THIS year is a crucial one for the Asean. The end of the year is the target date for achieving the full integration of the economies of the Asean member-countries. If and when fully achieved, such integration should be beneficial for the whole region and the countries comprising the region.
The expanded free-trade market of over 600 million people with growing incomes and propensity to spend would certainly benefit companies in the Asean countries. It would also attract more local and international companies to invest in those countries, helping further accelerate their growth.
Some progress made
SOME progress has been achieved, but Asean is still a long way off from full economic integration. This is mainly because the member-countries still differ in their stages of economic development with only Singapore able to be classified as having advanced status. The rest are still in the Less Developed Country category despite the recent surge in the growth of their gross domestic products.
Because of such disparity in their stages of development, the governments of the member-countries, including the Philippines, cannot afford politically to easily give up what they perceive as in their national interest. The governments of the less developed Asean countries feel that, except for a few big and competitive companies in certain industries, like San Miguel Corp. and Ayala Corp., for instance, in the case of the Philippines, a good number of their local industries which are comprised mostly of small and medium enterprises still need some degree of protection.
Low foreign investment inflow for PHL
GIVEN the current still-insufficient degree of advancement in Asean integration, how will it impact on the PR industry in the Philippines? In general, if the Philippines and the other Asean countries are able to attract more foreign investments because of the bigger and tariff-free Asean market, it will mean more business for the local PR agencies since there will be more multinational companies needing PR services.
However, the inflow of foreign investments in the Philippines has been among the lowest in Asean. This is due mainly to the lack of ease and the high cost of doing business in the country. This has caused the Philippines to lag behind its Asean neighbors in terms of foreign-investment inflows.
Only if the deterrents to the entry of multinational companies can be reduced—if not done away with—can there be enough inflow of foreign investments that would significantly increase the clientele base of Filipino PR companies. With more clients, their revenues would be higher and need for more manpower would be greater, increasing employment opportunities in the industry as well.
Setting up subsidiaries not likely
AS for local PR agencies opening up subsidiaries in the other Asean countries, I doubt that even the bigger and presumably more financially stable among them would be capable of doing so. And even if they were, I doubt that they would succeed, at least at this point in time. This, despite the fact that the practice of PR in the Philippines is more advanced compared to those of the other Asean countries.
The basic principles and functions of PR may be the same all over the world, but PR is more personalized and highly country- and culture-sensitive. It is applied and practiced differently in different regions and countries around the world. This is especially true in the member-countries of Asean where the differences among them—in culture, religion, language and degree of freedom of speech and freedom of the press that allow PR to be operate more effectively—are more pronounced.
Even the greater facility of Filipino PR practitioners in the English language would not necessarily be advantageous as the media in the other Asean countries are mainly in the local language. The few English-language media there cater only to the relatively smaller communities of expatriates, businesses and the educated class and not to the general populace.
Affiliations more feasible
AT best, for now and the near future, the more likely prospect is for Filipino PR agency owners establishing some sort of loose and informal affiliation with other Asean PR agencies. These are usually the agencies whose principals and senior officials they have met through common membership in international PR associations like International Public Relations Association or at international or regional meetings of their common multinational clients with their PR agencies.
Such an arrangement would enable the local PR agencies to earn extra revenues for themselves by referring their multinational clients to their Asean affiliates in providing short- or long-term PR services for their clients in the latter’s countries. This would be by way of a referral fee or a share of the project or retainer fees the Asean affiliate gets from their engagement.
This may not be an optimistic assessment of the positive impact of Asean integration on the Philippine PR industry for the near- or even medium-term. But it would be a start. And, who knows, if and when the obstacles to economic integration are cleared away, it would eventually lead to greater investment inflow, faster economic growth and more substantive and lasting benefits for the PR industry in the Philippines and the entire region.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the International Public Relations Association, the premier association for senior professionals around the world. Rene Nieva is the chairman and CEO of Perceptions Inc.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the readers’ questions about public relations. Send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.a