Marvin, LeapOut President and CEO, imparted digital marketing insights on the radio program on the topic Thriving Businesses: Ride the Digital Wave.  Marvin Ortiz, LeapOut Co-Founder and CEO, had the honor of guesting in a radio program Pilipinas, Ngayon Na on January 8, 2024, aired on DWIZ 882 and Aliw TV 23 and hosted by Undersecretary (USec.) Robert Rivera and Lady Elyza. Marvin’s guesting highlighted the power of digital marketing and e-commerce to the hosts, who, like many ordinary Filipinos, are still not well-versed but are enthusiastic about this thriving sector. Helping Businesses Leap Into Digital At the start of the program, USec. Rivera stressed the importance of keeping abreast with developments taking place on the Internet.  “We know that AI and digital are all over. That’s why communication time has been cut considerably. With the touch of a finger, you can video chat anywhere in the world and talk to anyone.” USec Rivera also admitted that many businesses in the Philippines are struggling to compete because they still opt to use traditional methods. However, he emphasized that to be competitive in today’s world, they need to keep up with the fast-changing business practices such as establishing an online business presence.  Taking off from this backgrounder by USec Rivera, Marvin introduced LeapOut and its mission.  He said that the company aims to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and even micro-enterprises “to leap into its digital transformation.” The company equips companies with capabilities to break into and then grow and succeed in the digital realm.  “We are a digital marketing agency that helps businesses maximize their business presence online — especially legacy businesses — to spot more opportunities and thrive online.”   “From First-Scale to Full-Scale” Marvin, one of the pioneers in the country’s digital marketing landscape, commented that it is LeapOut’s mission to help Filipino businesses, especially those who are eager to establish their footprint online via digital marketing.  “The goal of digital companies is not only to share information but also to help users navigate the digital landscape by elevating their user experience. Usually, we help companies that have the vision and goal to serve online customers but have no capabilities and capacities to venture into digital media,” he said. To guarantee success in this transformation, Marvin said LeapOut is committed to empowering its clients to succeed from laying their foundation online to providing excellent customer experience. This end-to-end approach is what digital marketing professionals consider the “from first-scale to full-scale” approach.   Using this extensive approach, the company has provided and is currently providing these services to its clients from SMEs to those belonging to the top ten Philippine companies.  “We have already helped and continue helping businesses and organizations in the Philippines. in transforming their digital footprint,” Marvin added. LeapOut’s clients include household brands such as SM, Ajinomoto, Cebuana Lhuillier, Malayan Insurance, and Wilcon Depot.  To accomplish this, LeapOut helps conceptualize, create, and compose digital content for its three key businesses: social media and content marketing, e-commerce, and paid media. The company started as a digital marketing agency. The company later ventured into e-commerce development and programmatic advertising.    Screengrab of Marvin explaining how digital marketing benefits businesses during the radio interview streamed live on Pilipinas, Ngayon Na Facebook page.  Hypertargeting 101 To showcase what digital marketing can do to businesses on the program, Marvin described the power of programmatic advertising. With this technology, companies can now show their marketing content and copies directly to their specific intended audience.  He demonstrated this technology through an example. A company wants to offer two contents to two demographics: Content A is for seniors and Content B is for millennials. With programmatic advertising in Google and social media platforms, the company can show only Content A for seniors in the platform you subscribed to and Content B to only your target millennial audience. Since this method will only allow your content to be seen by your ideal audience, it provides amazing efficiency to your campaign. It lowers the cost as it prevents you from showing the ads to unintended audiences. And because only your target people can access your content, your probability of sales increases considerably.   It Started With A Mission When talking about LeapOut’s mission, Marvin shared the humble beginnings of the company. He recalled the time when a plumber sought his service when he was still an advertising agent in 2009. Short of funds to pay for the ad, it took some time for the plumber to pay for the creative and publish it online.  At a time when the internet was just starting and selling online services was difficult, the freelance plumber believed that the new tech would open business opportunities. This kindled Marvin’s passion to open an agency to serve as a launch pad for the growth of SMEs and micro businesses. With digital marketing, he believes these small and startup businesses have a “leveling playing field” where they can compete head-on with established companies and corporations. Cybersecurity Insights Aside from digital marketing, Marvin also provided his insights on cybersecurity, especially on email and social media accounts.  “Social media accounts like Messenger and email addresses can be hacked and faked,” he stressed.  One of his takeaways is to be mindful of emails that we receive. For email, check for the sender. To find out if the email address or URL is legitimate, check the domain name if it matches the exact spelling of the domain name (.com or .edu) of legitimate sites. Another thing you can do is to verify whether the sender uses a real name. When you are doubtful of the sender, you should research if the email is factual over the Internet or confirm with your friends and people you trust. Pilipinas, Ngayon Na! airs every 2 pm – 3 pm on DWIZ 882 kHz and Aliw TV 23. The entire interview can be streamed on the Pilipinas, Ngayon Na Facebook page.