The Mike Abundo Effect

Win a Date with Alodia via Mobile Downloads!

Mike Abundo — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:27:47 +0000

Global investment firm Morgan Stanley predicts that, within five years, more people will access the Web through phones than through PCs. The Japanese are ten years ahead of the curve: they’ve been accessing the Internet mostly through their phones since 2005.

Cosplayers are performance artists, and most cosplayers are Internet geeks. As artists, they naturally seek out new ways to reach their audiences. As geeks, they’re willing to play with all sorts of digital media. That’s why it makes perfect sense for Filipina cosplay queen and Net idol Alodia Gosiengfiao to launch her own mobile download service.

The Mobile Future of Cosplay Content

Alodia has partnered with mobile content developer Logia Group to provide mobile downloads for her fans. The service currently offers wallpapers and screensavers made from Alodia’s photos and artworks. Other goodies coming down the pipeline include Alodia ringtones, videos, updates, cosplay tips, jigsaw puzzles, calendars, and customizable avatars.

Yes, you read that right: Alodia ringtones. You might get to hear Alodia say “Konnichiwa!” in a cute voice whenever you receive a call.

Israel-based Logia Group, which operates in ten countries across three continents, is not new to the mobile entertainment business. “We are developing applications for Alodia, such as calendars and different games, similar to what the company has made for our other exclusive partners such as Pamela Anderson and Sports Illustrated,” says Logia Group Content Manager Meng Morales. Alodia’s a global microbrand, so Logia Group eventually plans to release her content in other countries where it operates.

Logia Group says all Alodia apps will be available for iPhone, Android, and Symbian platforms. For now, the service is only available to Smart Communications subscribers. Text ALODIA to 2861 or visit playground.mail-bit.com on your mobile phone. The service is coming soon for Globe Telecom and Sun Cellular subscribers, as well.

People hoping to have Alodia grace their phones dressed as G.I. Joe’s Baroness, however, will be a tad disappointed. Due to licensing concerns, only Alodia’s original character cosplays will appear on the service. Considering how well Alodia pulls off original character cosplays, however, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the fans.

After all, every download comes with a bit of a bonus: a chance to date Alodia.

Dinner and Arcades

As an introductory promo, every wallpaper and screensaver download from July 15 to August 15 gives you one raffle ticket for an all-expense-paid dinner-and-arcade date with Alodia. Not only will you support the mobile future of cosplay content, you’ll also get a chance to hit the arcades with the Philippines’ most popular gamer babe.

Once you’re on that date, you can congratulate Alodia on becoming the first Filipina cosplayer to launch her own mobile download service. Logia Group was kind enough to provide the following sample images during the launch of the service. This is the kind of mobile eye candy we can expect from Alodia, and perhaps the kind of mobile eye candy we can expect from other Filipina cosplayers in the future.

Alodia is one of the Philippines’ first organic Net idols, a Philippine Blog Awards nominee with problogging experience and over 80,000 Facebook fans. She’s known to cause traffic spikes on the wired Web. Now we’ll see what she can do on the wireless Web.

Related Posts:

Filipina Cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao Interviewed on Channel News Asia

Mike Abundo — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:28:01 +0000

Filipina cosplay queen Alodia Gosiengfiao recently performed at the Singapore Mascot Parade, dressed as the pink-haired fashion designer Miwako Sakurada from the romantic Japanese anime series Paradise Kiss. After her performance, Alodia appeared on Channel News Asia’s Primetime Morning – in full costume, of course. Alodia talked about her passion for cosplay, the continuing growth of cosplay, and what it takes to succeed as a cosplayer.

Brand Ambassador

A full-time professional cosplayer, twenty-two-year-old Alodia currently serves as a brand ambassador for Animax Asia, Southeast Asia’s leading anime cable network. That’s why Alodia was accompanied during her interview by Animax Asia General Manager Gregory Ho, who shared industry insights on the anime culture that fuels much of cosplay.

Rarely do I meet a media executive who actually understands his audience at a deep level. Greg is one such executive. Seth Godin would be proud: this guy knows how to find his own otaku.

It’s that sort of industry insight which led Greg to hire Alodia. Just one month into her job as brand ambassador, Alodia has dramatically increased viewer engagement for Animax, both online and offline. Thanks to her growing legions of online fans across East and Southeast Asia, she’s helped increase traffic to the Animax Web site by 17%.

Performance Artist

Cosplay is the performance art for the age of the geeky mashup. As evidenced by the colorful costumes at many of their traditional festivals, Filipinos bear a longstanding cultural affinity for performance arts. Combine that with the rise of geek culture in the Philippines, and Filipino cosplayers like Alodia are perfectly positioned to become global luminaries in this emergent art.

Related Posts:

Filipina Cosplayers Alodia and Ashley Perform at the Singapore Mascot Parade

Mike Abundo — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:43:16 +0000

Filipina cosplay sisters Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao charmed the crowds at the Singapore Mascot Parade, where they were invited as special guest judges for the cosplay competition. Alodia and Ashley cosplayed characters from the romantic anime series Paradise Kiss.

Alodia cosplayed the cute and bubbly Miwako Sakurada, a character well-suited to Alodia’s imaginative mind. Younger sister Ashley cosplayed the charmingly pensive Yukari “Caroline” Hayasaka, a character well-suited to Ashley’s analytical mind. The contrast between the sisters’ personalities creates quite a dynamic duo, a duo that’s enthralled geek audiences since their first breakthrough cosplay performance in 2003.

In addition to judging the cosplay competition at the Mascot Parade, Alodia and Ashley also performed two songs on stage: Lonely in Gorgeous from Paradise Kiss, and Real Emotion from the hit Japanese roleplaying game Final Fantasy X-2. Longtime fans of the sisters will note the significance of their second song choice: their first breakthrough cosplay characters were from Final Fantasy X-2. Real gamers never forget the games that shaped their lives.

Cosplay Versatility

The last time the sisters cosplayed in Singapore, they interpreted a supernatural fight scene from the action-adventure anime series Witchblade, complete with huge weapons and tight outfits. The stark contrast between a Witchblade fight and Paradise Kiss song speaks volumes about the sisters’ versatility as anime cosplayers.

That versatility should work well for Animax Asia, the anime cable network which recently hired the sisters as brand ambassadors. Animax presents diverse anime lineups year after year, across multiple genres. With the versatility they’ve shown so far, Alodia and Ashley could credibly cosplay characters from almost every major Animax anime. Given Alodia’s influence throughout East and Southeast Asia, Animax viewers will happily check out any anime characters she cosplays with Ashley.

Engagement, Online and Offline

The day before the Mascot Parade, Animax also hosted a meet-and-greet for the sisters’ Singaporean fans. One lucky fan even got to play ping-pong with the girls — in costume, at that.

Just over a year ago, Alodia held her first-ever fan event in Manila. Now the sisters delight anime fans in Singapore. Over at the Animax Facebook page, fans across Southeast Asia clamor for the sisters to visit their respective countries. Even the sisters’ fellow Filipinos are asking Animax to sponsor more meetups in the Philippines.

Alodia, an experienced problogger who creates Web-exclusive content for Animax, has already increased traffic to the Animax Web site by 17% just one month into the job. Clearly, that online engagement translates well into offline engagement.

(Animax meetup photos by Gordon Ho through a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.)

Related Posts:

Filipina Cosplayer Jia Gold Bustamante Wins Asia Cosplay Meet Championship

Mike Abundo — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:57:35 +0000

The first weekend of July 2010 was phenomenal for Filipina cosplayers. On Saturday, Filipina cosplay sisters Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao judged the cosplay competition at the Singapore Mascot Parade. On Sunday, Filipina cosplayer Jia Gold Bustamante won the cosplay competition at the Asia Cosplay Meet.

Jia, an avid anime and gaming fan, portrayed the armored gynoid KOS-MOS from the PlayStation 2 science-fiction role-playing game Xenosaga III. From the pretty lights on her costume to the stoic expression on her face, Jia cosplayed her character with stunning accuracy and flair. She’s one of those rare cosplayers who pays attention to every single detail of her portrayals.

Disciplined Hotshot

Whereas Alodia and Ashley are seven-year veterans of the cosplay industry who’ve performed in Singapore before, Jia only started cosplaying in November 2009. Her sudden and meteoritic rise to international fame is made even more remarkable by her young age: Jia is only thirteen. That makes her the youngest Filipina cosplayer to ever win an international competition. Jia’s previous cosplays include C.C. from the anime Code Geass, Rider from the anime Fate/stay night, and Kanu Unchou from the anime Ikki Tousen.

One of the reasons for Jia’s rapid rise to fame is her precociously clear understanding of cosplay as an artform. This teenage prodigy got into cosplay with all the rigorous discipline of a true performance artist. She watches what she eats, she keeps her skin pimple-free, and she focuses on her performance as much as she does on her costume. Perhaps some of that discipline comes from Jia’s training as a martial artist: she counts taekwondo as one of her passions. Jia’s passion as an artist also extends to photography and playing the piano.

Coincidentally, the youngest professional cosplayer in the Philippines, Chienna Filomeno, is also thirteen. Jia and Chienna represent a new generation of disciplined and determined young Filipina cosplayers. With her victory at the Asia Cosplay Meet, Jia proves that this new generation can bring Philippine cosplay to new heights of international acclaim.

(Photos by Jen Paredes.)

Related Posts:

Animax Feels the Alodia Effect

Mike Abundo — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:17:01 +0000

Animax Ani-Mates Stephanie Henares and Alodia Gosiengfiao

Among Filipino geek culture bloggers, Filipina cosplayer and Net idol Alodia Gosiengfiao has earned a reputation for causing traffic spikes whenever she’s featured in a blog post. Chalk it up to her enormous and loyal online fan base. Call it the Alodia Effect.

The Effect Quantified

Animax Asia is now feeling the Alodia Effect. The Southeast Asian anime cable network recently hired Alodia and Filipina VJ Stephanie Henares as their brand ambassadors — their “Ani-Mates”. The Ani-Mates’ duties include maintaining blogs and posting Web-exclusive videos for Animax. Thanks to the Ani-Mates initiative, Animax has experienced a whopping 17% jump in Web site traffic.

The Ani-Mates microsite attracted 48,000 page views, from 41,000 unique visits, within three weeks of the Ani-Mates’ introduction. That’s a sizable chunk of the 400,000 pageviews attracted by the Animax web site over the same period.

Until now, there were no public numbers to quantify Alodia’s ability to attract niche Web traffic. It was a phenomenon discussed only among small circles of Filipino geek culture bloggers and marketers. Now we have international statistics to prove that the Alodia Effect is indeed very, very real.

Key Lessons from Pretty Girls

Considering that anime fans often express their passions online, Animax is clearly on the right track with the Ani-Mates. “Engagement — it is the one word that we at Animax are really obsessed about,” says Animax Asia General Manager Gregory Ho. “The colorful personalities of Stephanie and Alodia really help take our interaction with viewers to the next level because they are so relatable to our fans and are seen simply as being just like one of them.”

Animax is doing two things right here, two things all marketers should be doing:

1. Hiring fans to engage fans: Anime fans are among the most passionate fans in the world. Anime endorsers need to credibly and authentically mirror that passion. Cosplay is one of the ultimate expressions of anime fan passion, and Alodia happens to be the Philippines’ cosplay queen.

Passion isn’t exclusive to anime fans. Somewhere in your market is a group of passionate fans just waiting for you to engage them. The best way to do that is through someone just like them. You need to hire fans to engage fans.

2. Creating content tailored for the Web: Most TV executives are happy to just dump TV content onto the Web like so much shovelware. They don’t recognize the fundamental differences between TV and the Web: real-time interactivity, social connectivity, and multimedia flexibility. The Web has no fourth wall, audience members listen to each other as much as they listen to you, and content doesn’t have to come in unlinked thirty-minute one-format chunks.

Greg understands those differences. That’s why he’s tasked Alodia and Steph to create content exclusively tailored for the Web. They even have a social network to support conversations around their content. Alodia, a Philippine Blog Awards nominee with over 40,000 Facebook fans, is particularly adept at creating content for the Web and fostering conversation around that content. She’s even got previous problogging experience with one of the Philippines’ largest media conglomerates.

Traditional Southeast Asian marketers are still accustomed to using inauthentic shills and recycled shovelware. Through the success of the Ani-Mates initiative, Animax Asia is showing everyone in the region a better way to engage today’s hyperconnected markets.

Related Posts:

Culture Crash Cosplay Cover

Mike Abundo — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:12:03 +0000

The cover of Culture Crash magazine issue fourteen, from 2004. Foreground, from left to right: Filipina cosplayers Alodia Gosiengfiao, Ashley Gosiengfiao, and Jerry Polence.

As cosplay continues to rise along with geek culture in the Philippines, here’s a bit of a blast from the past. This is the wraparound cover for the fourteenth issue of Culture Crash magazine, from 2004.

A Legacy of Fantasy

What’s so special about a geek culture magazine with a bunch of cosplayers on the cover? Well, this particular cover features three of the most influential Filipina cosplayers of the last decade: Alodia Gosiengfiao, Ashley Gosiengfiao, and Jerry Polence. This issue of Culture Crash marked the first time each of them ever appeared on a magazine cover in costume.

Alodia cosplayed the mischievous thief Rikku from the hit role-playing game Final Fantasy X-2. Alodia’s younger sister Ashley cosplayed Rikku’s teammate, the stalwart gunner Yuna. Both sisters portrayed the gun mage versions of their characters. Jerry cosplayed the ice goddess Shiva from Final Fantasy X. All three cosplayers first portrayed their respective characters at the 2003 C3 Convention in Manila.

The Continuing Future

Where are they now, you ask? Alodia and Ashley are famous across Japan and Southeast Asia, while Jerry continues to refine her art in the United States. Filipinos bear a strong cultural affinity for performance arts. As cosplay shapes up to become the performance art for the age of the geeky mashup, and as geek culture rises in the Philippines, Filipino cosplayers are well-positioned to become global luminaries in this ascendant artform.

Inspired by the ever-escalating struggles and successes of their elders, younger and younger Filipino cosplayers are pursuing their art with greater and greater zest. Alodia, arguably the most famous Filipina cosplayer in the world today, was sixteen when this Culture Crash cover came out. The youngest professional cosplayer in the Philippines today, Chienna Filomeno, is only thirteen. The youngest active cosplayer in the Philippines today, Louella Faller, is four. Mind you, four-year-old Louella wore three different costumes at ToyCon 2010. The little girl’s quite the trooper.

As cosplayers discover new ways to connect with their audiences and diversify their art, perhaps new generations of Filipino cosplayers will evangelize geek culture in ways their predecessors never even imagined.

Related Posts:

Filipina Cosplayers Alodia and Ashley to Perform at Singapore Mascot Parade

Mike Abundo — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 09:56:58 +0000

Filipina cosplay sisters Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao for the Singapore Mascot Parade.

Filipina cosplay sisters Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao have been dazzling Filipino cosplay audiences with their performances since 2003. Just last year, they performed at Anime Festival Asia in Singapore, winning the hearts of the crowd in the process.

The Return of the Sisters

Singaporean cosplay fans will once again have reason to rejoice next month. Alodia and Ashley are set to perform onstage at Orchard Cineleisure during Singapore’s Mascot Parade this July 3rd, from 7:00pm to 7:30pm GMT+8. Whereas the sisters performed for only four minutes at Anime Festival Asia last year, they’re set to perform for all of thirty minutes at the Mascot Parade.

The Mascot Parade also includes a costume competition. Alodia’s been judging cosplay competitions in her country for years; now she and Ashley are set to judge the Mascot Parade costume competition in Singapore. The sisters’ cosplay judging expertise is certainly in global demand; they’re already scheduled to judge a cosplay competition in Chile come October.

Pushing the Limits

Until now, cosplay has mostly been a shortform performance art. Most cosplay skits last three to five minutes at most, with the occasional song and dance numbers popping up at more elaborate performances. This time, Alodia and Ashley have been challenged to regale their audience on stage, in costume and in character, for half an hour. For theatrical reference, that’s about the length of a one-act play.

Cosplay is a young performance art that rose with along with geek culture. It didn’t even have a name until 1982, when Japanese journalist Nov Takahashi coined the term “cosplay”. Like any emergent artform, cosplay still has many barriers to break through. Throughout their cosplay careers, Alodia and Ashley have always pushed the limits traditionally imposed on their art. This time, the sisters will be pushing one of the toughest traditional limits of cosplay: time. If you’re in Singapore on the evening of July 3rd, prepare to watch one of the longest cosplay performances ever.

Related Posts:

Animax Introduces Anime VJs

Mike Abundo — Mon, 31 May 2010 14:00:35 +0000

Filipina cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao for Animax.

From making anime music videos to dressing up as anime characters, anime fans tend to engage very, very passionately with their favorite anime content. Animax Asia, the leading anime cable channel in Southeast Asia, recognizes that passion. That’s why they’ve embarked on a mission to further engage anime fans.

Stephanie Henares, Alodia Gosiengfiao, and Ashley Gosiengfiao for Animax.

Meet the Ani-Mates

Animax hails anime cosplay as one of the ultimate forms of anime fan engagement. They’ve been sponsoring cosplay competitions for years. In fact, they recently spotlighted cosplayers during the presentation of their 2010 lineup.

Now Animax takes their viewer engagement drive one step further, by recruiting two of Southeast Asia’s top cosplayers as their VJs and brand ambassadors — their “Ani-Mates”. Filipina cosplay sisters Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao will be providing introductions and commentary for Animax shows — in full costume, no less. Alodia herself is one of the most influential women in the Philippines; now her influence will reach forty million Animax viewers across Southeast Asia.

Alodia and Ashley will also be cosplaying anime characters at Animax events across the region. If the sisters’ latest performances in Singapore and the Philippines are any indication, Animax event attendees are in for a treat.

Joining the sisters as an Ani-Mate is someone new to most Animax viewers: Filipina VJ Stephanie Henares. Though not a lifelong anime enthusiast like Alodia and Ashley, Steph’s skill and experience as a mainstream content presenter should serve her well in her new capacity as an Animax VJ. Animax has recently been adding Korean live action series to its programming mix; Steph should be more than capable of adding spice to that content.

Filipina cosplayers Ashley and Alodia Gosiengfiao for Animax.

Otaku Empowerment

There was a very palpable sense of otaku validation and empowerment at the Ani-Mates press conference — a feeling of geek pride, if you will. After all, Alodia and Ashley are truly organic otaku darlings, two anime-watching videogame-playing blog-posting geek girls who’ve been cosplaying at anime and gaming conventions since 2002.

For decades, anime fans have actively shared their enthusiasm in wonderfully creative ways — fanart, cosplay, music videos, even character analysis essays. Now two anime fans get to share their enthusiasm right before the anime episodes themselves. Now two anime fans get to share their enthusiasm at events across Southeast Asia. Now two anime fans get to take their fandom all the way up to the content presentation level. Anime fans become anime ambassadors.

Cosplayers at Ani-Mates press conference.

Dawn of a New Age

As far as I know, Alodia and Ashley are the first cosplaying anime VJs in Southeast Asia. This is a win-win arrangement for everyone involved: Alodia and Ashley get to express their passion for anime, viewers get a cosplay-enhanced anime appreciation experience, and Animax gets more viewer engagement. If the cosplaying Ani-Mates succeed in engaging viewers, expect other networks to start recruiting cosplayers as anime presenters. Expect other networks to start doing what Animax is doing, what every business should be doing in today’s conversational markets: hire fans to engage fans.

Perhaps one of the guest cosplayers at the Ani-Mates press conference could be the next anime VJ. Perhaps, like Alodia and Ashley, one of them could take their anime fandom all the way up to the content presentation level. Of course, even if other networks start recruiting cosplayers as anime VJs, Alodia and Ashley will forever be known as pioneers — and Animax will always be known as the innovator. The Ani-Mates initiative marks the dawn of a new age for Southeast Asian cosplayers — an age of increased opportunities for anime industry participation.

(Photos by Richie dela Merced. Video by Jepoy Bengero.)

Related Posts:

Otacool 2 Filipina Cosplayers at ToyCon 2010

Mike Abundo — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:05:52 +0000

Filipina cosplayers Alodia Gosiengfiao, Ashley Gosiengfiao, Monique Dimanlig, and Jessica Ouano.

The Philippines boasts a strong otaku culture, an otaku culture that’s been growing ever since the Japanese super robot anime Voltes V enthralled a generation of Filipinos in the 1970s. With the growth of that otaku culture comes a strong cosplay culture, a cosplay culture that started going mainstream with breakthrough performances from Filipina cosplayers Alodia Gosiengfiao, Ashley Gosiengfiao, and Jerry Polence in 2003.

That’s why the Philippines is so well-represented in Otacool 2: Worldwide Cosplayers, the new cosplay photobook from top otaku culture blogger Danny Choo. Otacool 2 features not one, but four Filipina cosplayers. Cosplay industry veterans Alodia and Ashley are joined by upcoming talents Monique Dimanlig and Jessica Ouano.

All four of these performance artists have done their country proud, and all four of them will be signing copies of Otacool 2 at the 9th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention (ToyCon). If you’re in Manila on June 19, meet these Filipina geek princesses at ToyCon’s Maxicollector booth in the Megatrade Hall on the fifth level of SM Megamall Building B, 2:00pm to 4:00pm GMT+8. If you haven’t done so yet, you can order a copy of Otacool 2 at Amazon or Maxicollector.

In a way, ToyCon 2010 brings Alodia full-circle in her involvement with the Otacool 2 project. After all, Danny first discovered Alodia through a photo of her at ToyCon 2008. ToyCon will be a decade old next year; perhaps the annual convention will create even more cycles of cosplay awesomeness in the decade to come.

Related Posts:

Alodia is One of the New Faces of Animax

Mike Abundo — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:43:05 +0000

Stephanie Henares and Alodia Gosiengfiao as Animax Ani-Mates

Being a successful product evangelist takes more than just product knowledge and the gift of gab. You have to love the product you’re evangelizing. Savvy marketers have known this for decades. The great entrepreneur Sy Sperling said it best in his classic TV ads: “I’m not only the Hair Club president, but I’m also a client.” With the rise of social media and conversational markets, that sort of passion and authority has become more important than ever.

For a growing number of anime fans, cosplay is one of the ultimate expressions of love for anime content. Really good anime cosplay requires practitioners to totally embody their favorite anime characters — to engage with anime content at a very personal level.

Alodia and Animax

All across the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, Filipina cosplay queen Alodia Gosiengfiao is renowned for her dazzling cosplay portrayals of anime characters. Clearly, this geek girl engages with anime content far more deeply than your average anime otaku — and the public knows it. Alodia’s social media savvy certainly doesn’t hurt her ability to convey her passion and authority when it comes to anime, especially since anime otaku spend quite a bit of time hanging out on the Internet.

That’s why Alodia’s perfectly suited to become one of the new faces of Animax Asia, the leading anime cable channel in Southeast Asia. Animax holds cosplayers in high regard as product evangelists, as evidenced by the prominence given to cosplayers at important Animax events. Alodia’s no stranger to Animax either, having won their Kawaii Girl contest in 2007.

Hire a Fan to Engage Fans

Animax will reveal more details about Alodia’s specific role as one of their “Ani-mates” on the first of June. You can sign up for updates at animaxasia.com/animates. Interestingly enough, I recognize the other Ani-mate as Filipina VJ Stephanie Henares. Steph’s experience as a content presenter should work well to complement Alodia’s passion as an anime otaku.

In effect, Animax is hiring an anime fan to engage anime fans. This is, of course, a very smart move. Like Sy Sperling and his Hair Club, Alodia is not only one of the new faces of Animax — she’s also one of its most engaged viewers.

Related Posts: