Halalan 2022 Presidential aspirant Leody de Guzman arrives in Quezon City en route to Bantayog ng mga Bayani for his scheduled proclamation rally on February 8, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA - Candidates gunning for government positions in the May 2022 polls should take advantage of technology and other data available today to gather support, a marketing expert said Monday.
Campaigning has been happening physically and online such as on social media due to health risks and mobility restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The candidates therefore must take advantage of technology to adapt to the change in the election landscape, Geiser-Maclang Marketing Communications co-founder Amor Maclang told ANC.
"A big challenge [is that], many of the political strategies are still products of the old generation, they don’t know how to evaluate and read data, they’re all primarily beholding on people’s interpretation of data," Macland said.
"Many of them are not taking advantage of data making available to them. Some campaign managers can’t read data properly... It’s really no different from selling products and services," she added.
In a sense, "selling a candidate" is also similar to selling products and services, she said.
Hiring influencers, who are sometimes paid up to 8 figures, is also "technically acceptable" as long as there is transparency, she added.
When it comes to supporting aspirants, entrepreneurs are better off keeping their opinions to themselves to prevent potential negative implications on stakeholders, Maclang said.
Although there are big brands that have openly supported presidential candidates for the elections, many have remained silent, she added.
“This is my opinion as a strategist looking at risk issues and crisis filter…Just because you have an opinion doesn’t necessarily mean that you should share that opinion. Especially in the case of big businesses, the opinion of the owner does not necessarily determine the entirety of the opinion of the entire company…,” Maclang said.
“Should you be lucky and you bet on the right horse, well and good but if you didn’t? What would be the implication of such choices to your stakeholders in general,” she added.
On joining debates, candidates who refuse to do so are likely engaging the audience in platforms relevant to them, Maclang said.
Maclang, who is pushing for a "digital Pilipinas" agenda, said she is willing to work with the next administration to raise the "innovation quotient" on the country.