By Kane Errol C. Choa
AS part of her rewards incentive to her employees every year, businesswoman Elizabeth “Beth” Ong decided to book them for Showtime Experience (XP), which includes a tour of ABS-CBN studios, live viewing of noontime show It’s Showtime, and a meet-and-greet opportunity with available stars.
It was not a difficult decision for Beth, a Kapamilya fan who starts her day with Umagang Kay Ganda and ends with Bandila. She also knows her staff, who are also avid viewers of ABS-CBN shows and fans of Kapamilya artists.
“Watching It’s Showtime live has always been my dream. It’s a different experience. Vice Ganda makes me happy, and I also wanted to see Anne Curtis and Vhong Navarro in person,” she said.
Like Beth, many Filipinos welcome ABS-CBN into their homes every day through the shows they watch on television or iWant, and feel the joy and happiness that celebrities bring through live entertainment.
They relate to the characters’ aspirations, hopes, and struggles in different teleseryes and follow their journeys in facing life’s challenges. They cheer and root for the talented Filipinos in talent-reality competitions who want to reach their dreams and build better lives for their families.
For many of these viewers, watching their favorite shows live and seeing their favorite stars in person is a big dream. It is not uncommon to see studio audience members in It’s Showtime to express their happiness upon seeing Vice Ganda or Anne Curtis and ask for a chance to hug them.
So when it is the viewers’ turn to visit ABS-CBN for a studio tour or watch a live show, the TV network rolls out a red carpet to make it a memorable experience for them.
In ABS-CBN, the customer experience program is called “Wow at Saya,” which the company takes to heart in hopes of “wowing” its studio audiences and achieve the desired response of Ang saya!
For studio audiences, their journey begins when they book online via Kapamilya Tickets (ktx.abs-cbn.com). The ease of navigating the site is an important first step. Information must also be complete, available and understandable. Links must work to give a seamless online experience for customers.
Upon arrival at the studio entrance, they are welcomed and led to the Kapamilya Audience Lounge, an air-conditioned facility that can accommodate up to 400 people. Those who booked studio tours get to see the broadcast facilities, the sets of their favorite shows, and the radio booths of DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 and MOR 101.9 where Kapamilya broadcasters and DJs are onboard.
At the Kapamilya Audience Lounge, the staff of It’s Showtime treats the audiences with a short and engaging program hosted by former Miss Q & A semifinalist Brenda Mage. They get to win prizes if they participate in games and take selfies or groufies at the photo walls. TV monitors are set up so they can also watch their favorite shows on ABS-CBN, S+A, YeY, Cine Mo and DZMM TeleRadyo channels.
The program, which was formulated in 2015, has consistently earned positive feedback and achieved a 97-percent net satisfaction rating from delighted studio audiences. Aside from surveys, unannounced visits by “mystery audiences” are done to audit the experience and check if the “Wow at Saya” program is carried out effectively and efficiently.
The audience-centric “Wow at Saya” program has been recognized thrice with awards of excellence in customer relations from the international Gold Quill Awards held in Canada, the Asia-Pacific Silver Quill Awards held in Australia and the Philippine Quill Awards here in Manila. The awards were given by the International Association of Business Communicators and its chapters in Asia-Pacific and the Philippines.
The awards are an affirmation of the things done right for the customers. After watching It’s Showtime, Beth said, “It was worth the trip. We woke up at 3 a.m. and traveled from Nueva Ecija. We are very happy with the experience.”
Her companion, Renelyn Corros, could not find words to explain her experience. “Sobrang saya na naranasan namin ito. Kasi pangarap namin ito na manood nang live.”
For Elizabeth Buenafe, it was a dream come true to see Vhong Navarro and Vice Ganda. She said, “Sobrang saya na hindi ko ma-explain na sa wakas, nakanood ako nang live. Araw-araw talaga ako nanonood ng ‘It’s Showtime.’ Iba yung experience kumpara sa panonood sa TV lang.”
Beth’s and her group’s experiences were later shared on social media. Beth’s photos with celebrities got more than 100 likes and comments within hours from family and friends.
Just imagine the ripple effect of a single post—positive or negative. People find testimonials within their circles as credible. It can sway their opinion about a product, service or person. When a positive story goes viral, it can do wonders for companies. And a negative one, even in only a few hours, can do so much damage to the reputation that one has built and protected so hard for years.
Customers today are vocal about their experiences. Armed with smartphones, consumers can take photos or videos to document pleasant or unpleasant incidents. In 2017, a video showing an airline passenger being forcibly dragged off his flight made headlines around the world and cost the company its reputation, share price and customers.
People read the comments of past travelers before booking a place via AirBNB, look for reviews before trying a new restaurant and seek feedback from other customers on TripAdvisor on places to visit.
Companies nowadays actively monitor and respond to customers’ feedback because they know a single post can potentially make or break them. Customers become their ambassadors and their experiences can be amplified on social media. So it is important for companies today to look at their customers’ experience because their words can be their best PR tool or their worst PR nightmare.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Kane Errol C. Choa is the vice president and head of Integrated Corporate Communications of ABS-CBN Corp. He spent more than two decades of work experience in corporate communications, political PR and broadcast journalism.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.