Philippines Tourism goes with BBDO Guerrero

BBDO Guerrero | Proximity Philippines has been appointed to the Philippines Department of Tourism following a rigorous pitch which involved seven other agencies – Aspac, DDB, Dentsu, J.Romero, JWT, Lowe and Y&R.

They are tasked with creating an idea that will shape all forms of communication for domestic and international tourism. Further development of their concept is underway and the first iterations of the new campaign will emerge in the course of the first half of 2012. The work will however, cover all major media, both in the Philippines and overseas with special emphasis on digital communications.

Last September, the DOT opted to hold a second bidding process after only one advertising agency qualified – coincidentally also BBDO Guerrero. The department decided to rethink the terms of reference of the project with the assumption to office of the new Tourism Secretary, Ramon Jimenez.

The pitch review was personally headed by the Secretary, who was keen to encourage agencies to expand their thinking and explore all areas of the marketing offering in order to make the nation as appealing as some of its neighbors who are much higher ranked for consideration by potential visitors.

He said, “Because of the requirements of the bid process I had to brief my agencies through a series of public speeches and interviews. In these I talked about the warmth and the vitality of our people as being what makes our country special. In their campaign BBDO Guerrero was able to encapsulate this complex problem into a motivating campaign. They were the last of the eight agencies presenting. And they were the exclamation point at the end of a long sentence.”

David Guerrero, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of BBDO Guerrero | Proximity Philippines, stated, “Our competition is global. And our responsibility is very local. There could be no better cause or more exciting prospect than communicating one of the world’s most enjoyable travel experiences. We – and our worldwide network – are looking forward to making this a truly memorable and effective campaign that will benefit all of us who live here.”