DITO Telecommunity will not tap A-list actors, K-pop stars as brand ambassadors

DITO Telecommunity is not keen on tapping A-list celebrities and K-pop stars to promote its services, an official said.

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DITO says the public will be its "best endorsers"

Unlike dominant carriers Globe Telecom and PLDT, DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said the group will not invest in big names as brand ambassadors.

We are not spending millions of millions of pesos to get big names. We'd better spend our money on towers and consumers, Tamano said during a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

Globe has South Korean girl group BLACKPINK, while PLDT boasts A-list actors Hyun Bin, Son Hye-jin, Park Seo-Jun.

Just last month, PLDT's wireless unit Smart Communications announced its newest endorser, Grammy-nominated Korean boy band BTS.

While it is true that the existing telcos have recently started taking advantage of the Korean wave to grow their respective subscriber base, their focus remains on network buildup.

PLDT and Globe have been shelling out billions of pesos every year to upgrade their networks. For 2021, Globe is set to invest up to PHP 70 billion, while PLDT is looking to spend as much as PHP 92 billion.

Tamano stressed that for DITO, the Filipino masses will be its "best endorsers".

The group, backed by Davao's Dennis Uy and China Telecommunications, is now fully set for its commercial launch on March 8, initially tapping the Mindanao market, in honor of its parent company Mindanao Islamic Telephone (Mislatel).

For the first wave, Tamano said DITO Telecommunity will first deploy its services in Mindanao "to serve the underserved areas" on the island. Select areas in the Visayas will also get to experience the group's telco services, noting Cebu as one.

But Tamano stressed that by mid-2021, DITO Telecommunity will be "available throughout the country.

The government also assigned DITO with the following prefixes for their customers: 0991, 0992, 0993, 0994; and 0898, 0897, 0896, and 0895.

See also: DITO Telecommunity goes official, now available in VisMin

Source: GMA News Online