Mexican Ministry Of Tourism
Turning detractors into supporters
MEXICAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM
Project overview
Mission
The Mexican government faced a high-stakes crisis: aggressive anti-Mexican political rhetoric in the United States was actively threatening foreign direct investment, bilateral trade relationships, and Mexico's standing among American business leaders and policy elites.
Discovery
Many in our audience had never had any personal contact with someone from Mexico; not having a point of comparison left them vulnerable to misinformation and negative influence.
Our problem was exacerbated by the 75+ years of negative portrayals of Mexican people in U.S film and television.
Approach
1. Illustrate how Mexico benefits the U.S. without actively rebutting negative stories (rebuttals always backfire)
2. Humanize Mexico via personal stories with faces attached (“that reminds me of me” stories proved extremely effective)
3. Focus on Mexico’s bright future (economic and educational development were like antibiotics for negative opinions)
4. Shy away from culture and heritage narratives (which inadvertently reenforce multiple negative perceptions)
5. Emphasize the Mexico City story (there is a direct link between the reputation of a country and the reputation of its most prominent city)
Landing
The strategy was approved at the presidential cabinet level and deployed as the national framework. In the year following its deployment:
• Foreign direct investment grew 7.1%, from $29.6 billion to $31.7 billion — a $2.1 billion cash increase that stabilized capital inflow despite severe geopolitical headwind from U.S. political rhetoric.
• International arrivals surged 12.1%, from 35.07 million to 39.3 million, vaulting Mexico past Germany and the United Kingdom to become the 6th most visited country in the world.
• Direct international tourism spending grew from $21.14 billion to $22.47 billion, representing $1.33 billion in incremental economic value.
• The strategic architecture served as the immediate blueprint for SECTUR's global campaign rollout: trade pavilions, international advertising, and B2B investment materials were restructured around the three conversational pillars developed in the strategy (economy, innovation, education).
