Snapp'd in Sinulog 2012

More than three million tourists were in Cebu for the Sinulog Festival, and key highlight of the event was the Grand Parade on January 15, 2012 with street-dancing in honor of Sto. Nino, or the child Jesus. The celebration is a commemoration of the acceptance of Christianity in Cebu. The dancers included children who were wearing colorful costumes and amazed the packed crowd with their dance moves synchronized to the beat of the drums and trumpets. Filipino and foreigner travelers enjoyed the festivity, which is an indicator that Sinulog does attract tourism.

With the power of digital technology, promotion of Philippine tourism is more efficient through the internet, utilizing the Social Media such as Facebook and Twitter as platforms for marketing campaigns of festivals like the Sinulog. The level of reach is high, connecting millions of users in the worldwide web. Out of the 29.7 million internet users in the Philippines, 91.5% are Facebook users which is equivalent to 150 billion page views, and 16.3% are Twitter users equivalent to 56 million page views.

The digital revolution makes the Sinulog experience more exciting for people with the launch of Snapp'd, the first Online On-ground Social Media Platform. Snapp'd is a photo kiosk with instant photo upload to Facebook and a chance to win a cash prize. In partnership with Sun Cellular, everyone was invited to GET SNAPP'D WITH SUN CELLULAR! Snapp’d was spotted in 6 high-traffic sites from January 13-15, 2012: McDonald’s Fuente, McDonald’s IT Park, McDonald’s Jones, Greenwich Mango, Robinsons Fuente and Crown Regency Hotel.

The Snapp’d photo kiosk is a Social Media Platform that allows advertisers to have online billboards on Facebook with customized and branded photo frames that people upload on their Facebook wall. Snapp’d is represented by Cebuano business owner, Mr. Bryan Yap, who proudly says that “the technology is an ingenuity from Cebu, with a group of Cebuanos as software developers, and this gives Filipinos a chance to shine in the information technology industry.” The instant photo upload to Facebook is just the beginning of a greater vision of integrated digital platform where advertisers have limitless possibilities to engage better and connect with consumers.

From a humble beginning of six sites, Snapp’d is envisioned to be present in major Philippine festivals and grow to hundreds of kiosks nationwide. Imagine the power of brand integration with two hundred kiosks nationwide, including social media, mobile application, website link, discount and promo redemption, and many more possibilities. The application in the digital world is limitless. Snapp’d is exclusively marketed by ActivAsia, Inc., the recognized integrated marketing agency based in Manila.

The Snapp'd Launch was graced with the presence of Cebuano Bloggers and Online Columnists in McDonald’s IT Park: Orly Cajegas from Cebu Daily , Divine Ngujo from The Freeman, Andrew and Reymond Buenaviaje from ILuvCebu, Ethelbert Ouano from Cebu Bloggers Society and of course, our very own Norman Ymbong from iSTORYA.NET.