The Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines (CICP) inducted its new set of powerhouse Board of Directors known for their impeccable expertise in the creator and marketing industry. The following are the newly-elected and re-elected Board of Directors:
Jako De Leon (President) – Content Creator, Paperbug TV
Jel Directo (Vice President) – Country Manager, Hepmil Philippines (PGAG/HCN)
Michelle De Guzman (Executive Secretary) – Marketing Director, Cebu Pacific
Kara Dagdag (Treasurer) – Co-owner and COO, Spark It
Bea Evardone (Public Relations Officer) – COO and Creative Strategist, Republic Group of Companies
JJ Disini – Managing Partner, Disini Law Office
Ace Gapuz – CEO, Blogapalooza
Adel De Jesus – Marketing Lead, Emperador Distillers, Inc.
Goyo Larrazabal – Owner, Larrazabal Law Office
Andrew Sha – Managing Director, RedTorch Communications
Apple Manansala – President and Chief Executive Producer, The New Channel
Brian Dacanay – AVP, Tier-One Entertainment
Mark Averilla – Content Creator
Tabbi Tomas – Social Media Director, Dentsu Jayme Syfu
Irene Aserios – Content Creator and Owner of Mindanaoan.com
Rai Clemente – Strategic Partner Manager, Meta
Jim Guzman – Director-Digital COE, Unilab Inc.
Local content industry poised for further growth
Erwan Huesaff, a well-known chef, content creator, and former Public Relations Officer of CICP, delivered the welcome remarks and highlighted how the content marketing industry continues to thrive globally, especially in the Philippines.
“Platforms like Youtube, Facebook, Tiktok, and other massive social media platforms basically democratized the distribution of content. So this has led to a massive surge in entrepreneurship and [a] broader creator economy creating opportunities for not only creators themselves but [for] clients,” he said.
However, Huesaff also pointed out that fake news and sensationalism have become common on many media platforms.
“This is why a group like CICP is important because we aim to inspire and provide the right tools to help creators optimize their platform,” he added.
Moving forward despite the pandemic
Former CICP President Jim Guzman sharing the milestone achieved by CICP over the years.
Jim Guzman, the former President of CICP, also presented the milestones achieved by the organization over the past few years despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our vision back then was very simple: to set the gold standard when it comes to content creation. And two and a half years later, this has always been our mantra in CICP. Even when the whole world was confined in their houses, we managed to launch CICP in the middle of 2020,” Guzman said.
“When COVID-19 happened, we could not wait for the perfect weather. Rather than trying to stop an inevitable storm, let’s use this as an opportunity to grow. So the show went on, and I am happy to share that in 2020, despite the pandemic, we were able to do a lot of things,” he added.
Shaping local creator economy through education
For his part, the newly-elected President Jako De Leon reiterated the crucial role of CICP in shaping the Philippines’ local economy and the organization’s plans for the rest of the year.
“The mission of CICP is literally to help shape the local creator economy for the better by educating, engaging, and empowering all the important stakeholders and sectors of our industry to create their brand,” De Leon said
“To achieve this, we are going to create masterclasses, learning tools for our members, and content collaborations with the industry’s finest. Hopefully, we can do this on a bigger scale for our members. So our priorities this 2023, will be education and training to provide learning opportunities, and networking to generate partnerships,” De Leon added.
With millions of Filipinos in the content creation industry, uniting various stakeholders and sectors will be challenging. But for Jel Directo, then newly-elected Vice President of CICP, education, and information-sharing is the key to collectively achieving this advocacy.
“As CICP pulls together content creators, we gain their participation and commitment by allowing them to see that the Council has their best interest in all our written programs and platforms,” Directo said.
“When they fully know our genuine intent to empower them and give them a voice in this industry, and how we understand them first-hand, that puts us in a better position and perspective into bringing them together and be in one pursuit for this advocacy,” Directo added.
The CICP vows to ramp up programs for its members and create landmark events and activities to boost the local economy and encourage creators to develop their content and become best-in-class in content creation, marketing, and business.
