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Wow Philippines!
By Michael Alan Hamlin
May 19, 2003
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
is in the United States to wow over U.S. president George W. Bush,
congress, and potential tourists and foreign investors. Her communications
arsenal includes the ever-bubbly tourism secretary Richard Gordon,
special advisor and Information Technology and E-Commerce Council
(ITECC) co-chair Roberto R. Romulo, and Department of Trade &
Industry secretary and ITECC co-chair Manuel A. Roxas II. ITECC
is a partnership between the private and public sectors intended
to advise and support government in the development of the ICT sector.
Gordon is riding a wave of good will
associated with his Wow Philippines campaign, which has received
highly positive reviews both at home and abroad. Although its impact
is limited by budget restrictions, the campaign is - anecdotally
at least - said to have made a significant contribution to boosting
domestic tourism, and helped arrest what may still turn out to be
a significant erosion in international arrivals as a result of negative
news associated with rebel insurgencies, the SARS (Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome) panic, and general economic malaise in Europe
and the U.S., made worse by the war in Iraq.
I'm not sure what Gordon has planned
for the trip in the way of impressing his prospective customers
- his department organized concerts by Pilita Corales last time
around for U.S.-based Filipinos in an attempt to lure them home
for vacation - the quality, professionalism, and compelling content
that characterize the campaign thus far suggest at least the potential
for further "wowing" tourists. And the timing is good.
Peak season begins in November, so there's plenty of time to plan
at trip, but not too much that plans are put off and forgotten.
Romulo and Roxas - who's barely below-the-surface
feud has reached legendary proportion - have far less certain prospects
for success, at least as a direct result of the impact of their
road shows. Romulo, according to insiders, has apparently appointed
himself IT marketing czar. It's unclear whether Ms. Arroyo intended
for him to assume that role when she appointed him special advisor
for information technology. One would assume he was meant to advise
government on its own IT infrastructure plans.
But Romulo has never been an IT strategist.
He's a salesman, with a long history with IBM in Asia. So sliding
into a sales and marketing role was probably an inevitable development
evolving from his appointment. As a result, networking government
agencies - with no champion - hasn't gone anywhere. Instead government
has e-Services champions out the kazoo.
The original e-Services marketing
initiative was conceived and developed by DTI and two of its attached
agencies - the Board of Investment and Center for International
Trade Expositions & Missions - during the Estrada administration.
Roxas, who has straddled the Estrada and Arroyo administrations,
appointed former assistant secretary Toby Monsod to champion the
project. She resigned last year to complete her doctorate studies
at the University of the Philippines.
Largely as a result of the efforts
of these agencies - which include promotions, "sales"
and after-care service - the Philippines has rather quickly emerged
as an internationally acknowledged center for such things as contact
centers, medical transcription, and business process outsourcing.
Even software, which labored in relative obscurity for years, is
getting new respect and the sector is not infrequently compared
to its much-admired and much larger rival, India.
At the time DTI was doing these things
most successfully, Romulo was busy running around trying to develop
his own marketing program. He chose to set up a foundation -Digital
Philippines - "to be the authoritative private sector point-reference
on the ICT industry and its development in the Philippines,"
according to its website. Why a government official would even be
involved in a "solely" private-sector initiative is curious,
to say the least.
Romulo's friends say that it was
meant to emulate NASSCOM, a site setup by the National Association
of Software & Services Companies in India. NASSCOM has been
instrumental in marketing India's IT enterprises to the world. But
there are at least two reasons why Digital Philippines has little
to do with NASSCOM. First, NASSCOM was a genuine collective effort
by India's enterprises. It was not set up by a government executive
who has never had a job in a local IT enterprise. Second, it works
closely with government. Digital Philippines has been a device to
go around government, not work with it, at least when it comes to
DTI and its attached agencies.
Not surprisingly, Digital Philippines
hasn't gone anywhere, but Romulo isn't giving up. Ostensibly on
the recommendation of Agile, Romulo has now set up yet another private-sector
body, this one called Outsource Philippines. Outsource Philippines
is going to be launched in real style in the Jade Room at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel this week in New York (by Digital Philippines!). Its
purpose is to promote BPO investment into the Philippines, and the
launch will include testimonials by representatives of Citibank,
AIG, and P&G. The idea is that they will convince U.S. executives
to outsource to the Philippines.
That's not a bad idea, although it
is certainly likely to make for a pretty dry meeting. But it is
simply absurd that a developing economy with very limited resources
now has three organizations purporting to be driving ICT collaboration
with government - all led by the same fellow (ITECC, Digital Philippines,
Outsource Philippines). What's even more ridiculous is that the
government organizations that have actually accomplished something
in the way of successfully promoting e-Services have been alienated
by these efforts, according to DTI insiders.
Fortunately, the Philippines will
continue to attract e-Services investor interest, and the New York
launch may generate positive results. But all these organizations,
their conflicting websites, and their contrasting messages are bound
to confuse, dismay, and dilute the brand. That's especially so when
the agencies which approve investment incentives and provide after
care service are independently marketing the Philippines. Wow.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing
director of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on
Asian economies and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian
Places, of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently
at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian Professionals
into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2003 Michael Alan
Hamlin. All Rights Reserved.
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