THE PHILIPPINES is emerging as a key market for digital advertising as consumers increasingly divide their online activity across social media, e-commerce, video, music and community platforms, according to executives of global digital advertising company Aleph.
“The Philippines is one of our top five markets” in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of opportunity, Aleph Chief Operating Officer Ignacio Vidaguren said in an exclusive roundtable interview with The Manila Times.Vidaguren said the company has about 40 employees in the Philippines, roughly twice the average size of its offices worldwide. Aleph operates in about 80 countries and covers 130 markets, connecting digital platforms with advertisers, particularly in emerging economies.
Aleph’s business involves representing major digital platforms in markets where they do not maintain their own sales teams. Its partners include Google, TikTok, Amazon, Spotify, X, Pinterest and Reddit, while the company also provides local market expertise and payment capabilities.
The company describes itself as a global digital advertising and technology network operating across more than 130 markets, with businesses spanning advertising, payments and digital education.
From social to fragmented consumption
Aleph Regional Managing Director for APAC Arshan Saha said the Philippines’ digital market has changed substantially, particularly since the pandemic.
“The pandemic digitized a lot of elements,” Saha said, noting that businesses that once relied heavily on traditional retail, including smaller stores in rural areas, increasingly adopted digital channels.
He said consumer behavior has also moved beyond Facebook toward TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Spotify, podcasts and e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada.
“Their behavior has really sort of broadened overall,” Saha said.
For Aleph, this fragmentation has created a role in helping global platforms adapt their advertising and content strategies to local markets.
“Aleph in our positioning in market, we are a global partner that enables a lot of these platforms to localize into market,” Saha said.
He said the company works with platforms, advertisers and agencies to identify local trends and adapt creative material, content and influencer participation to Filipino audiences.
AI changes digital advertising
Vidaguren said the advertising industry is entering another major technological shift as artificial intelligence changes how consumers search for and consume information.
He identified the move from desktop internet to smartphones and apps as earlier transformations, with AI now creating another shift as large language models begin to take some activity away from traditional search.
“I don’t know where we’re going to end up, but certainly, I know for a fact that things in three, five years from now will be very different from what we have today,” Vidaguren said.
Aleph is already using AI internally to improve campaign operations, including analyzing recorded client meetings for training and identifying areas where employees can improve. Vidaguren said the company is also testing an internal system that can select among multiple large language models based on the task and cost.
The system could eventually become a commercial product, although Vidaguren said the company has not decided whether to launch it.
He said the company’s strategy is to remain adaptable as technology changes.
“We need to be on the lookout for what’s coming, because we need to adapt quickly to the reality,” Vidaguren said.
