DRIVING BY EDSA, you can’t help but be distracted by the gigantic billboards on both sides of the road. A while back, there was Heart and Jericho (when they were still together) for Penshoppe, John Lloyd Cruz for Bench, Gretchen Barretto for Plains and Prints, and now, Toni and Alex Gonzaga for Faces & Curves.

Can product endorsers really help in marketing a business? Or are there instances when they can give the opposite desired effect (turn away customers)?

“Product endorsers can have a tremendous impact on one’s business. Awell-known and respected celebrity can add instant credibility to an otherwise unknown or untried product,” says Art Ilano, a marketing professor at the College of Business of the University of the Philippines.

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IT used to be that Sigel Inc. was raking in dollar sales as an exporter of hand crafted premium boxes for home accents and gift items such as chocolates, wines and dates. Over the years, sales have slowed down as companies abroad started ordering goods from China, where items are so much cheaper.

The fact that the peso has strengthened itself against the dollar has hurt the business too. Eugene Leyran says, “At a trade show, if a buyer is interested, I would send samples right away. By the time the buyer sends a purchase order, the peso-dollar exchange rate may have gone down by two pesos.” And with a 30-day credit term extended to clients, Sigel may find itself staring at an even leaner margin by the time the client pays if the exchange rate goes down again.

The cost of manufacturing has also gone up. “Our constraint is the price of our finished product. It’s too high because it’s labor intensive. Maski ako namamahalan,” says Eugene. At times, clients would set a price for their items, and won’t budge if Eugene explains that they can’t offer the goods at that price given the forex rate. “We still have active buyers but orders have gone down due to the price.”

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IT used to be that all Filipinos had to do to look fabulous was to go to the neighborhood beauty salon. Now there are a whole lot of places to patronize if one is really vain or conscious about appearance: the facial salon, the spa, the medi-spa, the cosmetic surgeon, etc.

Indeed, it seems that Filipinos have become more vain over the years, a fact observed by Faces & Curves’ Dr. Jesus “Jay” Recasata, Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife Dr. Sheila A. Recasata, a dermatologist. In the past eight years since Dr. Jay established his practice in Greenhills, he has seen the demand for cosmetic surgery and beauty services rise. “The prospects for the future are good,” says Dr. Jay.

This is why in 2005, Dr. Jay asked his wife to join him in his practice and renamed the clinic Faces & Curves. Aside from surgical services offered (cosmetic, plastic, and reconstructive), the state-of-the-art clinic has since offered beauty services for the face, skin and body, all performed by board-certified doctors.

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UPDATE: Editor’s note: Added video taken by INQUIRER.net business editor Ma. Salve Duplito.

COMTEQ COMPUTER & Business College is one growing enterprise in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Started in 1990 as an institution offering computer literacy courses to high school students, it has now become a full college offering bachelor’s degree courses in Computer Science, Information Technology, Accountancy, and Business Administration. It also offers shorter two- and three-year courses in computer programming, animation, and electronics technology, among others.

Hundreds of students now go to Comteq wanting to be equipped with the technological know-how needed in the marketplace. What attracts the students to Comteq is the school’s strong on-the-job (OJT) training program and affordable tuition fees. “We want our graduates na may alam na paglabas [ng school] because of OJT,” says John Bayarong, Comteq’s dean.

In fact, students have already done websites for organizations. The students have also been joining competitions and have in fact won in some contests already.

Here’s a video taken by INQUIRER.net business editor Ma. Salve Duplito. Bayarong and Ausbert Joaquin of Comteq Computer & Business College listen with Allan Cruz of Business Mentors Inc. to mentor Willy Arcilla (not in video) as Arcilla advises strengthening Comteq’s hold in the market first before venturing into franchising.

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AT THE DANGWA Flower Market, some 50-plus vendors sell an array of fresh cut flowers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This market has been there for more than 30 years. Retail buyers and those with floral businesses flock to this market for their floral needs.

Jay Domingo and his wife Gina run a branch of Pat’s Flowers & Supplies in Dangwa. The main outlet located in Quiapo was put up by Gina’s grandmother in the early ‘70s. It still exists today.

As the name suggests, Pat’s Flowers & Supplies does more than just provide flowers: They also make available to flower shops the supplies they need, from pots, ribbons, and other tools of the trade.

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