BDO Unibank, the country’s largest universal bank, recently recognized the Filipino digital content creators, bloggers and vloggers alike, who champion financial education and inclusion in the 2023 BDO Buddies Awards held on April 28 at The Podium’s Al Fresco, Roof Deck Gardens.
“We are proud to acknowledge BDO’s brand partners for their valuable contributions to our advocacy of financial inclusion,” said BDO Unibank SAVP for Consumer Communications & Media Relations Honey M. Reyes during the event.
“Their efforts have helped promote financial literacy, encouraged responsible financial behavior, and highlighted the importance of saving and investing to their followers and online communities.”
Apart from BDO’s digital media partners from all over the country — Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — the winners of the digital content creation contest (digital article and video formats), which ran from March 6 to April 14, were also recognized and awarded.
This year’s theme for the competition focuses on how BDO finds ways to expand its reach to Filipinos through technology and innovation. Entries were judged based on relevance, creativity, and impact.
Here is the complete list of winners of the 2023 BDO Buddies Awards:
The Digital Dynamo of the Year award, which recognizes the content creators’ efforts in the widespread sharing of BDO’s messages and advocacies through their posts’ engagements, was won this year by Reylen Castro (Made It Through Mum, 1st Place), Maria Sigrid Lo (Lovingly Mama, 2nd Place), and Laida Angelique Enero (Mrs. Enero Diaries, 3rd Place).
The Storyteller of the Year award, for the creators who transform news releases into fresh and engaging content that appears organic on their social media pages and platforms was given to Irwin Allen Rivera (Swirling Over Coffee, 1st Place), Berlin Maynigo (Momi Berlin, 2nd Place), and Philip Andrew Mayol (Cebu Finest, 3rd Place)
The Influencer of the Year award, as determined based on the content creators’ strategy and effectiveness in generating consistent interest and engagement for BDO-related posts, was awarded to Berlin Maynigo (Momi Berlin, 1st Place), Maria Sigrid Lo (Lovingly Mama, 2nd Place), and Ma. Lyzette Bongon (Life with Lhyzie, 3rd Place).
The Brand Guardian of the Year, or the content creator who displayed initiative, resourcefulness, and zeal in supporting BDO’s stories and advocacies, was Richard Mamuyac (The Newsmakers).
Also, five (5) Content Creation Contest Winners for Best Article Story and Best Video categories — were also given awards, and they were Berlin Maynigo (Best Story – Luzon), Ramil Hinolan (Best Story – Visayas), Rubelito Gunayan (Best Story – Mindanao), Richard Mamuyac (Best Video – Luzon), and Maria Sigrid Lo (Best Video – Visayas).
Meanwhile, Marc Kenneth Marquez of signed MARCO won the night’s most significant award and was named BDO Buddy of the Year.
BDO’s Ms. Reyes thanked all the participants and congratulated the winners for their exceptional work. She also emphasized the importance of financial literacy, especially in the current economic landscape, and how the banking industry, as a whole, can help provide financial opportunities to the unserved and underserved sectors of the country. She adds that BDO will continuously innovate and expand to make banking more accessible to more Filipinos.
BDO Buddies Awards (from BDO Blogger Awards last year and now in its second year) is an annual award-giving initiative of BDO Unibank, Inc. to recognize bloggers, vloggers, and digital content creators who have given their creativity, time, and energy in helping the lives of residents in far-flung communities through valuable information they share online via their engaging content.
BDO continues to uphold its unwavering dedication to promoting financial inclusion in the Philippines. The bank takes great pride in acknowledging and celebrating content creators who share this vision and actively contribute to Filipinos’ financial education. BDO’s “We Find Ways” mindset drives its commitment to making banking accessible to all Filipinos while continuing to champion a more inclusive financial industry.
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We are the BDO Buddy of the Year!
To BDO, thank you very much!
I started signed MARCO more than five years ago with no big expectations. It was supposed to be just a simple journal for my financial literacy journey. I never thought blogging would be this fulfilling and rewarding to the point of being recognized as a personal finance blogger-influencer and BDO Buddy of the Year.
I don’t know where to draw the line between passion and obsession, but I can spend 24 hours straight or more just writing articles and tweaking the design and layout of my website. I usually only stop once I get the drafts in good directions and the web pages into something that satisfies my visual taste. I feel frustrated whenever I get them unfinished or put aside for other things.
Another thing, I don’t usually hard sell my content, even to my friends and colleagues. Only a few in my social circle know that I blog. After all, personal finance is something personal. I do much work with search engine optimization (SEO) instead. It’s not on social media that people usually find me rather on Google Search with the top ranking and insightful personal finance articles that lead to awareness and meaningful discussions. From there, I have gained readers, real readers.
In over half a decade of blogging, I have worked with various big brands and business organizations. Working with BDO, in particular, through Comm&Sense – ROAR Agile Communicators, has been a game changer with opportunities that have made personal finance blogging more rewarding than ever. Iba mag-alaga ng partners si BDO!
Then, the call for digital content creation contest entries came in. I did not have any second thoughts. I emailed my entry in three days, and in a month, I almost forgot I had it.
Surprised and flattered, I received an email (a follow-up to the invitation) confirming that I was among the awardees. I was clueless, and I only expected a second or third-place award. As I reviewed my entry and tried to find clues, I realized it wasn’t that bad after all.
BDO — and a Quadrilogy of Winning Gameplans for a Healthier Financial Life is an article written from a millennial’s perspective and dedicated to all millennials, the last generation to enjoy childhood with traditional street games. As I put it into words, “BDO’s tagline, ‘We find ways’ means a lot. When we millennials were just kids, we would always find ways to win the traditional and street games, and now that we’re adults, to win financial life.”
Like most first-timers, I was anxious about attending the awards night. It might be an understatement as I also experienced inconvenience while commuting to the Podium Mall, the event venue. The cab I booked on Grab had an emergency stopover at a gasoline station because of a flat tire, then got stuck in heavy traffic. I was 30 minutes late, which I wasn’t used to, but it tested my trust and patience for another time, the same values I have developed through blogging.
To all the personal finance bloggers and vloggers, congratulations! Yes, the next months and years will be very tough and challenging with AI technology integrations in digital content creation, but as I said in my higgledy-piggledy acceptance speech, what will make us stand out and champion our financial education and inclusion advocacies is ‘our blogging and vlogging from our experience and our heart.’
Once again, to BDO Unibank, Comm&Sense – ROAR Agile Communicators, and to the digital content creators community, thank you very much for recognizing signed MARCO as the BDO Buddy of the Year. Mabuhay!
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