Candidate Number Eight: QMA Outsource Corp. (updated with video)

To advertise, or not to advertise — a tough question for many businesses. For one, it’s very expensive. Second, how do you quantify whether you are reaching the right people and whether your ad budget is bringing in sales? In this light, it would really seem like small and medium-scale enterprises don’t stand a chance against big companies who have humongous moolah to throw away on ads.

Carl Quema, the 25-year-old president of QMA Outsource Corp., believes he has the answer. His proposition is to find a way to reach the customer during one of his most vulnerable moments, and that is while hungry waiting for his order, and he can do nothing else than fiddle with his phone.

Placemats is an example of those little things in life that we hardly notice. But printed with entertaining, informative and practical stuff, like discounts and freebies, Carl believes placemats can be the advertising medium of choice especially for small businesses with niche markets.

“The concept really is very innovative because it gives a chance for SME’s to be present in front of their target audience in a manner that they can’t tune out, and the exposure time is for the whole dining experience,” Carl says. (Watch a video of Tet Feliciano, Carl’s representative, who attended the plenary session. She explained the business and showed samples.)

But just like Konsepto, Carl is fighting copycats. Although the ad placemat concept has been patented, he says there are already three firms using the same concept. And then there’s the saddest irony for someone who is in the advertising company — having to struggle with poor market reaction.

“I don’t know why we are not yet getting the market reaction we are expecting, which is totally the opposite in Cebu, where Rabbit Advertising started,” he says.

Aside from ad placemats, QMA Outsource also does other kinds of “below-the-line” marketing projects like websites, graphic design, corporate giveaways, printing solutions and other things. Carl says he is very much a willing student, eager to earn from Willy Arcilla how he can turn around the business this year, which is his “make or break” year.

If you believe Carl should be included in our Batch 2008 class, vote for him by commenting on this blog. You may also want to read the profiles of the first seven candidates.

Konsepto
Pat’s Floral Supplies
Comteq Computer & Business College
Mandilu
Jyouhou(joho) Technology Inc.
Fountain Cool
No More Slipping, Inc.

(Business Mentoring is a one-year project by Open For Business of INQUIRER.net. We are choosing eight businesses from the ones who applied by email, who will be mentored by Willy Arcilla, regional director of ZMG Signium Ward Howell and president of Business Mentors Inc. Willy is an industrial economist from the UA&P-CRC with a 25 year career in corporate planning, marketing, sales and general management across Asia-Pacific, and is a recipient of the Agora Award for Marketing Excellence.)

Share This