Episode 44 - Kane Errol Choa

From media to corporate leadership is the best description of this episode of 'A View From The Top' where Adrian interviews Kane Erroll Choa, Vice President of Corporate Communications at ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines. With over 30 years of experience, Kane's career highlights an unexpected transition from broadcast journalism to corporate communications, shaped by his educational background at the London School of Economics and strong mentorship from industry leaders like Bong Osorio and past VFTT guest Ritzi Ronquillo.

Discover Kane's insights on continuous learning, digital communication evolution, and the importance of aligning personal and company values. Kane also shares invaluable advice for young professionals, emphasising adaptability, stakeholder relationships, and excellence in communication. Finally, get a sneak peek at the upcoming Fusion 2025 conference in Manila. This episode is a treasure trove of tips and inspiration for communication professionals.

Transcript

Adrian Cropley: 0:07

Hello and welcome to another episode of A View From The Top. I'm Adrian Cropley. A View From The Top is a regular podcast from the Center for Strategic Communication Excellence where I interview some of the world's leading communication professionals as we explore their career journey. My last guest was Ritsi Villarico Ronquillo, a veteran and senior communications celebrity in the Philippines. Well, today I'm staying on that theme of excellence in communication coming out of the Philippines as I welcome Kane Erroll Choa, who is an accredited public relations professional and the Vice President of Corporate Communications at ABS-CBN Corporation, a leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines. Kane is a communication leader with over 30 years of experience in public relations, media, and academia. he has served as chair and awards director of IABC Asia Pacific and as chair and president of IABC Philippines. His contributions to the field have been recognized with Gold Quill Awards and he's played key roles on Gold Quill. Philippine Blue Ribbon Panel. Kane also imparts his expertise as a part time faculty member at the University of Santo Tomas. Welcome Kane! What a great, great acknowledgement of your expertise in communication. It's lovely chatting to you.

Kane Errol Choa: 1:38

Thank you, Adrian, for inviting me to your podcast. And it's been a long time since we last saw each other. I hope to see you at our Fusion Conference in Manila next year.

Adrian Cropley: 1:48

I am so looking forward to see you guys in the Philippines next year. And I'd love you to do a little bit of a plug of the Fusion Conference, before we finish our podcast today, because I'm really excited. In fact, I'm excited every time I come to the Philippines. Um, and it's, but it's really funny that I, I've continued that theme talking to, to Ritzy. I know Ritzy has been an important part of your life too in the Philippines. She's one of the most senior communication professionals. one thing you do really well in the Philippines is mentor and support each other. I just love to see that development.

Kane Errol Choa: 2:25

Yeah, it's a Filipino culture here, hospitality and, helping each other. And that's how we work here in the industry. We don't really compete, but we collaborate.

Adrian Cropley: 2:34

Yeah, which is always wonderful to see. Plus, you're great singers, by the way.

Kane Errol Choa: 2:41

Yes, Filipinos are great

Adrian Cropley: 2:42

You're a lover tune. But look, I've, I noticed looking at your profile, you studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I'd love to hear more about that. was it something else that got you into PR and media to begin with?

Kane Errol Choa: 3:00

Thanks, for asking that question, Adrian. my, studies at the LSE came mid part of my career. I actually started, In college with an interest to become a broadcast journalist because at that time I was a TV news junkie and I wanted to change the world in the manner how journalists bring up issues and bring information to the people. So that's what I wanted to do to be a journalist. my entry into the PR world would Be accidental if I reflect on it because I started my career as a broadcast journalist for a local network here in Manila and I did cover a lot of news, for a couple of years, including, events like Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit of Leaders here in Subic. And there came a point where there was an opportunity to join the public relations team of a Philippine Senator whom I admire, respect, and support. And that's when I decided to make a shift in my career and entered the world of public relations. And that started. My whole career now in public relations, but sometimes when I look back Adrian, I'm thinking whether it was really accidental or was it fate that brought me to public relations, because in college, I had an internship. I did my internship at the PR department of a hotel. I did not have any interest or plans of becoming a PR professional. I just thought at that time it was a period when the Philippines was suffering brownouts every day. We had problems with electricity supply. And so I was just thinking, you know, the weather is hot during the summer and where can I have my internship without suffering those brownouts? Then hotels would always have those power generation supplies. So electricity. So that's where I did. And, you know, looking back. that is the start of my journey in PR and media.

Adrian Cropley: 5:04

Well, I think you're probably the first guest I've had, Kane, that has, entered the profession through personal comfort.

Kane Errol Choa: 5:12

Yeah,

Adrian Cropley: 5:13

I think there's a lot of people out there that struggle with, what do I want to do when I grow up? And I don't think you or I are any different you think you're going into a course of study and that's going to lead you into what you're going to do, but it's typically not. you go, Oh, I mean, I wanted to do teaching then decided I hated children. Um, and I don't really, Kane. But, you, you do accidentally come in or fate has given it hand. And I like to think that's the case for you. you went. To study later on the profession that you were part of, but let's explore some of those early opportunities that you had. What were some of those early learnings in your career in the field?

Kane Errol Choa: 5:57

during my first few years in my career, I dabbled in political PR. I worked for two senators in the Philippines and my background in journalism helped me a lot in the early part of my career because I had a very good understanding of how media work and made a lot of connections with journalists from different media platforms. And I think that is always an advantage for journalists who would like to cross to the communication profession. you've developed the skills that you need to know when you are on the other side of the fence in PR. What your stakeholders are thinking at the same time what your company need to communicate and that give you the chance to balance the perspective and know how to, present your messages in a way that the public will understand and at the same time your media stakeholders will appreciate and pick up your stories. And later on when I studied at the LSE, Adrian, that's, uh, where I get to validate the things that I have been doing in my career and learn new things at that time. When I studied at LSE, it was just before social media exploded, but it was already the start of digital communications. And that's what, uh, the course was looking at examining the impact consequence and relationship of digital media and society. So it was a nice time to study again and retool yourself again. And when I returned, I shifted to corporate communications and applied the different learnings that I, had in LSE and all the past experiences as well.

Adrian Cropley: 7:37

This is really fascinating, Kane, because, when you start in a career and then go back to do the studies within that career, there's something quite powerful in doing that. I did a similar thing is, is you, you start putting the practice into practice in place, you start learning your craft, but then you're able to hone that craft by going back and doing those studies and going, okay, this is a profession I'm serious about. Let me do those studies and I'm going to learn an awful lot. Did you find that you reflected on some of the things that you did, picked up skills, as you said, you put them into practice when you went on to do your other jobs? How important do you think it was to? have done that study after some time in the workplace.

Kane Errol Choa: 8:23

I think it's better to do it because you have actual experience and communication work that you have done, and you're able to reevaluate it, knowing how the latest trends are in your field. And you get to see also academic studies that a good ground, or foundation for the things that you are doing as a communication professional, you go back to the theories reflect on your practice and connect the dots, Fill in the gaps that, you have been doing, but you try to find what's the, foundation of all these, strategies that you're doing. So it's a nice way to look at how you do things when you study again, after a few years of work experience. And one of the things that, enabled me, or rather one of the things that I did after studying is knowing how to do your audience analysis more deeply, I think that's a very important part of our communication campaigns is to analyze our stakeholders and get to know them and using the different research methods in order to get the insights that you need.

Adrian Cropley: 9:31

Is it nice? It's a real fine tuning of your craft, isn't it? When you go back and do that. But you then went into one of your biggest roles or biggest organizations that you stayed on for quite some time. What were some of the early jobs in your career that you took on and how did they progress your career? Was there a logic to you did this job for a while and then I moved on to the other

Kane Errol Choa: 9:54

Yeah, I've always wanted to get into corporate communications, but the initial years the opportunities were just in political PR. And I think that is where my circle was at that time. when I returned from London, I was able to find a great job opportunity with a PR agency. eventually my college professor, Bong Osorio, who was an IABC leader as well, moved to ABS-CBN Corporation as Head of Corporate Communications and got me to join his team, that's where I started. That's how I got into ABS-CBN, and that has been like 17 years, Adrian. I couldn't believe now that you've just asked.

Adrian Cropley: 10:36

you start adding them up.

Kane Errol Choa: 10:38

Yes, yes, yes, that's right. So I stayed in the organization because I believe in the mission and the values. and the things that they do. So I think if your personal values are aligned with the companies that you work for, then it's a joy to work in that company and it's no longer like a job.

Adrian Cropley: 11:02

I did spend some time there when I was last in the Philippines, which is going back a few years now and Bong and, you know, God rest his soul. was one of the best senior communication professionals, and such an asset to the Philippines in the area that he worked and how, how wonderful it was for you to have, him as a mentor in your roles. Um, sad, certainly sadly missed. But I remember Bong inviting me and the next thing I was on the radio visiting a studio and taking part in a game show at one stage.

Kane Errol Choa: 11:35

Yes. that's ABS-CBN.

Adrian Cropley: 11:37

Yes. And I thought, Oh, wow. I love this place. so had an absolutely amazing time. But what was some of the roles that you had there? I mean, obviously to get to the role that you are now, did the turns in the right way to get to this senior role.

Kane Errol Choa: 11:53

Yes. I did internal communications and external communications. That's the role that I took early on And, that allowed me to, experiment and craft, both internal comps and PR campaigns. I also joined IABC and it gave me a lot of resources and references online, including webinars, workshops, conferences that also helped me in my career. So it's a never ending process of learning, Adrian. It doesn't mean that I just took my master's, that's it. It's continuing education because a lot of things change in our profession. digital communications quickly evolve. So you've got to be very quick in pivoting and adapting to these changes. And that affect the way we do our work, how we communicate with our stakeholders from the time that we just only had, tri-media or three kinds of media platform to what it is today, where people just communicate instantly through social media and digital communications things change so fast that we have to be knowledgeable about these things and be equipped with the skills necessary to adapt or else you won't be relevant and relegated as a dinosaur, Adrian.

Adrian Cropley: 13:09

sometimes I feel I get renegades as a dinosaur, but there's always nice people like you that remind me, you still got a lot to give.

Kane Errol Choa: 13:17

That's right. So, you know, when you teach like I do on a part time basis, and that's one of the reasons why I also teach is that aside from sharing your knowledge, it's always wonderful to connect with the young students because they think differently. They do things differently. Their generation is so different, and It's always nice to know how they consume the media, how they consume these messages, how they think and how they communicate. So it's always, a learning process as well. every generation is different. Every batch of students is different. And you're seeing a change in the skillset of young people that will be entering the industry in a few years time. So you don't lose that connection with your audiences as well. So it's a very, nice way of feeling young, Adrian.

Adrian Cropley: 14:04

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's why I teach now, Kane, is because I, get to reconnect. I get to share those experiences and I think when you get to the levels of your career like yourself, There comes a time where you've got that expertise to give back and you're continually learning. there's nothing more powerful than learning the lessons of how people think today. you said earlier about, understanding your audiences and your stakeholders. We're continually doing that as we get new generations into the workforce and the way that they think it must be really powerful being in the teaching space and learning so much about how the younger generation think.

Kane Errol Choa: 14:46

Yes, that's right. when you're young, you're so creative, you're so idealistic, you're so passionate. So whenever you see the projects that they work on, the campaigns that they do, The possibilities are limitless and they are full of creativity. There's no cynicism. you get to see the full potential of what you can do for a particular campaign or for a particular PR project that you're doing. that's the beauty of it.

Adrian Cropley: 15:13

Well, and I wanted to talk to you a little bit about, you know, you did mention your roles within IABC and, your leadership within Philippines and, In the region, and obviously now internationally for you. How important has volunteer leadership been to you in your development.

Kane Errol Choa: 15:32

Yes. Volunteer leadership has been very helpful because it. breaks the monotony of daily work and it allows opportunities to network with people from outside the Philippines. at the same time, it also gives me other things to do, and harness other skills Like for instance, in the IABC Philippines, I worked together with Ritzy a few years back when she was the chairman, I headed the awards program of the Philippines, and we championed excellence in the Philippine Quill Awards, and we looked at ways how we could innovate it, and one of the things that we did was to launch the Philippine Student Quill Awards, it was our dream and hope that, while they're studying in college, you teach them strategic communication by inculcating how IABC promotes strategic communication. And that is the gold quill way. You do your business analysis, your stakeholder analysis, setting your goals and making strategic solutions and how to measure, the outcome and the output of your work. And I think that thing paid off because it has been more than a decade since we launched the Philippine Student Quill Awards and those winners who are now in the profession are aware of what the Philippine Quill brand stands for and what IABC is. that allowed me to do other things that I don't do in the company. And, that was certainly fulfilling being part of a professional organization and working with your peers and, friends in the industry to advance the communication profession.

Adrian Cropley: 17:09

And I have to say, and this is something you and I spoke about before we started recording our podcast today is that I often have seen the Philippine Quills as the gold standard for awards programs and it really is about People being able to put those expertise in place for everyone else to see. So when they do that analysis, they set good objectives. They measure, they've got the business thinking around it. it's not only just a learning opportunity, but it's a great opportunity for others to see how communication impacts the world. Business. And one of the things I think that, that to me, and this is an outside looking in that makes the Philippine Quill very, very, gold standard is, is the fact that you include businesses. So there was the award ceremony. I've been to a couple of them and I always remember there's CEOs in the rooms, there's news crews, there's print

Kane Errol Choa: 18:08

That's right.

Adrian Cropley: 18:09

there's a big. To do about it, which is not just about the communication profession, but the importance of communication in society. So there's a lot that goes behind that and something you know, you guys should be really proud of,

Kane Errol Choa: 18:25

Yeah, it's a celebration of excellence. And it's an inspiration for a lot of young people in the profession who would like to validate what they're doing and receiving a quill is that seal of excellence that they get. So they're more inspired to get it. And the reaction that they get whenever they win an award, they know that it's Difficult to win a gold quill or a Philippine quill. And if you meet the standards set by IABC, then you're doing something right. So it inspires them to do more. And we give them that moment to shine on stage with a recognition every year. And, I guess that's how we do it to, make people feel rewarded fulfilled and inspired further.

Adrian Cropley: 19:08

I'm not sure whether it's the students or the CEOs that were more excited being on the stage. I used to, I looked at the face and I'm going, Oh my God, there is one proud CEO who was just super excited about their organization. And this is about success together, isn't it? It's just absolutely beautiful to see. Um, so just, you know, just From, my role, the Center for Strategic Communication Excellence, we encourage people to take part in things like the IABC Gold Quills, the Philippine Quills, or other, award opportunities. I mean, these are great, times to learn and develop. So thank you for sharing that. And thank you for all the volunteer leadership you do.

Kane Errol Choa: 19:52

You are also a volunteer leader in our region and in IABC.

Adrian Cropley: 20:00

my bank manager tells me I probably do a lot more volunteering than they actually do business. But you've got to try and find the balance. But thank you. That's really lovely of you. I want to give you an opportunity before we finish our podcast today to share some of your tips for younger professionals to get ahead in their career. What are some of the lessons you learned to demonstrating that value and being able to get ahead in your career? What are the tips you would share?

Kane Errol Choa: 20:28

I would share three tips, Adrian. The first, is you have to be, to adapt. in this age of digital communications, where technologies evolve instantly. You must be able to understand and adapt immediately. And I think young people will be able to do that because digital communications is second nature to them. And aside from adapting the second point, is to focus on outcome and not just output. And I think it's important that they understand what they're doing and what do they want to accomplish at the end? And it's just better to see it in terms of output and outcome, but they must always look at, not just, after doing an event or a campaign, they feel like it was successfully staged last night and that's it. They don't look at the impact? What is the consequence? What does it do to the organization? So it's important to look at that and look at the outcome. What, what did it translate for the company and did it help you achieve your goals and answer the need of the organization. And lastly, also to tell them to build relationships with their stakeholders. It takes years to do that, but that is very important because at any time, the organization needs stakeholders to speak about your brand or organization. They will be there for you. So building that relationship with your stakeholders is also key. those are the three things, Adrian, that I would tell the young professionals to develop and focus as they build their career in communications.

Adrian Cropley: 22:12

Brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing those. And they're three very important tips for people to remember. Now I said that I'll give you the final word and do a bit of a plug for the, APAC, Fusion Conference with IABC, which is going to be in Manila. So I'm very excited about that, but tell me a little bit about the conference and what people can look forward to.

Kane Errol Choa: 22:34

Thanks, Adrian, for this opportunity to plug it. We just launched, that's IABC Asia-Pacific, launched Fusion 2025. Communicate. Connect. Catalyze. That is the theme of our conference that is happening in Manila in March 17 and 18, 2025. So this is a gathering of communication professionals from across Asia Pacific. We will have speakers from different parts of the world talking about the latest trends and issues in media and communications. around, the theme of communicate, connect, and catalyze, it's a perfect opportunity to network with your peers in the region. if you'd like, to know the latest in communication, network with like minded people here in the region, and enjoy the beauty of the Philippines, don't miss Fusion 2025 in March, next year. And Adrian, as we say in the Philippines, It's more fun in the Philippines. You'll love it here. Come spend a few days here in Manila and then go around the Philippines and you will enjoy our different, uh, beautiful spots.

Adrian Cropley: 23:44

Well, thank you. And I, I tell you what I am. I'm coming. I told you that before I said, I am definitely coming. And for years, you have been promoting go to Boracay. So I'm going to take that opportunity this time for sure.

Kane Errol Choa: 23:58

So go to Boracay, go to Palawan. There are many things to explore here, so you won't regret it. it's a perfect month to visit March. It's our summer, season. So you'll get to enjoy our places conveniently.

Adrian Cropley: 24:14

And I could not agree more. it is the most beautiful place and beautiful people. speaking of beautiful people, it has been an absolute pleasure talking to you, Kane and I am so glad I continued my theme in the Philippines with Ritzy and yourself. Thank you again for joining me today.

Kane Errol Choa: 24:32

Thanks Adrian for having me. As we always say, Maraming Salamat, Mabuhay.

Adrian Cropley: 24:40

uh, uh, thank you to everyone for joining us today on, a view from the top and look forward to connecting with you next time on our next episode.