PROFILE
PEOPLE
140
sense.” He thinks the telenovela
and celebrity culture is present in
the Latin American as well as the
Philippine market but it just seems
to be more pronounced here, “The
(Aldub) billboard! That was great!
People went to Trinoma, got out of
the car, took a photo and shared
with their friends (in social media).
Isn’t that the best thing that can
happen for you? That’s awesome!”
In both developing markets,
he sees Coca-Cola’s role as similar,
“We do a lot of things for the
communities here. We help the
storeowners to sell more. In Latin
America, it’s also the case. We
are the backbone of many small
businesses there. For some 80% of
the sales are Coca-Cola products.”
COKE ADDS LIFE (1976)
Czypionka is bullish, “We want
to transform this business. There
are not many markets that offer
a similar opportunity to grow
like the Philippines. It’s not only
Coke that we want to grow, we
want the opportunity to grow
for all our brands and we want
to grow for them (our agencies),
because if we double our business,
we will most probably double
our advertising budgets.” A few
months after he assumed his new
role he called for an “agency kickoff”. He said he wanted to have a
“connections agency” hoping that
with collaboration they can evolve
shared ideas, “We want constructive
collaboration from our agencies.
Today the difference is how we
interact, how we network and how
we reach the common genius.”
Through collaboration, he
wants to be able to be loud enough
and close enough to his consumer,
“In Latin America, Coca-Cola is
very close to the people. Here, it
is still not so close to the people.
There’s still a lot of work to be
done. In Latin America, it’s the
undisputed leader. That’s why we
had this agency kick-off because
we have to do disruptive things
today.” He wants, as he kept
repeating during our interview to
excite: his people, his agencies, and
most of all, his valued costumer,
“I tripled our investment in digital
from last year. And I want to go
further. Actually, when we do our
business plan, I want to have the
people who work in our consumer
advocacies so the community
manager …because they have the
best feel of what is important out
there. They will give us a very
different perspective. We have a
very successful model now. We’re
working with Ogilvy One. We are in
constant conversation with people
who mention our brands, who
want to know something about our
brands so it’s not a reactive thing.
These guys start a conversation with
you and that’s really important. “
When asked if he thinks awards
are important, he merely said,
“I work for selling Coca Cola or
selling Wilkins (all my brands). I
was voted Advertiser of the Year
in Argentina for 2015. It was
about results.” Enough said.
TASTE THE FEELING (2016)
The guy is in heaven because
he loves Filipino food, “I like
everything. I have corn beef
sinigang once a week. And then
crispy pata (deep-fried pork leg),
chicken adobo (classic Filipino dish
cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and
garlic), caldereta (meat cooked in
tomato-based spicy sauce). The only
thing I’m struggling with is sisig
(marinated pork ear and innards
served sizzling) because it’s so
fatty so it’s hard for my stomach.
But he burns it all by running,
cross-fit, and circuit training which
he does five times a week, “I do it
as a mental exercise and to burn
calories so I can eat crispy pata.”
He confesses to not being a
beach bum but was smitten with
Bohol, ”It was the first time in
my life that my wife and I had a
bungalow by the beach. We had a
hammock. I was running by the
beach everyday and reading my
business books. “ These proud
parents took their almost oneyear old baby with them, “ It’s
fun travelling with the baby here.
People are so nice and helpful.”
Czypionka noticed how
Filipinos also love eating with their
family, “When you see Filipinos
eating, they really enjoy. They like
food. They just have fun.” He likens
it to what Coca-Cola is all about,
“Coca Cola is about happiness.
And it doesn’t just come from the
big things. All these little moments
of happiness are precious. It’s the
small special moments that count. “
We can’t agree more: it’s the
small little moments that open
happiness even, or maybe so
much more, when you’re faced
with a gargantuan task.
Promotional
image from new
'Taste the Feeling'
campaign
adobo magazine | July - August 2016