MANILA, Philippines / LOS ANGELES, USA, November 13, 2015 -- Leading telecom and digital services provider Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (“PLDT”) (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI) has entered into a partnership with US­-based fan app developer, Hopscotch, to market and exclusively distribute Hopscotch’s mobile solutions in Southeast Asia. The company’s investment arm, PLDT Capital, has put $US1M into the partnership, which has already produced apps for fans of the Philippine Basketball Association, E-­Sports Gaming Summit and the Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5 concerts. 

PLDT Capital’s co­-managing director Winston Damarillo encouraged sports teams, retail brands and events companies to grow their fan base and consumer loyalty through custom applications built on Hopscotch’s platform.

“More and more Filipinos are starting to use their smartphones to connect with brands, and Hopscotch provides businesses, both large and small, the opportunity to engage with their customers in a more personalized way,” he said.

In as little as two weeks, businesses can customize their own apps by dragging and dropping video, music and social media assets into a Content Management System. The interface can also deliver audience insights and revenue reports on merchandise and ticket sales, enabled by plug­and­play services integrated into the platform.

PLDT Capital has engaged local digital content provider, MediaQuest Holdings’ Digital5, to go to market in the Philippines. Head of Digital5, Coach Chot Reyes, said he planned to offer creative services to produce cutting­edge graphics and short­form videos to be seeded within the app.

“A lot of companies can build apps, but the key is to give fans a reason to keep using them ­ this drives engagement, and provides stickiness for our partners.”

MediaQuest President and CEO Noel Lorenzana said Digital5’s participation in the deal underscored the company’s commitment to capture Filipino viewers across all kinds of screens.

“Many of them are now digital natives and look to their devices for content that is tailored for them,” he said.

Apart from servicing a string of sports teams and venues, Hopscotch recently designed and delivered mobile apps for two of the world’s most celebrated live events, New York Fashion Week and Taste of London.

Founder and CEO of Hopscotch, Laurence Sotsky, expressed his excitement over expanding into Asia.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the PLDT Group as our exclusive distributor in the ASEAN Region,” he said. “Not only does this partnership expand Hopscotch’s footprint into Southeast Asia, but it also gives us access to a wide variety of large-­scale opportunities across sports, entertainment and retail.”