Telling o-some stories | Manila Times

Michelle Orosa-Ople’s transition from the newsroom to the boardroom is a natural transition from storytelling to helping her clients tell their stories.

Michelle Orosa-Ople, Managing Partner and Director of Media Relations and Activation, Ripple8

Michelle Orosa-Ople, Managing Partner and Director of Media Relations and Activation, Ripple8

Michel Orosa-OpleManaging Partner and Director of Media Relations and Activation at Ripple8

“We help employees cope and inspire them. We booked a long weekend for them to celebrate Mental Health Day. Although we don’t see each other physically, we show them that we care about them. We are having an open dialogue. We have Freedom Fridays.”

Inspiring stories of Filipinos overcoming adversity prompted former journalist Michelle Orosa-Ople to move from the newsroom to the boardroom in 2017.

Before joining Ripple8 DDB Group Philippines, where she is Managing Partner and Director of Media and Activations, Michelle hosted a radio talk show where she analyzed business issues, talked about the people who strengthen Filipino entrepreneurial spirit and promote consumer rights.

She also covered and produced television specials about the visit of Pope Francis, about a jeepney driver affected by high oil, electricity and water prices, as well as communication problems. She has done news analysis for Bloomberg TV and has also hosted TV news, personal finance and economics.

A two-year fellowship in Berlin introduced her to financial journalism. She learned about globalization at Columbia University in New York in 2007. She learned to tell the stories behind the numbers and understand industrial economics and personal finance.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from Ateneo de Manila University in 2004.

Michelle Oh comes from a family with a rich heritage.

“The Orosas are quiet, but their services make a big difference. I draw inspiration from them. They deeply respect their roots.” Visiting Bauan, Batangas, she was shown Orosa Street, where her ancestors lived.

During the Orosa family reunion, she sat at the table of great-grandmother Rosalind “Baby” L. Orosa, 99, a well-known journalist and advocate for culture and the arts.

Her father, Michael S. Orosa, a martial arts instructor, founded MPower Self-Defence, an organization that helps women protect themselves.

Michelle O. has been married for 22 years to Carlo Ople, a digital entrepreneur, creator, investor, marketer, and founder and editor-in-chief of Unbox.ph., the second most visited tech blog in the Philippines.

“I haven’t really retired from the media,” says Michelle, who prefers to be called Michelle Oh.

She sat with The Manila Times at UnboxGH, a beehive in Greenhills, San Juan City, where more than 200 people belong to the community of collectors and sellers she created during the pandemic to help MSMEs get back on their feet in the wake of COVID-19. 19

According to Michelle O., this is a natural evolution from storytelling to helping the client learn how to tell their story.

The health condition led Michello Oh to “look for a place where you can tell stories without the physical demands.”

Trained as a financial journalist in the US and Germany, Michelle Oh has nearly twenty years of experience as a reporter, radio and television presenter.

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FAMILY TRADITIONS The Orosa family celebrates important events together.  PROVIDED PHOTO

FAMILY TRADITIONS The Orosa family celebrates important events together. PROVIDED PHOTO

Michelle Oh combines listening with strategies. She invests in tools and relationships to be predictable and proactive. Her work with clients creates campaigns that tell powerful stories.

She said the stories they create at Ripple8 inspire positive change.

As a visual storyteller, Michelle Oh and her team communicate effectively.

One such story is that of Meralco engineers and line repairmen who traveled to Cebu and Bohol to help restore power to a region hit by Super Typhoon Odetta in the days leading up to Christmas 2021.

The Meralco crew spent Christmas and New Year away from their families, amid destruction and despair.

After a month of installing hundreds of poles and reconnecting lines to help restore power to Cebu and Bohol, 43 Meralco installers and engineers, as well as 23 trucks and cars, have returned to Manila to meet the heroes.

“We do not know the faces of these people with families who risked their lives to help restore power to people who are not Meralco subscribers. We hear their excitement to return home to their family after what they have done. on the front pages without ads because they inspire people,” says Michelle O.

Her team was also behind the campaign to bring back the magic of Christmas after the pandemic for a fast food giant customer.

Ripple8 has also capitalized on Filipinos’ obsession with Korean pop culture and has attracted Korean drama stars as a telecom client.

“Korean drama stars like Hyun Bin entertained people and made them forget about the Delta strain,” she says.

big challenge

Keeping high-performing employees happy is no easy task, especially in unusual times.

The pandemic has caused a shift in priorities and made everyone realize that family is important. Work is also important, and Michelle Oh wanted them to know that the company is with them through difficult times.

“We help employees cope and inspire them. We booked a long weekend for them to celebrate Mental Health Day.

“Even though we don’t see each other physically, we show them that we care. We have open dialogues. We have Freedom Fridays. movie evenings. In the end, everything balances out. Clients find support and move forward.”

ABOUT ME

ROLE MODEL

Princess Diana, known for her heart despite hardships

GOAL

We work to help our clients feel safe. Not transactional

FIRST PAID JOB

Business magazine editorial assistant

MORNING RITUAL

Lots of quiet time. Pray. Read the Bible. Then check your email.

BEST SKILL

Listen to people, arrange them so that they can talk

TIME IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

Almost all day monitoring and checking as part of the job. For relaxation, two hours a day.

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