This case study analyzes the Philippines' tourism campaigns, particularly highlighting the transition from 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' to 'It's More Fun in the Philippines' due to public criticism and the need for an effective promotional strategy. The document details the campaign's strength in engaging Filipinos and utilizing social media to boost tourism, aiming to attract 10 million tourists by 2016. Additionally, it includes a SWOT analysis and recommendations for enhancing the campaign through market penetration and development strategies.

1. A Case Study
Presented as
a Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
in Marketing Management
Submitted by:
Reymart Arazon
Timothy Deinla
Ruzzel Evangelista
Judze Paglinawan
Andrea Kristel San Diego
Jeannest Simbulan
Shownaleah Tolentino
Carl Marvin Yabut
Submitted to:
Mr. Angelito Calingo

2. July 25, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
……………………………………………………………………..1
ii
Wow Philippines
……………………………………………………………...1
Pilipinas Kay Ganda
…………………………………………………………....2
BACKGROUND
……………………………………………………………………....4
It’s More Fun in the Philippines
………………………………………………...4
Creator
……………………………………………………………………….4
Rationale
……………………………………………………………………....4
Typography
………………………………………………………………….5
Registered Trademark
………………………………………………………..5
Incorporation
…………………………………………………………………5
Awards and Successes
……………………………………………………..7

3. THE CASE
…………………………………………………………………………...8
SWOT ANALYSIS
…………………………………………………………………...9
TOWS MATRIX
…………………………………………………………………….10
RECOMMENDATION
………………………………………………………………..13
ABSTRACT
There has been a lot of word-or-mouth and mentions in social networking sites about the
campaign. However, whether Filipinos, who posted their own efforts or ideas for the slogan in
their Facebook and Twitter, communicated the right idea to the right audience as the DOT
attempted to make a viral people’s campaign that aimed to bring travellers from other countries
to the Philippines.
The top ten tourism destinations of the world as of 2011 included two Asian countries:
France, USA, China, Spain, Italy, UK, Turkey, Germany, Malaysia and Mexico. Some 204
million tourists visited the Asia Pacific region in 2010, and the top ten places were China (56
iii

4. million), Malaysia (25 million), Hong Kong (20 million), Thailand (16 million), Macau (12
million), Singapore (9 million), South Korea (8.8 million), Japan (8.6 million), Indonesia (7
million) and Australia (6 million).The Philippines has not been in the top ten but has improved to
attracting around 3.7 million foreign tourists in 2011. The DOT aims to attract 10 million tourists
by the end of 2016, to narrow the gap in comparisons between the Philippines and Vietnam
(which is getting 5 million visitors a year). In this light, the challenge is how to creatively
execute the communication strategy that is consistent with It’s More Fun in the Philippines in
order to be compelling without making the Philippines look like a second choice.
Upon analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the proponents
came up with two major strategies or recommendations like Market Penetration Strategy by
taking advantage of the technological proliferation by engaging to other medium like television,
radio and alike aside from social networks which have been an effective arena of the campaign
through promotion to increase involvement, then Market Development Strategy by encouraging
the OFWs who are bearing our pride in other countries to be the promotional tools themselves by
offering some items incorporating the It’s More Fun in the Philippines Campaign like shirts,
cups and other merchandise.
INTRODUCTION
Started as a private initiative to promote the Philippines as a major travel destination, the
Philippine Tourist & Travel Association was organized in 1950. In 1956, the Board of Travel
and Tourist Industry was created by Philippine Congress. As stipulated in the Integrated
Reorganization Plan in 1972 sanctioned as a law under Presidential Decree No. 1, as amended,
the Department of Trade and Tourism was established, reorganizing the then Department of
Commerce and Industry. A Philippine Tourism Commission was created under the unified Trade
and Tourism Department to oversee the growth of the tourism industry as a source of economic
benefit for the country. Then in 1973, President Ferdinand Marcos created a new cabinet-level
iv

5. Department of Tourism (DOT) by splitting the Department of Trade and Tourism into two
separate departments. Included in the new Department of Tourism, the agency Philippine
Tourism Authority (PTA) and the Philippine Convention Bureau (PCB) were created. The
Department of Tourism was then renamed Ministry of Tourism as result of the shift in the form
of government as enshrined in the amendments to the 1973 Constitution.
In 1986, under Executive Order Numbers 120 and 120-A signed by President Corazon
Aquino, the Department of Tourism was reorganized and, correspondingly, the Philippine
Convention Bureau was renamed the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation. In 1998,
the Department of Tourism assumed a prominent role in culmination of centennial celebrations
of the Philippine's Independence from Spain.
The WOW Philippines campaign proves that good leadership, problem-setting, planning,
and implementation can make significant advancements within the tourism sector. The
effectiveness of the WOW Philippines campaign is even utilized as a political platform (Richter
1989; Mansfeld & Pizam 2006; Burns and Novelli 2007). This campaign which was spearheaded
by the former DOT Secretary Richard Gordon was intended to feature the country's uniqueness.
It showcases the different destinations in the Philippines and their unique offerings. The WOW
in the WOW Philippines campaign is an acronym for the attractions to be experienced in the
country e.g. World of Wonders. This campaign aided in generating budget in marketing and
promotions of the traditional and new tourism products due to the discovery that the Philippines
was behind in promoting itself internationally as a tourist destination in comparison with its
neighbouring countries (Valencia 2002) .
In 2001, Gordon addressed the needs of the tourism industry through the first Tourism
Related Industry Conference (TRICON). Cooperation between the different tourism sectors as
well as the involvement of both local and provincial political sectors was needed to improve
v

6. tourism. After the third TRICON meeting in 2003, the campaign was established with focus on
the different images and benefits of inbound tourism, thus, encompassing a wider area of the
Philippines. Niche marketing such as tourism within golfing, meetings and conferences, business
and incentives, adventure, diving and water sports, and culture became a part of the strategy
(Mansfeld & Pizam 2006).
The latest improvements in the tourism industry in the country came about with the
passage of Republic Act No. 9593 or the "Tourism Act of 2009."
The Pilipinas Kay Ganda campaign logo design was criticized for alleged plagiarism.
Discussions on social media pointed out and suspected that the campaign logo was plagiarized
from Poland's own tourism campaign, Polska. The logos of Polska and Pilipinas Kay Ganda's
font were similar. Both the letter "L" of the campaign slogans were stylized into trees. The
difference is that Pilipinas Kay Ganda's letter "L" was stylized into a coconut tree with a smiley
face as opposed to Polska's "L" which was stylized into generic tree.
Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim acknowledged that the Philippine campaign slogan bare
some similarities with the Polska logo and commented that the Philippine campaign logo was
more colorful. Tourism Undersecretary Enteng Romano, in a text message forwareded by Palace
Spokesperson Abi Valte, denied that the Philippine campaign logo was plagiarized and that the
logo has enough elements to be distinct from Poland's campaign logo.
Pilipinas Kay Ganda (lit. Philippines, So Beautiful) was a short-lived advertising
campaign made by the Department of Tourism to promote tourism in the Philippines launched in
vi

7. 2010. It replaced the WOW Philippines campaign. Since the tourism slogan used in the
campaign was controversial and received mostly negative reception from the Filipino public,
Pilipinas Kay Ganda was eventually replaced with It's more fun in the Philippines.
BACKGROUND
vii
Creator
The man behind the campaign is David Guerrero, chairman and chief creative officer of
BBDO Guerrero, which is the country’s most awarded advertising firm. The BBDO Guerrero is
responsible for the very effective advertisement of Pizza Hut’s “Hate Late”, FedEx’s
“WeLiveToDeliver”, Pepsi’s “Pinas”, Bayan Tel’s “Lola Techie” & many more.
Guerrero said the idea came during a diving trip, where he realized “how much more fun
it is to be doing the same thing here than in another country. Am I going to feel the same

8. enjoyment I am feeling when I’m diving here in the Philippines and when I’m doing the same
thing abroad?”
“The character ‘fun’ is very Filipino,” he added. “’More’ is only a part of it. It’s people's
desire to have fun, possibly too much fun.” From there, Guerrero and his team considered
different strategies on how to make the campaign viral and effective. In the end, they chose to
tap into the power of social media. “I think we can do this through an understanding of social
media and the way people consume media, especially when they’re planning to travel,” he said.
“People these days, when they go on a trip, they go online and ask friends. They will check
recommendations.” BBDO Guerrero eventually won the bid for the country’s tourism campaign
with “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” besting seven other agencies. And the rest is history.
viii
Rationale
The map on the It’s more fun in the Philippines logo is inspired by the banig, a
handwoven Philippine product used for sleeping or sitting. The logo is also a picture-puzzle of
digital pixels. It symbolizes our history and our future, our traditions and aspirations. And just
like fiestas, it’s bright and colourful.
Typography
The font Harabara by Andre Harabara is a combination of straight lines and rounded
corners that reflect the Filipino character, firm in our beliefs, culture and traditions, friendly,
warm and welcoming. We wanted a font that was simple but compared to the other things out
there, it’s a little more fun.
Registered Trademark
When the icon is to the left of the

9. word mark or when the word mark is used alone, the registered trademark should follow the
upper right hand corner of the letter “E”
ix
Incorporation
Thousands of pictures, sceneries and happenings in the Philippines were the secret behind
the social media success of the campaign. These strengthen the slogan which justifies the
campaign’s relativity as shown by the following pictures:

10. x
Awards and Successes
In 2013, the total revenue from inbound visitors increased by 15.1 percent, to a hefty
$4.40 billion (P186.15 billion). The increase surprised tourism officials, who were expecting
fewer visitors after a series of calamities struck the country.
According to Secretary Jimenez, 4,681,307 foreigners visited the country last year, a 9.56
percent jump from 2012 figure of 4,272,811.

11. The figure was below the Philippine target of five million arrivals for the year, but
Jimenez still considers 2013 to be a milestone for the tourism industry, since visitor arrivals
increased despite the devastating earthquake in Cebu and Bohol and Super Typhoon Yolanda in
November.
Jimenez said the key source markets generally performed well during the month of
December, proof of the tourism sector’s resilience.
South Korea is the Philippines’ biggest source of tourists, with 1.17 million visitors from
xi
that country.
The United States ranks second with 674,564 arrivals. Other visitors came from Japan
(433,705); China (426,352); Australia (213,023); Singapore (175,034); Taiwan (139,099);
Canada (131,381); Hong Kong (126,088); United Kingdom (122,759); Malaysia (109,437); and
Germany (70,949).
Jimenez believes that one of the reasons that attracted foreign tourists to the country is
the DOT’s aggressive promotion campaign, bannered by slogan, “It’s more fun in the
Philippines.”
Bestowed the prestigious Tambuli Award for integrated marketing communication
efforts, the campaign is proof that “Filipino pride sells,” Jimenez said. The Tambuli awards
recognize social relevance, values and effectiveness of marketng communication projects.
With this campaign, the DOT was able to inspire a people’s campaign. The voice of 95
million Filipinos (27 million of whom are active on Facebook and almost 10 million on Twitter)
and over 12 million Filipino workers overseas was expressed in one idea. The campaign’s launch
has spent zero on above-the-line advertising, and has arguably become the most famous
international and domestic tourism campaign in Philippine history. Just two days after the media
launch (January 6, 2012), the campaign had become the top trending topic online worldwide.
Tapping into everyone’s desire to be creative, the campaign sparked off the creation of over
75,000 memes through inspired user-created ad-maker sites and mobile apps. These individual
memes have later been translated into promotional posters, brochures, newspaper and magazine
ads, and a global TV commercial –entirely from crowd-sourced ideas.
As a result, the DOT had effectively turned the 95 million Filipinos into a tourism sales
force. The campaign line has become a rallying cry, building a new sense of excitement and

12. renewed enthusiasm for the country’s tourism industry. Up to the present, the campaign
continues to be supported by partners both in the public and private sectors.
THE CASE
There has been a lot of word-or-mouth and mentions in social networking sites about the
campaign. However, whether Filipinos, who posted their own efforts or ideas for the slogan in
their Facebook and Twitter, communicated the right idea to the right audience as the DOT
attempted to make a viral people’s campaign that aimed to bring travellers from other countries
to the Philippines.
With market potential of 1 billion tourists spending US$1 trillion worldwide, a small
increase in tourist numbers would greatly benefit the Philippines as it has not attracted as many
foreign tourists, with market shares less than half of one percent. This is even with the
consideration of the many natural wonders that the Philippines has versus the man-made
structures in other countries. The additional source of revenues could complement other major
sources of foreign receipts like exports values of over US$51 billion and of OFW remittances
nearly US$20 billion in 2010.
The top ten tourism destinations of the world as of 2011 included two Asian countries:
France, USA, China, Spain, Italy, UK, Turkey, Germany, Malaysia and Mexico. Some 204
million tourists visited the Asia Pacific region in 2010, and the top ten places were China (56
million), Malaysia (25 million), Hong Kong (20 million), Thailand (16 million), Macau (12
million), Singapore (9 million), South Korea (8.8 million), Japan (8.6 million), Indonesia (7
million) and Australia (6 million).The Philippines has not been in the top ten but has improved to
attracting around 3.7 million foreign tourists in 2011. The DOT aims to attract 10 million tourists
by the end of 2016, to narrow the gap in comparisons between the Philippines and Vietnam
(which is getting 5 million visitors a year). In March 2014, it was reported that the Philippines
has reached its highest-ever tourist visits in a month, reaching 400,000, suggesting the success of
the It’s More Fun in The Philippines campaign and other local tourism initiatives.
In this light, the challenge is how to creatively execute the communication strategy that is
consistent with It’s More Fun in the Philippines in order to be compelling without making the
Philippines look like a second choice.
xii

13. SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
In order to address the case given, measuring and analysing the internal (Strengths and
Weaknesses) and external factors (Opportunities and Threats) of the campaign is needed. The
following table contains the underlying factors:
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
1. Slogan Incorporation
2. Filipino Themselves
3. Social Media Effectiveness
4. Large Budget Given as Php3.1 Billion
5. Campaign Relativity
6. Recognition as part of the World’s Wonders
of the World
1. Poor Condition of Facilities like Airports
2. Limited Reach of the Campaign
3. Low Direct Involvement of the Filipinos
4. Unappealing Philippine Setting
5. Security Issues
6. Archipelagic State
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
1. Increasing number of OFW
2. Tri-media Opportunity
3. Summits and Conferences outside the
Country
4. ASEAN Integration (Country Openness)
5. Package/Bundle Trips
1. Calamities/Unforeseeable events
2. Shift from Direct to Connecting Flight
3. Territorial Conflicts
4. Bad Image Regarding Security Issues
TOWS MATRIX
xiii

14. 1. Slogan Incorporation
2. Filipino Themselves
3. Social Media Effectiveness
4. Large Budget Given as
Php3.1 Billion
5. Campaign Relativity
6. Recognition as part of the
World’s Wonders of the
World
xiv
1. Poor Condition of
Facilities like Airports
2. Limited Reach of the
Campaign
3. Low Direct Involvement of
the Filipinos
4. Unappealing Philippine
Setting
5. Security Issues
6. Archipelagic State
OPPORTUNITIES SO STRATEGIES WO STRATEGIES
1. Increasing number of
Overseas Filipino Workers
Market Development
As part of being hospitable
and jolly persons, the
Filipinos residing in other
countries would be an
instrument to promote how
really fun it is to be in the
Philippines.
(S2, O1)
Market Development
The boom in technology is a
great field to extend the reach
of the campaign by making
use of the medium where the
market is engaged like on
Worldwide Cable Channels to
attract foreign tourists.
(W2, O2)
2. Tri-media Opportunity Market Penetration
Taking advantage of the
technological proliferation by
engaging to other medium
like television, radio and
alike aside from social
networks which have been an
effective arena of the
campaign.
(S3, O2)
Market Development
Encouraging the Filipinos
especially those who are
bearing our pride in other
countries to be the
promotional tools themselves
by offering some items
incorporating the It’s More
Fun in the Philippines
Campaign.

15. xv
(W3, O1)
3. Summits and Conferences
outside the Country
Market Penetration
The use of print media like
magazines and brochures
highlighting the beauty and
splendor of the Philippines to
be given at Summits and
Conferences would be an
effective mean to promote the
tourism industry.
(S4, O2)
Horizontal Integration
Summits and Conferences
outside the country can be an
area to wash away the
notation in mind of prospect
tourists that the Philippines is
an unsecured country because
of the threat of terrorism by
highlighting the peace that
our wonders of nature have to
offer.
(W5, O3)
4. ASEAN Integration (Country
Openness)
Backward Integration
The policy of “open-country”
could also possibly be a great
opportunity to expand the
reach of the campaign by
taking advantage of those
open cities through
promotions using the allotted
budget.
(S4, O3)
Backward Integration
Tapping and encouraging the
Airlines to offer package and
bundle trips around
Philippine Vicinity such as
multiple-place- visitation for
tourists to see the different
splendor of the archipelago.
(W6, O5)
5. Package/Bundle Trips Horizontal Integration
Relativity of the campaign
such as it is understandable
and can be incorporated to
other fields, this open-country
policy may also be a ground
to not just give emphasis to

16. Philippine Culture but also to
others in connection to us,
with the purpose of still
attracting them to visit our
country.
(S5,O4)
THREATS ST STRATEGIES WT STRATEGIES
xvi
1. Calamities/Unforeseeable
events
Market Penetration
Though calamities are really
destructive, the Filipinos’
way of getting through it can
also be good means of
publicity like: SURVIVING,
It’s More Fun in the
Philippines.
(S1, S2, T1)
Market Penetration
Encouraging the Filipinos to
take part of the campaign by
also promoting peace through
selling merchandise which is
now getting effective as of
time.
(W3, W4, T4)
2. Shift from Direct to
Connecting Flights
Market Penetration
Giving emphasis to the
beauty of the country
especially such listed in the
New Wonders of the World
can be a way to erase the bad
image regarding security in
the Philippines.
(S6, T4)
Related Diversification
Deal with territorial conflicts
with calmness as how
peaceful our beaches are by
promoting and discovering
the hidden paradise of the
country and the amazing story
of how our fellow Filipinos in
the past have fought for our
country’s independence
(Vigan).
(W5, T3)
3. Territorial Conflicts
4. Bad Image Regarding

17. RECOMMENDATION
Security in the Philippines
Upon examining and analysing the internal and external factors of the new Department of
Tourism Campaign, the proponents are proposing the following recommendations in order to
creatively execute the communication strategy that is consistent with It’s More Fun in the
Philippines in order to be compelling without making the Philippines look like a second choice:
Market Penetration Strategy
 Taking advantage of the technological proliferation by engaging to other medium
like television, radio and alike aside from social networks which have been an
effective arena of the campaign through promotion to increase involvement.
 The use of print media like magazines and brochures highlighting the beauty and
splendour of the Philippines to be given at Summits and Conferences would be an
effective mean to promote the tourism industry.
 Increasing publicity through more incorporation of slogan like SURVIVING, It’s
More Fun in the Philippines when there are calamities and videos showing how
fun it is to be in the Philippines.
 Selling of merchandise which is now getting effective to get Filipinos more
involve in promoting the beauty of the Philippines.
xvii
Market Development Strategy
 Encouraging the OFWs who are bearing our pride in other countries to be the
promotional tools themselves by offering some items incorporating the It’s More
Fun in the Philippines Campaign like shirts, cups and other merchandise.
 Making use of the medium where the market is engaged like on Worldwide Cable
Channels to attract foreign tourists.