Jewel Changi Airport Appoints PHAR

PHAR has been appointed by Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel) to consult and design sponsorship opportunities for corporate partners.

The first task was to identify and assess Jewel’s sponsorship potential by packaging possible assets for sponsorship sales for the first phase.  After the first phase was complete, PHAR started engaging local and regional brands on long-term sponsorship opportunities at Jewel.

It is both PHAR and Jewel’s intent to secure a niche family of long-term sponsors by Q3 2018 and to create unique partnership engagements where the sponsors can align their strategic vision alongside Jewel. Sponsors can also use Jewel as a fulcrum of their marketing activities, bringing attributes which can enhance customer’s experience at Jewel.          

About Jewel Changi Airport (www.jewelchangiairport.com)

Jewel Changi Airport is a joint venture between Changi Airport Group (CAG), manager of Singapore Changi Airport; and CapitaLand, one of Asia’s largest real estate companies.  The Jewel complex is currently being constructed and is expected to open in 2019. Located in front of Changi Airport’s Terminal 1, Jewel will be a world-class lifestyle destination in Singapore enhancing Changi’s appeal as a premier air hub.

Designed by world renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Jewel will feature a distinctive dome-shaped facade made of glass and steel, making it an iconic landmark in the airport’s landscape.  At approximately 134,000 sq. m. in size, it will offer a range of facilities including airport services, indoor gardens and leisure attractions, retail and dining offerings as well as a hotel, all under one roof.                                                                        

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Smart contributes to a better LRT-1 EDSA Station

Smart Communications, Inc. and PHAR have signed an agreement where Smart will 'dominate' the entirety of EDSA LRT-1 station.

The “Station Domination” program is included in LRMC’s P500-million Station Improvement Program which aims to improve accessibility, safety, and security of over 500,000 passengers daily.

Through the initiative, LRT-1 EDSA Station will sport Smart’s signature green color. It will also bear informative Smart ads, complementing station upgrades, such as the installation of LED billboards, large format and digital displays and video walls.

“Smart and LRMC are both vying for transformation programs. This partnership will enable LRMC to provide commuters with a more fun and productive commuting experience at LRT-1. Smart will also be able to contribute to further improvement of the train and station facilities. Likewise, it will also support the country’s growing needs as more Filipinos turn to the digital lifestyle,” said Prem Bhatia, Managing Director for Asia of PHAR Partnerships.

“By providing better WiFi coverage in high traffic areas such as the LRT-1, we can help make the commuting experience for people more pleasant and productive. They can use the travel time to catch up with their social media conversations or their office emails on their mobile phones. They can also learn about the growing range of services that we offer our customers," said Ramon R. Isberto, head of PLDT and Smart Public Affairs.

Smart will also ramp up cellular and Wifi coverage in EDSA LRT-1. Passengers can now enjoy carrier-grade Smart Wifi for initial free minutes or purchase Smart Wifi PINs if they need to connect for a longer period of time.

“Carrier-grade” means that the Smart Wifi network is highly reliable, well-tested, highly available and supports most services and devices.

Reliable Wifi access anywhere

Apart from powering LRT-1’s EDSA Station, carrier-grade Smart Wifi has also been installed at the Doroteo Jose, Abad Santos, Gil Puyat, Pedro Gil, R. Papa and U.N. Avenue stations.

Carrier-grade Smart Wifi is available in Metro Manila and 40 other provinces, following Smart’s ramped-up roll-out of the service in the government offices, hospitals, schools, restaurants, airports and transportation hubs, and other key high-traffic areas across the country.

LRT-1 Station is now Yamaha Monumento

Yamaha Philippines (Yamaha) strikes a deal with Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1), LRT 1 operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), for a three-year advertising program under the Station Partnership Program.

The Station Partnership Program is spearheaded by PHAR, the international agency who serves as LRMC’s ancillary revenue partner. PHAR launched the Southeast Asia’s first Naming Rights program in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur. It proved to be a great success with banks, real estate companies, and airlines all taking part.

Yamaha is the first company that has committed to a long term investment in an LRT-1 station. Through the Station Partnership Program, funds will be used to offset the station improvement works that LRMC has undertaken in Monumento station. Included here are improved lighting, roofing, the installation of security and the overall cleanliness and maintenance of the station.

“We have been working with LRMC for over a year now to design the Naming Rights program – everything from the logo, to the branding, to the improvements in the station. This is win-win for everybody. Yamaha gets valuable marketing rights, LRMC gets revenue which goes back into station improvements, and passengers get better facilities,” said Prem Bhatia, Managing Director of PHAR.

He added, “With Yamaha it was very clear from the outset. Although they valued the ridership and the branding, Yamaha wanted to give back to the city of Manila - they wanted to improve the city in a measurable, visible and tangible manner. With LRMC they found the right partner to help them realize that ambition.”

PHAR works with a number of transport majors like Transport for London, Jewel Changi Airport, Manchester Airport Group, Air Asia, Philippines Airlines, Jetstar, Rapid KL, to name a few.

Naming Rights is a trend that began with sports stadiums in the USA, and has now seen several companies targeting transport hubs as marketing opportunities, given that it gives brands the opportunity to be seen by passengers 365 days a year.

Ricoh and PHAR win "best use of branded content" at 2017 ESA Awards

The Ricoh Rugby Change Series, created by PHAR to support Ricoh's sponsorship of Premiership Rugby, has won Best Use of Branded Content at the 2017 European Sponsorship Awards. 

The awards took place at The Science Museum, London, with the Ricoh Rugby Change Series beating other shortlisted sponsorship campaigns from brands such as Evian (Wimbledon Tennis), Bridgestone (Olympic Games), Allianz, and Standered Chartered.

Ricoh face a challenge in making their sponsorship communications engaging and relevant to a rugby audience; whilst maintaining a core link to their global messaging ‘Imagine. Change’.

PHAR helped Ricoh achieve these goals by creating unique video content and a downloadable report, to identify and analyse the major changes that have occurred in rugby since the onset of professionalism. Key topics included kicking, gameplay, refereeing & players’ physicality.

The campaign was viewed by over 250,000 people on YouTube and 100,000+ on Facebook. It is now used as best practice sponsorship activation by Premiership Rugby.

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Getting to know the LRT-1 ridership

With over 20 stations, LRT-1 is one of the most used metro systems in the country. Teeming crowds queue almost every day to get to and from their destination.

A recent study conducted by marketing agencies PHAR Philippines Inc (PHAR) and TNS (part of Kantar Media) puts a human face to these passengers. Their study entitled, “Unlocking LRT-1 Riders: Research and Data on Consumers," gives insight on riders' profiles, behaviors, and preferences. 

About 5,500 LRT-1 passengers were interviewed between 2015 and 2017.

This is the second installment of the research conducted by PHAR and TNS in 2016. 

In their latest study, about 65 percent of the riders are aged 18 to 29 years old. The gender ratio is 50 percent male and 50 percent female. The average passengers spend about 62 minutes per day in LRT-1 trains and stations.

There has been a 16 percent increase in daily riders and a 37.5 percent increase in passengers from socio economic classes A, B, and C1.  

The passengers use different applications to get them through the day. About 36,000 riders use Grab and Uber services to get to and from home to the station every day. About 95 percent of LRT-1 passengers use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The increase in ridership can be linked to the developments in the LRT-1 stations. In the study, there was improved cleanliness factor by 177 percent. The stations Abad Santos and Gil Puyat have garnered the biggest cleanliness scores.

Riders have also cited that the ticket buying experience has also become more efficient. According to the study, LRT-1 was rated with 260 percent improvement in terms of ticket queues. The Vito Cruz station was singled out as the most improved in terms of convenience in train ticket purchasing.

The study also delved on the brands that are used most often by LRT-1 riders. For telecommunications, about 50 percent prefer Globe Prepaid sim cards.When it comes to gadgets, 10 percent own Cherry Mobile phones, while there is a 200 percent increase in use of brands Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei mobile phones. The switch has decreased the Nokia phone ownership by 75 percent.

In beverage, Kopiko is a leading brand for coffee while Coca-Cola is the softdrink of choice. For shampoo, Clear and Dove are preferred by the LRT-1 riders.

The study also released that the LRT-1 commercials have made a difference in ad recall for brands such as Cherry Mobile, Coca-Cola, Smart, Dazz and Happee.

The research methodologies were a combination of LRT-1 fieldwork intercept, call back, and NCR (national capital region) representative sample.

The results were revealed by Phar Philippines, Light Rail Manila Corporation, and Kantar TNS executives in an event held at the Discovery Primea.

For more information, call 7292218 or visit PHAR Website: www.pharpartnership.com