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

FRANCO MESINA is in an enviable position. At twenty-something, his problem is how to keep up with the success of Icylicious, his snow cone business, and how to sustain the seasonal business of FranzAvian Trading Co. Ltd., which supplies equipment to water refilling stations. Franco has been running his businesses with his girlfriend Abby Sarmiento, and they sat down with mentor Willy Arcilla for advice last March for their first mentoring session.

Because they had space in front of Fountain Cool, the water refilling station in Binondo he put up with his dad, Franco thought of selling something there. Lots of young people pass by on their way to school.

And so Franco and Abby started Icylicious just three months ago. They registered the business with DTI and SEC. They got an electric ice crusher and sourced ready-to-use syrups for the snow cones. To distinguish themselves from other snow cone vendors, Franco and Abby made sure the syrups are delicious and do not leave discoloration in the teeth and mouth. They would sell as much as 1,000 cups of 6-oz. styro cups a day for P15 a cup, so the profits are coming in swiftly. Franco foresees the return on investment to happen in five to six months’ time.

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I was craving for ice cream yesterday, so I excitedly approached a Nestle scoopery stand to buy two big sugarcones of ice cream for me and my friend.

To my surprise, the girl at the counter refused to sell us big sugarcones. She could only sell two small cones for P10 each because that was the standard promo of the day.

“Can’t you sell two big cones to us? Just charge us more?” we ask, with our tastebuds already complaining about the delay.

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