Brand Building experts and industry luminaries make up the PANAta Awards 2021 roster with Arthur Peña, Group Director for Media – Procter & Gamble, heading this year’s jurors. The panel consists of Menlou Bibonia (San Miguel Corp.), Mick Atienza (Smart Communications), Riza Sacay (Pascual Consumer Health), Mike Villa-real (Phil. Veterans Bank), Elbert de Guzman (STI), Aileen Magdaluyo (URC), Marc San Juan (Julie’s Bakeshop), Gino Borromeo (SM Supermalls) and Mike Tandas (Vouno Trade and Marketing). Robbie Aligada (ASC), Liam Capati (Facebook), Tina Reyes (PSRC), David Guerrero (BBDO), Jos Ortega (Havas Ortega), Jeff Saez (NuWorks), Alvin Carranza (DOOH), Herman Basbaño (Bombo Radyo), Amrei Dizon (Vitalstrats Creative Solutions), Donna Abrina (Ateneo de Davao University) and Tessa Albaña (UP Visayas) also join the roster.

“As we are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and laying the path for recovery, we, the PANAta Awards 2021 jurors, look for the most appropriately creative and effective communication campaign. This year’s theme, Hilaraya, which signifies moving forward together with courage toward new realities is a recurring message we have observed in most entries. The brand campaigns reflect a higher purpose such as giving Filipinos hope for a brighter future amid crisis,” shares Arthur Peña. “Just for this, I laud brands that have unceasingly pivoted and rallied to uplift Filipino lives!”

“We at PANA are honored and humbled to have this distinguished panel of jurors join us this year. The jurors will definitely have a challenging time reviewing the many exciting campaigns. We are looking forward to seeing which campaign gets to snatch this year’s most coveted Grand PANAta Award,” said Mavin Tiu, PANA president and PANAta Awards 2021 chairman.

The PANAta Awards 2021 will go live on December 8, 2021 via PANA Facebook live and PANA Youtube channel and other live stream  partner associations. To find out more about the event, visit https://pana.com.ph/.

This year’s PANAta Awards theme is “Hilaraya”, a portmanteau of the Tagalog words hila, which means “to pull”, and hiraya, meaning the “fruit of one’s hopes, dreams and aspirations; rendered through a creative device of a spectrum where the myriad of colors representing various sectors of the industry meet at a certain point. 

Coming from a record-breaking support of the industry last year, PANAta Awards 2021 chair Ken Lerona expressed that “through the PANAta Awards 2021, we hope to reinforce the message of courage and optimism for the industry to move forward together toward brighter prospects amidst new realities”. 

The awards categories will feature its customary recognitions for Brand Bravery, Endorser of the Year and various Excellence awards in Brand CSR, Brand Positioning, Customer Empowerment, and Marketing Innovation. The awards addressed towards the pandemic response launched last year and aptly termed Gawad Pandayon for Authenticity, Courage, and Creative Effectiveness- will likewise be retained since the marketing environment has remained in a state of flux. In addition to the Most Effective use of media (TV, radio, print), nominations will also be accepted for the category Most Effective Use of Medium Digital. 

The People’s Choice Awards which will reflect the sentiments of the consumers will be opened at a later date. The Brand Builder of the Year award will only be named from qualifying entries, thus will be invitational following the initial screening.  Brand Rookie of the year has been renamed to Most Promising Brand of the year and the category Best Localized ad is now Best Provincial Ad.

During the launch, PANA also introduced its co-producer Praxis, spearheading the awards ceremony and media placements; and its agency partners Vitalstrats Creative Solutions, which will handle creative materials and key visuals; and, Ardent Communications Inc., which will oversee all PR and communications requirements. McDonald’s provided the media attendees with BTS meals.

The virtual launch is an indication that the ‘call for entries’ bell will be rung very soon.  Legally registered advertisers (whether PANA or non-PANA members), advertising agencies and suppliers, media agencies and suppliers, schools and school organizations, government agencies and non-government organizations in the Philippines may join. For more information, check out our PANA website pana.com.ph or follow them on their official social media pages at /PANAbrandbuilders on Facebook, @panaadedge on Twitter and /panabrandbuilders on LinkedIn. 

Qualified entries are those that have been aired or used in any form of media or platform from January to December 2020. 

The awarding ceremony is scheduled for December 8 via online streaming.