Non-profits like MarkProf Foundation are filling the marketing education gap in the Philippines and boosting employment while they’re at it.

“Van Gogh is Bipolar” takes healthy eating to a new level by only serving natural foods which help produce “happy hormones.”

Using social networking tools, Filipino citizens were able to band together to help victims of a recent flood.

There’s a charming two-level space at the heart of Manila’s art enclave, Cubao X, that’s attracting a discerning crowd lately. On the ground floor is a home lifestyle store called Heima (Icelandic for “at home”). The owner, Bong Rojales, is also the director of the city’s Lomo camera cult, Lomomanila. This time around, he’s using his creative contacts in Copenhagen and Manila to retail some idiosyncratically colorful offerings. His partner, interior designer Rossy Yabut, spearheads product development as well as consulting and restoration services for the homes of the newly minted young middle class (most coming from creative industries and [...]

RuralLight is a Philippine-based non-profit organization that’s using renewable energy to create sustainable businesses, improve local education and reduce poverty while keeping the environmental impact carbon-neutral. There are still 2,400 villages in the country living off the grid and the government is finding it too expensive to hook them up to the power plants. This is because the multi-island structure of the Philippines would require extending electrical cables across water, which is simply too costly. Alternatives such as solar panels and geothermal energy will allow these communities the opportunity to finally integrate with the mainstream economy by providing them with [...]

In a counter-intuitive move to close the gap on the budget deficit, the Philippine government is spending money for an advertising campaign featuring boxer turned national hero, Manny Pacquiao. The ad features the boxer talking about tax payer solidarity amidst the economic crisis and singing “this fight is for you” (translated) in the background. The hope is that the anticipation for the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight will translate into more upfront citizen payments and consumer loyalty (like most developing countries, the Philippines has a large grey market for goods and services which tends to grow as times get more [...]

“Freestyle dining” is an emerging food trend in Manila. The process: customers picks from a list of key ingredients. Then they order based on whatever emotion or adjective best describes their dining mood, trusting the chef with the task of translating it into a matching meal. It’s like assigning the chef the role of culinary therapist.
Respected freestyle dining spots are maintaining a certain level of exclusivity by using only word-of-mouth marketing and by staying well-hidden. One of the more buzzworthy spots is Chef’s Table, a secluded rooftop space that serves as a TV set for a daytime food show hosted [...]

The economy has hit the traditional brick-and-mortar book business especially hard. Even landmark literary institutions like Cody’s have not been spared. In contrast, Avalon.ph – a Manila-based online specialist in second hand books – has been thriving. Its founder, Jasper Ong, manages to maintain an independent shopkeeper’s touch by giving customers the chance to close transactions personally in select coffee shops during weekends. We sat down with Jasper to see if we could learn something from his success (which seems to be out-of-print these days).
1. What guides you in your book selection process? Does the weakening economy influence that process [...]

Cebu is the creative craftsman city of the Philippines and is one of the most renowned furniture exporters of Southeast Asia. Local designers have successfully improvised around the region’s lack of rattan (the predominant wood used in traditional furniture) with freestyle experimentation of other indigenous natural materials. The playfully geometric work of up-and-comer Vito Selma (pictured) and the always influential eccentricities of Debbie Palao show how Cebu is living up to its “Milan of Asia” reputation.
The best and brightest are on display every year at a furniture exhibition dubbed Cebu X (not to be confused with Cubao X, Manila’s bohemian [...]

Burnwater, a Philippine-based design firm, has teamed up with a lifestyle magazine (Rogue), a literary publication (Story), a recording studio (Wombworks) and a bookstore chain (Fully Booked) to produce a streaming HD video site called Pelicola.tv (”pelikula” is Tagalog for “movie”). The site aims to be an insider’s guide to the country’s cultural hotspots, influential tastemakers and local music scene.
The site’s adfilm revenue model notably follows the growing trend of quality content as advertising, and was admittedly inspired by BMW’s “The Hire” series and the Cartier Love campaign. Other companies can get involved by working with Story to create sponsored short films that will be featured [...]