Celebrities, bloggers, and the who’s who of the retail industry all gathered at Salon de Ning at The Peninsula Manila last April 25, to witness the launch of a great new addition to their shopping experience: Bench MasterCard.
To commemorate Bench’s 25th anniversary, the label has teamed up with banking industry leader BDO, for a card that ensures the best deals and reliability of service. The draw of such a milestone was so great, in fact, that it brought together shoppers and Bench enthusiasts from all parts of the spectrum—including endorsers Isabelle Daza and Dingdong Dantes, even fashion fans and bloggers who know how to spot a great deal when they see it. Guests had the chance to win Bench gift certificates and watches. That night, VIPs have received their Bench MasterCard- a great treat, in line with its ability to make one look good and shop smart, all while availing of the latest deals at their favorite shopping destination, Bench.
This marks, of course, another first in Bench’s illustrious history. A true pioneer, Bench was the first company to promote the concept of celebrity endorsers and image models, first hiring young actor Richard Gomez as an image model in 1988. His turn as a rower in Bench’s “A Day In A Sculler’s Life” TV commercial created in 1991 by Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre, won the label several awards at the Philippine Advertising Congress. Today, the roster of image models has expanded to include both celebrities and prominent personalities both locally and globally. As proof of its global reach, Bench has expanded with outposts in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, Shanghai, China; Kuwait; Daly City, San Francisco; Los Angeles; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Bahrain; Guangzhou, Xian, and Dubai. And in 1997, Bench pioneered the first underwear show in the Philippines. This position as a leader and trendsetter continues today with the launch of the Bench BDO MasterCard.
With its complete array of industry-leading products and services catering to the retail and corporate markets, BDO comes in as the perfect partner, being a full-service bank that offers lending (corporate, middle market, SME, and consumer), deposit-taking, foreign exchange, brokering, trust and investments, credit cards, corporate cash management, and remittances. The bank also has one of the largest distribution networks with over 700 branch licenses and more than 1,400 ATMs nationwide. BDO issues the most brands in the country namely MasterCard, Visa, American Express, JCB and Union Pay, as well as tie-up cards like the Bench MasterCard. The bank likewise dominates the credit card merchant acquiring business in the Philippines with BDO POS terminals being the only terminals in the industry to accept the five credit card brands and BancNet, MegaLink, Expressnet cards as well.
Users earn double rewards points for purchases made at Bench/ Partner stores, priority access to selected sale events and special invites to selected exclusive events, an exclusive birthday treat, 0% installment options at 3 & 6 months, worldwide acceptance of the MasterCard brand, and exclusive discounts or freebies from Bench and its partner stores: Aldo, Aldo Accessories, CC-OO, Call it Spring, Celio, Charles and Keith, CPS, Dimensione, Early Learning Centre, The Face Shop, F&X, Human, Kashieca, La Senza, Lyn, Mothercare, Pedro, Patchi and Repetto- all great reasons to grab the Bench MasterCard today.
