Brand Activations in Schools: What DepEd Allows

Events

A campus tour, a sampling booth at the school fair, a sponsored sports fest: schools put a brand in front of an audience it can’t reach anywhere else. In the Philippines, three DepEd orders decide what a brand may do there, and the strictest one covers food and drink.

Can a brand claim the school or DepEd backs it?

No. DECS Order No. 28, s. 2001 says “there will be no endorsements or accreditation officially issued or sanctioned by DECS”. Goods and services “must compete for the attention of all schools, teachers and students, in the ordinary course of the free market.” The order was written because products were being “marketed with endorsements from the DECS”.

In 2009, DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2009 ordered strict compliance and warned of “administrative disciplinary action against those who may be found responsible” for violations. Whatever a school agrees to host, nothing at the activation, and nothing posted about it afterwards, should present the brand as DepEd-endorsed or DepEd-accredited.

Can the brand go on banners and signs?

Not on the school’s own signs. DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2010 says “school signages or signs in school premises especially those bearing the name of the school shall not contain any commercial advertisements, words of sponsorships (including the words ‘donated by’) and/or endorsements of any kind or nature.”

That covers more than the gate arch. A tarpaulin with the school’s name and a sponsor’s logo, or a “donated by” plaque on a stage, is the kind of sign the order names. Ask the school head before anything with a logo goes up on campus, and keep the brand off every sign that carries the school’s name.

What if the brand sells food or drinks?

Then the rules get strict. DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2017, addressed to public and private elementary and secondary schools, says “Schools and school activities where children gather shall not be used in the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children.” It also says “There shall be no form of marketing in schools and in DepEd offices.”

The order sorts foods and drinks into GREEN, YELLOW and RED. The RED category covers foods and drinks that “contain high amounts of saturated fat or sugar or salt”, and its list names soft drinks, energy drinks, sweetened waters and powdered juice drinks. For RED category products, marketing “shall not be allowed in DepEd Offices/schools and school/education events”, including:

There is one opening. DepEd “may allow support of food and beverage manufacturers that meet the criteria of this policy as part of their corporate social responsibility program provided that it shall not include any form of marketing activities or bear any brand name or logo.” A CSR project can go ahead, but it has to run unbranded.

How do you plan a school activation that stays inside the rules?

→ Check the product first. Food or drink? Run it against the order’s GREEN, YELLOW and RED lists before anyone pitches a school. A RED category product has no school activation that works.

→ Get the school’s yes in writing. Agree the date, the area, the materials and the program with the school head, and ask whether the division office needs to see it.

→ Keep the logo off school signs. Event materials stand on their own. Nothing with the brand goes on a sign that carries the school’s name, and no “donated by” plates.

→ Say nothing about DepEd. No “DepEd-approved”, no “school partner” claims on packs, posts or tarps.

→ Make the program the point. A workshop, a sports clinic or a career talk gives the school a reason to say yes, and keeps the brand’s part modest.

→ Plan the photos. Students are minors. Agree with the school what can be shot, and get the consent it requires before any image is used.

General information from DECS Order No. 28, s. 2001, DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2009, DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2010 and DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2017. Later issuances, division memoranda and each school’s own rules can add to these; check with the school and the Schools Division Office.

Who should run it?

A team that knows the paperwork as well as the program. When you brief an events agency in the Philippines on a school tour, give them the product category first; it decides what the tour can be. PUNX is an events agency in Makati: 50-plus people, founded 2023, running activations and events for GCash, Sun Life and PRU Life UK.

FAQ

Can brands do activations in Philippine public schools?

DepEd’s orders don’t ban every brand activity, but they limit it. DECS Order No. 28, s. 2001 rules out any DepEd endorsement or accreditation of goods and services, DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2010 keeps commercial advertisements and sponsorship wording off school signs, and DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2017 bars marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages in schools.

Can a food or drink brand give free samples in a school?

Not if the product is in DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2017’s RED category. The order lists giving of free samples among the forms of marketing of RED category foods and beverages that are not allowed in schools and school events.

Can a brand sponsor a school event or sports fest?

For RED category foods and beverages, no: the order lists special events such as sports activities and feeding programs among the forms of marketing not allowed. Food and beverage makers that meet the policy’s criteria may support schools as CSR, but without any marketing activity, brand name or logo.

Can a sponsor’s logo appear on school signs?

No. DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2010 says school signs, especially those bearing the school’s name, shall not contain commercial advertisements, words of sponsorship, including “donated by”, or endorsements of any kind.

Related

Special event permits — what the city and the BFP ask for
Sales promotion permits — raffles and promos under DTI and the FDA
Venue ocular inspection — what to check before you sign