40 Under 40 2023: Earl Guico, Elesi Studios

Earl Guico

Managing partner, president and CEO
Elesi Studios
Philippines 

The speed at which Elesi Studios, launched by Earl Guico in 2022, has grown is astounding. In its first year of inception, the agency saw top-line business growth of 942%, pitch wins went up by 402%, and tech-led outputs grew by a staggering 1390%. Aside from servicing its sister company, Propel Manila, Elesi has agency clients like Dentsu Jayme Syfu, Publicis Jimenez-Basic, Greenbulb Communications, Ogilvy Bates + Chi, Harrison Communications, and event marketing agency, Brand On Demand. Furthermore, some of its direct clients are GoTyme Bank, Robinsons Malls, and Spotify’s number one most-streamed OPM artist, Ben&Ben, to name a few. 

Right from the outset, Guico challenged the status quo of how productions were approached in the Philippines, reinventing how consumers and clients experience content.  The business numbers just validate Guico’s vision of launching a stand-alone, tech-driven content house that addresses the demand for fast, digital, on-demand content. 

Already a medium-sized company, Guico manages a team of 44 creators towards one common mission—to create content that shapes cultures. The agency’s bespoke modular approach and deployment of cost-efficient tools, agile and adaptive teams allow for fast, high-quality digital innovations that are easy on the client's budget. 

Elesi Studios’ platform-first, digital-native approach has led to a boom in content anchored on the consumers’ evolving digital behaviour—from compelling vertical-first videos to immersive AR innovations—Guico and his team empower brands with new technology to push the envelopes of creativity. 

Guico takes pride in his extra curriculars outside the day job. He co-created Metaversity, a hands-on programme that lets creators, brands, storytellers, and agencies experiment with the Metaverse. He also leads ARAL, an upskilling project by 4As and Elesi, that offers a curriculum for the creative and advertising industry in the Philippines. Causes that are close to his heart include Planet Cora—he works with them to promote eco-friendly, circular economy efforts in different barangays and supports Silid Aralan, Inc. to provide scholarships for underprivileged, underachieving students.