Week 1 - Naomi Almanzor

Question – Week 1: What are the pitfall(s) of National Branding for the country (contemplating) applying it?

Being a country with a wide variety of islands, cultures, and panoramic spots (especially beaches), tourism and cultural promotion has contributed a large part to the current image of the Philippines. Its slogan, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” along with the commercials and song (see below) around it, assist in promoting national attractions, festivals, food, and more to international audiences. In addition to these modes of tourist attractors, entertainment in the Philippines works to attract international - more so, English-speaking - audiences through the addition of English subtitles to various programs, programs about tourism and Filipino traditions with English-speaking hosts, as well as programs whose main objective is to teach Tagalog, the main dialect of the country, to English-speaking viewers. 

From what I had seen through my visits and Filipino media, there exists areas of the country devastated by natural disasters and poverty and are more brutally affected by unhealthy environmental conditions than others. While there have been efforts to promote the maintenance of clean rivers and draw attention to these areas through commercials as well, I think that government-funded efforts to assist in sustainability in these areas, such as through the providing supplies for residents in rural areas that farm for a living or the establishment of safer roads or paths for those that travel mainly by foot may be beneficial. 

Because some methods of national branding involve the creation of an image that attracts Western audiences, pitfalls of branding may include the misrepresentation of certain parts of a culture or area that may propagate stereotypes in the minds of visitors to make the country more appealing. After a short discussion with my parents about cultural representation through Filipino media, it does seem that those accounts are fairly legitimate. However, given that none of us have thoroughly experienced living in those areas, I do not want to fully neglect the possibility. Another pitfall may be that efforts to develop rural parts of a country through industrialization may be disagreed upon by residents of that area that have developed a livelihood through agriculture.

My Question: If the cultural approach to National Branding were also discussed in the same way as the political and tech-economical approaches, could it be measurable, and by what means? Would there be too much overlap with the other two categories?

Link to channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_yCORmIAJntXQDSHs4iFcw