CONCERTS promoter Ovation Productions joined the Philippines’ top 20 advertisers in the first nine months of the year, the latest sign of the growing clout of the emerging affluent segment of the market.

According to the latest Nielsen Media Research Survey, Ovation’s ad spend surged 556 percent to P1.59 billion from only P242 million last year. Tickets from its last concert sold for as much as P7,000 each.

Nielsen’s survey results come weeks after Jollibee Foods Corp. announced it would take a majority stake in the Philippine operations of the high-end Burger King fast-food chain.

Known more for its mass-market appeal, Jollibee had been expanding abroad and acquiring foreign brands to arrest a slowing home market.

Like Jollibee, Burger King serves hamburger, fried chicken and french fries but charges a premium of about 30 percent.

Jollibee’s change of tack can be seen from its latest wave of ads targeting the middle- and upper-middle market.

“We expect this trend to continue as companies realize the potential of this growing market segment, both in number and purchasing power,” said Theresa Marcial-Javier, head of BPI Asset Management.

Anchored on the strength of remittances from overseas Filipino workers and the booming business process outsourcing industry, disposable incomes continue to rise and corporations, both here and abroad, have been quick to offer a wide array of products and services for the more savvy and affluent customer.

“It comes with your sense of progress—you aspire to get access with better brands,” said Sergio Zanatti, Citibank Philippines’ manager for consumer business.

Financial institutions such as Citibank, the largest wealth manager in Asia Pacific with more than $185 billion assets under management, have also begun to offer a full suite of services catering to the emerging affluent segment.

Last week, Citibank launched a “new value proposition” that will work on the three pillars such as unparalleled access and responsiveness, full suite of global banking services and personalized products and services for each client.

Citibank estimates the emerging affluent segment of the Philippines at about 5 million individuals, who have investible assets of from $10,000 to $100,000. This segment is expected to grow by 10 percent to 12 percent a year.

Besides strong remittances and the growth of the BPO sector, the stable political environment that has encouraged business confidence in the Philippines and the credible monetary policy backdrop that helped tame inflation expectations and boost purchasing power have also fuelled the growing affluence, Javier said.

“With a buoyant local economy supported by strong remittance flows from overseas Filipinos and a dynamic BPO sector, a greater portion of the population is now able to move up from the base of the income pyramid and enjoy better quality of life,” she said.

In the latest Nielsen survey, OFW beneficiaries belonging to the class DE fell to 48 percent from 66 percent in 2007. The C2 class, on the other hand, expanded from 23 percent in 2007 to 39 percent this year.

“When they come home, they bring along with them all the learning that they can get overseas and apply them here. That generates another pool of people who’s actually contributing to the segment,” Zanatti said.

Despite the anemic growth in the US and Europe, the emerging affluent market in Asia is projected to grow from 12 percent to 15 percent, with revenues expected to grow by 8 percent to 15 percent a year in most countries, said Citibank, citing the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2011.