Camp COMCO - House Wars Cycle 18 - Sagip Pelikula COMCO SEA New PR Smart Social

Camp COMCO Cycle 18 with the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project panel.

By: Jia Jarin

It’s a wrap on set with Cycle 18’s Camp COMCO apprentices as they finish off COMCO Southeast Asia’s highly-anticipated House Wars, in partnership with ABS-CBN’s Film Restoration Project: “Sagip Pelikula”.

Being the culminating activity of the Camp COMCO Mentorship Program, the sixth virtual edition of House Wars paved the way for COMCO’s budding talents to come up with strategic and trailblazing Digital PR plans— all having been pitched to the team behind ABS-CBN’s Sagip Pelikula.

The Philippines has a rich cinematic history with around 3,000 films still in existence since 1919. In order to preserve these cultural artifacts, ABS-CBN’s Sagip Pelikula was established to promote and digitally restore classic, Filipino cinematic masterpieces. Now in its eleventh year, the Film Restoration Project plans to create maximum exposure and reach a wider audience by strengthening their presence in the online space.

ABS-CBN Head of Corporate Communications Kane Errol Choa graced the Camp with his presence, highlighting the importance of supporting local cinema and briefing the COMCO apprentices of their House Wars task: a multi-platform digital campaign that re-introduces Sagip Pelikula as a timeless advocacy and piques the interest of the younger generations to watch the remastered classics.

After a week-long preparation with the Camp’s house stewards, House Hawksbill was reigned as Grand Champion with their #SineBuhay campaign and film-set themed pitch.

“Being a House Steward never gets old because you get to see firsthand how young creatives grow and come up with some truly awe-inspiring ideas. The Camp COMCO apprentices from Cycle 18 have shown that they can dream big, but that they also have the determination and skills to back it up. I’m extremely proud to have been able to advise the talented and hardworking apprentices of House Hawksbill and to witness their dedication bear fruit,” shared AC Recio, House Steward of House Hawksbill and pioneer member of Camp COMCO Alumni Society.

Camp COMCO - House Wars Cycle 18 - Sagip Pelikula COMCO SEA New PR Smart Social

House Hawksbill includes Senior Brand Communications Officer Jessie Barrera, Angel Manzano of University of the Philippines – Diliman, and Jia Jarin of University of the Philippines – Manila with their House Steward, COMCO SEA’s Digital and Multimedia Arts Manager and Camp COMCO alumnus (Cycle 1) AC Recio.

House Flyingfox also emerged victorious as 1st Runner-up, followed by House Bearcat and House Whaleshark as 2nd and 3rd Runner-up respectively.

Camp COMCO - House Wars Cycle 18 - Sagip Pelikula COMCO SEA New PR Smart Social

House Flyingfox is composed of Charlette Inao of University of the Philippines – Manila, Gjonn Lin of De La Salle University, and Brand Communications Associate Madelaine Durante with their House Steward, COMCO SEA’s Associate Brand Communications Manager and Camp COMCO alumna (Cycle 2) Queenie Resmundo.

Camp COMCO - House Wars Cycle 18 - Sagip Pelikula COMCO SEA New PR Smart Social

House Bearcat comprises Jordan Chua of Ateneo de Manila University and Dianne Curray of Lyceum of the Philippines University with their House Steward, COMCO SEA’s Executive Initiatives & Integrated Communications Manager and Camp COMCO alumnus (Cycle 1) Harvey Llamosa.

Camp COMCO - House Wars Cycle 18

House Bearcat includes Gabrielle Marcelo of De La Salle University – Dasmariñas and Senior Brand Communications Associate Camille Lisay with their House Steward, COMCO SEA’s Senior Brand Communications Officer and Camp COMCO alumna (Cycle 5) Janela Bufi.

Besides the mentorship from the respective House stewards, the Camp COMCO apprentices were also able to sharpen their skills and learn the how-to’s through comprehensive workshops on New PR and Smart Social, Social Media Content Planning, PR Writing, Strategic Communications Plan Development, and Presenting Techniques throughout the three-month mentorship program.

1st Runner-up House Flyingfox also shared their experiences on the latest run of House Wars. “The House Wars culminating activity was extremely memorable to me. In just a week, I learned so much from my steward and my housemates, and it was so satisfying to see all our ideas come alive,” Charlette said. “House Wars gave a very good opportunity for interns to really go all out with the skills we gained from the duration of the internship. It really brought out our creativity not just in proposing a PR plan but in design and resourcefulness as well,” Gjonn added.

Camp COMCO - House Wars Cycle 18

“As per Parker, Hunger is the best sauce. Choosing from similarly excellent, deserving candidates or pitches isn’t easy. The proposals may be compelling and the arguments persuasive, but the real decision will usually come down to the judges’ sense of who is the hungriest. So congratulations, Camp COMCO Mentorship Program Cycle 18, for your highly commendable performance in House Wars! We’ve just produced another set of New PR stars; it was everybody’s game as each house is a strong contender— presenting cohesive, comprehensive, and well crafted plans,” said Mr. Ferdinand L. Bondoy, COMCO Southeast Asia’s Regional Integration and Chief Executive Director and creator of Camp COMCO Mentorship Program.

About Camp COMCO Mentorship Program                                  

Built by the Agency’s pool of experts, Camp COMCO Mentorship Program is an intensive and comprehensive talent incubation initiative, industry linkage course, and apprenticeship program designed to transform communication, marketing, and multimedia arts students and fresh graduates into revolutionary practitioners of the industry. Camp COMCO House Wars is nominated for Top Award in Communication Training and Education at the prestigious 19th IABC Quill Awards.

About COMCO Southeast Asia

COMCO Southeast Asia, based in the Philippines and with affiliate network presence in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, is a powerhouse and global award-winning integrated communications agency. With the unique brand of Meaningful Storytelling, the Agency has done groundbreaking works for more than 90 local, regional, and international brands including reputable development and humanitarian organizations. COMCO SEA has been awarded twice as Agency of the Year 2nd Runner-up at the IABC Quill Awards; Agency of the Year – Silver Award at the ASEAN PR Excellence Awards; Finalist for Boutique PR Consultancy of the Year at Campaign Asia Pacific’s PR Awards Asia, PRCA APAC Awards, Marketing Interactive’s PR Awards Asia-Pacific, and the global CIPR Excellence Awards; and 137 metals from various local and international award-giving bodies.

COMCO Southeast Asia is part of the COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises.