is promo-based. And when it's not, ads just seem to speak to themselves or to the clients.

I see that clients here are just beginning to open up (and open their wallets) to new executions that cut across media. Actually, scratch the last four words. I doubt they even know that integrated exists yet.

However, it's exciting because we're caught in between forces of technology and a still-young culture that isn't sure what it's capable of yet. Not many clients want to be the first to fail at trying to execute a great idea. Though a lot of them just need a push from a ballsy agency.

As a copywriter from the states, you have the advantage of seeing more and being in more seasoned and sophisticated markets. But you'll definitely have to merge your experience with the Filipino way of doing things.

I would definitely recommend moving over here, and looking into other SE. Asian markets as well, like Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai. I believe the trepidation over what bang for what buck is global, so it will depend on the kind of client you can tolerate.

I hope this helps, and let me know how you are doing over there. I've been sending a portfolio over here and there, but my big guns are just coming out of the metal works, so I'm not overly eager to submit my stuff yet.

But after what i see as a tour of duty here, i can see myself heading west in some years time. So get in the action when you can. All of life is just rotating on one principal screw anyway, and before you know it, you'll be back where you started.