Branding the Philippines in a ‘flat’ world
By Junie S. del Mundo, Robert de Quelen
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:51:00 01/18/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Marketing gurus visiting the Philippines for the first time are generally keen to share their views on “country branding” and how the country stands to benefit from it. More often than not, their passionate plea concludes with a pleasant-sounding, albeit hastily crafted slogan and a prescription for the Philippine government to launch yet another series of TV commercials and ads in international business magazines.
Unfortunately for us, these well-meaning suggestions entail spending tens of millions of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Country branding need not be this expensive. Success is not guaranteed by the millions of pesos spent on ads around the world. There is another less expensive way for the Philippines, a path that runs through the hearts of millions of Filipinos rather than on TV screens.
A revealing moment was the recent outcry among Filipinos here and abroad about an offensive scene in a popular American television series, “Desperate Housewives,” where one of its actresses wanted to first check the credentials of her Filipino doctor to make sure that said doctor was not a graduate of “some med school in the Philippines.” Suddenly, we realized how much our country brand mattered, because our own reputation as individuals depended on it.
Unpleasant as it may be, this “Desperate Housewives” episode is instructive. It reveals how far Filipinos have come into identifying Filipino doctors and nurses as one of the country’s main brand assets. Unlike those in other countries who boast of their beautiful old monuments or their advanced technology, the core ingredient of the Philippine brand is its people. Filipinos are the brand and have the responsibility toward this brand because each is a part of it and it is a part of every citizen.
Branding the Philippines begins inside the heart of every Filipino whether here or abroad. They, more than any expensive advertising campaign, have the power to become the country brand’s ambassadors if they can be ignited with a deep sense of pride in their country and the confidence to carry this out successfully. All they need is a rallying point, and this is what a country brand is about.
What is a country brand, and why does it matter so much in the flat world described by Thomas Friedman? How do we go about it? What is the process to identify, nurture and protect our very own country brand? What does a Philippine™ stand for? What are our unique characteristics that set us apart and make our cultural and commercial production immediately recognizable and appreciated?
More than expounding on the above, this article is a call to action.
Country branding
True spirit and essence. A country brand is not only comprised of commercial ingredients. Culture is a country’s true spirit and essence. It plays an essential role in the process of enriching a country’s brand image. The value of culture in national branding is that, like geography, culture is a truly unique feature of the country. A painting by Fernando Amorsolo or a novel by Nick Joaquin reveals more about the Philippines than a thousand slogans.
Public diplomacy. Another important component of country branding is public diplomacy. Country branding happens and becomes effective when a substantial number of the population of the country gets behind the strategy and lives it out in their daily dealings with the outside world. Experience has shown that our perception of a country changes for the better because of one good friend or an encounter with an outstanding individual from that country. The reverse happens as a result of an unsavory experience with just one person from another country.
Ambassador Delia Albert said: “Public diplomacy is not just what ambassadors do. The caring competence of Filipino nurses in Californian hospitals, the patient professionalism of our call center agents or the creative skills of our animation artists are now becoming recognized all around the world, transforming each of these ordinary Filipinos into “brand ambassadors extraordinaire.”
Standing out in a flat world
“Country branding will help earn recognition for qualified Filipino professionals and workers,” according to Henry Schumacher, executive vice president of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, who just launched the OneFilipino portal at http://www.OneFilipino.net to foster awareness of the Filipino’s professionalism all around the world.
Branding encourages local and foreign investments. Having strong and well-known export brands fosters confidence among companies and countries. As an example, the Japanese and Koreans have developed confidence knowing that their products are trusted and sell very well in the global market -- a far cry from more than 40 years ago when their products were perceived as shoddy, second-rate, cheap and worthless.
As pointed out by Dr. Federico Macaranas of the Asian Institute of Management, “Branding can serve as a rallying point and help focus the energies of all stakeholders toward a common goal. It serves as an anchor that pulls a nation together for Filipinos and helps each see the best in the other.
What is needed to turn this dream into a reality is a national roadmap that will put the Philippines in the world map in the same way as outsourcing did for India. To build a Filipino brand that is instantly recognized all over the world requires a deliberate, consistent and focused effort which will add tremendous value to the products and services produced by the country, instill confidence, pride and prestige among Filipinos wherever they are, and enhance relationships that the Philippines nurtures with the world.
Bountiful natural resources
The Philippines is a land of marvelous bounty: home to the sweetest mangoes in the world and other exotic fruits like lanzones, durian, rambutan and chico. The country can brand and export personal care products based on the natural, unique Filipino ingredients such as the ilang-ilang, which is a Filipino flower sold in France, and the abaca or the Manila hemp, a versatile product. The Philippines can “own” them and protect them in the same way as developed countries protect their intellectual property and their trademarks. The region of Champagne in France spent millions of euros in legal fees to ensure that no other region in the world can use the word “Champagne” to describe their wines. New Zealand is known as the country of origin of the delicious kiwi fruit.
Made in the PhilippinesTM
The Philippines can trademark products with uniquely Filipino ingredients. It can trademark these products in the mind of global consumers with a “Philippine vitality inside” brand to match the famous “Intel inside.” Vitamins and personal care products never looked so appealing and colorful. The Philippines can be positioned as a land of rejuvenating vitality. But to leverage and promote these unique assets, it must first be protected.
Most of the country’s exports today consist of unbranded, low added-value products, from electronic components to mining and agriculture. And yet, some of our products could command a much higher price in global markets if they were properly branded. The first step would be to proudly leverage on their Philippine character instead of trying to copy foreign designs and me-too marketing strategies.
San Miguel is among the very few well-known export brands originating from the Philippines, but sadly the brand is more closely identified as a Spanish or Latin American brand so this does not benefit the Philippine brand as a country of origin. There are, however, huge opportunities for one or several Filipino brands in the food and beverage sector. One only needs to look at the incredible success of C2 beverage drinks to measure the benefits of having a young population ready to adopt innovative, hip new products that meet its needs.
Domestic brands can be turned into regional and global brands with the deepest Filipino values embedded in their universal core. Jollibee, for instance, stands for shared fun (“Ang saya”), care for consumers, accessibility, and a non-intimidating retail outlet.
The brand is us
It might be tempting to portray China as the “brawn” of Asia, given its manufacturing base, India as the “brains of Asia,” with its high-end outsourcing and programming skills, and the Philippines as the “heart of Asia,” with its strength in EQ-driven services.
To summarize the qualities of the Filipinos in a single expression that is easy to memorize: you have “the 4Cs”: Caring, colorful, creative and collaborative. These four attributes were proposed to a large number of academics, investors, and foreign employers of Filipinos who found them highly credible. Taken independently, these qualities may also be found in other people. Together, they represent a unique mix that is not only truthful to the Filipino’s character, but also relevant for today’s employers and investors. Together, they sum up what Filipinos and the Philippine brand is all about.
For the Philippines, a developing country in the heart of Asia, country branding is a unique opportunity to start writing our own history and setting the course of our future NOW.
Junie S. del Mundo is managing director of The Stakeholder Relations Firm Inc. De Robert de Quelen is global account director of Edelman.
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