The role of communication is highlighted more than ever in this time of war. Everyone is glued to television sets, newspapers, text message updates, and the Internet to get the latest report almost as it happens in the Middle East. It’s as if the most important thing to acquire is the most recent information on what’s happening in the country and around the world.

It is the public’s hunger for information that makes business enterprises engaged in consumer products all the more zealous in getting their own messages across. And that means exhausting all the available forms of media to advertise their products and services.

Before, there were just television, radio, and print media. Today, sticking to these three avenues for advertising might just be too limiting for companies. Even McCann Erickson’s top advertising executive Emily Abrera, in an interview with Philippine Business, stressed the fact that the advertising industry has discovered other forms of advertisement to suit the different lifestyles of different groups of people.

One such medium is outdoor advertising – the big billboards you see in the main thoroughfares of Metro Manila and the roaming trucks with tri-vision advertisements roaming around the metropolis at certain hours of the day. Philippine Business took an interest in this newly explored and swiftly developed medium of communication that is taking certain brands to the top of public recognition.

One such brand that has become successful in the country and is now expanding its operations overseas is Ben Chan’s Bench. Starting off as a retail fashion firm, it has become a company that offers a wide range of lifestyle products – from clothing to perfume and personal care goods – and snack foods! None of this would have been possible if Bench was not carrying quality products. But good advertising sense also contributed to the company’s success. Simply put, Bench got its message across.

Philippine Business also looks at another type of communication – art. Homegrown visual artist Pacita Abad shares the value of collecting Philippine art. Now residing in Singapore, Abad takes reader on a round-the-world tour of Philippine art and artists.

This issue is a celebration of communication and its role in a fast-moving world such as ours. Be it to inform or educate, to entice or encourage, or simply to indulge or experience, communication is – and will always be – a way of life.

As for Philippine Business, we continue to bring you interesting topics to read. It all starts with a message.