How to sell brand Philippines

Opening shot: grainy black-and-white footage of General Douglas MacArthur setting foot on the shores of Leyte, triumphant Victory at Sea music playing in the background... an old recording of MacArthur’s famous speech is heard, ending with the words, "I shall return..."

Next shot: music changes abruptly to something heavily percussive, funky and Filipino in nature... black-and-white images switch to color, with rapid shots of MacArthur (played by an actor) body surfing at Boracay, spelunking at El Nido, kayaking in Palawan... shots of MacArthur, smiling in sunglasses, downing San Migs, touring the rice terraces, getting a beach massage, eating balut...

Final caption: Isn’t it time you returned to the Philippines?"

This is certainly one way to sell a country. Asian brand builder Ian Batey explores many others in his book, Asian Branding: A Great Way to Fly. It’s a fascinating look at the ways each Southeast Asian nation can maximize its own distinct regional flavor to promote tourism, sales and exports. (For the Philippines ad above, my wife came up with the image of MacArthur and the final catchphrase; I supplied the shots of MacArthur surfing and chugging beers.)

Ian Batey’s no Western bean counter, looking at Asia as one big, amorphous market. He recognizes, like many others, that "the 21st century is going to be Asia’s century," and he has spent much of his stellar career learning what exactly that means. Batey is the man behind the "Singapore Girl" campaign, an idea which not only saved Singapore Airlines, but helped it achieve a brand identity lifting it far above other regional carriers. He has also worked with the Singapore Tourism Board, successfully promoting the country as "The Most Surprising Tropical Island on Earth" in the ’80s. (This was later shortened in ads to "Surprising Singapore," a catchy slogan that probably influenced the even more successful "Amazing Thailand" campaign.)

What’s with all this Asian branding, you might ask. Can’t an Asian country simply rely on its natural resources and talents and tourist destinations? Well, it can, if anybody will pay attention. But in an increasingly global and (globalized) world, getting people to pay attention to the Philippines is going to take more than good wishes and bahala na.

Obviously, negative attention is far easier to come by; Filipinos even have a fatalistic sense of humor about this, tending to chuckle over every new crisis with the phrase, "Only in the Philippines..." (In fact, in the past I’ve suggested that this double-edged little phrase could do wonders for the Philippine Tourism Authority.) But let’s face it: negative attention is the last thing the Philippines needs more of right now. There’s a pretty good surplus as it is.

So how does Batey suggest the Philippines go about it? First, he offers by example his work in Singapore as the head of an ad agency that helped the island-nation become a tourism force to be reckoned with. In the early ’70s, he notes, Singapore had several problems:

First, its image ranking as a holiday destination was low and vague in most Western countries. Secondly, the nation’s more exotic characteristics, while attractive to Westerners, were like "selling coal to Newscastle" to Asian visitors... And to make matters even more exciting, the government’s urban modernisation agenda didn’t exactly match the promise of the "unique foreign experience" that tourists generally seek.

So, while Singapore may still be thought of as a little autocratic and very, very urban, it has succeeded in luring Westerners and Asian visitors alike. Part of its success comes from simple brand recognition. The "Singapore Girl" was Batey’s chief inspiration: glossy images of young Singaporean ladies in traditional garb helped convince people that it was the unique service during flight that counted. He also helped resurrect the image of the century-old Raffles Hotel, by focusing on its unique and colorful history. Batey’s genius was to reduce the amount of copy and emphasize visual images: most of his ads ran 60 words or less; rather than scads of small pictures, one huge image said it all.

I’m convinced the Philippines can do much more with this simple visual approach. There are already some great video essays being produced by the PTA. My question is, why isn’t the rest of the world seeing them? (As opposed to ad spots for Egypt and Thailand, which show up regularly on CNN.)

In one chapter, Batey analyzes each Southeast Asian nation, sizing up its respective strengths (and weaknesses). What he says about the Philippines is eye-opening, and essentially positive – but of course, subject to controversy. For instance, Batey believes that, since OCWs contribute $12 billion in revenue to the country each year, they should be "branded" as a valuable Filipino asset. Unfortunately, many Filipinos look at the large amount of overseas workers as somewhat shameful. Well, Batey would argue, work is work, and good work is an invaluable asset that should be promoted aggressively; it is only shameful recruiting practices and excesses in foreign countries that need to be addressed. This, admittedly, is a contentious issue.

But Batey sees so much of value here: not only in the natural resources of oil, gas, sugar, tobacco, coconut and fishing, but in the abundant talents of the country’s craftsmen and artists. In Chapter 10 ("The Next Wave") he focuses on the following:

• Philippine Culture: The Bayanihan Troupe, if promoted properly, could be as widely known throughout the world as the Bolshoi Ballet.

• Shoemakers: Sadly, the skilled craftsmen of Marikina City continue to supply their work for a pittance to out-sourced Western brands. When will the Philippines promote its own homemade brand with a distinct name, like Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos?

• Wood Products: The country cuts down its diminishing forests to supply China with "22 million ceiling fan blades each year," as Batey notes. Meanwhile, "the skills of Filipino cabinetmakers rival those of the legendary French, Dutch and Chinese craftsmen – but where can one find a single Philippine-produced furniture brand?"

• Garments and Fashion: The Philippines – Cebu in particular – supplies a large amount of the world’s sewn and manufactured garments. Yet the Filipino origin of such clothing is nearly always hidden behind a foreign label.

• Sugar: While places like Hong Kong manage to promote their own Taikoo sugar brand worldwide, the Philippines sells its sugar wholesale to New York markets. Sayang.

• Illustrators and Animators: A little-known secret is that the artwork for most comic books and cartoons made in the West is subcontracted to local Filipino artists, who get paid very little. Where’s the Filipino graphic novel that will become the next big-budget Hollywood movie, like The Matrix?

The hard reality of all this is, people can’t rely on the government to fix everything in the Philippines. Success stories for Filipino brands will have to come from the private sector: from daring investors, visionary entrepreneurs, and global-minded talent. The government may not be able to help much (being broke), but it sure doesn’t need to hinder matters, either.

What amazes me sometimes is how the Philippines – a place of natural wonders and talents, priceless human resources, and a small but annual respectable growth – can continue to ignore its own strengths, and allow inefficient and entrenched government policies (more accurately: partisan politics) to dictate its future. It amazes me that harmful, negative perceptions about tourist and investment safety can continue to linger for years, while opportunistic senators and politicians fiddle about, raising issues that belong to a national dialogue – not plunked down before the international stage, where they cause more damage. This is not the brand image the country needs to project. Think light, think bouncy; and remember that tagline: "Isn’t it time you returned to the Philippines?"

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Thanks to Mr. Ramon Bermeo for sending me the book Asian Branding. You can send your comments to xpatfiles@yahoo.com.