Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 25

For my last day in office, I just finished the Coke Solutions website's articles compilation. After that, our boss asked us to summarize the Consumer Foodservice in the Philippines study we did in powerpoint as well as the Pizza Trends research we did (also in powerpoint). We had to summarize them and compress it to 8 slides. We had a difficult time at first. We decided to divide the task among ourselves and was able to finish it early. I, for my parts decided to compress it to 1 slide each. Ivan also was able to compress his part to 1 slide each so we had a total of 4 slides all in all excluding the title slides.

Marg for the meantime, worked on the pizza trends report and was able to finish it as well. She also helped me earlier on how to shorten our powerpoint presentation. She seem very experience with how to do powerpoint presentations.

That's how my day ended. I transferred the powerpoint presentations I/we finished (Consumer Foodservice Innovation in the Philippines, Pizza Trends and the Coke Solutions Articles).

I forgot to mention that the Consumer Foodservice and Pizza Trends presentation will be used for Greenwich as the company's client.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 24

I just continued the task I was given last week which was the compilation of the articles from the Coke Solutions website of Coca-Cola. I was not able to finish the task last week and was not able to do it over the weekend since I went out last Saturday (it was my best friend's birthday celebration) and my laptop was used by my siblings all day last Sunday.

Anyway, I arrived early at the office. When I put my stuff down, I started working right away. My boss was not yet at the office and there were still few people around. I was even able to join the employees in their morning prayer (we usually have an angelus at 6PM). I didn't know they also pray in the morning. Maybe because, I always arrive in a few minutes late.

So my whole day was spent doing that only task. It was hard since there are a lot of articles from the website I needed to copy and arrange in powerpoint. A few minutes after I arrived, my other co-interns came and do their own task. Our boss, approached us and told us he will leave after lunch so he needed to see the duties we have accomplished. I told my boss that I was still finishing mine so the one who can present her work is Marg since she's almost done.

Ivan was asked to revise the wall/information board again for the month of June and it was a challenge for him since he had a hard time doing it before. Anton for the meantime needed internet so he can look for the different ad agencies but decided to help Marg while waiting.

I was the one who took a long time before finishing the task given. I am only 90% done with it. I decided to take the overtime but was not still ]able to finish my job.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 23

For this day were asked to do some tasks. The most interesting of which is the trade check where we went out and look for newly established restaurants.

We checked this new doughnut and coffee chain named J.Co Donuts & Coffee in SM Megamall. This doughnut and coffee store is based from Bali, Indonesia and has a few outlets yet in the Philippines. They offer different flavored donuts which really looks and tastes good. Each doughnut cost around  42 to 45 pesos. We ordered Oreology, Glazzy, Meisisipi, Avocado Dicaprio, Alcapone and Berry Spears. It costed around 250 pesos for 1/2 dozen.

To give you an idea how delectable their doughnuts look like, J.Co Donuts & Coffee Philippines has a facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/JCoDonuts.Pilipinas.

The other duties in the office we did in the office today are: the continuation of the KFC product ideation (which I am not part of since I'm attending to some other duties), the conceptualization for the blog title of the San Miguel Purefoods - Great Food Solutions website/blogsite, the editing of the previous Euromonitor International studies we did a presentation on (Chilled Processed Foods in the Philippines and Consumer Foodservice in the Philippines), the directory for the advertising agencies, and the visiting and compiling of the articles from the Coke Solutions website. I did the latter while my other co-interns focused on the other tasks I mentioned.

The Coke Solutions website is where Coca-Cola, the global brand, gives tips and advice on almost everything (including: hiring employees tips, starting up a business, using appropriate marketing strategies, offering other ways to serve coke, etc.). I was not able to finish looking for all the articles posted in this website of Coca-Cola and decided to continue doing it at home.

My other co-interns meanwhile, focused on the other assignments. Ivan did the improving of the Euromonitor powerpoint presentation (Chilled Processed Foods in the Philippines and Consumer Foodservice in the Philippines) while Anton was tasked to do the research on the ad agencies directory. Marg on the other hand, worked on the finishing of the KFC product ideation whereas everyone of us was obliged to think of a possible blog title for GFS.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 22

For today, Ivan and I continued our compressed Chilled Processed Foods in the Philippines powerpoint presentation. We looked for pictures in the internet to complement with our powerpoint slides.

On the afternoon, our boss, Sir Vic arrived and asked us to compile all the outputs we made during the past few weeks we were in San Miguel Purefoods Office. This means all the outputs such as the database we filed, the e-blast, the different powerpoints, the wall or the information board, our write ups for the blog, among many other files we did.

After busy, working on our own outputs and after finishing it and compiling it in one flash drive, we decided to continue on what we were doing earlier. I and Ivan on the Chilled Processed Foods in the Philippines powerpoint presentation, Marg on the KFC product ideation, and Anton on the ad agencies directory filing.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 21

Today, we summarized the Chilled Processed Foods in the Philippines study by Euromonitor for 2011.

The study is quite short as compared to the previous study we read about consumer foodservice in the Philippines. Ivan and I decided to work on it. Ivan took the headlines, trends, and prospect part while I took the competitive landscape part of the study. I don’t know why Ivan suddenly decided to take the majority parts of the study but I just rode along with it and decided to just work best with my part.

After reading, analyzing, and sorting which we will include in the powerpoint, we asked our boss if we are going to do a powerpoint presentation same as the one we presented during the consumer foodservice in the Philippines presentation. Our boss was not around so I decided to text him.

He replied by saying “pictures” and this means we have to do the same presentation as we did before. We immediately looked for pictures on the internet that will suit to the bullet points we put in our slides. We were able to finish and present our summary presentation just in time to Sir Vic.

Meanwhile, our other co-interns Marg and Anton at the time were busy working with the product ideation for KFC. It was a collective effort supposed to be but since there were many tasks asked from us to do, we decided to divide and work on pairs.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 20

I was doing a task given to me by our boss which was the applying of animation on the powerpoint presentation he was doing when he suddenly called me. He was with my other co-interns Marg, Ivan and Anton and they were headed at the QSR room. That room was vacant for the day so we were able to use it. Our boss Sir Vic conducted a lecture on concept generation for clients. This is how they do it in their department: they look for trends, relevance and harmony. These three factors in creating a product intertwine. In coming up with a product, one must first know what are the trends. What is hot and what is not? What is fad and what will stay forever? It's like fashion. One day you're in, and the next day you're out. Next, the product should be relevant. Why should this client (fast food restaurant or full-service restaurant) offer this product? Is it the trend? Will it sell? What value do the customers get from it? Finally, it should harmonize with the products or food selection offered by a certain Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) or Full-service Restaurant (FSR). Will it be appropriate for KFC to offer grilled chicken when their flagship product is fried chicken? (thus, Kentucky Fried Chicken).

Also, these three factors in concept generation should matter to You, Them, Me. Will I buy this type of product I'm proposing? How about him or her? And more importantly, them.

After discussing this topic on concept or product generation, we applied the concepts to the products we were able to come up with (actually, it was my other co-interns who came up with them).

Was the products we were able to come up with is following the trend? Does it harmonize with the product offerings by the client? And is it relevant? Does it give sufficient customer value?

After the meeting, my other co-interns improved their product ideation while I finish the task I left.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 19

The summarized Consumer Foodservice in the Philippines we did yesterday was returned to us today. Our task was to trim the summary more, put in necessary pictures, graphs and tables and make the powerpoint presentation presentable.

We devoted our day downloading, copy-pasting and putting in pictures to our powerpoint parts. Since our internet source is only one, we did it one by one. Marg did her part first, then Ivan, then me. I was not able to finish it at the office since when it was my turn, the internet connection hung up on me.

I decided  to finish it at home since my internet connection at home is quite better than at the office.

I did not know how to trim down my parts more since all the information in my powerpoint slides seem relevant. The main part which was the summary of consumer foodservice in the Philippines was also assigned to me aside from the two other parts of the study. Ivan and Marg have the two shorter parts of the research that's why I gave way to them first.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 18

I decided to take the afternoon shift this day so I came in at 1PM. When I arrived at the office, I found my other co-interns doing almost nothing.

When I placed down my stuff, I decided to look for things we can do. So I continued the other task given to us this week which was to look for commonalities among the food blogs in the Philippines. I decided to ask help from my co-intern Marg.

While Marg and I were busy looking for food blogs, my two other co-interns Ivan and Anton were doing other tasks that other bosses from the offices were asking them to do. I took it as a good thing (the bosses not giving us office loads) since I don't want to do a task where I'm not sure if I did it right. For the past few days, I felt that way. Or ever since I started internship. Some of the tasks I do at office makes me feel not right. I always doubt. Maybe because we were just new and some of the tasks are new also. Maybe if we become real employees, we will be more sure of our performance and of the tasks given to us.

So for the whole day, Marg and I just did that task. It was not easy since we only have 1 internet stick. We were not able to finish the task and decided to make it as an assignment. Our boss was absent and he did not send us anything to do so we just decided on our own to finish that particular task.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 17

For this day, our boss was absent but a task was given to us. Anton, our other co-intern was also absent. So it was I, Ivan and Marg who were left. My boss called at around 10 in the morning telling us the task we have to accomplish for the day.

We need to get the study of Euromonitor about Consumer Foodservice in the Philippines from Ma'am Tracy Portu, our marketing manager. Euromonitor International is a global research agency San Miguel Foods Inc. subscribe to. This agency focus more on marketing research than any other research.

Since the study is quite long, we divided the parts among ourselves (Ivan, Marg and I). After reading the whole thing, we need to write a summary of the parts and compile them and send it to our boss tonight.

I took the part on Consumer Foodservice in the Philippines, Consumer Foodservice by Location in the Philippines and 100% Home Delivery/Takeaway in the Philippines. Ivan for the meantime took Fast Foods in the Philippines and Street Stalls/Kiosks in the Philippines. Lastly, Marg took the topic on Full-service Restaurants in the Philippines and the Cafés/Bars in the Philippines. I decided to tread the three study for the promise that they will compile and do the powerpoint. It turns out it was me who still did the compiling of the powerpoints.

The study was an interesting read. It says a lot about foodservice in the Philippines. What marked in me is that people who are part of the middle-income young professionals are the one who is very fond of indulgent foods. There is also a rise in the number of street stalls/kiosks because there are lower-income group who will look for cheap and convenient foods. Fast-paced Filipinos and mothers will rely on convenient/delivery foods (take for instance the commercial of Jollibee about a working mom getting promoted). These, among many other trends in foodservice is what was discussed in the Euromonitor study.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 16

For today, I just continued my task of researching on the companies’ Q1 (first quarter) of 2012 performance, what they are doing, and the number of stores they have. It was frustrating and I wanted to give up and tell my boss I cannot find what he wants me to look for. I still tried though and researched to the best I can. It turns out, only Jollibee among the other companies (McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Greenwich, Max’s Fried Chicken) who was able to disclose their financial statement. It’s not even updated because the financial statement they uploaded was last year’s.

So my boss approached me and told me that if I can’t do it, I should have told him. I was frustrated and I really wanted to do it and finish it so he won’t look down on my research skills. But I learned from that mistake even though I felt sad when my boss scolded me a bit. I did not think of it that much though and tried to be professional. I am intern so I have to know my place.

So there, my other co-interns helped me with what I was doing. Our boss gave the template of what we will do. It is a powerpoint presentation for their Business Operations Report (BOR) and what we needed to do was fill out the templates of the powerpoint such as the performance of Jollibee, McDonald’s, KFC, Shakey’s Pizza, Goldilocks, Pizza Hut and Max’s Restaurant; the new products and promotional activities they offer; and the stock-keeping unit (SKU) we can offer them such as the battered, breaded and fried products San Miguel Foods Inc. have, it’s Magnolia Chicken, Magnolia Cheese, etc.

We were able to finish 90% of that task given to us. The task of compiling the food blogs and finding their commonalities is not yet done and there are other tasks given to us that need to be accomplished but we prioritized this one. I decided to take the overtime again and left at past 8PM.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 15

I was absent yesterday, May 14, 2012 because I had to attend my bestfriend’s college graduation.

When I came in to office today, I asked them what they did. They told me that they looked for food blogs and listed them down. They came up with a few credible food blogs and consolidated them and looked for common themes among them. The task we did today was the same except that we have to come up with a longer list of blogs. As usual, internet connection was a problem since not all of us have access to it. We can only use my broadband and Sir Victor’s desktop but today, he was using it so we had to rely solely on my internet connection. I hope the company pays me for providing them internet. Anyhow, we just continued what we were doing when our boss, Sir Vic approached us. He gave us a list of things to do such as the merging of the promotional activity on their product used by different restaurants and fast food restaurants e.g. Jollibee’s Avenger’s bucket.

We were also asked to find the following:

• GDP Growth Rate for Q1 (first quarter) of 2012
• Inflation Rate for Q1 (first quarter) of 2012 and Q4 (fourth quarter) of 2011
• Consumer Confidence Q1 of 2012
• Unemployment Rate for Q1 of 2012

I was able to find these data our boss was asking. Good thing my co-intern Anton from UA&P told me where to locate them.

We decided to divide the task among the three of us (our co-intern Ivan was absent today). Anton decided to take the merging of the product promotion of the companies while Marg was asked to do some other office works. I, for the meantime, did the GDP, inflation, consumer confidence, and unemployment rate plus another task given by my boss which was the performance of the following fast food/restaurants:

• Jollibee
• McDonald’s
• KFC
• Pizza Hut
• Greenwich
• Max’s Fried Chicken

I was ask to research on what they are currently doing such as their gimmicks, promotional activities and new product offerings; the number of stores they have as of Q1 of 2012 and their Q1, 2012 performance in terms of sales, revenue, system-wide sales, and other numbers that may be beneficial data to the marketing department. I was able to finish the first task given to me but this one, I was not able to finish within the day. It was frustrating to do the task especially if the data were not readily available. I stayed and worked overtime since I was absent yesterday. I decided to leave at around 8PM, go home, sleep and wake up early and finish this task.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 14

Today we were asked to read articles and pick advertisements from the previous magazines we read and mark them and report them to our boss. After scanning the articles and the ads, our boss also tasked us to compile the business cards according to company name, contact details, email and website. The blog topics for the website of Great Food Solutions were also asked from us. Good thing we already did it and was able to submit it to Sir Vic. We just had to compile it and write it either in powerpoint or word (at office, the most common Microsoft office application used are excel and powerpoint).

There are no task-heavy office works we did in particular. Just them. My sleep during the lunch break/nap time felt really deep. I also went home earlier than the usual. I normally go home late to extend my required hours for internship.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 13

I logged in at the same hour today as when I logged in yesterday. 8:55AM. I came in early  to finish my report on global and local foodservice innovation. The report I was doing turns out to be for GFS's client Jollibee.

I did the powerpoint and imitated the skin, font style, color and design used by Jollibee. I was happy doing it though I'm not really good at effects in powerpoint.

I looked for pictures and tried to read some more about technological innovations on food. I wanted to finish it quickly so that I can present it to my boss and to lessen my load. It turns out, Sir Vic was not around and he did not left us any note or texted us. So I just focused on my powerpoint report. By the time he came in, I'm just doing polishing touches.

I presented it to him and felt proud again of my work even though I'm not very confident with the content of it. My prof in Comm Res 190 once told us that when we report, we should have confidence even if we are not sure of what we are reporting about.

I ended early so there was a long idle time. Another task was given to us which was the e-blast of GFS on the products they offer. I don't really know what e-blast means. It was my co-intern Anton who was really in charge of the task. We, his other co-interns were just helping him out. I was asked to think of a title for a patty with 45g meat or 0.99 lbs or almost 0.1 lbs. The 114g patty is called quarter pounder because it weighs 0.25 lbs.

We were still thinking of what we can call the "almost" 0.1 pounder patty.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 12

I came in quite early at office. I timed in at 8:55AM. I was not yet finished with my task that's why I tried to come in early. I was awaken at 5AM because I felt like peeing. But after that, I went back to sleep because I was still sleepy. I woke up 2 hours later.

When I got to office, first thing I did after signing up my attendance sheet was to open my laptop and search for signal. I needed to finish my research on global and local foodservice innovations. I kept reading and reading and took down notes on what I can include in my presentation later. I was not confident with the research I finished. I felt it still lacks something yet I cannot find online sources anymore. My research was limited to online resources only. I don't know that time what the scopes and limitations of my research were.

Our boss was already looking for us. I didn't have load to reply to him so I needed to wrap up the things I was doing. When I entered the building, our boss seemed upset. I was the first intern to arrive. A few seconds after, my co-intern Marg came in. We were asked to print something. It's a marketing database I think but we need to crop it and make it fit to 1 page.

We printed and labeled it per channel, e.g. NATIONAL, LUZON, VISAYAS, CEVIS, MINDANAO, NMIN, SMIN, etc.

After the printing of the files and since our boss was in a meeting, I continued my research and hoped to find better sources. While my other co-interns got pre-occupied with the printing of the files, I left them and did my thing. I kept reading and reading. Then, our boss texted us and told us to do a research on pizza trends for our client Greenwich.

So we divided ourselves into two groups. Ivan and Marg teamed up while I teamed up with Anton. We use our limited internet resources and searched on what we had to find. Ivan and Marg used Sir Vic's desktop for the internet while I and Anton used my ever slow broadband internet.

After an hour or two of searching and surfing the net, we did our powerpoint presentation. The presentation was due within the day. The last thing we did was to present our work. I was quite proud with what I did.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 11

Today we were asked to continue on with what we were doing, the KFC product ideation, and my assignment which is the global and local foodservice innovation, this time with the help of Anton. Ivan and Marg do the former.

Our task was to do research and desktop research (i.e. blogs, online gimmicks, trends, youtube videos, etc.) on foodservice innovation for our client which is Jollibee.

It was hard to research due to limited internet connection. Anton and I shared my Sun broadband internet. He inserted it to his Macbook and opened his wi-fi enabler. I was quite amazed with that technology of Mac. So we shared the internet connection but it was too slow.

We decided to take home the assignment and compiled what we will come up with tomorrow.

Anyhow, there was an event in the main office of San Miguel Corporation in Ortigas. It was a celebration and a victory party for BMeg as the PBA Philippine Cup 2012 Champions. I'm not really am a basketball fan but I still went there with my other co-interns. I brought along my other orgmate named Joierie who works in the culinary department of San Miguel Foods Inc. because we don't have employee ID with us.

When we arrived there, I thought that the foods that will be served there were grand or decent enough. But no, it turns out the food there were only stalls. It's because there really was a legion of people there. The place was crowded and it would be difficult to feed them all in plates. Thought balloon: corporate greed. Just kidding.

So there, I just enjoyed the food stalls and free tastes and not to mention, the hot promo girls. I also saw the BMeg team but I only know a few of them. I don't really know the others. I was a bit disappointed with the food served so I just went home to finish my task.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 10

For this day, May 7, 2012, these are the things we did:

We had an assignment that we need to present to Sir Vic. We were required to do product ideation for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Tokyo Tokyo, and Mister Donut.

Here are the products I thought feasible to do:

for KFC

-Sundae
-Chiken and/or Fish Fillet
-Different Dips
-Cheezy Ham Fillet

for Tokyo Tokyo
-Takoyaki
-Calamares
-Katsudon
-Tonkatsu
-Cold Ramen
-Matcha ice cream

for Mister Donut
-Donut and Coffee Combination (sort of a budget meal)

The products my other co-intern presented were quite amazing and my ideas were crappy. I just thought of it while on my way to school. When I get home from work every day, my siblings are already waiting for me to drop my bag for them to get my laptop and use the internet. This gives me no time to use my laptop again and I end up having a goodnight sleep instead.

So, anyway, after presenting our ideas and after being critiqued, we were asked to do revisions of the product ideations. I, for the meantime, have another assignment (my boss always gives me extra chores for reasons I don't know why. Maybe because I'm from UP that's why they are confident about my skills. Perhaps.) I need to do a research on global and local foodservice innovations. I presented it the same day but my boss wanted more. He wants me to do desktop research, i.e. blogs, vlogs, online gimmicks, and other events or propaganda about food, food trend, food service and the food industry. We were not able to finish it though by the end of the day due to limited internet access (I'm the one providing my own internet which I also share with my co-interns, not the office!)

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 9

This day, I came in late at office. I took home my work in the hopes of finishing it. It turns out I was not able to finish it. I timed in at 12 noon and saw a mass happening in the lobby. I used the comfort room and went straight to our desk.

Since it was lunch time, the lights were closed again to give room for employees who want to sleep.

While everyone was asleep, I tried to finish the assignment given to me which was the filing of the marketing database. I was able to finish it though I was not really sure if I did it right because there were categories I was not certain about. Either way, I still tried to finish it since today was my deadline but when I tried to submit to our marketing manager she was not around anymore.

I consulted my work with my boss and he said it's okay but I need to consult it with Ms. Tracy Potu, the marketing manager.

I was really nervous of what I did because I don't know if I did it right. I just added in there categories I find recurring such as new account penetration, under negotiation (which is still different from price negotiation because it does not involve money), customize products, and grab market share.

I am about to consult the task I finished with Ms. Tracy and I really hope she'll give minimal revisions because the task I did was really intricate and tedious. I even asked my other co-interns to give it a try and it gave them a headache.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 8

I came to office a few minutes late.

I continued finishing the marketing database Ms. Tracy gave to me.

What I have to do was create different sheets per categories (e.g. new product/launch, for price negotiation, co-branding, etc.). Then, I also have to create different books for different channels. For example, I need to create a book for QSR 1, QSR 2, COCO, Visayas, Mindanao, PCBS etc. although I'm not really sure what these codes really mean. I just did it because my other co-interns were busy with their other task. And that decision to accept the task probably is one of the wrongest decision I made. The task was really difficult I think my head was separated into two.

It's hard to come up with other categories and identify them if they fit to these categories set. I had a hard time doing it plus there was a shooting going on this day that causes distraction to us. They were shooting a TV segment entitled "Cooking with the Stars" in the kitchen area and we saw celebrities like Jolina Magdangal, Suzie Andrada-Abrera, the rumored PNoy's girlfriend Grace Lee and Heart Evangelista.

I was not able to finish what I was doing. I decided to focus on my part while our boss Sir Vic gave other tasks to my co-interns. Social Networking Sites like facebook, twitter, plurk are not allowed in the office plus we don't have access to the office's internet. If we want to look for something, we need to use our boss's desktop. Good thing I sometimes bring with me my broadband in case I need to search something (or to keep myself entertained when I'm really bored).

In the end I was not able to finish it. Ms. Tracy gave me the deadline and asked me if I can give it tomorrow. I planned to stay up until late, sleep a little and work with this thing when I get home.

Comm Res 160 Journal Entry No. 7

Wednesday

I was finishing my article upon arriving to office when Ms. Tracy Portu, our marketing manager and Sir Vic's boss approached me and asked me if I can do her a favor. Since my co-interns were not around and I'm almost done with my article, I accepted the task. The article for the Great Food Solutions website was due this morning but I was not able to finish it due to reasons I cannot remember anymore.

Ms. Tracy by the way is also from UP. She finished BS Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management. She came from Uniliver Philippines before setting foot to San Miguel Foods Inc.

So the task goes something like this: there is a database of products offered and companies SMFI is partnering with. What I'm supposed to do is to create different sheets which contain the following categories: New Product or Launch, Co-branding, Price Negotiation and other categories I may come up with. Based on the descriptions, I should place each account (or company) to their designated sheets. Aside from that, I should also arrange them according to different channels such as QSR 1, QSR 2, COCO, PCBS, Visayas and Mindanao channels. I don't have any idea what these codes mean.

The task was not easy because I was not sure where each items fit. If they fit to the new product or launch sheet, co-branding sheet or price negotiation sheet. At least for the channel, it was indicated in the database so I just have to place them to their respective books. Plus, there are some items that I need to compute about such as target price minus the original price, the discount the company will get, the volume of the product, total value of discount etc. which I can't make sense of but I just continued doing.

My nape hurt again by the end of the day and I was not able to finish the task within the day. I decided to call it a day and continue doing it the next day.