Tourism Usec. Vicente Romano III's resignation, was it really delicadeza or iwas pusoy?

In his resignation letter, Tourism Undersecretary Vicente Romano III states his wishes:

I take full responsibility for the branding controversy, and for this reason I am tendering my irrevocable resignation effective immediately 

I hope this puts closure on the issue. I now appeal to the industry stakeholders, to media, and to the general public to put this behind us and rally behind Secretary Lim, whose only fault in this whole controversy is in trusting me completely.

Not so fast Mr. Undersecretary...

Just a few minutes ago, I heard Kabayan Noli de Castro on the radio going through some of the paperwork on the launch of the "Pilipinas, kay ganda" re-branding concept.  The thing is he mentioned at least two supply contracts that was awarded to a certain Winston Desiderio who allegedly was fronting for Denise Romanao -- the daughter of Mr. Undersecretary Romano.

WHAT THE FUCK?!!  Kung tutoo ito, anong pagbabago ang sinasabi mong UNGGOY ka?!!

Cronyism... DIYAN PO NAKILALAANG NAUNANG CORY AQUINO ADMINISTRATION... Don't tell me that it's back with a vengeance.

Launch of "Pilipinas kay ganda" tourism slogan wastes P3.7 Million

Why hide the fact that P3.7 Million was wasted on the launching of the now scrapped embarrassment that was the "Pilipinas kay ganda" tourism slogan?  Is it because Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and Usec. Vicente Romano III want to hide their accountability?

This is from Ira V. Panganiban's note on Facebook:

It all began as a very simple event. A launch invitation was sent, people went and the media did their job covering. But what began as a simple launch of a government project turned out to be another scratch in a the foible that seems to be the Aquino administration.

The Pilipinas Kay Ganda program is now officially on the backburner. What with all the criticism and foolishness attached to a project that seemed so innocent at first. Accusations have flown, apologies have been made, what can go further wrong one may ask?

Well this photo capture may say it all. After all, they did say they almost spent nothing on the foolish project. But here, we see a receipt that says P3.775,355 pesos and only for the launch itself. The other costs have not yet been computed by us or them.

So tell me Noy, is this you "Matuwid na Daan?" And where is the "daan" headed? Sa malalim na bangin?

What follows is my take:

The thing is, early on in the administration, the recently appointed NFA Chief Lito Banayo made a grand show of hundreds or thousands of sacks of rice wasting away in its warehouses and pinned the blame on former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  Then he declared that there was a huge surplus in rice, only to back pedal months later and say that there was a shortage of rice, then calling traders to apply for importation permits.

Then, just recently, the Department of Tourism declares that the tourism slogan "Wow Philippines" is no longer effective, hence the need for a new one.  Then, even before it can be vetted or validated by the Tourism Congress (the private sector counterpart of the Tourism Department organized under the Tourism Act of 2009), the Tourism Department asks the advertising agency which supported Noynoy Aquino to come up with a new slogan.  The slogan, they claim, was a result of a four month study -- which must have started a couple of weeks before Noynoy Aquino took his oath of office and before he officially appointed Secretary Lim to his post.

Even more curious is the fact that the creation and launch of the slogan comes before the crafting of a 5 year  National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) which is mandated under the Tourism Act of 2009.  The NTDP will be the basis for all actions relating to the development of tourism for the next five years and because of this, the NTDP is the more substantial component of any tourism effort.

It is substantial because, for one, it will tell the entire tourism industry what the priorities are in terms of tourism.  Is it building up more air, sea, and land routes to various destinations?  Is it building more hotels? Is it building more man-made attractions? Is it training more tourist guides and tourism workers?  Is it developing a handful of new destinations?  Is it forging relationships that will benefit Philippine tourism?

The NTDP, more than a slogan, would be the better tool in defining the character of Philippine tourism in terms of actual, physical projects that will mold the foreign tourist's experience from the time they touchdown to the time they depart for home.

This is why promotions and advertising is SUBSUMED or MERELY A PART of the NTDP.  It is the NTDP that will dictate the parameters for any slogan or promotional effort.

At this point, the NTDP is still being bidded out and only after it has been awarded will the crafting of the NTDP begin.

In short, the creation of the new slogan was not only premature, IT WAS NOT EVEN MANDATED or REQUIRED at this point.

However, the creation of a slogan does not require any bidding at all -- apparently, if done pro-bono.  And by putting out the slogan first, it would then perhaps condition the field for whatever else is being bidded out to favor the bidder who NTDP bid fits the slogan -- AFTER THE BIDS HAD BEEN SUBMITTED.

Just imagine the DoT saying later that the winner of the NTDP won because their bid conformed most closely to their slogan, "Pilipinas, kay ganda".

Ad Agency behind "Pilipinas kay ganda" warned Tourism Department against premature launch of re-branding concept

(Here's a note I found on FB from Boboy Consunji whom I believe is with Campaigns and Grey, the ad agency that created the 'Pilipinas, kay ganda'.  It appears that the ad agency was against showing what they claim to be an initial concept and were against any public display of the slogan/logo.  

Now, I don't know much about how ad agencies really do things but I would assume that any presentation made -- especially for pro bono clients -- would be covered by some agreement which would prevent the client from using their concepts without authorization.  If Campaigns and Grey really and truly believed that the re-branding concept was not ready, it should not have agreed to have the re-branding concept at all.  

The ongoing flak fiesta illustrates the reason why half-baked concepts shouldn't be revealed.  And now, the ad agency seems to be dumping the blame on the Department of Tourism.

Moreover, it also raises the question of how or why Campaigns and Grey ended up being the agency to "establish preliminary strategic directions" for a national tourism campaign.  If there was supposed to be a bidding of any sort, allowing one of the potential competitors to in anyway mold the thrust of the national tourism campaign to any degree would naturally give it an overwhelming advantage over others.  Unless of course the ad agency was planning on not participating in any future bidding.

Anyway, this note on FB has the feel of the often repeated statement about President Noynoy Aquino that suggests an involuntary servitude to the country.)

"Pilipinas Kay Ganda" and Campaigns and Grey

by Boboy Consunji on Friday, November 19, 2010 at 9:24pm

Campaigns & Grey was called by DOT for advice on a new branding exercise. There was hesitation on our end as we were familiar with the complex bidding process, and we were still owed by the past administration for services rendered. Our love for country prevailed. 

From the beginning, it was clear that the actual campaign would be bidded out and that our work was merely to establish preliminary strategic directions. But suddenly, there was a pressing need for exploratory concepts to be shown in some travel industry events. Again, we warned the client that we were taking too many shortcuts. But it was agreed that there will be a proper market research where multiple concepts will be thoroughly tested among the target market i.e. North America, Korea, Japan, China etc. Through this whole episode, we did not have a contract nor did we receive a single centavo.

Based on available market data, ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda!’ was developed as one of 5 concepts for testing among the target segments. The intention of this particular concept was to come up with a novel line that visitors would find memorable, similar to Hawaii’s ‘Aloha’ or even the Japanese ‘Irasshaimase!’ and help regain the Filipino pride in the long run.

From many different logo studies that we recommended, we were directed to use the Polska logo for inspiration. Again, this went through several revisions until the client approved a logo similar to the fonts of Polska. With the addition of several other Philippine elements like the tarsier, smiling coconuts and the sun, there was enough distinction to send the logo into market research. If findings showed negative reactions towards the logo or if respondents felt it was reminiscent of the Polska logo, it would be easier to dissuade the client from using it.

We repeatedly warned the client that it was premature to launch, or even preview the study, but apparently, preparations for the tour operator event were already underway. We ourselves were shocked at the grand scale of what was supposed to be a mere glimpse to draw out a constructive exchange among industry partners. It was not surprising that media and the public took it as a done deal.

We shall take this experience as a cautionary tale against giving in to the client and allowing their over‐enthusiasm to override our better judgment. It was a reminder that the road to perdition is paved with good intentions.

Tourism Usec. Enteng Romano is in Las Vegas, asking PH Tourism offices to use "Pilipinas, kay ganda" slogan

In his first attempt to set a bold new direction for the Philippine's tourism industry, it seems Secretary Bertie Lim committed a major blunder.

For reasons he cannot fully explain, his department approved and launched an untested re-branding concept for Philippine tourism without consulting tourism industry stakeholders as mandated by the Tourism Act of 2009.

New logo for Philippine tourism approved by DoT is derived from Poland's logo.
Source: http://spankyenriquez.blogspot.com/2010/11/plagiarized-pilipinas-kay-ganda-logo.html

Right now, a mole in his department says that Tourism Undersecretary for Promotion Enteng Romano is in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA ordering Philippine Tourism Offices there to USE the much criticized "Pilipinas kay ganda" slogan.  This, despite vehement reactions from the upper and lower chambers of the Philippine congress -- some members of which vowed to deprive the Department of Tourism of a promotion budget should it insist on using the slogan.

The question is, if Campaigns and Grey wasn't paid for coming up with the NEW slogan and logo, WHY IS THE DOT INSISTING ON USING IT despite negative criticism?

I don't think it is merely to find some justification for its use, buoyed perhaps by some press release from a friendly "tourism" maven in the US or claims that the reception of the new slogan in the US was warm.

I smell a sweetheart deal here, somewhere.

Here's something  that was written by Usec. Romano, showing disdain for COA procedures:

The overarching philosophy of governance is one of mistrust – an assumption that everyone will steal unless prevented and monitored by the almighty COA.

Pre-audits and bidding procedures are designed to discourage arbitrary selection of favored vendors. Good, but it also prevents you from getting reliable partners who are known to deliver, especially fortime-sensitive projects. And it's so time-consuming that you loseout on opportunistic offers.

Source: http://lamanglupa.blogspot.com/2010/11/just-so-you-know-guy-behind-pilipinas.html