Michelle Dee is bank's first brand ambassador in a hundred years
Current reigning Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Dee can add another achievement to her list as she has been tapped by a bank that has not only been around for more than a century, but one that she has a personal connection with.
Michelle Dee was named China Bank's first-ever brand ambassador in its 104-year history, with the contract signing held on Valentine's Day at the China Bank main office in Makati. Aside from Michelle, present at the contract signing were Hans Sy, Chairman of Chinabank; Gilbert Dee, Chinabank Vice Chair; Patrick D. Cheng, Chinabank Chief Finance Officer; Romeo D. Uyuan, Jr., Chinabank President & CEO; Joy Romina Marcelo, VP-Sparkle GMA Artist Center; and Jonas A. Gaffud, CEO of Empire.Ph.
In one of her more recent posts on Instagram, Michelle described the new role as something “momentous” and expressed her excitement at the projects that are about to come out from her new role.
Michelle also has a personal connection with China Bank, which was where her grandparents Dee K. "DK" Chiong and Regina Dee worked as president and director, respectively. But more than the personal connection, Michelle revealed that it was shared values that really made her want to take on the new role.
“I am related to the founding family but that doesn't mean that changes anything. We all have that shared vision of trying to promote the Philippines and providing opportunities to all the Filipinos around. That is something we are very aligned with,” she explained. “Of course, China Bank has built an amazing legacy and to be their first brand ambassador in 103 years, that's an amazing recognition. I love the feeling that they just validated my journey, validated what I wanted to exude to my countrymen.”
Aileen Vallesteros, China Bank's head of marketing and communications, echoed Michelle's statement, explaining that what Michelle represents aligns with the bank's values.
“We feel she's a good role model for the youth who we want to tap as a 100-year-old institution. We want to tap an ambassador who will be a role model for the younger market but won't alienate the older market. She straddles both segments,” she said.
China Bank was so convinced that Michelle was the right fit for their brand that they approached her right after she won the Miss Universe Philippines pageant.
“We were in talks as early as May or June. But we knew it was just a matter of time. We didn't even look for any other endorser. It took from June to August and then we restarted after her Miss Universe run,” Aileen recalled.
As China Bank's ambassador, Aileen said that Michelle will be fronting a lot of the bank's upcoming services and products.
“She is our only institutional brand ambassador. Aside from that, we will be shooting commercials with her. She will also be doing materials for specific services and products, notably our mobile app because that is launching the soonest. We are revamping our mobile app to be at par. She will be promoting that for us,” she revealed.
This new endorsement is just the latest accomplishment that Michelle has achieved since returning from the Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador. In December last year, Michelle was recognized by the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, who feted Michelle for her “achievements as the Philippines' representative to the 72nd Miss Universe competition.”
Michelle has also welcomed Miss Universe Thailand Anntonia Porsild to the country. Michelle had revealed in an earlier Instagram Live with the Thai beauty queen that Anntonia would be visiting the country.
Michelle has also continued her work with the Autism Society Philippines. Last month, she and the organization signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SM Markets in which “SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and SM Savemore commit to championing inclusive work around the Philippines by hiring people on the autism spectrum.”
