Building Brands that Connect Through the Heart
After climbing to the top of the marketing world with Jollibee, TNT, and Unilever, what’s next for Francis Flores? Now he wants to take the PICKUP COFFEE brand global.
In a London airport, waiting for a delayed flight, Francis Flores encountered his a-ha moment. It would serve as his guiding principle for his entire career in marketing, one that would lead him from a career in Unilever to take the Jollibee brand to worldwide fame. Flores asked himself, “How can I give back as a marketer?” From that day forward, Flores devoted his considerable marketing gifts to helping local brands go global.
From a storied 10-year career in Unilever, Francis Flores would spend 15 years in Jollibee, rising to the rank of Global Brand Chief Marketing Officer. More importantly, he would lead a period of Jollibee marketing marked by fierce, emotional brand loyalty and Filipino pride. He would also lead another quintessentially Filipino brand, TNT, during his years with PLDT-SMART. Yet no matter where Flores went, the common thread in his branding work was clear: global ambition for local brands that connected with Filipinos through the heart.
Today, Francis Flores is in what he calls his “startup era.” As the President and CEO of PICKUP COFFEE, he leads another local brand on the cusp of making a breakthrough.
The Business Manual sat down with Francis Flores to talk about marketing, over a cup of coffee naturally, and his unique approach to branding. Bringing almost 30 years of experience at the highest levels of marketing, Flores brings light to topics such as data and AI. In our all-too-brief conversation he also provides valuable insights on how brands connect to customers.
A Personal Mission and a Marketing Opportunity
To better understand Francis Flores’ contribution to marketing and how he brought beloved local brands to the global stage, we have to return to Flores’ a-ha moment.
During that time, after 10 years in Unilever, he was brand director for one of their brands for the whole of Asia. This gave Flores a unique perspective. He says, “I realized that there’s a direct correlation between the growth, or the economy, of a country to the number of local brands that it has produced that has gone global.”
At the same time, he spotted an opportunity beyond the altruism. Flores says, “And that’s when I realized that, hey, how come we don’t have as much local brands that have traveled globally? But on the other hand, at least in my experience with Unilever, Filipinos are probably one of the best Asian marketeers… It’s either there’s a gap or there’s something not right.”
Ever the consummate marketer, Flores did a scan of local brands and came up with a handful of names that were present on the international stage. On his list were the likes of San Miguel, SM, and Jollibee. A few weeks later, Francis Flores got a call from Jollibee.
Progress Over Perfection
As part of Jollibee Foods Corporation, Francis Flores’ mission was clear. Yet the question begs to be asked: How does one lead a local brand to international fame?
In the case of Jollibee, Flores admits that the company already had a dedication to world-class standards. He says, “So when I came in, it wasn’t much of an adjustment because there were already world-class or multinational ways of working in place, plus [I had] my background in sales.”
Even then, much work had to be done. Flores explains, “Of course, the systems are not perfect. And embracing that philosophy to always go for progress over perfection, I think that was something I learned working with local companies. That unlike multinationals who probably perfected the systems, when you go there, the systems are not perfect. So you have to embrace the fact that that’s reality, [to] always go for progress over perfection.”
Kwentong Jollibee: Connecting through the Heart
It wasn’t long until Flores’ campaigns with Jollibee began connecting with the fast food giant’s customers.
“I’ve learned that through my mentors in Unilever,” Flores says, “that it’s not just about connecting through the mind, but primarily connecting through the heart.”
Even though he is steeped in marketing, in communicating benefits, in maximizing reach, for Flores, the core of marketing is emotional.
“When you connect with your consumers, you can’t just connect with them on an intellectual level,” he continues. “As human beings, especially Asians and Filipinos, actually we’re influenced a lot by our emotions, right? And when you fall in love with a person, you don’t just fall in love with the way the person thinks or what he says he can do for you. You actually fall in love with how the person would make you feel, right? And it’s the same thing for brand building.”
Family Brand, Filipino Values
At Jollibee, Francis Flores was tasked to bring back those campaigns of Jollibee that were a part of pop culture, the ads that “talagang tumatak sa puso at utak ng mga Pilipino [made a mark on the hearts and minds of Filipinos],” Flores explains. “I remember I talked to one of the owners… Sabi niya, Frans, nawala yung connection natin. [He said, Frans, we’ve lost our connection.]”
Contrary to the owner’s perception, Flores believed that the connection was still there.
“And if you look at Jollibee… what made them connect, one, was, this is a very strong family brand, anchored on family values. All those memorable campaigns are all anchored on family values.
“Number two, these are all real stories that are relatable. And Jollibee, being a mega brand, a global brand, has so much stories, diba?”
At the time, competitor McDonald’s was running an immensely successful campaign with the celebrity loveteam Aldub. Flores countered this fantasy romance with real love stories of Filipinos launched on Valentine’s Day.
“I said, we’ll come up with real love stories of the Filipinos with Jollibee. And that’s why we even launched it on Valentine’s Day… I realized we don’t need to come up with fantasy stories. There are a lot of real stories out there. Kwentong Jollibee, kung paano naging parte ng buhay nila yung Jollibee. [Jollibee Stories, how Jollibee became a part of their lives.]”
Kwentong Jollibee was born, a campaign that would return year after year and define the Jollibee brand for a generation.
A Deeper Brand Purpose
Central to Francis Flores’ marketing strategy was what he calls a deeper brand purpose. While he concedes that marketing has measurable goals or key performance indicators, he believes that human connection involves a purpose beyond business.
“So especially for the Kwentong Jollibee campaign,” he says, “ I think that’s something as a marketer, you need to build, to have powerful campaigns that would connect to your market. It first has to start with your team. As a team, dapat meron kayong [you need to have] what I call a purpose that’s consistent with the brand purpose.
“But you also have to have a deeper purpose beyond business.”
He further explains this purpose, saying, “And at that time, our purpose was, of course, we want to sell Chicken Joy, our core products in the campaign. But also our purpose is to deliver these powerful messages which are anchored on Filipino family values about love and to spread that message of love and hopefully implant them in the hearts of those who would see it…”
For Flores, this deeper purpose becomes the mission of everyone involved in creating the brand: the marketing team, related functions in the company and the brand’s creative agencies.
“That powerful purpose fuels great work,” he says, “fuels creativity, fuels the passion to go beyond what’s required of them to do their job. I think that’s one lesson I would love to share.”
The Power of Data and Technology
After his brand-defining 15 years in Jollibee, Francis Flores moved to PLDT-SMART where he handled the TNT brand. His reason, he confesses, was to learn about data and tech.
Speaking about technology, Flores emphasizes how dominant it has become in marketing today. He says, “Right now, it’s not anymore an option. Should we improve on our tech capability? Should we improve on our data analytics? Actually, if you don’t have it, most probably you’re going to lose. It’s a given now.
“AI is a tool to harness the data that’s readily available right now. It won’t replace humans. Because at the end of the day, the judgment and the decisions will come from us.
“But it’s a powerful tool that you also need to harness. It’s there. Otherwise, someone else would do it and we will leave you behind.”
With TNT, Flores was faced with a familiar brief. TNT, after all, had a similar brand equity to Jollibee.
“If you look at the brand equity of TNT, it stands for two things,” Flores explains. “It’s very strong on affordability and happiness. And I told the board, there’s only one other local brand, exactly the same… Jollibee is known to be affordable and happiness. Bida ang saya, right? [Happiness is the hero, right?] So, apply the same principle, especially for telco, which is a utility. When you sell data, connectivity, more or less the products are the same.
“You differentiate based on how you make your target market feel. For SMART, it’s more of how do you make them feel empowered? How do you make them feel cooler than the other brands? How do you make them feel smarter? So, we have applied that. But the biggest learning that I got from telco, which I’m very grateful, is now you have data.”
Together, data and a human, emotional connection can combine to create campaigns that make a difference.
“Imagine how powerful that is,” Flores says. “You have data, and you also know insights, emotions that drive consumers. Combining them can even be more powerful.”
Customer Experience Obsession
Despite the importance Flores puts on data and technology, he insists that some marketing principles will always be present. One such principle is what he calls CXO–Customer Experience Obsession–or a constant connection with customers.
Flores says, “Regardless of technology, of generation, that core principle, I’m sure even from previous generations of marketing, it’s always there. You won’t lose it.
“The one who knows the brand or the company that knows their customer the most by harnessing data, but at the same time, not just data, but physical interactions with your customer would win the game.”
Entrepreneurial ‘Startup Era’
Today, Francis Flores is in what he calls his startup era. After SMART, he put up his own marketing consulting firm whose core purpose was to build brands that build the nation. One of his first clients was PICKUP COFFEE, and eventually, after less than a year of consulting, he became the startup’s President and CEO.
Flores recalls, “You would think, wow, [PICKUP COFFEE] has the potential to go global. And then I read an article interviewing one of the founders, Diego Lorenzo. And I remember there was a part that he specifically said that their dream is to be the next Jollibee, a Filipino brand that can go global.”
For PICKUP COFFEE, this is no mere boast. The coffee chain has 290 stores across the country and is adding 15 to 20 stores every month, placing their store count well over 300 by the end of 2024.
“I’ve never seen an F&B company has managed to open 300 stores in two years,” Flores says. “And the ambition next year is even more ambitious. So it’s really based on the data that we have right now. And right now, at PICKUP COFFEE, we apply the science of brand management.”
While Flores is no longer directly responsible for marketing–a role he credits Global Chief Brand Officer Bien Lee for–his past experiences of creating brands that connect with consumers and working with data have come together serendipitously at PICKUP COFFEE.
Flores’ excitement about the PICKUP COFFEE brand is clearly visible. He says, “Now we’re very serious about [the PICKUP COFFEE digital app]. Because not only will it be a brand marketing platform, but more importantly, it’s also a key channel for us and a key source of data. And in this age, he who has the data and can harness the data. We always have a competitive advantage.”
Text VINCENT SALES
Photography KIERAN PUNAY of KLIQ INC.
Videography GELLIN IVY DE LEON
Art Direction ANDREA SANGCO
Sittings Editor RJ LEDESMA
Shoot Coordination TONI MENDOZAShot on Location PICKUP COFFEE, ZUELLIG BLDG., MAKATI
