Malacañang Changes Tourism Slogan to "Pilipinas Kay Ganda"

[sharkey360]

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Boo Chanco speaks!

What happened to Bertie's roadmap?

I was not impressed with the last Tourism Secretary of Ate Glue. I thought he was wrong to go to so many tourism exhibitions and conventions on the pretext of selling the country because he has not done his homework first. By homework, I mean getting the product up to standard prior to marketing. When I was starting out in advertising, my guru, the late Tony de Joya emphasized to me that it is dangerous to bring to market a half baked product or service.

An inherently good product like the Philippines can be ruined by bad handling. A good product must be market positioned well and prepared meticulously to assure ultimate consumer satisfaction. Bad consumer experience in an otherwise good product can cause serious problems that will sell the product short. Trial and error is out of the question. That ruins the brand personality. The Tourism Secretary is the country brand manager and it is his responsibility to make sure everything is up to standard.

Normally, tourism promotion should be the responsibility of the private sector. But in our case, the person running Tourism holds a Cabinet level position for a good reason: we are a developing country and our tourism industry requires a lot of help from government in terms of infrastructure and regulatory system. The first Tourism Secretary, Sunshine Joe Aspiras and Tita Cory’s Tony Gonzalez were both respected enough and well connected enough to make things happen.

Thus, the Tourism Secretary is a brand manager with cabinet clout who can buttonhole a fellow cabinet member for things his own department cannot provide but badly need. These are things like assuring tourist safety (police), efficient and safe transportation facilities (DOTC), good looking and clean airports and ports (DOTC), good highways and access roads to sites (DPWH) and such things.

In his own department, the Tourism Secretary must worry about keeping delivery of tourist services up to world class standards because that’s part of the brand experience. The rating of hotels and restaurants had been delegated to local governments who are proven not capable of doing this in a way that would provide consistent quality nationwide. The new Tourism Code gives back that power and responsibility to DOT.

The first public statement of Bertie Lim after his nomination as the new Tourism Secretary gave me hope that at last, we will have someone who knows his priorities right. The blogsite of Karen Cardenas refreshed my memory of the roadmap that Bertie revealed in those heady days when the new government was being formed.

These are: 1. upgrade infrastructure; 2. upgrade “the quality of the travel experience” to meet international standards; 3. market what is unique [in terms of history and culture] about this country; 4. promote cuisine; 5. boost its sports; 6. promote its world class medical facilities; 7. attract a higher class of tourists, not backpackers who have little effect on the economy.

So, what happened to this roadmap? I realize this roadmap sounds like good long term plans. But even in the absence of adequate infrastructure, Bertie must have felt he has to be seen doing something… anything at all to justify his and his department’s existence. When the Luneta carnage happened, I guess Bertie and his staff lost their perspective.

They may have also been pressured by the launching of the PPP by Finance Secretary Purisima. I suppose they wanted to impress the President that they too have something to show. What better way to do this than have a visible media campaign promoting the country?

I guess they were too much in a hurry and came out with a half-baked product. Even Yoly Ong of Campaigns and Grey, who owned up to the controversial logo and kay ganda theme, told me these are preliminary studies yet to be subjected to testing and FGDs or focused group discussions. Even she was surprised the Tourism department prematurely launched it with a flashy extravaganza.

In fairness to Yoly, I saw some of the other studies she presented and at least a couple of those studies have possibilities. But her client, DOT, selected the worsT possible option. The story I am getting from reliable sources privy to the planning is that the kay ganda campaign was presented to tourism attaches in a conference last September and was rejected.

The worsT part of it is when they googled the name of the website during the conference, my source e-mailed me, “naglabasan na iyong porno sites and mail order Filipinas!!!! So kalokohan iyong sinasabi nila na ngayon lang nila nalaman iyong porno site....” Bertie was supposed to have said at that time that the whole shebang was being shelved for further study. My source is now wondering “how it got resurrected is a very big question mark!!!!.”

Apparently, all the arguments now being dished out in both traditional and social media are exactly the same arguments made when the campaign was rejected during the meeting with the tourism attaches and marketing staff. Veteran advertising and marketing people are now laughing out loud in social media out of frustration because obviously, as one of them puts it, “some people in DOT did not know the difference between slogans and branding/brand positioning.” Neither the Secretary nor the Undersecretary had serious marketing experience and cannot be presumed to have inculcated the marketing discipline.

Otherwise, they would have known one other thing I learned during my advertising and marketing years… you don’t change a running campaign just because you are bored with it… or because the new CEO or brand manager wants to establish his own mark. As we have seen in the recent case of GAP, the garments brand, a simple change of logo drew consumer protests serious enough to make GAP management turn back.

One invests on a brand personality through the years and a shift in the marketing communications strategy must be absolutely necessary before it is done. You don’t want to throw away your previous investments by starting from square one. Worse, you may even detract from the established brand personality and ruin the product’s perception by its intended market. I believe Wow Philippines still has plenty of possibilities. It only requires creative minds to re-engineer it.

Hopefully Bertie realizes he is no longer spokesman of the Makati Business Club and can no longer be arrogant and get away with it. He should have been humble enough to have acknowledged the campaign’s shortcomings instead of waiting for the President to order its shelving. Bertie should also realize no one expects him to be an expert in everything. There is no shame in admitting some inadequacies in marketing and consulting with experts. There are many who may even be willing to donate their services for the good of the country.

Fiesta Islands

I got this e-mail from former Tourism Usec Wally Reyes during the Cory Aquino watch reacting to our column on the tourism campaign last Friday.

Hi, Boo,

Interesting article! Reminded me of the Fiesta Islands, Philippines campaign that we ran during the presidency of Cory Aquino. The rationale of that campaign was that our customs dictate that we put our best foot forward as hosts during a fiesta; one can savor great foods, the festivities, the fun, the sights, the interactions with people...one simply finds enjoyment as he participates in a fiesta...and since we’re almost celebrating fiestas all-year round, you can find a fiesta anywhere in the Philippines.... so for the tourist, he is assured that he’s given the red carpet when he arrives; for, after all, the guest of honor in any fiesta gets special treatment!!!!

We even twisted the Edsa revolution 1 as the biggest fiesta with people roaming the whole stretch of EDSA, enjoying food, interaction, music, etc.... only problem was the coups and counter-coups during those periods which prevented a full-blown implementation of the campaign!

The reality is, the Philippines have a lot to offer as a tourist destination! Doesn’t the Philippines have two natural wonders that are finalists in the search for the 7 natural wonders of the world? Isn’t our Boracay, Palawan, specially Amanpulo, a favorite destination for the Hollywood celebrities and the sultans and shieks? Aren’t our music and musicians world renowned?

There are qualities and assets that the Philippines can claim exclusivity on. After all, our tourism assets/destinations/adventures are actually superior to our neighbors... ask the divers, ask the bird watchers, ask the adventurers, ask the ordinary tourists who have interacted with their hosts!!!!!!! all of these are exclusive to the Philippines!!!!!

What happened to Bertie's roadmap? - DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco | The Philippine Star >> News >> Business

[RMK711]

WTF.. Are they trying to attract gay tourists to this country? Why don't they just use "Pilipinas: Ang Bakla" - We even have Asia's first gay president!

[llradzll]

ibalik na lang si Ace. maayo pa mudala sa DOT.

[Saint_hard]

wala cya ni sugot kay wala man ganahi ang mga tao...

pero isa man cya sa ga hatag ug idea... like putting tarsier sa i ug katong lubi

sakto ka bro, impossible keug wala kabalo si pnoy, b4 ni gpagawas nilang Lim....na unsa naman tawn nis pnoy wui, murag ang mga tawo may gbuang ani nila wui...

[cobraKing]

ibalik c Ace Durano oi..mas ni boom pa ang tourist ato ni durano kay sa karon na ni puli..ipa tiwas ni ace durano ang nindot na project ni arroyo..

[Dark-Knight]

Mas ganahan ko si Dick Gordon mopuli after sa ban.

[Xilcher]

pag ipadayun ni nila..

paka uwaw lng sa pilipinas..

bugo jud atoa tourism secretary..

ibalik si ace durano!!

He's the best guy

[necrotic freak]

wala cya ni sugot kay wala man ganahi ang mga tao...

pero isa man cya sa ga hatag ug idea... like putting tarsier sa i ug katong lubi

ingon man gud si Pnoy, kayo ang boss ko!

[cobraKing]

^^mag cge nlng diay ug agad c pnoy sa mga tao ron..dli jud ta moasenso ani..

[vulture08]

Bati jud kaau paminawon ang "PILIPINAS KAY GANDA" murag PINOY ra jud kaau.....hehehhe