Interviewer: Mary Moira Kaye Manuel, Student, University of San Carlos

Interviewee: Guillermo Luz, Private Sector Co-Chairman, National Competitiveness Council

Interview Setting: Interview conducted in the office of NCC. The interview was conducted at
4:48 PM on Wednesday afternoon.
(Start of the Interview)
Interview Proper Commentary
1:36  The interviewee narratively answers the
Interviewer: In our study, sir, we actually
question on who is making the brand of the
defined nation branding as a reflected and
coordinated strategy of nations for country, highlighting the different agencies,
maintaining its relevance in the international
or key actors, involved in making such nation
community, sir. So, I would just like to ask
you, in the government agenda, where does brand. It is also taken into account that the
the creation of a Philippine nation brand lie?
initiatives to craft a nation brand are striving
2:02 
Interviewee: Okay, good question. We ask for creative ideas, utilizing discipline
ourselves this question all the time: who’s in
transfers, i.e. from marketing to government
charge of making the brand and what’s the
brand for the Philippines? So when I first policies, alchemizing these mechanisms into a
joined the NCC in 2011, I was asked to take
unified but complex nation brand consisting
charge of creating a brand. That was my first
assignment in NCC in 2011. So, they said, of different components that project not just
“Can you create a brand?” I said, “No, I can’t
the brand image, but the brand identity truly
create a brand, I’m not a brand expert. I’ll
help you create a brand, but not me directly.” reflective of the country’s dynamic character
So that was exactly my first question, so:
as a nation.
who’s in charge of making the brand for the
country? The answer is of course, it’s the
government, I said, but who in the
government will be in charge of making the
brand, at least to get it started. Maybe, not the
entire responsibility, but it has to get it
started. So, after some discussion, they said,
“Let’s start with the Department of Tourism”.
So the first project went to the Department of
Tourism. Then, later on, it included, of
course, Department of Trade okay, because
we have to project the brand, as well. And
then, the others helped, but those are the two
primary agencies for who’s in charge of
making the brand. The reason I asked that is
because we have to be clear who’s going to
organize and manage the brand. And to be
practical about it, who’s going to pay for the
brand, because if we just to say the
government, who in government? We have to
figure out who’s really in charge. So once we
determine that, they told me, okay, to
resemble, be the lead, and then later on, trade.
We started by…we formed a group, a
committee that began to understand, okay,
what do we want to do with creating a brand,
how do we create a brand, who will we talk
to. So I created a small committee, composed
of different government agencies and
different private sector individuals, and we
discussed not the brand, we discussed how to
make a brand, okay? So we decided several
things that we wanted to let an ad agency
create the brand, okay, because we did not
want to be the ones pretending that we’re the
designers when we were not the designers,
okay? So, I said, “Let’s get an agency. How
do we get an agency? The agency we had to
get through a bidding, a public bidding.” So,
we had to decide how to create a bidding
document. So we had to understand the
government rules on how to bid, and then
when we learned how to…the rules work in
bidding, we stated writing the documents.
What are you…we have to tell the agencies,
“What are you bidding for? What are we…
what do we want?” Okay, this is the job, and
then bid for the job. So that part, we wrote,
the rules, how to bid. Then, the second part is
how do we make sure the government picks
the right company to bid? Okay?
Because (stutters) the government doesn’t
know who the companies are. So, we created
a report card, a rating card, for agencies to…
how to figure out…let’s say the three of you
were three different companies, we have to
figure out can you really do the job to bid. So,
we created a report card per company, and if
the company pass the report card, they’re
allowed to proceed to the bidding. If you
failed the report card, you’re out, you’re
kicked out. So we created that and then the
government used that report card to determine
which companies can bid. And then we
created another report card that is really for
the actual bidding so we used that with your
proposal, then they follow the report card. If
they follow it, if the report card’s designed
properly, and they follow the report card, they
will get to the best bidders. Now, that report
card has to do with who gives the best
creative idea, the best brand, okay? And so,
when we started, I think there were thirty-
three (33) companies who gave…who wanted
to bid. And then, after applying to the first
level of report card, we were able to reduce
that, I think, to twelve (12) or fourteen (14).
Then, there was another report card to check,
so we finally got seven (7) and only seven (7),
not thirty-three (33) were allowed to make a
presentation, okay? Then of the seven (7),
they gave a presentation on the best creative
idea, the best brand idea. We told everyone,
“This is the amount of money, same amount
of…if you all had the same amount of money,
don’t spend more, don’t spend less, you just
give me the best idea.” And we had a
committee, and I was on the committee, the
government’s on the committee, and the
committee sat there with the report card we
gave them, they decided how that brand will
be. So that was the process, but it started with
like your question: who’s responsible for it? I
let the government, because the government is
a client, I let the government decide which
one. So when they started, by saying tourism,
then we built it around that. So at the final
product, the winner, it's the "It's More Fun in
the Philippines" campaign, okay? That's the
winning brand idea in it all happened in 2011.
8:44  In the likes of Simon Anholt’s Index, there are
Interview: Is it what is considered the, for the
different cogs that operate in the machinery
government of the Philippines, sir, as its
nation brand or its tourism brand? The "It's that is nation branding. One such category is
More Fun In The Philippines"?
the people, and in Mr. Luz’ contention, the
8:56 
Interviewee: It started as the tourism brand, slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”,
but it became the foundation for essentially
which originally started only as a tourism
the national brand. So, as the tourism brand,
the whole concept was "It's More Fun In The brand, has now become the groundwork for
Philippines" and the emphasis, if you analyze,
crafting the nation brand of the Philippines.
watch YouTube all the "It's More Fun" ads,
the emphasis is partially the destination, but Although there are various building blocks to
mostly the people, okay? So it's like wherever
nation branding, such as infrastructure,
you are, whatever you do, wherever you are,
it's more fun, okay? If you're eating, it's more tourism, export, among others, what is made
fun. If you're drinking, if you're partying, if
central to all these is the people, with Mr. Luz
you're going to a fiesta, if you're in the beach,
if you're in a mountain, if you're diving, if postulating that the people are the ones
you're drinking, it's more fun in the
giving life to the other elements.
Philippines. And so the reason it, the, that it's
more fun in the Philippines is essentially the
people. So, the heart of the brand is people.
Then, everything was built around the concept
of people, okay? So, when that brand was
then refreshed, into the next campaign, which
is the "Visit the Philippines" campaign, then
that brand was turned into "Fun Works",
okay? So I don't know if you're familiar with
that next one, the...it was in the last year, and
"Fun Works" was one word, okay? So it
began to equate the Philippines with fun plus
work, okay? And so all the play of words was,
the whole thing again, the emphasis, was,
you'll be more productive in the Philippines
with your work, but it'll also be fun, because
the people are great.
11:02  With Mr. Luz zeroing in on the people in his
Interviewer: So is "Fun Work", sir,
last answer in, more-or-less, a generalist
considered to be the nation brand of the
Philippines as of last year? perspective, he now has substantiated and
11:09 
supplemented the ‘people’ element into more
Interviewee: I guess the core program is still
"It's More Fun", no? But, maybe, if you want specific initiatives, with the aims to “brand”
to really get to the foundation of it, it's
the other elements in the entire brand identity
essentially people, okay? Without using the
word "people", okay? It's people. So, if you of the Philippines. Business, for example, is
take, in tourism, it was, in tourism, it was "It's
still run by the people. So, it matches with his
More Fun", okay? So if we shift to the trade
side, okay, trade and industry side, the other claim that our people are basically the
part, the economy, okay? So, the economy,
foundation for the crystallization of a
the tagline was "Your Business, Our People".
If you go to Board of Investments and Philippine nation brand.
Department of Trade ads, it's, the tagline is
not "It's More Fun" okay, it's "Your Business,
Our People" because again the underlying
principle was people. So, whatever you do,
you could be in electronics, you could be in
call centers, you could be in healthcare, you
could be in engineering. Whatever that is that
you do, whatever investor comes in, it's our
people doing the work, but also because, even
if you need work done abroad, it's still our
people, okay? You have a ship, it's our people
in the ship. You have business, and you're
calling people in the phone, it's still our
people answering the phone. So, everything is
just like, it's the core business equivalent of
"It's More Fun". It's more fun because it's
people, in the case of DTI, your business is
gonna be good, 'cause it's our people, still.
And then the combination, the "Fun Works",
was like, "Okay. Now you visit. You can get a
lot of work done. You can attend conferences,
meeting, everything, and it's still gonna be
'work hard during the day, play hard at night',
it's still gonna be, still be, fun." So, you can't
say, like, only one is like, you know, that's the
national brand. Essentially the national brand
is people, okay? It was just, the slogan was a
bit different. It's either "It's More Fun", its
"Your Business, Our People" or "Fun Works".
So, it revolves around those three (3)
depending on the agency that is doing the
advertising. And those three still, I guess, still
continue but it's not so active now in the
advertising. Last year, we did a lot of
advertising 'cause of APEC. And that was the
part, the other project we were in. So we
worked, on our part, I represent the private
sector. But we worked with both Department
of Tourism and Department of Trade, you
know, all was emphasizing, you know,
"Come for the Philippines, Come for APEC"
because essentially, it's gonna be more in the
Philippines, and by the way, you're gonna get
a lot of work done, and if you ever choose to
invest here, it's gonna be your business, our
people. It's always people.
13:53  The question was asked by the interviewer to
Interviewer: So, this kind of nation brand,
accentuate on the success rate of the
sir, centering on people and how it depends
on who the audience is, how has it fared so branding efforts, with the interviewee
far, sir?
responding on a positive note. Mr. Luz then
14:03  made remarks that marketing campaigns are
Interviewee: Well, it has it been doing well, I
not the only course of action to undertake in
mean if I take a look at the results, I mean it's
not all because of the advertising, but it nation branding efforts, but nonetheless
helped. If we take a look at the tourism
essential in transmitting a message to the
numbers, in 2011, I think we have about two
million (2,000,000) visitors in that year. international community that the Philippines
Tourists by last year were about six million
is what it truly is, that people are chief in
(6,000,000), so it's tripled, okay? If I take a
look at the investments, it's about the same. uplifting the country’s potentials in different
Investments were below two billion dollars ($
areas postulated, positioning the country
2,000,000,000) a year. In 2010 or 11, at the
end of 2015, it was about six - a little over six towards a more favorable spot in the
billion dollars ($6,000,000,000) a year. So, it
rankings, and eventually, transforming this
multiplied at about three-and-a-half, almost
four-and-a-half. So, I would say it helped, but into auspicious gains for the country to reap.
not, it's not only 'cause of the advertising, but
it helped, the marketing campaign helped.
14:57  Though the ‘people’ element is well and
Interviewer: In this nation brand sir, what
good, Mr. Luz is suggesting that much is to be
specific problems persisted that hindered the
crafting of it, sir? done, for example, in the infrastructure
15:07 
element. Façade, in this case, e.g. airports, is
Interviewee: The infrastructure. We did not
have the infrastructure. So, for instance, when paramount in order for outsiders to provide
the original "It's More Fun" campaign was
favorable first impressions.
designed, the goal was to have ten million
(10,000,000) visitors. We only got to six
(6,000,000) because, you know, we have a
problem with the airport, problem with the
traffic, and the airport is not only Manila, but
of course, other airports, you know, too small,
not enough airport capacity, not enough, if
you don't have enough airport capacity, you
don't have enough aircraft. And then, when
you land in the Philippines, it's hard to move
around. So, the infrastructure. So, that was the
problem.

15:42  In here, it is laid out that there is a

Interviewer: For NCC, sir, what was
conglomeration of different sectors,
considered key factors in the creation of
nation brand, sir? particularly the prevailing partnership
15:49 
between the government and the private
Interviewee: Well, we have to have really, at
the end of the day, we need creative people, sector, in enhancing the creative process as
very smart creative people behind it. And well as taking into account the government’s
that's why we went to the industry and bid it
outlook in the realities concerning the
out and we felt that as a result we really got
one of the best agencies, if not, one of the, country, thereby successfully crafting a truly
maybe, the best agency to, you know, which
reflective nation brand.
eventually won the project. So, that was
important, but before we got to that stage, the
other important factor is that, when NCC
worked to prepare the documents, we worked
with government agencies and private
companies to map out how to go about it. I
think if we left it alone to the government,
they would have maybe thought of something
completely different, if we did not get
involved. But by putting private sector guys,
we're able to teach the government what
private companies are looking for in a
marketing and creative campaign. You know,
with the government, unfortunately, in the
bids committee of the government many
people are there are lawyers and accountants,
I mean, I have nothing against lawyers and
accountants, but if you're asking them to pick
the most creative, you know, marketing
campaign, you would not automatically think
of lawyers and accountants to do that for you,
you would think of other people to do it, other
creative people. So, by getting, since I knew I
was gonna (sic) be dealing with lawyers and
accountants, I got creative people, so that we
can have balance in the group. If we didn't get
it, I think we would not have the same results.