Competition among schools helps towns promote local tourism
A group of senior high school students of the University of San Carlos (USC) won in the Cebu Digital Marketing Competition 2018 held last Aug. 15 at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
Eleven teams from six schools initially competed until it was down to five finalists who made the cut, with “Team PORO Camotes” from USC Senior High School as champion, garnering 93.54 percent. “Team Tabogon,” also from USC, was first runner-up with 80.74 percent, and “Team Tuburan” from St. Theresa’s College (STC) was second runner-up with 66.47 percent.
Other schools that participated in the boot camp training and competition include college students of the University of San Carlos, University of the Visayas, Mindanao State University (Iligan City); and senior high school students of Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Jesus and St. Theresa’s College.
With the Cebu Provincial Government’s Provincial Tourism Office as their partner, each team was tasked to create a digital marketing plan to promote selected Cebu municipalities, which should include the promotion of the local government unit’s (LGU) local tourist spots, delicacies, socio-economic activities, the people and their culture.
The task is to apply different strategies in digital marketing using a variety of digital channels such as mobile, e-mail and social media, among other digital marketing channels. The teams were given four months to plan, create and implement their digital marketing campaigns.
“Our hearts were filled with passion and determination. I am very proud to bring the name of the municipality and Island of Poro, Camotes. It was so overwhelming! All our hard work paid off,” shared Frederic Lance Catacutan, team leader of “Team POROdise.”
Jamie Marie Dyagbil, also from the winning team, said she felt that their success is also the LGU’s success. “When we won, it didn’t feel like the victory was ours alone. We felt that we owed a major part of our victory to our local government, Poro, that accommodated us… and with that, we are so grateful,” she shared.
Other members of Team POROdise are Bryan James Edulian, Marian Cyra Miro, and Norielle Therese Reston.
Members of “Team Tabogon, Explored by You” are Bern Aizel Baraquel, Sam Adrian de Ramos, Matt Benedict Empleo, Christina Grace Morgia and Marianne Suerte.
“Tara Tuburan” is composed of St. Theresa’s College Business Administration Marketing major students Joward de los Reyes, Vince Guzman, Rajiv Rojas, Francesca Tesch and Keyeann Vizcarr.
Conceptualized in 2016, the competition was created for the academe to introduce digital marketing as a new method of strategic marketing.
USC, which was recognized as a Centre for Excellence in Business Administration, took the lead in helping develop other universities and colleges with digital marketing, with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a partner in convening the 1st Digital Marketing Competition for students in 2016.
“The Cebu Towns was a good experience for the students. Although they weren’t paid by the towns to do this, the visit to the towns provided for the participating teams exciting experiences in discovering new places,” said Joyce Yang, a USC faculty member and one of the founders of the competition.
Last year, the competition focused on the southern towns of Cebu, while this year’s competition focused on the northern towns. “There is still a lot more to explore for the other municipalities and we hope to engage more towns to support the project for their benefit,” Yang added.
The event was made possible by USC in cooperation with the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Cebu Provincial Government and the Provincial Tourism Office. /