In a report to House Committee Commerce and Tourism Chairman Joseph P. Reyes, MVA said it entered into a license agreement with DFS Group L.P. in April 2004 allowing DFS to design, manufacture, distribute and sell various promotional products such as t-shirts, caps, mugs, magnets, pens and lighters.
The agreement was for 10 years, according to MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio.
DFS pays MVA a royalty equal to 10 percent of the company’s net cost purchase.
Records from MVA showed that for four years, a total $171,363 was received by the agency in royalties from Saipan-da.
For fiscal year 2005, MVA got $20,028.36; in FY 2006, $67,181.27; in FY 2007, $47,293.25; and in FY 2008, $36,860.39.
MVA has been criticized for using Saipan-da as its promotional item in Japan.
Tenorio said it was in Feb. 1999 when MVA hired Dentsu Inc. of Tokyo-Division 10 as its advertising agency for the Japan market.
“MVA selected Dentsu for its international ranking as well as their creative presentation and the creation of the Saipan-da,” Tenorio told Reyes, R-Saipan.
According to Tenorio, Saipan-da is a play on words. The mascot is a panda with a rhinoceros tusk for a nose.
“The words in themselves do not have much meaning but when combined, Saipan-da, translates loosely to ‘It’s Saipan,’ or ‘Let’s go to Saipan,’ in Japanese,” Tenorio said, adding that ‘it’s a very simple phrase and character, symbolic, very easy to understand and visually impactful.”
Tenorio said Saipan-da depicts “an active Japanese who is a repeat visitor in love with the destination.”
He added, “The Saipan-da continues to be a misunderstood marketing ‘hook.’ Yes, we have natural assets and unique animals in the CNMI that we can use to promote our destination. However, the CNMI is not the only resort destination having such characteristics. The sole objective of the character is to instill the name of the destination in the minds of the Japanese.”
Tenorio said the mascot gives the CNMI name recognition, “which is the goal of any advertising effort.”
The MVA board, he added, “never intended for the character to represent the destination but to use it as a vehicle to increase destination awareness and instill the name in the mindset of Japanese travelers — primarily office ladies and families.”
“Although it is not as visible as when it was first introduced, the Saipan-da still plays a very important role in MVA’s promotion,” Tenorio said.
