Tourism slogan needs overhaul, not repurposing
Credit to Author: YEN MAKABENTA| Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:18:20 +0000
First word
IT is difficult to digest the unsettling news that the Department of Tourism is doubling down on its bet in “It’s more fun in the Philippines” as the most effective way to sell the country to the world.
With a sizable chunk of Treasury funds on the line, the policy decision is mistaken on multiple grounds:
1. It opts to continue a promotions program that was questionable from the beginning, and earned no points for effectiveness in all the years that it was implemented during the administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.
2. It relinquishes the rare opportunity to use tourism promotions as a tool for building a strong national image for the Philippines in the 21st century
3. Its message is incongruent with the image of dynamism, modernity, independence and effectiveness that the Philippines under President Duterte seeks to convey to the world today.
4. “It’s more fun” fatally flunks the criterion of originality in branding, and brands the country as a copycat before the world by appropriating a campaign line that was used decades ago by Switzerland.
5. The costs of the tourism campaign must be weighed against the costs of other vital programs of the government, and evaluated on the basis of cost effectiveness.
Any one of these reasons appears to me sufficient ground to compel a review of the repurposed “It’s more fun” tourism campaign.
Renewed, refreshed and repurposed
A Scottish journalist covering the Philippines immediately after the EDSA revolt ruefully said at the time about President Cory Aquino and her policies: “President Aquino has an extraordinary instinct for inertia.”
I recall his words today as I behold the fixation of the Tourism department on the “It’s more fun” tourism slogan, and its laziness in developing another campaign or message that is more consonant with the nation that is rising in the archipelago today.
To listen to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, there is no alternative.
During the launch on Monday of a renewed, refreshed, and repurposed “It’s more fun” campaign at the Museum of Natural History in Manila, Puyat intoned with alacrity:
“We are coming into 2019 with a renewed and refreshed sense of purpose, with more and more travelers conscious about their ecological footprint, the cultures and experiences they are consuming and simply wanting to know how they can give back.
“The time is ripe for a repurposing of the word ‘fun’.”
Repurposing? Is there even such a word in the English language?
I researched the issue the day I first heard it.
It appears that lexicographers in the British and American English dictionaries have quietly grafted the word into the language.
Merriam Webster’s in its Learners Dictionary says the earliest known use of “repurposing” was in1984.
Collins English Dictionary says “repurpose” is used rarely. The word is in the lower 50 percent of commonly used words in the Collins dictionary
Generally, they all sound resigned to the entry of the word into the language.
British and American English dictionaries are generally agreed in their definition of the word repurpose and repurposing. Their verdict is that “repurpose” means “to change (something) so that it can be used for a different purpose.”
Even Oxford dictionary joined the parade.
I found one language writer who said that “repurposing” is very much like “recycling” which is widely used in environment studies.
New spin of ‘It’s more fun’
When asked why she is sticking with the old tourism campaign, Secretary Puyat said: “I actually believe in continuity. The hashtag works. Second, like in other countries, they never changed their campaign… For me, I believe it works. The Philippines has embraced the hashtag, we’ve made it our own and we already have 4.3 million using it,”
The repurposed campaign was propelled by the six-month closure of world-famous Boracay island, which had been devastated by pollution and violations of environmental laws. Through purposive government action, the island has been reopened again to tourism.
Puyat explains the new spin: “We can have fun at the same time that we protect the environment. This is not mere continuity, this is sustainability. This (campaign) aims to repurpose fun into sustainability.”
Opportunity for national branding
Alas, I do not agree with all this hype.
I belong to the school that believes a country’s tourism campaign is a precious opportunity for that country to build a strong brand or image for itself.
The idea that countries have a “brand” or “image” is not new. Corporations have images (or identities), stores have an image and so do individuals (especially actors and politicians. All of these entities are concerned about their identity and try to shape and improve it, if required. What’s true for corporations and individuals is also true for nations.
In the book, National Image and Competitive Advantage, the authors Eugene D. Jaffe and Israel D, Nebenzahl (Copenhagen Business School Press, Copenhagen, 2001) discuss how a country can systematically manage its image correctly and work to improve it. They also advise that the government, industry and individual firms should work together to strengthen a country’s brand.
How national image is built and improved
Most revealing of all, National Image discusses many case studies of how specific countries developed or improved their country images. It also cites some campaigns that fell short of the mark.
Each case study will be instructive for policy planners of the Philippine government if they are minded to strengthen and refine the country‘s image and brand.
I will only highlight here for the purpose of this column two examples discussed with much insight:
First, the evolution of the Japanese country image after World War 2, and how it became a highly developed country and the world leader in innovative high-quality consumer products.
Second, the transformation of Israel from a source of agricultural produce to a high-tech center that challenges Silicon Valley.
The authors draw some lessons from the Japanese and Israeli experiences:
1. A change in country image is a slow long-term process that takes years, even decades.
2. There should be consistency in those image attributes that must be changed.
3. It takes concerted effort by all to lead a successful image campaign.
4. Image campaigns are expensive to launch. Government cannot do the job alone. The private sector should significantly contribute to the effort.
Lack of originality a fatal flaw
I will close with this final note.
“It’s more fun” should be discarded because of its lack of originality
We cannot build a strong national image on the carcass of a campaign discarded by another country.
We will stand apart from the currently successful campaigns: “Amazing Thailand”, “Incredible India”, “Malaysia Truly Asia” and “Wonderful Indonesia” for our lack of originality and imagination.
Worse, “It’s more fun” promotes the wrong image of our country and our people, at a time when we are on the cusp of full modernization and national transformation.
‘It’s more fun’ needs a major overhaul
“It’s more fun” connotes a fun-loving and frivolous people.
It does not reflect our history, our culture and our land.
This year, we will mark the 120th year of the proclamation of national independence.
In 2021, we will commemorate the quincentennial of the discovery of the Philippines and the circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan.
With history oozing from our every pore and every part of our archipelago, why are we sending a message of frivolity to the world?
Can we not even take ourselves seriously?
And so, I say: “It’s more fun in the Philippines” needs an overhaul, not repurposing.
yenmakabenta@yahoo.com
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