I am grateful to Miguel del Rosario, the president and CEO of Toon City, for inviting me to his fascinating studio in Mandaluyong. I was impressed to see his team of 400 animation artists at work.
Starting as a traditional animation service provider for Walt Disney Television Animation, Toon City has steadily grown over the years into becoming a choice subcontracting animation facility of Asia. Toon City is the animation production house for major clients around the world, including Walt Disney Television Animation, Universal Animation, Warner Bros. Animation, MoonScoop Productions, etc., offering the very best in high-quality traditional, 3D/CGI and flash animation artistry.
Drawing from its wealth of experience, Toon City continues to deliver timely and outstanding quality feature film and TV series animation to its ever demanding clients. Toon City now belongs to an exclusive roster of studios, having been recognized with an Emmy award for its Outstanding Animated Children’s Program in 2010 for Curious George.
Miguel is also the president of the Animation Council of the Philippines (ACPI). He informed me that the major animation studios in the Philippines are employing more than 10,000 artists.
For the first time in quite a number of years, I visited Manila FAME on April 20 and regret to have to say that the Department of Trade and Industry and the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions have to reinvent the show jointly with the industry to bring international buyers back in large numbers. It is unfortunate that international buyers are visiting Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong and see little reason to fly into Manila. I enjoyed the discussions with many of my former “clients” who, in the past, exhibited at trade shows we were representing or promoting, from Frankfurt to Cologne, from Paris to Milan, from Bangkok to Hong Kong, from Singapore to Tokyo.
If “Creative Philippines” is ever going to be the battle cry of the creative industries of the Philippines, Manila FAME has to be brought back to its old fame.
One reason to visit Manila FAME was to catch up with Butch Carungay, who is the driver of the Fashion Jewelry Industry in Cebu (Cebu being the fashion accessories capital of the Philippines). Unfortunately, I did not ‘catch’ him but I visited the booths of quite a number of the sector representatives.
It is unfortunate to see, that a confluence of factors afflicting every aspect of the value chain are fast making the fashion jewelry sector a victim of SIS (Sunset Industry Syndrome) and it is high time to reverse the trend. The main reasons for the development are found in:
Design—not the asset that it was; other countries have vastly improved as second-generation owners run factories or put more emphasis on design; very little investment in new design tools and equipment, such as 3D printers/rapid prototyping.
Supply—The financial crisis in the United States of 2007 greatly eroded what was already a very weak supply chain; logistics are expensive in an archipelago like the Philippines; erratic government support for importing equipment/materials.
Capacity—Lack of mechanization; very few companies are compliant; inefficiencies at every level; ageing work force.
Quality—Weak supply chain; many testing companies have closed; insufficient investment in latest machinery, such as 3D printers.
While we live in a hyper-changing world and have to compete with an unprecedented amount of merchandise in an environment where people are spending less on personal belongings, there will always be a market for fashion jewelry—big enough for the Philippine fashion jewelry industry.
As mentioned above, the industry is currently at a critical precipice and needs to be jumpstarted immediately and turned around quickly. What needs to be done?
Ignite enthusiasm among the sector players—There is a need to create excitement;
Launch collaborations—The industry needs fresh ideas/blood; work with other young designers from other sectors/disciplines. Explore collaboration with other Asean countries via the Creative Cities Network;
Sector branding—Recraft an overall marketing/image strategy for the sector based on current macro trends in the industry. Encourage the development of local brands with the intent of exporting the brand internationally;
New platforms—Target top international markets through enhanced digital marketing; and
New channels—As trade shows diminish in importance, alternative ways of showcasing the sector need to be explored quickly. Work with foreign trade posts to bring products closer to end consumers through in-store campaigns with major retailers.
In the longer term, it is imperative that the sector continues to innovate to maintain the momentum, create longer-lasting and consistent value so the products remain compelling in the ever-evolving marketplace.
Comments are welcome—e-mail me under Schumacher@eitsc.com.