Asia-Pacific Power List 2021: Barbie Dapul, Globe Telecom

Barbie Dapul 

Vice president of marketing, broadband
Globe Telecom
Philippines
New member

Broadband is not a sector that particularly suffered during the pandemic, but Globe Telecom’s Barbie Dapul refused to rest on those privileges. As the internet is something of a lifeblood for Filipinos stuck at home, Dapul pushed heavily for DIY connectivity via the brand’s home prepaid Wifi product.

This was done via a campaign called ‘Nasa loob ang Galing’, which has since garnered over 100 million impressions. With the help of Wunderman Thompson, the campaign aimed to encourage folks to make the most of what they have at home and was said to increase growth of both wireless customer acquisition and cumulative subscriber base. 

Dapul also aggressively pushed digital campaigns around the brand’s Globe At Home app by by giving customers DIY control over key account transactions. This allowed the app to grow its online channel user base by more than triple compared to initial estimates. The pivot towards app usage also led the brand to tower over its competitors in the subscriber market share category in Q2 last year, the first time this had ever happened.

From her 23 years of experience as a marketing professional, Dapul also understands the importance of product development. While movement restrictions were ordered, she sought to migrate the majority of subscribers to stable wired fibre technology to ensure the best network experience during the peak of the pandemic. Anyone who works from home or is struggling to stretch their bandwidth among multiple people will know that the optimisation of internet services is far more valuable than even the flashiest marketing campaign. 

This only goes to show that Dapul’s skill to produce simple, clear and effective communications around product and research have been integral to her success as a marketer.