Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines — A new digital campaign entitled ‘Future Farms’ has been recently launched by the Department of Tourism (DOT). The campaign intends to promote farm tourism, one of the sector’s promising gems, and to offer pandemic-weary travellers a refreshing environment and new experiences. The Future Farms video series can be viewed on the ‘Tourism Philippines’ YouTube channel.

The Farm Tourism video series has featured must-see farms possessing unique characteristics of the touted ‘’future farm” — innovative, scenic, product-centric, and machine-oriented.

‘Future Farms’ is the fruit of the government agency’s efforts to redevelop tourism products and seek out new types of destinations and activities for travellers in the new normal. This innovation allows farm owners to maximise the potential of their property, employ more people, and give tourists more destinations to discover and agri-tourism products to enjoy.

The farms to be featured are located all over the Philippines and include sites such as Diaspora Farm and Resort in Bacolor, Pampanga, Amancio Nicolas Agri-Tourism Academy in Cordon, Isabela, Yamang Bukid in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Orchard Valley Farm in Pavia, Iloilo, among others.

Since 2018, the DOT has been strengthening the development and promotion of farm tourism as a major tourism product. It supports stakeholders in innovating and diversifying farm sites around the country to include recreational and leisure activities for tourists in addition to food and wellness.

The DOT said its farm tourism campaign ‘will definitely awaken the farmer in you as you explore the unique and fascinating farms in the country.’

Those interested in the project can visit DOT’s dedicated website for more information on DOT’s Farm Tourism partner destinations.

‘Future Farms’ is one of DOT’s original initiatives for tourism in the past month. Other notable projects include the inclusion and consideration of women and PWDs in the tourism industry, and a new ‘podumentary’ on the different rich cultures and traditions the Philippines offers, entitled ‘Escape: Stories from the Road’.

Pampanga, Philippines — The multi-platinum singer-songwriter Juan Karlos Labajo widens his portfolio with his latest move on entrepreneurship as co-founder of Raket.PH, an online job marketplace for Filipino freelancers. The platform is owned and operated by The Rocket Inc, a startup company headquartered in Angeles City, Pampanga.

The idea of a digital platform aiming to curb the number of unemployed and underemployed workers during this pandemic convinced the artist to proceed with this endeavour. Rooting from his experiences as a young breadwinner, Labajo sympathizes with his kababayans in dealing with the struggles of providing for the family’s daily needs.

Labajo discussed, “As a musician, gigs and projects come and go. I’ve experienced having no projects for months, but my responsibility to my family doesn’t stop when I don’t have a job. This led me to invest in a platform that strives to help freelancers like myself.”

This project was brought to life alongside his co-founders, Peng Enriquez and Carlet Enriquez, who also operate Fullstack HQ, a top tech company based in Pampanga.

“I’m truly grateful to these two amazing people for being a strong unit in realizing this common vision toward the welfare of every Pinoy independent worker,” Labajo said.

As of date, Raket.PH is in its alpha stage and recently launched its RaketShip feature, which functions as an online portfolio and resumes showcasing a freelancer’s information and services. Other major developments are expected to be introduced throughout the whole year 2022.

Manila, Philippines — The Philippine pharmaceutical giant, Unilab, has appointed Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Philippines as their media agency of record. The selection process was led by Unilab’s internal media team and has challenged participating agencies to showcase their capabilities, tools, and strategic principles through several brand case presentations. The partnership will be effective from July 1, 2022.

OMG will be responsible for managing the pharmacy brand’s legacy media, strategy, planning, investment, media activation, digital performance, and data-led marketing intelligence and science. Leveraging on the agency’s propriety planning workflow – Omni, the team stood out from the competition with a structured omnichannel strategy that empowers the brand with data-driven solutions that cut across stages of the funnel.

Alex Panlilio, corporate VP of Unilab, Inc., commented, “Today’s dynamic consumer and market landscapes require businesses to have sharper insights, growth-driving strategies, and agile engagements with its stakeholders. We have seen the capability of OMG to enable us in these and we look forward to partnering with Mary and her team in accelerating data-driven and disruptive initiatives.”

Meanwhile, Mary Buenaventura, CEO of OMG Philippines, shared, “As we move forward in this endemic world, we are excited to kickstart this new journey with Unilab. With the combination of our unique expertise, market-leading capabilities, and strategic thinking through our people, we are confident to support Unilab in their growth ambitions.”

Commenting on the appointment, Joanna C. Mojica, division VP for consumer health management of Unilab, Inc, said, “As we face massive challenges in today’s business environment, OMG is able to demonstrate the breadth and depth of how we can partner together. We look forward to the fruition of a partnership that will enable our brands to deeply connect with our consumers.”

Manila, Philippines – Tropical Hut, a long-time Philippine-based fast food chain, has seen a revival these past few days, causing a massive organic marketing boost brought by a slew of customers and food delivery riders. It was all thanks to a viral tweet that has since then catalysed the hunt for their nearest Tropical Hut branch.

It all started with a tweet from stock analyst JP Tanyag, who visited a Tropical Hut branch located in Escolta at the City of Manila. In the tweet, he exclaimed that he was the only customer there. Despite the business being slow, he also stated that the fast food chain has retained most of its menu items despite being faced against big fast food chains locally.

For context, Tropical Hut was first established in 1962, and served fast-food items, including rice meals and burgers. They also served fast food versions of Filipino dishes such as palabok and tapa.

As of this writing, Tanyag’s tweet has over 7,000 retweets and over 34,000 likes. Comments regarding his tweet have ranged from nostalgic tweets of them sharing meals with their parents to commenting how the price and food quality are ‘worth it’.

Numerous tweets have popped up online, showing how packed the Tropical Hut branches are.

https://twitter.com/marianboneo/status/1538548492083560449

There are also tweets showing how several food delivery riders flocked Tropical Hut branches amidst growing numbers of orders for the fast food chain’s items.

Even popular superapp Grab in the Philippines jumped into the trend to host a giveaway–which turned out to be a full-on Tropical Hut meal.

Following the surging popularity of Tropical Hut, the chain’s official Twitter account thanked everyone for the support, and also reminded customers to patiently wait for their orders, as stocks for popular items such as their burgers are low on stock.

Manila, Philippines — Luxury hotels and resorts company, Shangri-La Group, has appointed Chrystel Ilano Acuna as its new director of marketing communications for the Resorts. This appointment will serve as a return for Acuna to the hospitality company after previous stints.

Acuna will be responsible for leading the marketing teams and the initiatives for Shangri-La to cater to the easing of borders and travel restrictions. In her new role, she will be prioritising the return of international guests and how they can consider Mactan or Boracay as their holiday destination.

She holds an extensive understanding and knowledge of the hospitality business and the marketing industry. Prior to returning to Shangri-La, she was with Chroma Hospitality as marketing communications and digital manager leading the Crimson, Quest, and Timberland marketing teams. Prior to that, Acuna was with Shangri-La Group as a digital marketing executive handling the Philippine properties and before that, she was with Makati Shangri-La as a digital marketing executive, marketing executive and corporate trainee – communications. Her first job was with Acacia Hotel Manila as a marketing communications assistant.

Commenting on her appointment and coming back to Shangri-La, Acuna shared, “I’m excited to return to Shangri-La Group and to elevate the campaigns of resorts as we welcome back international travellers.”

Philippines — The Bangsamoro Region in the Mindanao area of the Philippines is now adopting the ‘Make It Happen in the Philippines’ (MIH) campaign brand for the region’s overall branding, including its investment promotion activities.

This, after the region, underwent training on the development of an Investment Marketing and Communication Plan. The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), the country’s lead industry and investments promotion agency conducted the training together with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism (BARMM-MTIT) recently in Cotabato City.

The MIH campaign is the Philippines’ newest investment promotion brand campaign launched in November 2020, serving as part of the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery strategy. Inspired by the Filipinos’ genuine “make it work/make it happen mindset”, the campaign is designed to generate more investments into the country to grow the country’s economy and increase employment opportunities for the Filipino people.

The campaign targets investors in 18 markets in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and America and focuses on promoting the country’s key industries as represented in three global value chain clusters that have the most potential for foreign investment namely in industrials, manufacturing, and transport; and technology, media and telecommunication; among others.

As an autonomous region, the BARMM will use Make It Happen in the Philippines – Choose Bangsamoro as its regional brand. The region’s promotion branding injects the Sarimanok into its regional logo, a legendary bird that become a ubiquitous symbol of Maranao art and is unique to the Bangsamoro. It is depicted as a fowl with colourful wings and feathered tail, holding a fish on its beak or talons with the head profusely decorated with leaf, and spiral motifs as a symbol of good fortune.

The regional brand is further broken down into four sub-brandings considering the many inherent competitive advantages that the region can offer. These are location branding that would highlight the region’s tourism and investment opportunities; product branding that would showcase the region as a global Halal hub; people and culture branding that would put in the spotlight the region and its people’s rich culture including its history, language, food, fashion, and celebrities; and political branding that would showcase the Bangsamoro as a reformed, peace-loving, adhering to moral governance region, and a united region speaking in one voice.

The Make It Happen in the Philippines brand meanwhile is infused into the regional brand through the play of colours and texts. Initially, the following are the working draft logos of the MIH-infused BARMM promotion brand.

Rossini J. Alonto-Sinarimbo, director-general of MTIT, said, “We must communicate to the world the potentials of the Bangsamoro region as an investment destination of choice, especially with the improvements in the region. It’s our chance to put our region forward.”

Meanwhile, Maria Veronica Magsino, executive director of BOI, said that the three-day training was proof of a strong partnership between the national and BARMM governments towards harmonising the campaign brand of the Philippines.

“This endeavour is not new to us, since for the past years, we have been encouraging government agencies and the private sector to use MIH as the country’s new investment promotion campaign brand, in their respective investment promotion activities and information materials,” Magsino said.

The multi-day training and planning workshop covered various topics, namely an overview of the MIH brand campaign; the basics of formulating a marketing and communications plan, and the development of information materials and utilisation of promotional tools such as Canva and Hubspot.



Manila, Philippines — TikTok, a leading destination for short-form mobile video, celebrates this year’s Pride Month by promoting inclusivity. The platform aims to champion individual expression while also spotlighting the strength of the LGBTQIA+ community.

To officially kick off the month of June, TikTok launched this year’s pride month campaign with the official hashtag, #PrideTogetherPH.

TikTok continues to serve as a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community where users can engage and build relationships with key figures and advocacy organisations. For interested users, they can join in on the discussion and catch the Sama-sama tayo #PrideTogetherPH live stream on June 15, 17, 22, and 24.

The live broadcast will compose numerous prominent LGBTQIA+ creators including Show Suzuki, Roanne and Tina, Rica Salomon, and Miko Esjay together with various music artists like Paul Pablo, SILVY, and Anne Marie.

In addition to the jam-packed events, anticipate a well-rounded discourse with a specially curated digital content series named #QueerTalk with OxfamPH and #ATBPride with LoveYourselfPH. Both are video series expounding more about LGBTQIA+, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Equality Bill, and different gender identities in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) presents its first podcast entitled ‘Escape: Stories from the Road,’ showcasing the best destinations in the Philippines through stories from different personalities. The podcast will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other platforms.

This five-episode ‘podumentary’, a combination of podcast and documentary, infuses an element of storytelling, veering away from the usual question-and-answer formats of podcasts. Through these stories, the DOT hopes to reach out to the various audiences and inspire them to participate in meaningful tourism through unique experiences and local interactions.

Each episode follows a theme, such as adventure, identity, fiestas, music and food. Among the notable individuals interviewed for this podcast are National Artist Kidlat Tahimik; Dr Felicidad Prudente, who is one of the leading Filipino ethnomusicologists in the country today; and former tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

The first episode on adventure features some of the best outdoor experiences in Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga, and Camotes Island; while the identity episode brings the audience from Baguio to Davao to share stories of people who, in finding the path to gain their identity, found the path to greatness.

The episode on music explores the sounds of the islands, from the city to the remote forests of the Philippines, emphasizing that music not only serves to entertain but to preserve history in our soundscape. The fiesta episode discusses how Filipino festivals have evolved from honouring patron saints to highlighting the best of the towns and provinces.

For the food episode that was recorded in May, ex-tourism secretary Puyat shared her advocacy in supporting local farmers and how this led to further development of food and farm tourism in the country.

DOT’s ‘Escape: Stories from the Road’ podcast is hosted by travel filmmaker and photographer Aaron Palabyab along with guest co-hosts, national athlete Maureen Schrijvers; designer, musician, and filmmaker Kate Torralba; and the sports broadcaster and podcaster Cesca Litton. 

Manila, Philippines — The global package delivery company UPS has appointed Russell Reed as managing director of UPS Philippines.

Reed holds an extensive understanding and knowledge of the company having spent 29-year in UPS. He brings a wealth of global and cross-functional experience to the role which will see him spearhead the company’s efforts to boost cross-border growth opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the Philippines.

Reed, who will also continue his current role as managing director of UPS Thailand, began his journey with UPS in the United States in 1993 and has since gone on to accumulate almost three decades of global experience spanning strategic planning, supply chain management, new product development and launches, international marketing, sales enablement, strategic partnerships, and operations management in both developed and emerging markets.

He is distinguished at UPS for creating and managing high-performance teams across diverse cultures and countries and is passionate about mentoring and cultivating the company’s future leaders. Initiatives driven by his teams are focused on devising go-to-market strategies that meet the ever-evolving needs of UPS’s customers in a rapidly changing Asia.

On his appointment, Reeds shared, “I am very excited to lead the UPS team in the Philippines, a country which has played a key role in our Asia Pacific strategy for over 30 years, and which will continue to do so as we all look towards life beyond the pandemic.”

Reeds added, “For SMBs in particular, we know it has been a difficult couple of years, but by combining existing and upcoming international trade opportunities with UPS’s unrivalled logistics expertise, network, knowledge and customs brokerage experience, we’re here to give businesses in the Philippines all the support they need to achieve their global growth ambitions.”

Meanwhile, Michelle Ho, regional president of UPS APAC, said, “Reed is an experienced leader with a solid track record of elevating UPS’s business and operations across the region, and I am confident that the depth and breadth of his expertise will continue to drive sustainable growth opportunities and deliver a world-class logistics experience for our customers in the Philippines and across the region.”

Manila, Philippines — Cebu Pacific Air, one of the Philippines’ leading airlines, operated a mobile game-themed flight to introduce Tencent Games’ PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) MOBILE’s newest IP, Phoenix Adarna. An airport and in-flight experience featuring Adarna-inspired costumes, trivia games, and merchandise giveaways made the flight the first of its kind in Southeast Asian aviation history.

PUBG MOBILE players will embark on a series of heroic missions inspired by the Philippine mythological bird Adarna, the fabled creature that heals all ailments. Players must complete missions within a time limit to unlock rewards or purchase in-game currency to become invincible like Adarna, and dress in eye-catching items such as Agent Phoenix Set backpacks, a frame, parachute and even acquire a buggy. Phoenix Adarna-themed items will be available for PUBG MOBILE for keen gamers only until June 30. The flight replicates the adventure a hero undergoes in search of this famed fowl.

Gaming video creators Rojean Delos Reyes and Dexie Diaz represented PUBG MOBILE and Cebu Pacific as official campaign ambassadors. Both known in their gaming circles as adventurous and passionate, the ladies embody the fiery spirit of the Phoenix Adarna.

Candice Iyog, CEB VP for marketing and customer experience, said, “We are excited to create this one-of-a-kind experience for our passengers, and the PUBG MOBILE gaming community. As a proudly Filipino carrier, we continue to look for fun ways to promote Philippine culture and tourism. We anticipated this to be the first of several collaborations with industry partners such as Tencent Games.”

Meanwhile, Benj Dalmacio, senior business development manager for PUBG MOBILE Philippines, echoes this excitement for this first-of-its-kind collaboration in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, “In PUBG MOBILE, we continue to make the game relevant to our target audience: young adults. The Ibong Adarna, our country’s very own phoenix, symbolizes hope and rebirth and holds a significant place in Philippine literature.”

Dalmacio adds, “We are proud for our platform to become a place of appreciation and learning of Filipino culture as well as helping in promoting the Philippine tourism industry. We are honoured to partner with the country’s leading airline as they recognize the growing gaming community and live up to their fun brand.”

PUBG MOBILE will blast a special seat sale exclusively communicated to the Filipino gaming community and raffle free domestic and international round-trip flights, courtesy of Cebu Pacific, in various community events throughout June.

Aside from Cebu, tourist destination favourite Boracay will be the venue of offline events, with the appearance of a pop-up gaming truck for a battle royale game with top PUBG MOBILE players and meet-and-greets. The island will also become the nesting place of Phoenix Adarna, with tourists spotting from afar tour boats, parasails, giant sandcastles, beach flags, kayaks, and gliders bearing the theme.