My ‘Mega’ memories: How it was working with Sari Yap

I graduated Economics but knew from the start that it was not my calling.

I just wanted to have a proper business degree, get college over with, and start working. There was a summer during college that I fancied reading MEGA and Lifestyle Asia because an uncle who worked in an advertising agency shared a number of copies to my grandmother. 

I was fascinated with the beautiful editorials and interesting articles. It got me hooked and I realized I wanted to work in MEGA. I made an attempt after graduation and left a resume but I never got a callback. Life went on and I worked in corporate companies.

Years after, at the height of the digital age’s entry, I started blogging. At the same time, I slowly began to establish myself in lifestyle public relations. I met a number of wonderful people and started attending fancy parties. It was then that I realized that not everything was glitz and glamour – I had to work to establish my presence; I needed to be seen and heard. Meeting the right people became beneficial to begin, survive, and flourish.

I never expected to meet Sari Yap. I was introduced to her twice on separate parties. I remember being overwhelmed with seeing and meeting her. My aspirations of working in MEGA flashbacked. Around the 4th time we met, we were at the same cocktail table with common friends at a watch launch. I still remember telling her, “You know, I always wanted to work in MEGA. I tried to apply before but I guess there wasn’t a fit.”

Right then and there, she told me to send my resume to her email. I did so the next day.

After a few days, I was scheduled for interview. In two weeks time, I became the PR manager of what was then the MEGA Publishing Group. Sari made my dream come true. It was sheer joy when I saw my name printed for the first time on the masthead of MEGA’s October 2011 issue with Paris Hilton on the cover.

The Devil Wears Prada still comes to mind when I look back at my time in MEGA. I was talking to Sari’s sister Ria at her wake and told her that I’ve experienced Sari checking me from head to toe. Colleagues who previously worked at MEGA’s sales department validated this with their own experiences as well. A lot of people dreaded having to cross paths with her, and even made it a point to not take the same elevator with her.

It wasn’t that she had a habit of mocking what people wore – it was more about affirming the roles we all had. We all represented a prestige publication – the Philippines’ best fashion magazine – and all the titles that were at the top of their game.

Top caliber assurance was crucial and we had to dress the part.

Sari as a boss

Sari had foresight and knew exactly what she wanted and what needed to be done. People in the company didn’t always agree with her decisions, but she had the ability to see certain things quite differently from most people. Her years of experience starting a company from the ground up, expanding it and diversifying into different platforms constantly honed her experience and credibility. It’s a feat most people can only dream of. 

She developed different products to appeal to different markets, and always seemed to know what people wanted before they knew it themselves. 

I will always remember the definition of a MEGA woman: successful, smart, and stylish. Simply put, these women lived the lives they worked hard for and understood the stories crafted for them. Content was never done just to entertain; everything had to have a purpose. 

Sari steered the direction of fashion’s supposed superficial concept into an influentially meaningful and empowering medium for its readers.

Lessons from MEGA 

People always say that at MEGA, you will learn everything you need to succeed – at work, life, and then some. More is always asked of you and you learn to take the lessons with you. It wasn’t always easy, but it was necessary to push forward the industry. 

I was there when MEGA celebrated its 20th anniversary and had to do more than what was expected of me. That experience taught me how to work with what I was given. More importantly, it taught me how to make things possible. One of my tasks was to guarantee full-page features from top newspapers in the country. While some thought asking for a page would be challenging, mustering the audacity to ask respected editors to allow us to tell our story worked out in the end. 

My mindset of “everything is possible” resulted in one newspaper publishing a full-page article on Sari’s 20 favorite covers in 20 years, while another allowed us to highlight our then editors in one full-page. It was confirmation of everything I had learned so far. 

I worked a year for and with Sari, at around the same time the company was transitioning into ONE MEGA GROUP. Sari knew everything that happened in the company. She might not always praise you directly for your accomplishments, but you’ll know through others that you did something right.

My last day of work was spent at her house shooting her television feature. After which, I thanked her for the enormous opportunity she had given me. I decided to resign because I realized that working in an office was not for me anymore and I wanted to make it on my own. She understood. 

Sari impacted the lives of not just countless readers, but people. I always say she picked a nobody and believed more in me than I did myself. I can’t thank her enough. I hope I made her proud. 

Before going to her wake, I briefly met a client who was surprised and felt that I was dressed more stylishly than usual. She asked, “Do you really need to be that dressed to attend Sari’s wake?” I simply answered, “That’s how she would have wanted it.” – Rappler.com