by Macon Ramos-Araneta
[ manilastandardtoday.com ] July 12, 2011
The Department of Tourism will soon roll out the P25-million music television video to promote tourist destinations in the country, according to Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon Jr.
The MTV will tap famous personalities as talents and capitalize on their popularity to encourage Filipinos to travel around the country, Bengzon said in an interview at the sidelines of the Balitaan sa Aloha weekly forum.
For this project, the department will partner with Smart Communications Inc. which will foot the bill for the talent fees of 51 performers in the music video, said Bengzon.
Target date of rollout is sometime in December, Bengzon said. In a couple of weeks, Bengzon said the department will entertain bids for the contract to do the MTV. The contract may be awarded in September, assuming no glitches, he said.
The rebranding of the tourism promotion became necessary after the debacle triggered by the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” campaign, which was found wanting in originality.
The new campaign will have a P25-million budget only for the media ad value, Bengzon said.
The DOT official noted that the campaign, “Pilipinas, Tara Na!” MTV is a variation of the former tourism campaign “Tara Na, Biyahe Tayo”.
It will stick to core attractions to sustain the campaign in the promotions of traditional strong destinations. It will also make use of iconic destinations like Intramuros, Rizal Park, the Magellan cross in Cebu. We will look into other destinations as we finalize this promotion material,explained Bengzon.
In general, he said “Pilipinas, Tara Na! will unravel on the screen the country’s culture, history, ecotourism, nature and adventure.
Tourism Secretary Albert Lim pushed for a renewed pitch for domestic tourism as he pointed out that it redistributes income to the countryside where the incidence of poverty is high.
Bengzon said that as many as 17 million Filipinos travel by air around the country each year.
“This is a good sign because a great number of them are starting to appreciate our own tourist destinations, and our own attractions historical cultural heritage,” Bengzon said.
The new campaign will be market specific which is more effective, Bengzon said.
Slogans such as Japan’s “Color My Heart,” and Korea’s “The 7,100 islands” were successful, he said.
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