PHILIPPINES DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM: AWESOME PHILIPPINES

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Online Advertising

Advertiser: PHILIPPINES DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

Product/Service: PHILIPPINES TOURISM

Agency: MPG

Date of First Appearance: Mar 2 2009 12:00AM

Entrant Company: MEDIA CONTACTS, Pasig City, THE PHILIPPINES

Entry URL: http://www.awesomephilippines.com/phase1

Managing Director: Eduardo Mapa, Jr. (Media Contacts)

Client Services Director: Jonathan Joson (Media Contacts)

Creative Director: Paulo Angelo Famularcano (Media Contacts)

Art Director: Patricia Mae Lavandelo (Media Contacts)

Art Director: Jason Dominic Concepcion (Media Contacts)

Copywriter: Micheline Rama (Media Contacts)

Account Executive: Krystle Anne Enriquez (Media Contacts)

Design Lead: Jay Arellano (Yehey! Corporation)

Social Media Director: Alma Karina Ramos (Media Contacts)

Media placement: Search Campaign - Google, Yahoo, Baidu - 2 March 2009

Media placement: TV Campaign – 14,828 Spots - MTV2 US,MTV UK,China,Hong Kong,Southeast Asia,Japan,Korea,Canada,Singapore,Malay - 2 March 2009

Media placement: Yahoo! Right Media (CPC) - Yahoo! Right Media Network - 15 April 2009

Media placement: Viral Video - Facebook, YouTube - 26 September 2009

Media placement: Yahoo! Right Media (CPM) - Yahoo! Right Media Network - 29 October 2009



Results and Effectiveness

Despite Asia-Pacific travellers declining 2% (UNWTO), the Philippines witnessed:

• 2.7% increase in tourist arrivals.
• 6.5% increase in foreign visitors, led by USA, Korea, Japan & China.
• 17% increase in Top destinations - Cebu, Boracay, and Bohol – all featured on MTV Revelations and apl.de.ap’s song

The CNN stigma was broken down:

• China’s ‘most popular destination in Asia’ (World Travel Fair 2009).
• Awarded at trade events (Russia/Japan/Korea).
• Most popular Asia-Pacific destination of French Tourists (60% growth in ticket sales).
• CNNgo.com “52 best weekends of 2010”.
• Cordillera mountains named “25 best destinations” by National Geographic.



Creative Execution

Our “CNN to MTV” strategy was built around "Awesome Philippines", kick-starting with a four-part series: MTV Revelations.

MTV VJs and Filipino-American celebrities - like apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas - revealed awesome adventures with major Philippine destinations as backdrops. On each vignette, they challenged viewers - “So where am I?" to search “Awesome Experience” on the web to win a trip.

Fuelled by a keyword media buy with content and display ads, travelers discovered Asia’s best kept secret (www.awesomephilippines.com) where they created their dream holiday “remixing” their views of Philippines with 20 single-serve sites of music, photos and fun, and gave it to them.

The Secretary of Philippine Tourism faced the global press on Second Life, where the country’s 7,108th island was created.

Lastly, we created a music video for apl.de.ap's song “Take U To The Philippines” and distributed free online to lift the spirits after devastating typhoon Ondoy.



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

With 7,107 islands, Philippines is known as Asia’s best-kept secret with colourful natural wonders, marking a record-high 3.14 million tourist arrivals in 2008.

In 2009, tourist arrivals were expected to fall due to the recession and the global media’s attention on isolated incidences of kidnappings and local insurgency within the country.

To boost international arrivals we focused on youth - representing 20% of all international travellers. They are the fastest growing sector and 16-29-year-olds spend more on travel with the average spend-per-trip increasing by 40% since 2002. Also, they aren’t picky travellers and like alternative destinations.

We put Philippines on the global youth travellers’ radar by shifting perceptions from a “CNN” mindset to a “MTV” one. With destination choices heavily influenced by word of mouth, and given this group’s online connectivity and their desire to discover by themselves and share their experiences digitally, a form of co-creation was critical.