DDB Group Philippines was one of the select organizations that reaped accolades at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) – Regional Edition 2024 recently held in Bangkok, Thailand. The integrated marketing communications agency was recognized for Corporate Excellence while DDB Group Philippines Chairman and CEO Gil G. Chua was named Master Entrepreneur.
Master Entrepreneur Award
Chua was given the “Master Entrepreneur” award for having demonstrated outstanding business leadership, including the tenacity and perseverance to continue innovating, providing the vision and direction to his group of companies. As Chairman and CEO of 11 companies, Chua has always endeavored to provide Filipinos with meaningful employment that empowers them and enables them to be productive members of society.
DDB Group Chief Culture Officer and Managing Director of DDB Philippines and Bent & Buzz, Anna Chua-Norbert accepted the Master Entrepreneur award on behalf of her father Gil Chua who was not able to attend the awards ceremony due to unavoidable circumstances.
In her acceptance speech, Chua-Norbert thanked the award-giving body for recognizing the contribution and vision of the DDB Group chairman and CEO and for making him part of the roster of very distinguished APEA Master Entrepreneurs in the region.
“When he was a young business executive, Gil Chua’s dream was to create jobs for his fellow Filipinos so that they will have the option to work in the Philippines instead of being forced to work abroad, away from their families. Fast forward to today, he loves to say that, more than the material reward, the best thing about being Chairman and CEO is that it enables him to make a positive difference and uplift the lives of his fellowmen and the people around them. His wish is for this award to inspire and challenge his peers, colleagues and friends to use their blessings, talents and resources to become entrepreneurs too,” Chua-Norbert said.
Gil Chua’s unwavering generosity and deep love for the Philippines were instrumental in the success of the Department of Tourism’s “Love the Philippines” brand refresh campaign, which was crucial especially that the tourism industry was hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the controversy surrounding the leaked mood video, Chua’s grand gesture of donating the slogan, logo design, brand guidelines, and a global tourism market study was key in turning the campaign around. This support not only helped the campaign recover but propelled it to win Asia’s Leading Marketing Campaign at the 2024 World Travel Awards, besting other tourism campaigns such as Air India’s “Window of Possibilities,” AirAsia’s “Let’s Fly and Go,” Singapore Tourism Board’s “Made in Singapore,” and Thailand’s “Meaningful Relationship.”
Corporate Excellence Award
Meanwhile, Tribal Worldwide Philippines Managing Director Diane Chua came up on stage to accept the Corporate Excellence award given to DDB Group Philippines for having demonstrated effective talent mobilization and organizational capability to deliver consistent business results, while remaining aligned to the organization’s purpose.
“It’s really a great honor to be the first integrated marketing communications agency to receive this award. It’s a validation that it’s good business to put our people first, and deliver emotionally charged creativity that harnesses the power of human emotions to help brands achieve their marketing objectives and address their business challenges, while creating positive change to society. We dedicate this award to all our people, our clients, our trusting partners, our Execom, and of course, our very supportive families,” she said.
DDB Group Philippines was established in 1992 as a result of the groundbreaking partnership between local industry pioneer Advertising and Marketing Associates (AMA) and New York-based global marketing communications network DDB Worldwide. DDB Group Philippines consistently translates its People First policy into industry recognitions and substantial business growth and profitability. In all its years of providing creative and business solutions to clients, it has evolved into a full-service marketing communications group composed of award-winning creative business solutions agencies that do mainstream advertising, digital solutions, media services, public relations, branded entertainment solutions, and data analytics.
A regional program that celebrates entrepreneurial excellence across 16 countries and markets, the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) – Regional Edition brings together business leaders and enterprises to foster innovation, fair practices, and growth with the goal of fostering sustainable economic and social progress in Asian economies.
