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c h i k k a
b u z z
IT MAKES
sense to name a well-known
adman to the top post of the Department
of Tourism if you’re selling a country as a
destination. As it happens, Mon Jimenez’s first
marketing campaign was a smashing success.
Can we really say that this
campaign is a success?
It was launched January 6. Normally it takes a
bit of time for these things to really grab hold,
[but] in short order it’s really taken off. People
took possession of it and ran away with it. We
began with three versions [of the ad] and now
there are 11,000 memes.
It’s a success in terms of it having energized
the system, and the system includes the
product — which is the Filipino. We are part
of the offer: when you say “fun,” it doesn’t
just mean the place, it’s the participation. The
quality of the welcome, the quality of the
experience is very highly dependent on human
interaction. And that’s what we tried to do
when we launched it on the Web. You can say
it’s very close to body surfing.
Body surfing?
You never jump off the stage when you see
bare asphalt in front of you, right? You have to
gather the crowd in front of the stage and then
you leap. Which is exactly how the [campaign]
worked. It is our understanding of social media
that helped propel us along the way.
Why has “It , s more fun in
the Philippines” taken off the
way it has?
It’s not a manufactured slogan. I keep telling
people it’s not even a slogan, it’s a line that
you could have drawn directly from a normal
conversation. ‘Why should I go to your
country?’ ‘Because it’s more fun where I come
from.’ You don’t have to be George Bernard
Shaw to write that. It is given power only due
to the fact that it is true. What’s the difference
between a beach in the Philippines and a
beach elsewhere? The answer is: it’s more
fun in the Philippines [because of the people].
Boracay is just another beach if you take the
Filipinos out of it.
What , s
next
for the
campaign?
Now we will
have to enter the
next steps. Okay,
you love the line; now how do you get the
rest of the world to see it your way? How do
you use Facebook to ripple out that message
to people who have never been here before?
The average Facebook denizen has about two
percent [of contacts in their Friends list] who
are not from their country. Multiply that by the
millions of Filipinos out there on Facebook,
and you’ll see the implications.
On top of that, I intend to preside over a
campaign that will cover as many markets,
buying regular media. Because contrary to
popular belief, the Philippines isn’t behind
on tourist sales because we’ve got an awful
reputation. It’s just plain ignorance — [some
people] still don’t know what the Philippines
has to offer.
Our market
share is directly
proportional to
our share of voice,
as we call it in
communication.
Our share of voice
is so small… and
that is true of every country if all you rely on
is hard news, right? We’re putting our money
where our mouth is. This is by far the most
tourism-related administration, and we’re
going to buy the airtime and the publicity
space that [other countries] have bought.
We know this is hard, but
what are your favorite places
in the Philippines?
The last time I was asked that, I named three:
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
TEXT
KRISTINE FONACIER
PHOTO
WALTER VILLA
Is it really more fun in the
Philippines? Tourism Secretary
Mon Jimenez says “yes!”
Spreading
the fun
When you say “fun,”
it doesn , t just mean
the place, it , s the
participation
DOT Secretary Mon
Jimenez is on a quest