Event Geek

“ALAM mo ba ang pinakamasarap na feeling sa buong mundo? Ano? Ang maka-feeling ka!” Sounds corny, right? But this Taglish phrase emerged as the most favorite pickup line in the “GT & Me Mushy Days” online Valentine contest.

Out of the numerous entries received by GT & Me -- the official Facebook fan page of Cebu-based GT Cosmetics Manufacturing, the above pickup line posted by Jo Ablaza got the most “likes” at 188 before the 12-midnight deadline last Feb. 14.

Aside from best pickup line contest, the “GT & Me Mushy Days” Valentine promo also included a photo contest, “Love is...” complete-the-phrase contest, and “My Love Story” contest – all of which drew a significant number of entries that increased GT & Me’s fan base by two-thirds or roughly 67%.

The “Love is patient, love is kind” cliché still proves to be the most popular among GT fans as it garnered 239 likes for “Love is...” complete-the-phrase entrant Rommel Apo, who works at the Division of City Schools in Quezon City.

Polinda Usero of Project 8, Quezon City, turned in the best love story with 315 likes, while April Obial also of Quezon City submitted the second best with 158 likes.

“It started with a simple dinner at Antipolo (overlooking resto) Padis point. It was really a simple and ordinary date, not unusual or whatsoever. Until we get into the car, when my bf (now my hubby) opened the door, I found a red rose resting neatly on my seat. I was surprised and amazed since it was my first time to receive a rose from him, but it didn’t stop there. Upon smelling the red rose, there’s a ring inside the petals...and the rest is history,” Usero narrated her winning love story which also appealed to GT & Me admins.

The poster of photos with her husband during their baby’s first birthday celebration notched 370 likes for Gladys Salvador, who goes by the name of Terese Last on Facebook and is from North Fairview in Quezon City.

All winners received packages of GT products, chocolates, and roses, while consolation prizes of GT products were rewarded to the first 20 entries for the photo contest, which drew the most number of participants.

The first 20 who posted their photo entries were Kenneth John Pacquibot (aka Neket Burbe) of Mandaue City, Roselyn Talens Balingit of Nueva Ecija, Gessa Marie Bartolaba Condiño, April Obial, Rachelle Ferrer (aka Maam Rache) of Quezon City, Jacklyn Ferrer of Quezon City, Naty Obial – Quezon City, Ajonri Arevalo Ferrer - Quezon City, Dexter Rose Fernando (aka L de LionCourt) of Nueva Ecija, Miriam Francisca Ferrer – Quezon City, Angelyn Galinggana – Quezon City, Filamay Asturias Beboso of Bacolod City, Jhenice Balingit of Nueva Ecija, Debbie Barbon-Joplo of Negros Occidental, Nino Cataluña, Cris Ann Ban Jaen, Magdalena Joplo, Ma. Elizabeth Jimenez Gamboa, Gretzel Dioneo-Gocon of Bacolod City, and Reysan Pendon Depasucat of Negros Occidental.

GT products – namely the carrot soap, papaya soap, bleaching organic soap, night cream, day cream, sunblock, and toner – are available in all SM supermarkets, Watsons health and beauty shops, Robinsons departments stores, and in all leading department stores, malls, and supermarkets nationwide.

GT Cosmetics, which will also be available in all leading pharmacies and drug stores across the country in the very near future, was founded in 1994 as a home-based family business in the town of Liloan, 18 kilometers north of Cebu City.

GT Cosmetics Manufacturing has introduced online this month four young and pretty Cebuanas and three male models who consider possessing beautiful skin important not only in modelling but also as young confident professionals.

The seven – Alyssa Neri, Nicole Dionela, Maricris Hetutua, Edzel Peggy, Rhamric Simpron, Mark Calog and Raymund Negapatan – joined a GT Cosmetics photo shoot at Club Ultima last June 2011, said Doris Mongaya, managing director of PRworks Inc.

The photographs of the seven models were officially posted at the Facebook page “GT & Me” at www.facebook.com/gtcosmetics and at PRworks Online at www.prworks.wordpress.com.

This is one way for GT Cosmetics to depict what happens in real life especially with today’s generations who often take skincare for granted. GT Cosmetics is here to remind young people that they are here to help them out with their skin needs through nature’s way, said GT Cosmetics Manufacturing owner Engr. Leonora Salvane.

PRworks Inc. that handles publicity for the Cebu-based GT Cosmetics Manufacturing for four years now arranged the photo shoot in an effort to look for models who found using GT Cosmetics as nature’s way to beautiful skin.

“GT Carrot soap is better than the soap I used to have. It doesn’t make my skin dry or flaky. I am very happy with my GT Carrot soap,” said Alyssa Neri, currently on her senior year as a Nursing student in UC-Banilad.

Although Neri has been very much active in their school events organized by their department, she never fails to take care of her skin with her GT Carrot soap that she uses to maintain a flawless skin.

A sophomore student of Marketing in USC, Nicole Dionela dreams of having her own business after she graduates. Often mistaken for having a foreign blood, Nicole Dionela is pure Filipina and a true-blue Cebuana.

“I really recommend GT Cosmetics to my family and even classmates. As a model, having my skin well taken care of is essential to me. I don’t have to worry if I get exposed under the sun because before I leave home for school, I have my Gandang Tunay regimen done,” Dionela said.

As a volunteer nurse in a local hospital, Maricris Hetutua loves going to the beach with her family and friends as a way of relieving stress. “When I learned that GT Cosmetics has different products that can help different skin needs, I was very much interested with the GT Sunblock SPF 15. It’s just what I need everytime I go out plus it isn’t difficult to apply on my skin.”

Edzel Peggy, a freshman HRM student at SouthWestern University, uses GT Carrot soap for her young skin to maintain its fresh-looking while it removes dark spots on her face. “As I’m in my teenage years, I often go through having pimples on my face, but GT Carrot soap is effective in removing them leaving no scars.”

But who says skin care is a highly feminine routine only? Grooming too is very essential to men. Males deserve to have their skin taken cared of and can definitely maintain a nightly or daily regimen.

Rhamric Simpron, a dance choreographer and manager of D2K dance crew and an agent in JP Morgan Chase & Co. have said, “GT Cosmetics is really effective. Thanks so much! When I started using it on the first 2 days, I can already see the difference. My skin (face) has tightened. I am using Clarifiance, Bleaching Cream and Carrot soap. My face has reddened a bit like I am mestizo. Haha! It is really amazing because I am getting the skin that I need!"

Mark Calog, a call center agent in Convergys, agrees with Simpron. He too uses the GT Carrot soap and Clarifiance regularly especially that he needs to make his skin healthy even if he works on a graveyard shift. “I really recommend GT products to my work colleagues!”

Raymund Negapatan, a cabin crew at Air Atlanta Icelandic, uses GT Cosmetics to maintain the beauty of his skin, “I love GT Cosmetics coz it’s all natural-based that I don’t need to worry for any side effects. Thank you so much, GT!”

Through the GT Cosmetics online community, “GT & Me”, these image models will be visible to reach out to other GT users online in any part of the world. They will stand as inspiration that truly Gandang Tunay brings out the best in each one of us. Photos of our image models are now ready for viewing on “GT & Me”

Expansion beyond the shores of Cebu to other Visayan Islands and Mindanao for a local cosmetics maker could not have been as fast this year without a boost from social media particularly bloggers based in Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Iloilo Cities.

This developed after the Cebu-based GT Cosmetics began expanding its market for products like its carrot and whitening soaps this year with a series of media launches in key urban centers in the Visayas and Mindanao. GT Cosmetics products are now displayed in practically all major malls in the Visayas and Mindanao and convenience stores like Watsons.

“Aside from members from the local media like print, radio and television, we also extended invitations to bloggers. Not only was I surprised by the interest of the blogging community, the impact of write-ups in blogs continues to astound me,” said Engineer Leonora Salvane, owner of GT Cosmetics.

She noted that even after the initial excitement weeks after each launch, the articles posted in the online versions of local media outlets and the blogs continues to stimulate interest and interaction online.

“The articles even got posted and commented in a Las Vegas online paper and product review websites,” an excited Salvane said. Because of this, the company now intends to develop this presence in social media especially with its goal of expanding its present foothold in Metro Manila and Luzon.

For GT Cosmetics, this foray into social media has a lot of promise considering that the Philippines, which has a population of some 99 million Filipinos, already has 29.7 million Internet users.

Internet World Stats recorded that the number of Internet users in the Philippines has grown tremendously from a mere 2.6 percent of the population in 2000 or a growth of 27.1 percent in ten years.

Doris Mongaya, PRworks Inc. managing director, noted that in 2009, Filipino Internet users numbered 24 million. This means there was tremendous growth of some 5.7 million Filipino users by July 2010.

Growing communities of bloggers, people who put up and regularly write in web logs popularly called blogs, are making their presence felt online and offline.
Concentrated in Visayas and Mindanao urban centers, many bloggers are attending and writing about community developments including their experiences with GT Cosmetics products, said Mongaya.

PRworks, which has been helping GT Cosmetics in its expansion plans, is now laying down preparations for broadening the online presence of the cosmetics maker especially in popular social media platforms such as Facebook.

“We, however, recognize that building successful online communities for GT Cosmetics is earned and a result of hard work. The recognition and support online are a result of experiences with quality products. It is largely free but must be won through word-of-mouth online,” said Mongaya whose agency has also made its mark online.

The PRworks Online blog (prworks.wordpress.com), which now has over 12,000 unique views, has earned for the agency choice clients like NEO Laptops, Toshiba and a cell phone manufacturer.

“We believe our experiences with marketing online will further boost GT Cosmetics as its looks forward to markets beyond Visayas and Mindanao,” Mongaya said.