Water Expo at SMX Manila
The Philippine Water Works Association of the Philippines (PWWA) will host the 6th Edition of Water Philippines Conference and Exposition on March 22-24, 2023, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila.
PWWA President Vicente B. Joyas said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos has been invited as the keynote speaker during the program and will participate in the ribbon cutting to officially open the exhibits.
Other prominent guest speakers that have been invited are Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga of the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); and Senator Grace L. Poe of the Senate of the Philippines.
Plenary speakers include Dr. Beverly Ho, Asst. Secretary, Dept. of Health (DOH); Rep. Arnolfo Teves, Jr. of the 3rd Dist., Province of Negros; Atty. Jose Victor Emmanuel De Dios, President of Manila Water Company, Inc.; Ramoncito Fernandez, President & CEO, Maynilad; Dr. IR.TS.HI. Mohmad Asari Daud, President, Malaysian Water Association; Chay Lo, President, Cambodia Water Association; Atty. Rogelio Quevedo, Gov’t. Corporate Counsel, Office of the Corporate Counsel; Eileen L. Dela Vega, Offer-in-charge, Local Water Utilities Administration; Atty. Patrick Lester Ty, Chief Regulator, Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System; and Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera, President & CEO, Clark Water Development Officer.
Technical sessions will follow to be participated in by local and international key players in the water industry to discuss global challenges and emerging issues in water and wastewater.
According to PWWA executive director Neneth P. Javier, the Water Expo was organized in partnership with Informa Markets. She said that Interested participants may contact PWWA at pwwa@gmail.com. Javier added, the culminating activity is a gala dinner and fellowship night for all participating government regulatory officers, practitioners and other industry experts to promote better ties and collaboration between the Philippines and the global water community.
Converge accelerates transformation with Tableau
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is on the right track in its data empowerment journey as it maximizes Tableau, the analytics platform for Salesforce, in arriving at key business decisions as an internet service provider.
At the Tableau Inspiration Day held at New World Makati recently, Converge chief information officer Ulysses Naguit shared how the company aims to leverage on its collection of data to come up with actionable insights in its operations.
“The first order of business was to transform the data to be the ‘single source of truth’ for the company. Once that was put in place, the company was able to visualize a complete picture of our operations that allowed better efficiency from port utilization, turn-in, order fulfillment, account lifecycle, payment behavior, churn, and even collection performances,” said Naguit, in detailing how data insights cuts across the various functions of the ISP.
Naguit said data gathered, analyzed, and visualized through Tableau painted a picture of what efforts and campaigns worked and what didn’t at the operational level, helping the company make crucial decisions in its resource allocation, which redounded to better response to customers.
Song Heng Heng, lead solution engineer, Tableau at Salesforce underlined how their solution is making people arrive at accurate decisions faster – a must for a fast growing company like Converge.
“We help people see and understand data so that they can make decisions at the speed of change,” said Heng at the forum.
Ever Bilena newest nail polish line
Known for its full line of trendy, affordable, and accessible makeup, Ever Bilena has been producing your “OG” two-way cakes, sturdy wooden German brow pencils, trusty matte lipsticks, viral lip and cheek tints and BB creams over the years. The brand started its humble beginnings with nail polish in 1983.
Ever Bilena’s chief sales & marketing officer, Denice Sy, shares that their newest drop is part of their sustaining campaign towards the company’s 40th Anniversary in March 2023.
“Ever Bilena has evolved so much over the years, and because we offer a complete range of color cosmetics items, people forget that decades ago, Ever Bilena was also the local market leader for nail polish.”
Ever Bilena has been quick to innovate in the last year, with impressive new releases for Korean-made premium skincare boosters and serum-infused makeup under its popular EB Plus collection revealing new aesthetic packaging for its well-loved classics.
Ever Bilena’s brightly lighted black and pink fixtures are paired with friendly and empowered beauty consultants ready to attend every Ever Bilena customer’s beauty questions.
Ever Bilena’s nail polish line is the brand’s first release of the year so far. Sy teases more surprises coming soon from EB, from premium formulas in its upcoming new product launches, inspiring stories and endorsement partnerships to top-tier beauty pageant collaborations, among others.
Ever Bilena’s nail polish line is available exclusively in Alfamart and online in their flagship Shopee, Lazada, and Tiktok shops. All other Ever Bilena items are available in Watsons, SM Beauty Dept Store, Robinsons Dept Store, SM Markets, Puregold, Waltermart Group, Gaisano Group, LCC Group, etc.
GCash beefs up user protection
GCash recently achieved a compliance certification from the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), a standard that is being administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI-SSC) which includes top global credit card brands such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express, JCB International, and Discover Financial Services.
The standard ensures all companies which accept, process, store, or transmit credit/debit cardholder information maintain a secure environment to protect customers. Compliance is validated annually by an external qualified security assessor such as ControlCase Inc., a global provider of certification, cybersecurity, and continuous compliance services, which also conducted the assessment of GCash.
As it continues to expand its services and reach more unserved individuals, GCash remains steadfast in boosting the app’s safeguards while continuously strengthening its sense of accountability, ethics, and compliance to further improve customer’s experience and provide them safe, secure, and more convenient digital financial solutions.
etaily receives 3-Star certification
etaily, the leading eCommerce enabler for brands in the Philippines, earned the 3-star certification from the Lazada Partners Program for all quarters of the past year.
This recognition, the highest standard for the platform’s partners, demonstrates etaily’s excellence in-store management, operations, and fulfillment.
Qualified 3-Star Certified Lazada Partners score above the set Lazada Partners Assessment Metrics which evaluates factors including Ship-on-Time, Return Rate, Cancellation Rate, Same-day Chat Response Rate, Seller Rating, Availability to Purchase, Campaign Join Rate, and Participation in Special Projects. With the mega campaigns of 11.11 and 12.12, paired with the holiday sales, the last quarter of 2022 is the busiest time for all eCommerce players. Despite the increased demand for products and delivery volume, etaily emerged as the only partner meeting the highest standards set by one of the largest eCommerce operators in Southeast Asia.
“Earning the Lazada Partners 3-Star Certification is a major accomplishment for etaily and alludes to the hard work and dedication of the team. We are proud to be recognized as the leading eCommerce enabler in the Philippines and look forward to further supporting our brand partners in their eCommerce journeys. We are excited to see what the future holds for etaily as we continue to evolve and innovate in the eCommerce space,” said Alexander Friedhoff, CEO of etaily,
foodpanda Ph wins silver
The ad campaign, which ran on the social media platform from October 22 to Nov. 30, 2021 and facilitated by Entravision MediaDonuts, is one of three grand winners in the Excellence in Social Media Marketing category.
According to Lorelei Olalia, head of Integrated Marketing Communications of foodpanda Philippines, the objective of the campaign was to strengthen the connection of their brand with Filipino foodies. “We turned to Twitter knowing that its food-related conversations can help us reach foodpanda’s target audience and delight them in a unique way even in the crowded food delivery service landscape.”
Through Entravision MediaDonuts, the advertising arm of Twitter in the Philippines, foodpanda created a phased campaign that aimed to drive massive awareness and fuel engagement through Twitter’s innovative execution. The Emoji Engine, an #OnlyOnTwitter format, provided users an easy way to redeem vouchers and discover foodpanda’s partner restaurants in the Philippines.
foodpanda’s #Cravingfor Emoji Engine campaign generated a remarkable increase in conversations and in users talking about the brand.
Pouch partners with Strike
Pouch, the first lightning service provider in the Philippines, has partnered with Strike, the world’s leading digital payments platform built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, to facilitate fast, secure, and low-cost remittance payments from the US to the Philippines.
Pouch has partnered with Strike to make digital payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible for people globally. Customers, including Filipino expats in the US can now send dollars to the Philippines and have the funds received as Philippine pesos in a recipient’s bank or mobile money account.
Pouch was founded in August 2021 by CEO Ethan Rose. With its customer-centric approach to cross-border remittance services, Pouch was able to quickly grow its presence in the country. In 2022, Pouch spearheaded the massive adoption of bitcoin and the use of the lightning wallet in Boracay, turning the summer destination into a Bitcoin Island.
February promos at Metromart
MetroMart, the no.1 on-demand online grocery delivery platform, is offering discounts and promos in the month-long celebration of their 7th Birthday Sale this February 1 to 28.
MetroMart’s 7th Birthday Sale will include Free Delivery promos, discounts for orders on weekdays, discount promos for new and existing users, and weekend P7 Sales with leading supermarket partners.
Treats for Valentine’s Day will also be available this February.
The discounts, product sales and Free Delivery promos of the MetroMart 7th Anniversary Celebration are applicable to all users of MetroMart. Select terms and conditions apply, to avail the discounts and promos.
An S&R membership is not required for online orders at S&R via MetroMart. A minimum spend of only P2,000 is required in order to avail the discounted items. Only completed checkout of orders within the scheduled day and time can avail the sale items
Customers may also get a free pack of Disney-themed Ziploc sandwich bags from select branches of S&R Landmark, Robinsons Supermarket, Shopwise, and The Marketplace. This gift with purchase deal may be availed for a minimum spend of P5,000 within February 9 to 28.
