#PHTHANKYOU

Title#PHTHANKYOU
BrandPHILIPPINE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
Product / ServiceTOURISM
CategoryA04. Crisis Communications & Issue Management
EntrantBBDO GUERRERO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Entrant Company BBDO GUERRERO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Advertising Agency BBDO GUERRERO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Advertising Agency 2 DENTSU PHILIPPINES Manila, THE PHILIPPINES
Production Company REVOLVER STUDIOS, INC. Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES

Credits

Name Company Position
David Guerrero BBDO Guerrero Chief Creative Officer/Copywriter
Tony Harris BBDO Guerrero Chief Executive Officer
Dale Lopez BBDO Guerrero Executive Creative Director/Art Director
Gary Amante BBDO Guerrero Creative Director/Art Director
Rey Tiempo BBDO Guerrero Creative Director/Copywriter
Rizza Garcia BBDO Guerrero Head Of Design/Designer
Ombet Traspe BBDO Guerrero Director Of Marketing
Paolo Acosta BBDO Guerrero Group Account Director
Monica Muyot BBDO Guerrero Account Manager
Jing Abellera Just Add Water Producer
Idda Aguilar Just Add Water Producer
Tony Hertz Tony Hertz: Radio/Brand Sound Sound Director
Blue Endaya BBDO Guerrero Digital Producer
Cez Golez BBDO Guerrero Social Manager
Edel Sarmiento BBDO Guerrero Digital Senior Account Manager
Francine Kahn/Gonzalez BBDO Guerrero Managing Director
Roshan Nandwani BBDO Guerrero Digital Group Account Director
Brandon Dollente BBDO Guerrero Copywriter
Nonna Nanagas Dentsu Philippines/Inc President
Jam De Guzman Dentsu Philippines/Inc Director For Media Services

The Campaign

On November 8, 2013, the country was struck by a devastating typhoon. Images of it dominated the world’s news cycle. And generous aid poured in. But for lasting recovery, it was vital for tourism to continue. And as only isolated areas of the peninsula were affected, we needed to signal to the global public that it was ok to come back. So, on the typhoon’s 3-month anniversary – at the exact time it struck – we decided to do what came most naturally: say thank you. We tapped influencers and opinion leaders, many of whom had led typhoon relief operations, to help encourage people. And soon enough, every one was posting personal messages of thanks using the hashtag #PHthankyou. Together with a simultaneous unveiling of billboards all around the globe, we made our message loud and clear. We were repaid with renewed attention and continued rise in arrivals. CNN even featured the country’s best tourism spots on their website as a direct response to our gesture.

The Brief

We needed to shift the conversation from the gravity of the damage from the calamity toward something more positive. This is how we can let the world know that the Philippines was ready to welcome tourists once again.

Results

Among Filipinos, the initiative enjoyed massive participation. The initiative was freely promoted by popular personalities and media networks, including GMA News and ABSCBN News. On Twitter alone, #PHThankYou registered an average of 49 tweets/hour, with roughly 75% of tweets coming from the Philippines In terms of reaching out to a global audience, the following key achievements were also noted: The campaign was covered by media networks and publications all over the world, even in countries where the billboards were not present. All amount to a total of 1.2 billion media impressions generated from print, broadcast, and digital/social media, translating to roughly USD2.6 million-worth of free media values. As a direct response, CNN wrote about our best tourism spots, saying: “Given how gracious the nation is being, it's a fine time to revisit one of the Philippines best assets -- its 7,000 islands…”

Execution

We planned our worldwide launch for February 8, Haiyan’s 3-month anniversary. Key personalities had already marked February 8 to commemorate the nation’s resilience, so we decided to use this opportunity as leverage. Then, we tapped influencers, many of whom had led typhoon relief operations, to help create awareness for the campaign. In their own social pages, they started thanking those who helped using the hashtag #PHthankyou. And being the social networking capital of the world, it wasn’t long before Filipinos joined in. Soon enough, every one was posting personal messages of thanks. This effort effectively shifted the world’s conversation about the country toward something more positive. A simultaneous global billboard launch and an online film helped spur even more people to spread the sentiment of thankfulness all around.

The Situation

Recorded history’s most powerful typhoon hit the eastern coastline of the Philippines. The disaster affected intention to travel, as global consumers became concerned about the condition of the country and its tourism attractions. Part of the problem was the global public’s mistaken impression that the entire Philippines had been ravaged the typhoon, when in fact Haiyan had only struck isolated areas of the peninsula. With tourism as one the key income sources of the Philippines contributing 7% of its GDP it was important to get tourism back on track to help the recovery.

The Strategy

Just two months after the calamity, we needed to deliver a message that was both timely and appropriate, building on real conversations that were going on about the country. So we listened in on what our countrymen were saying about the typhoon. Online, we found multiple messages of gratitude from Filipinos to different parties who participated in the country’s relief and rehabilitation efforts. This soon became the campaign’s main message and inspiration. This allowed us to showcase positive aspects of the country: the resilient and cheerful spirit of Filipinos, as well as the Philippines’ beautiful attractions. Now all we needed to do was rally people behind this campaign.