Read this in the digital edition of The Manila Times.
Aaron Palileo Co-Founder / Director / CIA Bootleg Manila
“The real essence of an entrepreneur is someone who innovates in their field … They destroy the status quo so that a better, more creative result emerges from that destruction.”
The eldest and only son of a business-oriented family, Aaron Palileo, co-founder and director of CIA Bootleg Manila, had to put aside his dream of pursuing a career in the arts in order to prepare for his eventual role in the company. family.
He says, “My family has a 41-year-old business, which is a marketing and distribution company that imports products from Europe, America and other Asian countries. My parents have good business acumen. My father Art owned a Kodak development store. and a video rental store in Diliman, Quezon City. Before the pandemic hit, my mother Vangee had her own travel agency, which operated for almost 20 years ”,
Seeds of “Bootleg”
As a film buff, who also dabbled in photography, Aaron aspired to be a filmmaker. He says: “I wanted to get into communication, but my father asked me to specialize in management. The compromise for me was to undertake interdisciplinary studies at Ateneo de Manila University, where I was able to double the minors. That said, I only took the nine units required to qualify for the management course, and then all of my electives were in film, creative writing, genre, and media … all of those things. “
His orientation with these two seemingly unconnected worlds has proven to be a building block of his career path, which includes his work as an educator, author, and partner in a creative enterprise that takes a non-traditional approach to marketing. “I think the strongest point that has allowed me to be successful in my career is the ability to marry left brain or critical and analytical thinking, with empathy and right brain ideation skills,” he says. . “I think it really cuts through all of my efforts, the ability to approach things from different angles or to combine highlights from those perspectives.”
Aaron’s marketing and advertising experience has been honed in the family business, which is still engaged in the distribution of international products such as Chupa Chups, Smint, Pez and Gingerbon lollipops. “They are very savvy and advanced companies in marketing, and I was learning the best practices of these international brands. However, I had to market them in the Filipino context with the tiny budgets we were allocated. It allowed me to practice my creativity because I needed good marketing skills with a lot of limitations. “
The original thinking was also reinforced when he undertook postgraduate studies at the Asian Institute of Management. He says: “We had classes in creativity, innovation, intuition and self-control. We were exposed to the esoteric part of management under the guidance of Dr. Nedro Berto, which allowed me to really practice and refine my right brain and left brain integration skills. “
In 2009, he started teaching marketing subjects on the Ateneo Loyola campus. “It was on a whim. I felt like I could share more with the students than I had learned from my marketing professors,” he says. “Two years later, my mentor and thesis supervisor, Dr Ed Morato, invited me to teach at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. I started offering creativity and innovation workshops for many large companies. He taught companies that to come up with great and unique ideas, it takes groundbreaking research, using psychology and sociology, or the humanities, and then combining those ideas with creative or ideation techniques.
He published his first book on the subject, Connect Disconnect, after Dr. Morato challenged him to have his own source material for his classes. “At that time, while I was doing research for my book and doing my creativity workshops, the CEO of one of the participating companies asked me, ‘You know, instead of teaching us this, why don’t you just do it for us as a service? ‘ “That’s when the seeds that led to Bootleg appeared.”
Unconventional approach
Together with his longtime partners and friends of Ateneo, filmmaker Paolo Abella and artistic entrepreneur Jay Amante, they provide consumer insight, brand building, and product and service design. “My feeling was that the three of us combined, because of our background in creativity, design, innovation, our common love and geek for music, film and the arts, no one can surpass us when it comes to creativity. and innovation because of our in-depth knowledge in these areas. ” His wife Joanne is also part of the firm as a strategist.
Materials Aaron uses in his marketing and branding courses and workshops are available at [email protected] CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Bootleg, he explains, comes from his love for the film noir genre that broke through during the Prohibition era. The CIA’s name comes from their partnership with a Tokyo-based creative firm, Creative Intelligence Associates, Japan’s oldest and most successful brand consulting firm. He cold called them during a visit to Japan and met with CEO and founder Sy Chen. “They invited me to work on a project with them and met Paolo and Jay afterwards. Towards the end of 2018, we pitched the idea of partnering with them formally. So in addition to rename ourselves CIA Bootleg Manila, we are in effect the assigned and appointed representative of CIA Japan outside of Japan. ”
Their approach is unconventional to say the least. “We are creative entrepreneurs in partnership with human scientists. Our Head of Psychology, Patrick Ong Ante, was trained by Father Jaime Bulatao, SJ, who was a local promoter of hypnotherapy and cognitive psychology. these psychological, projective and hypnotic techniques.
“Sociologists immerse themselves in the lives of customers, going to their homes or crashing into customer stores for weeks on end just to see how people behave.”
So it’s understandable that when they approached the clients early on, we couldn’t help but think that they were offering them some weird ideas. Aaron explains, “We were like, ‘Oh, we’re going to use psychologists and sociologists, and we’re going to try to hypnotize people.’ Those who found us interesting weren’t willing to spend on it. “However, they have managed to build a customer base that includes Villarica Pawnshop, Potato Corner, Carmen’s Best, High Precision Diagnostics, Fresh Options Meatshop customers, among others since the creation of CIA Bootleg Manila in 2013.
These days, Aaron has a busy schedule, helping customers navigate the nuances of the pandemic and their response to it. On his days off, he relaxes watching movies, saying, “I always feel that my creative reservoir, my creative skills have been shaped and influenced by cinema, in various ways. There are a lot of great movies that inspire you just because of the content. ”He is also actively involved in an Ateneo alumni project called Tulong Sulong, which teaches 400 to 400 livelihoods and entrepreneurial skills. 500 people from four poor communities in Quezon City and Taytay, Rizal.
He wants to encourage more Filipino entrepreneurs because they are necessary for nation building. “Entrepreneurs create better products, services, interventions and organizations. If these things happen, not only are people getting better products and services, but the services, institutions, organizations, be it health, wellness, education … all things people need for a better life would get better. “
Chillin ‘in Tokyo, Aaron (left) with (from left) Shogo Yoshihara, Senior Consulting Director, Creative Intelligence Associates Japan, Sy Chen, President, Creative Intelligence Associates, Paolo Abella, Co-Founder, CIA Bootleg Manila and Jay Amante, Co-Founder, CIA Bootleg Manila. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
He says there is a difference between being a business owner and an entrepreneur and that is the creative mindset. “The real essence of an entrepreneur is someone who innovates in his field. Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter says that entrepreneurs practice creative destruction. They destroy the status quo so that a better and more creative outcome emerges from this. destruction.
“You have to take it to the next level and you can only do that by having a creative mindset, because then you look for ways to be different, to deliver better, and to delight more people.”
About me
MODEL
My late great mentor “Doc” Ed Morato has been and always will be my number one role model because of how he harnessed the power of the mind and the will of the mind, as well as his heart to give back to people.
GOALS
To help more people become more creative.
First paid job
For our family business – I think it was in our warehouse, helping to store and stack Chupa Chups lollipops.
Morning ritual
I just have breakfast and coffee.
Special skills
Photography and Photoshop
Time spent on social media
Too much time
