The Secretary of Tourism should be both a marketing man and a politician

At the 50th anniversary celebration of the Department of Tourism (DoT) at The Manila Hotel last Tuesday, June 27, Secretary Christina Frasco launched the DoT’s “enhanced” tourism campaign slogan — “Love the Philippines.” She said, “The campaign ‘Love the Philippines’ is not a mere branding campaign, but rather a call to action to every Filipino citizen to remember the beauty of our country, to honor our past, and to look forward to the future armed with the virtues, values of being a Filipino. ‘Love the Philippines’ is a recognition of our natural assets, our long and storied history, our rich culture and diversity.”

I infer from the statement of Secretary Frasco that she wants the new slogan to instill nationalism in every Filipino citizen, for every one of them to be proud of the country’s natural wonders, history, culture, and diversity. She expressed the hope that the new slogan would sustain interest and bring attention to places not necessarily highlighted in DoT’s typical branding campaign.

A well-known acronym in advertising, one which students of Advertising come across in their freshman year, is AIDA. It stands for attention, interest, desire, and action — the process an advertisement is supposed to set off. The visual element or sound of the advertisement should draw the attention of the newspaper or magazine reader, television viewer, or radio listener and its message should arouse interest, then stimulate desire, and eventually stir action — to buy the product or service advertised. The new tourism slogan is in reverse of AIDA. It calls for action first — love the Philippines — then, as Secretary Frasco hopes, the viewer develops an interest in the Philippines, and thus bring attention to less-publicized places.

The slogan demands blind love — love the Philippines first, then get to know about it. The slogan is commanding when it should be enchanting and beguiling.

Absent in the new promotional video are the tourist attractions featured in previous campaigns “Wow, Philippines” and “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” The end-result, Secretary Frasco desires — which is every Filipino taking pride in our natural wonders, culture, heritage, cuisine, music, and diversity — will not be achieved. The video “Tara na, biyahe tayo,” which invites the audience to embark on a journey to see the beauty of the Philippines and to witness the talent of Filipinos, is more effective in instilling pride in things Philippine.

To justify the replacement of the slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” Marie Adriano, brand and strategic planner of the marketing firm DDB Group Philippines, pointed out that “love” is the positive theme travelers associate with the Philippines and is “frequently mentioned in high volume globally.” “While ‘fun’ remains a positive theme and certainly part of the Pinoy DNA, there’s less volume of mentions,” she added.

Ms. Adriano noted that the pandemic that prompted revenge travel also birthed the kind of tourists that value not only leisure but also meaningful experiences. “Coming from a culture shift, naturally, changes in the consumers follow. Who are they? We call them the ‘changed traveler’ for the very reason that traveling has come to mean more than just leisure,” she said. She explained that travelers are now looking for “real world experiences” where they can immerse themselves in other cultures, as well as curated experiences that are unique or out of the ordinary. “Brand enhancement is imperative to stay competitive and relevant. We can choose to stay where we are or choose to pivot and realize the vision of the future,” she elaborated.

I conclude that Ms. Adriano understood “love” as used by travelers in the context of action, a verb. That is why the video says, “Love the fun, love the adventure, love the flavors, love the culture, …” She didn’t take “love” in the sense of emotional feeling or as a noun, as in Sandals Resorts’ ad which says “All inclusive, all in the name of love” and “Where love comes to stay.” If Ms. Adriano’s research finding had been that culinary delight is the subject travelers frequently mentioned in high volume globally, the video would probably have said, “Delight in our lechon, delight in our adobo, delight in our sisig, delight in our lumpiang ubod.”

The promotional video for Iloilo City — it calls it “The City of Love” — will draw more travelers to the Philippines than the “Love the Philippines” video. The graphics on our natural wonders, culture, heritage, and cuisine in the film are authentic while many of those in DDB’s production appear staged. The video on Iloilo City can pass for a video on the Philippines for the city, as presented in the promotional material, can be considered a microcosm of the Philippines.

But it seems as if the primary function of the Secretary of Tourism is to produce a new promotional ad. As former secretary of the DoT Richard Gordon, when asked to comment on the new slogan, said, “What is important is the product. The little things count, such as the cleanliness of the airports. The honesty of people working in tourism is as important. These things combined with nature and historical sights and other wonderful places that tourists come to visit, comprise the tourists’ whole experience, which will make them want to come back.” The production of a new video promoting these destinations comes only after the products — the destinations and supporting services — have been developed to the level of global standards.

As a fellow of the De La Salle University Angelo King Institute of Economic and Business Studies, I was commissioned in the early part of 2004 to conduct a USAID-sponsored study of the tourism industry with a view to identifying areas of adjustments and upgrading. Among my findings were the negative comments of tourists, as gathered by the DoT Research and Statistics Division itself:

1. poor security and safety measures for tourists;

2. arrogant and discourteous Immigration and Customs officials;

3. terrible traffic in Metro Manila;

4. ugly mounds of garbage all over;

5. heavily polluted air;

6. poor standards of international and domestic airports;

7. poor quality of bus terminals and seaports;

8. poor quality of roads to tourist destinations.

One of my recommendations was the appointment of an accomplished marketing practitioner.

In August of that year, I read my report before a panel of resource persons. One of them was my good friend Bertie Lim, he being then the president of the company that ran El Nido Resorts, a director of the company behind the world-class resort Amanpulo, and president of the Palawan Tourism Council and the El Nido Foundation.

Bertie asked: “Why does everybody expect the DoT Secretary just to be a good marketing person, as if that were his only responsibility? Should he not develop the product too so that we can give tourists superior value for money?” In response I said marketing is not synonymous with advertising, that marketing is satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering, and finally consuming or using it. Marketing in Tourism is basically “creating” products, in this case attractions, and that includes the whole cluster of things associated with delivering and finally enjoying it.

I was elated when Bertie was appointed secretary of the DoT by President Noynoy Aquino in 2010 because he was the most qualified for the job among previous DoT secretaries as he was coming directly from the business of tourist destinations. He knew what attracts tourists and the problems they encounter and which turn them away. On top of that he has two master’s degrees in Business and in Public Administration, both from Harvard.

Upon his appointment, I sent him the same report I read before him in 2004. I was surprised when I read in the papers that the DoT had made a grand presentation of the concept of the new advertising campaign just four and a half months after Bertie and company had taken over the department. I had expected them to be deeply involved in the upgrading of the tourism infrastructure and services first before coming up with the advertising theme and logo.

Succeeding him as secretary of the DoT was Ramon Jimenez, a very successful and highly respected advertising practitioner. I found his first public statements as DoT secretary disappointing. “The Philippines, with its picturesque destinations, should be as easy to sell as Chickenjoy,” he said.

I became more distressed when he said further, “I am a marketing communications person. When you think about it that’s what we need. In fact, job No. 1 is to galvanize the DoT staff into an honest to goodness selling unit. Kasi ’yun naman ang trabaho namin eh. Mga tindero kami. (Because that is our job. We are shopkeepers.”

The legendary Harvard Business School marketing professor Theodore Levitt wrote in his Harvard Business Review article “Marketing Myopia,” marketing starts with the idea of satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and that a truly marketing man tries to create value-satisfying goods and services. He also wrote: “Selling focuses on the needs of the seller, marketing on the needs of the buyer.”

As expected, Mon Jimenez went right to work on a new advertising campaign. He was the man behind the “More fun in the Philippines” slogan. But in fairness to Mon Jimenez and to all those who have been DoT secretary, the authority of the Secretary of the Department of Tourism does not extend far beyond the realm of advertising and selling.

Mon had a convergence program with Rogelio Singson, secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Tourism roads to far-flung destinations were built or upgraded.

However, Joseph Emilio Abaya, secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications, never signed a convergence program with Mon. While the DoT secretary had a voice in the boards of the various agencies under Abaya, such as the Civil Aviation Authority and the Manila International Airport, Mon could not do anything about the upgrading of airports and seaports. Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares refused to give tax incentives for tourist destinations even if these are enshrined in the Tourism Act of 2009.

That is why I now propose that the DoT secretary should not only be an accomplished marketing person, but he should also be a seasoned politician (not the trapo kind). As a marketing man, he knows that only a good product will sell. As a politician, he knows how to gain the cooperation of the heads of government agencies that have something to do with tourism.

Northwestern University Marketing guru Philip Kotler and his co-authors wrote in their book Marketing Places: “The fortunes of places depend in the final analysis on the collaboration of the public and private sectors — teamwork among government units, business firms, voluntary and civic associations, and marketing organizations. Unlike purely business or commercial product marketing, place marketing requires the active support of public and private agencies, interest groups, and citizens.”

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a retired executive, management professor, and business consultant. His work experience includes as account group director at the ad agency J. Walter Thompson Company, Marketing professor at the Asian Institute of Management and at the graduate schools of Business of Ateneo and De La Salle, and Advanced Marketing professor in the Master of Science in Tourism and Hospitality Management program of the College of St. Benilde.