Highlights Filipino Bayanihan Spirit Amid the Pandemic
For encouraging millions of Filipinos to play an active role in protecting themselves and the whole community against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) Philippines received the Silver award for Excellence in Launch/Re-Launch Marketing for the information campaign B.I.D.A. Solusyon sa COVID-19 at the Marketing Excellence Awards held recently. B.I.D.A stands for in Filipino, B – awal walang mask, I – sanitize ang mga kamay, D – umistansya ng isang metro, at A – lamin ang totoong impormasyon (Always wear a mask, wash your hands, stay one meter apart, and always get real information.)
Joint effort for public health and safety
With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the DOH worked together with the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Program to come up with a communication campaign to deliver an important life-saving message: every Filipino is part of the solution to win the fight against the pandemic. GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications, Inc. (GeiserMaclang) helped the DOH amplify the B.I.D.A. Solusyon campaign and turned it into a movement through various partnerships with the private sector.
Doctor Beverly Ho, Director, Health Promotions Bureau at the DOH, said, “The B.I.D.A Solusyon sa COVID-19 campaign successfully reached millions of households across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This was made possible by the joint effort of the DOH, USAID and GeiserMaclang. Together, we were able to help the country at a very crucial point in our history by increasing public awareness towards preventive measures in our on-going battle against COVID-19.”
Amor Maclang, GeiserMaclang Co-founder, stressed, “Nation-building is at the heart of every partnership we develop at GeiserMaclang. This campaign highlighted the inherent Filipino trait of bayanihan, a time-honored practice of rallying the local community to assist a fellow Filipino in need. By speaking to the very heart of the everyday Filipino, we helped them play an important role in this struggle by showing them the very hero inside each and every one of us.”
Nationwide campaign
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 led to a host of problems that could have easily increased the number of active cases in the Philippines. From safety protocols to the spread of misinformation on social media, the DOH, USAID, and GeiserMaclang collaborated with the country’s private sector to ensure that the B.I.D.A. Solusyon information campaign reached every corner of the archipelago.
Entitled “How the COVID-19 Crisis Made Heroes Out of Every Filipino,” the information campaign was launched virtually together with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), among other program partners on July 24, 2020. The launch was widely covered by the Philippine media and attracted support among various organizations and businesses. Additionally, GeiserMaclang formed partnerships that helped develop and distribute vital campaign literature. Partner companies helped fund and distribute campaign materials that highlighted the DOH’s B.I.D.A Solusyon message.
Following its launch, a number of businesses adopted the campaign for their own internal initiatives, with some developing their own mini-campaigns that were inspired by B.I.D.A’s messaging. These initiatives eventually enabled the B.I.D.A to grow into a nationwide success, ensuring that individual citizens, families, and organizations mindfully adhered to COVID-19 prevention protocols.
Data-driven results
GeiserMaclang monitored the campaign’s success through various key metrics. Despite executing the project on a relatively tight budget, the B.I.D.A. Solusyon campaign garnered significant media mileage that resulted in 10 partnership sub-campaigns, 545 TV commercials, and 849 radio commercials. In addition, the campaign attracted 32 private enterprise partners, 22 local government partnerships, and over 2,000 volunteers.
Now on its 10th year, the Marketing Excellence Awards are designed to celebrate, recognize and reward outstanding marketing campaigns. It is the premier platform for marketing professionals to showcase their creative excellence, successful strategies, and effective delivery. For the first Marketing Excellence Awards in the Philippines this year, an independent judging panel comprised of high-caliber senior industry experts from reputable brands selected the winners.
“This recognition is a testament to the importance of strategic and effective communication during a global public health crisis. We share this award with the rest of the Filipino people who joined our call for collective action to achieve protection for the community against COVID-19,” Dr. Ho added.
