A 10 Blog Series for Marketers, PR Professionals & Digital Strategists

ABOUT THIS SERIES

This is Inside the Campaign — a 10-part series drawn from my direct experience in the Communications Group of then-candidate Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the 2016 Philippine presidential elections.

My role covered TV and radio strategy and the overall management of the campaign’s social media effort. What I witnessed — and what we built — permanently changed how I think about media, messaging, and movements.

These posts are written for marketers, PR professionals, political scientists, and digital strategists. The lessons are not confined to politics. Every principle we applied in 2016 maps directly onto the challenges facing communicators and brand builders today.

The schedule: The series launches Tuesday, July 21, 2026, and runs for 10 consecutive weeks. I’ll publish one lesson every Tuesday at around 830 AM — Post 1 through Post 10, in order. In between, on other days of the week, I’ll continue posting on other topics. So if you want the series on its own, look for it every Tuesday morning.

Read it in order, or jump to the post most relevant to you. Each one stands on its own.

The 10 posts:

  1. Why social media was the real tipping point of the 2016 Philippine elections
  2. Authenticity as the most powerful campaign strategy
  3. How we framed the field: the art of political positioning
  4. Exploiting regional identity: the Bisaya na pud movement
  5. Let a hundred flowers bloom: why UGC beats agency campaigns
  6. Arouse, organize, mobilize: turning followers into real-world campaigners
  7. How to run a national campaign with almost no budget — and win
  8. How social media democratized narrative-making in the Philippines
  9. The MyDuterte story campaign: one idea, thousands of narratives
  10. 10 lessons every digital strategist should know

About the Author

Nic Gabunada is a veteran communications strategist with decades of experience in broadcast media, advertising, and digital campaigns. He served in the Communications Group of the 2016 Duterte presidential campaign, overseeing TV, radio, and social media strategy. He has spoken at the 3rd 4As General Membership Meeting, the White Space Club, and various academic and industry forums on the lessons of the 2016 campaign. He continues to work with brands, organizations, and public figures on communications strategy and digital engagement.