PLDT and Smart to Offer Live and On-Demand NBA Games Through NBA League Pass Offerings

The National Basketball Association (NBA), PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), leading telecommunications and digital services providers, today announced a new multiyear partnership that will make available select offerings of NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service, to more than 62 million subscribers in the Philippines. 

PLDT and Smart are now making available select offerings of NBA League Pass to their subscribers, providing fans with access to live and on-demand NBA games online and via mobile devices. The NBA League Pass offerings include Day Pass (Php50), which enables users to watch live games for a 24-hour period.  The new offerings can be accessed online and through iOS and Android phones and tablets. 

PLDT Home will provide users the option to add the selected NBA League Pass offering into their monthly broadband subscription, while Smart Prepaid and Postpaid customers can purchase the Day Pass by texting NBA50 to 9999.  Additionally, PLDT’s broadband and Smart’s mobile subscribers will have access to NBA highlights, game recaps and daily top plays on the official websites of PLDT Home and Smart 360.

“Filipinos have an unparalleled love for basketball, which is why the game has been at the center of our advocacy for sports excellence all over the country,” said PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Business Market Development Oscar A. Reyes, Jr. “Through our groundbreaking partnership with NBA, we look forward to empowering Filipinos with digital experiences that enrich their lifestyle whether at home or on-the-go – through our world-class partners and innovative platforms, powered by the country’s most extensive and robust fixed line and wireless networks.”

“We are excited to work with PLDT and Smart, two companies that share our passion for providing live NBA action and exciting content to our Filipino fans on the devices they use most,” said NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson.  “PLDT and Smart provide the ideal platform for us to broaden our reach in the Philippines and provide more channels to bring the NBA experience to our passionate fans across the country.”

NBA League Pass subscriptions offer fans in more than 200 countries access to a complete season of live NBA games.  Subscribers can watch regular-season games, NBA All-Star, NBA Playoffs, The Finals, as well as select preseason and NBA Summer League games live and in high-definition with live stats and multiple viewing options, including the NBA Mobile View, which delivers a closer shot of the action optimized for viewing on the smaller screens of tablets and phones.

Through the partnership, PLDT and Smart will also serve as official partners of NBA 3X Philippines presented by AXA, a 3-on-3 tournament featuring men’s and women’s teams and authentic NBA entertainment, showcasing their products and services at the event.

For more details on PLDT and Smart product offerings, visit www.pldthome.com andwww.smart.com.ph  and follow their official Facebook accounts atwww.facebook.com/PLDTHome and www.facebook.com/SmartCommunications.

For all things NBA, fans can visit www.nba.com and follow the league on Facebook and Twitter.

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OPPO F7 Breaks New Ground In Capturing True Beauty

OPPO, a global leader in smartphone photography, unveiled its latest flagship model OPPO F7 in a grand star-studded event graced by endorsers Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto.

Now available for Philippine smartphone users, the all-new, highly anticipated OPPO F7 brings forth a new standard to smartphone photography with a new 25MP front-facing camera, powered by a best-in-class A.I. Beauty Technology 2.0 for natural-looking selfies.

This selfie powerhouse is just the right mobile accessory in this grand launch event held at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom, which was also attended by OPPO social media influencers and selfie experts Robi Domingo and Janella Salvador.

The venue was dressed to reflect the cutting-edge technology that powers the OPPO F7, complete with thoughtful touches that allowed media guests to experience and enjoy the all-new features of the flagship smartphone. These include the experiential product display area and other zones catered to trendy interests such as art, photography, fashion, travel, music, and of course, selfies.

Industry-leading selfie features and more

Powered by industry-leading front camera with 25MP and the second generation of OPPO’s groundbreaking A.I. Beauty Technology, the F7 has the right tools to deliver unique beautification for the user, plus up to three other people in the frame. The new and improved A.I. Beauty Technology 2.0 targets 296 facial recognition spots for never-before-seen precision and customizes up to four faces regardless of gender. Capturing the real you with next-level, personalized beauty technology is fast and easy with this new selfie powerhouse.

Apart from the best-in-class selfie technology, the F7 also comes with a 6.23-inch Super Full Screen Display with 2280x1080 Full HD+ resolution for a crystal-clear, immersive viewing experience. It also is powered by 12nm Octa-Core processor with two dedicated A.I. cores and 4GB RAM that deliver hardware performance of up to 80% faster than its predecessor, and upgraded storage of 64GB with option to expand with a MicroSD card.

“The OPPO F7 definitely changes—and upgrades—the selfie game of users with its groundbreaking features,” said Eason de Guzman, OPPO Philippines Public Relations Manager. “With a best-in-class 25MP front-facing camera, improved performance for multi-tasking, and a sleek, stylish body, the F7 will surely be a hit among Filipino smartphone users and selfie enthusiasts.”

Capture the real you with JoshLia

Popular love team Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto, known among their fans as ‘JoshLia,’ stand as the OPPO F7’s celebrity ambassadors and the brand’s spokespersons for its advocacy against online bashing. The on- and off-screen couple stars in OPPO F7’s latest TV commercial that encourages everyone to find and capture their real self for the world to see.

“This project with OPPO is so timely. We truly believe in the message of the campaign and we’re glad that OPPO has empowered us to the inspiring message of capturing and showing the real you with more people,” said Julia.

“Apart from the relevant message of the campaign, I’m also happy that OPPO chose us to be the endorsers of the F7, which is for me is the pinakamagandang model ng OPPO to date. All the features we want in a smartphone, they brought together in one unit,” Joshua added.

OPPO F7 Availability

As of April 19 at 6PM, the number of pre-orders has reached a total of 25,133 units. “We are pleased with how well the public is receiving the OPPO F7,” said de Guzman. “The number of pre-orders has surpassed our expectations and shows that the OPPO F7 is able to capture not just real beauty, but also the hearts of our fellow Filipino selfie enthusiasts.”

The new OPPO F7 retails for PhP 17,990.00 and is available in solar red and moonlight silver. The 128GB, 6GB RAM variant meantime retails for PhP 21,990.00 and is available in diamond black and solar red. All stocks will be available starting April 21, 2018. For those interested in purchasing the F7 under a service plan, OPPO’s partners include Home Credit at nine months with 0% Interest, Globe (Plan 1499), and Smart (Plan 1499).

For more information on the OPPO F7 and upcoming promos and roadshow events, like OPPO Philippines’ official Facebook page or follow @OPPOPhilippines on Twitter and Instagram.

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OPPO A71 2018 Raises the Bar in Entry-level Smartphone Experience

OPPO Philippines strengthens its entry-level smartphone offering with the new OPPO A71 2018, carrying a mid-range class processor and includes OPPO’s A.I. Beauty Technology for Php7,990. Equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor found in smartphones at the mid-range level, the A71 2018 elevates the standard of speed and battery efficiency in its price point.

Selfies will never be the same with the A.I. Beauty Technology infused in the 5MP front camera, for this allows more personalized selfie experience by analyzing the subject’s face in more than 220 facial points. Similar with the OPPO F5, the A71 2018 can also detect the skin tone, age and race for a natural looking selfie.

Along with a 13MP rear camera, capturing moments will be fun and easy with multiple modes such as time-lapse, panorama and even expert mode for ultra-HD 42MP shots. All these features are seen through the 5.2” HD display and compact shell body that is easy to hold and carry around.

In addition to value for money, the OPPO A71 2018 comes with a free pre- installed screen protector and transparent protection case. The smartphone also has all-around connectivity with dedicated dual-sim slot and microSD storage for expansion. This gesture is a standard in OPPO smartphones, ensuring that customer experience is on-top of mind in every aspect.

Running on Color OS 3.2 under Android 7.1.1, the A71 2018 runs smooth with premium features like O-Share to transfer files from other OPPO smartphones in lightning speeds. Plus, with its battery efficient processor, the 3,000mAh battery can last for more than 12 hours. 

“We keep on pushing the industry by coming up with the best smartphone in every price point. We believe the A71 2018’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor and A.I. Beauty Technology will elevate the smartphone experience in the entry-level arena,” said Eason de Guzman, Public Relations Manager of OPPO Philippines.

The OPPO A71 2018 will be available in all concept stores nationwide starting tomorrow. For more information, customers may visit  https://www.oppo.com/ph/. They can also follow OPPO on Facebook via https://www.facebook.com/OPPOPH/ to see the latest updates and events
from the brand.

Press Release

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What to Post on Instagram?

When you are in social media, the main challenge is to be consistent. Your post should be related  in some way to the business or your personal branding., It should have a purpose!

To be honest, I admit that I struggle with this on my own Instagram account. Being consistent is the KEY.

Most of you for sure have already a lot of ideas of what sort of image or content you should post. However, I'm here to give you some kind of a tips of what to post on Instagram.

1. Image with style.

Yes. You read it right! Instagram like Pinterest are more on Photos, so aside from the selfies that you posted. You can try new things like using grids, flat lay, etc. to represent your personal brand or products which that kind of composition.

2. A weekly series.

If you will notice, most of the brands nowadays are using the power of series like tele-drama and using the concept of throwbackthursday, motivationmonday, flashbackfriday, etc. on their feed to get more like and comments. Doing this will help you in making your concept or theme for a specific day.

3. Recommend Something.

Sharing a post, product review or simply an information you just heard or got from others can adds value to a post but allows your audience to discover more about you. Make sure that what you walk the talk.

4. Engage by shouting out.

Instagram like other social media site are created to have a network. That way it is best to use its one third of of its time in promoting a business while the two thirds should be more about sharing. How? By engaging with your followers or celebrating others. Let's say, you attended a webinar and learned something that you thought of sharing it to others because it may be valuable to them or perhaps posting about people who motivates and inspires you.

5. A call to action.

Sometimes we need to instruct our followers to give us a direct response. You can ask them a question, requesting them to visit a link, or have them their feedbacks. You can create also a contest or challenge that they can participate and by using a hashtags. Don't be shy to give them instructions to create a more engagement.

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Kumu The Filipino Super-App For Digital Bayanihan

I was super excited to attend the launching of the Public Beta version of Kumu (Thanks to Ms. Ian and Mai for the invitation).  For those who haven't know about it, KUMU is a messenger app and media platform built by and for the Filipino community! You can check it out and download it on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Kumu is the product of a labor of love and countless hours of work contributed by an extended team of over 60 leaders from the Philippines, the diaspora, and the global tech community.

The idea was just started six months ago, compare to Facebook, Viber and Instagram which been existing for years. The KUMU team is been proud of what they built and they invite you and all of us to join and help them build this from the ground up! This is what we can call our Digital Bayanihan.

What is this all about? Why do we need another messenger app? What exactly is Kumu?

1. A localized communication app for the Filipino people.

2. A media network for the next generation of Filipino creativity.

3. A digital economy of services that make life easier in the Philippines.

4. A movement to take back our internet and unlock the power of the Filipino community.

During the event the KUMU ambassador tell us their part in growing the community. They have different shows in the platform which makes the community more exciting. 

I even got sample stickers that they in the App. Check out below the designs that they have for now.

Kumu's vision is to harness the full promise of the internet and digital technology to unlock the power of the Filipino people. They think that the internet can build stronger communities rather than divide them, make life easier instead of distracting us from what matters. Digital media can inspire us and broaden our imaginations. Kumu hopes to be, more than any single thing, a vehicle to make these possibilities real.  They want to be a platform for the future of the Filipino community, a Filipino renaissance that is rising and gaining momentum.

Let us help this kind of community as we make our Digital Bayanihan. Invite your friends and families too to download the App and start using it. The good thing that I see with this App is that you don't need internet to send a message to someone, by using a Bluetooth, your message will be send instantly. However, this App is for Beta testing for now and I hope that in the next couple of months it will completely boom. 

Sharing below is the KUMU stories:

Kumu is now available on the Google Play and App Store. Learn more at our website: kumu.ph.

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SEO for Blogger at the Ready, Set, Blog 2.0

One more time, I was invited to an event where I have to share something with my blogger friends. This time its not about blogging or social media  but about the profession that I've been doing for almost a decade.

I have seen the participant's excitement when I enter the room. It was not too formal gathering so nothing to worry about. However, I was thinking of how can I explain to them in layman's term about the technicalities of they requested topic.

During the event, there are also a series of talks coming from other colleagues in the blogosphere. Blogging 101 and Digital Marketing was discussed by Larawan at Kape, Blogging as a Business is one, How to Elevate Your Blog from Wazzup Pilipinas and lot more.

There are also raffles and games. A picka-picka was serve and the day was full of a learning and fun activities.

I talk about SEO for bloggers and I am sharing you my slide here. Please check it out below.

Seo for bloggers from Marites "Zheyme" Manahan

Ready, Set, Blog 2.0 is a project of Annesheyday in partnership with SELAH GARDEN HOTEL. Ought to know more about blogging, digital marketing and SEO for bloggers!! Also know how to elevate your blog!!! Our utmost appreciation to Bravo Food Supplement for Men as our major sponsor. Our deepest gratitude to our sponsors:

#EstiaraPhilippines, #HydsCustomizedCakesandCatering, #MusicMuseumph,
#RomuloCafe, #Romulocafeph, #TheThinkingCapMarketing, #JramsCoffeeBistroPastries, #GangnamWingsph, #JingMonisSalon,#HopInnPhilippines, #SocialMediaIntelligenceandPublications, #TanduayAthletics,#Herbalifeph, #Allianz, #GaiusPensionInn, #BravoFoodSupplementforment, #OliveNailandBodySpa, #annesheyday, #readysetblog2018

I hope you like it! If you questions you can comment it below and I will try to answer it as soon as I can.

Photo grab from John Cueto and Leo, Thanks!

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