By: Jean Paolo G. Lacap
The whole archipelago is going crazy
over AlDub loveteam! No one can deny
the popularity of these two “young bloods” in the Philippine showbiz industry
and this is all because of Kalyeserye
of Eat Bulaga.
Let’s see what we can learn from this
#AlDub phenomenon.
From the academic standpoint, there
are several economic and marketing concepts that we can learn from this
loveteam and from Eat Bulaga’s Kalyeserye
as well.
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| A screenshot from one of the episodes of EB's Kalyeserye |
Utility
and Innovation
Utility in economics means
satisfaction or happiness. When a commodity provides better utility as compared
with other products, then consumers would likely buy the product. Changing the
ballgame of noontime TV shows by giving the viewers a new, novel format like Kalyeserye offers better utility as compared
with the existing shows. Analyzing the noontime shows in the Philippine TV landscape,
no one ever thought of doing a “soap opera” where the setting is the streets of
the metro and dubsmash is the mode of
conversation. The intelligent use or attack to twist a typical “soap opera”
into something very different and creative is I think the secret ingredient of
the success of #AlDub phenomenon. This is a form of innovation in the noontime
TV habit. As what most business gurus say, the first to innovate usually wins
the game!
Diminishing
Marginal Utility
The law of diminishing marginal
utility states that, as you consume more and more of the same commodity, your
satisfaction declines from consuming additional unit of the said product. Same
in noontime shows, what is expected from these programs are game-like segments
where everyone can participate. The problem with the traditional format of TV
show is, it diminishes the satisfaction of the viewers. To avoid this,
creativity must come in. The concept of Kalyeserye
of Eat Bulaga is definitely an approach to confront the problem of viewers’
diminishing marginal utility among noontime shows.
Product
Life Cycle
One of the important concepts in marketing
is the product life cycle (PLC). It has four phases: introduction, growth,
maturity, and decline. Kalyeserye
where Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza) and Alden Richards are the main cast, just started
in July 16, 2015 episode. That episode triggered the #AlDub phenomenon. Basically, Kalyeserye is relatively new. In
the product life cycle, building the brand (in the introductory phase of the
PLC) is being established to gain awareness from the consumers, in the case of
the Kalyeserye, the viewers.
Promotional strategies are being done to communicate the brand to the viewers. Is
Eat Bulaga successful? Defintely yes! The hashtag AlDub is all over the social
media platforms and it supported by real-time updates on Eat Bulaga’s social
media accounts. These strategies contributed a lot in the popularity of #AlDub.
From this, we can learn that, effective management of the brand, particularly the
right strategies for the specific phase of the PLC, will translate into
positive outcomes.
Brand
Ambassadors
Right personalities for the right
brand will give profitability to the company. In the field of marketing, it is
really hard to identify the right people who will represent the brand. It takes
a lot of time and effort (and sometimes luck!) to find the right brand
ambassadors. Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza is considered as the “queen of dubsmash” because
of her excellent way of “dubsmashing” famous lines of well-known personalities.
On one hand, Alden Richards is getting his popularity from the That’s My Bae segment of Eat Bulaga. No
one expected that the 2 will be a good loveteam. Filipino viewers are generally
fond of love teams (e.g. JaDine, KathNiel) and no doubt AlDub is a tremendous
hit. The chemistry of Yaya Dub and Alden is indeed a spot on! They really
represent the “brand” that most Filipinos love – the “Cinderella story” or “rags
to riches” love story. Furthermore, the segment shows Pinoy values (words from
Lola Nidora – Wally Bayola) and humor (characters of Frankie/Tinidora – Jose Manalo,
Duhris – Wally, and Tidora – Paolo Ballesteros) that are ingredients for a
success of a TV show.
Brand
Image and Emotional Connection
A typically buyer is confronted with 2
things when purchasing something: logic and emotion. For instance a 50% off to
a price tag may trigger purchase from the buyer, that is the logic part. On the
other hand, when you form an emotional connection or attachment toward a brand,
for instance you buy products from Brand X because the brand support women
empowerment and equality – that is the emotion part of purchase behavior. So if
a product is boring, whether the price tag is 80% off, it will not trigger any
consumption. In order for a product to activate purchase from the consumers,
logic and emotion must be the primary components of a brand image. In AlDub
phenomenon, the brand image of the show and of the characters of Kalyeserye project logic and emotion. Those
who failed to watch Eat Bulaga can access the episode via Eat Bulaga’s social
media. And at the same time, the characters are familiar faces to most Pinoys –
logic part. Moreover, the characters form emotional connections to the viewers.
Filipinos can easily relate to the show. Viewers are motivated to continuously
follow the story simply because of the excitement of “what will happen next?” “Will
they meet personally?” – that’s the emotional factor. In short, it is hard to “sell”
something to the viewers if you will only provide logic. Logic + emotional connection
must go hand in hand, particularly to a TV show, to attract more viewers!
Viral
Marketing
Viral marketing entails creating
buzzes online and/or offline mode. In order to have a successful viral marketing
campaign, the message should be clear enough in order for individuals to
exponentially pass the message to others. What is good about viral marketing
is, in most cases it is inexpensive. The hashtag AlDub (#AlDub) created and
still creating buzzes in the social media. Are all viral marketing campaigns
successful? No. Only those “brands” that trigger logic and emotion can be
successful. Only those brands that are “worth sharing” benefit from viral
marketing. Timing is also important. Online viral marketing campaign must be
real-time. People want new things, updates, and so on. On one hand, offline
viral marketing is another factor. When the brand becomes the “talk of the town”
then the campaign becomes successful. In August 29, 2015, Alden Richards had a
mall show at Marquee Mall in Angeles City. That show created a whopping 3.5
million tweets! The right mix of factors may contribute a lot on online and
offline viral marketing campaigns and may prompt engagement from the buyers,
thus will translate into brand success!
The #AlDub phenomenon is indeed
changing the landscape of TV shows. What is good about it is, we can easily
identify with the show. We like love stories. We love humor. We want
connections with the characters. We get excited with the “kilig” moments! Eat
Bulaga’s Kalyeserye is indeed a
stressbuster! It is more than a show segment! It teaches us about life and at
the same time, it imparts important topics on Economics and Marketing! I am
pretty sure you are an avid fan of AlDub! Don’t worry, I will admit, I also follow
their story everyday!
Just enjoy watching Kalyeserye and at the same time, enjoy
learning!
