Why is this work relevant for PR?

This integrated campaign for sustainable tourism demonstrates how creative public relations can turn around public perception in a dramatic way. In this case, The Juan Effect Campaign didn’t just rebuild its reputation among its target audience – the campaign actually became the catalyst for a partnership with the Philippine national government. What’s more, this campaign shows an innovative use of a brands’ consumers by empowering them to be living proof of its values – a first for the Philippine airline industry.

Background

The islands of Siargao, Philippines, has been ranked 9th by CNN Travel in its “50 Best World Surf Spots” list. However, its growing popularity resulted in an explosion of tourist arrivals from 61,997 visitors in 2012 to 195,562 visitors in 2018. With the tourists came the growing problem of trash. Congressional representative Bingo Matugas of Surigao del Norte’s 1st District, which includes Siargao, alleged that this was because there were now more Filipino tourists. He noted how foreigners used to comprise 90% of tourist arrivals but now the split is at 50% each. He claimed Filipino tourists were not as conscious about the environment. Cebu Pacific Air recognized the looming risk that its passengers could be blamed for the island’s degradation. After all, it was responsible for 49% of Siargao passenger arrivals. So it aimed to build its reputation amongst the Siargao local community as a partner for sustainable tourism.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Cebu Pacific passengers proudly call themselves “Juan”, in reference to “Juan de la Cruz”, a national personification of the Filipino everyman. This inspired the idea of the “Juan Effect”. The Juan Effect Campaign is about empowering the Filipino everyman to have a big effect on the tourist destinations he visits through the small, simple actions that he commits to doing. He does not need special knowledge, skills, abilities or stature to make an impact. He isn’t a hero. He is “Juan”. He can do small things or make small changes as a traveler to make that big effect.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Cebu Pacific Airlines needed to change the perception of the local government and the local community of Siargao island about its passengers. This was something that couldn’t be addressed by traditional advertising. The brand needed a public relations campaign that went beyond just communicating how Cebu Pacific was an airline that supported sustainable tourism. It had to turn its passengers into brand ambassadors for being responsible travelers. To do this, it had to empower them at every step of their travel journey.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The campaign started by encouraging those interested in flying to Siargao to share a pledge online to do small things with a big effect: bringing a reusable water bottle, using an ecobag, and throwing trash properly when traveling. To spread this message, zero-waste PR travel kits were sent to online influencers. Unlike the usual PR kit with so much single-use packaging, this kit and its contents were 100% eco-friendly and reusable. Cebu Pacific also tweaked inflight games passengers enjoyed participating in to communicate the Juan Effect message. Reusable Juan Effect water bottles and metal straws were also made available inflight. On the island, surf art murals for sustainable travel were painted on resort walls and broken surfboards were transformed into surfboard billboards reminding tourists to be responsible tourists. To enable tourists to support the island’s recycling program, especially designed receptacles for collecting plastic bottles were installed all over the island.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

Breakdown of costs Juan Effect had over 2,159,959 reach from media coverage. Influencer posts had 10 million estimated reach and 500,000 estimated engagement. Cebu Pacific social media posts also had 30,621,552 reach and 1,242,178 engagement. There was 46.6% increase in positive sentiment in conversations mentioning Cebu Pacific and Siargao. At 85% positive sentiment, Cebu Pacific led all its top competitors. In less than 4 months, over 10,000 shared online pledges to be a responsible traveler – equivalent to over 460,800 single-use plastic bottles not used, over 127,000 single-use plastic bags not thrown away, and over 162,000 pounds of trash disposed of properly. Most importantly, 3 out of 9 Siargao municipalities fast-tracked a single-use plastic ban ordinance after a Juan Effect meeting with stakeholders. Beyond this, the campaign established an invaluable long-term partnership with the Philippine National Government for sustainable tourism. Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Romulo Puyat-Berna even announced Juan Effect in Siargao as a pilot module that “will be the models and yardsticks for sustainable tourism practices and action plans of the DOT”. Juan Effect became part of the reopening of Boracay, the top tourist spot that used to draw 2 million tourists in 2017 before closure due to environmental degradation. Juan Effect trash bins with garbage segregation infographics are now omnipresent on the whole stretch of its famous white sand beach. The campaign is already planned for roll out in Palawan and Batanes, places identified as top tourist destinations that need the sustainable tourism drive the most.

Please tell us about the brand in relation to the locality or market where the product/service is distributed

Cebu Pacific is the leading airlines in the Philippines based on the number of passengers flown on its domestic and international routes. It is also known for being the pioneer of the low cost-carrier model in the country. With over 37 domestic destinations and 27 international destinations, it has the widest network of routes in the Philippines. Cebu Pacific was also pioneered flights to Siargao island, where the Juan Effect PR campaign was launched. The brand has led the growth of tourist arrivals on the island from 9,000 passengers in 2009 when the route was launched to 96,000 passengers in 2017 or equivalent to a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 35%. It is critical for the brand to have strong partnerships with both the local and national government in the Philippines because its business is highly regulated and affected by the government policies towards it.