The Halala are the westernmost tribe of indigenous aborigines, located in the northeastern

Philippines. There are fewer than 10,000 tribal people. They typically live in terraced pueblo

structures of stone and adobe (similar to the American Indians) and are clustered into a number

of small, independent towns. Like most indigenous Filipino aborigine tribes, the Halala are

peaceful, monogamous, diligent, self-controlled, and very religious. One of the most

conservative indigenous tribes in the Philippines, the Halala does not want tourists to

photograph, sketch, or record their dances (which have been a central part of their culture for

centuries). They do, however, allow visitors to observe their ceremonies by watching masked

Kachina dancers impersonate Halala gods. The Halala also invite tourists into their homes to buy

Kachina dolls and Halala pottery. Kachinas are the Halala tribe’s holy spirits. They are

sometimes personified by masked dancers and sometimes represented by wooden dolls. There

are roughly 250 different Kachinas. Although the Halala will sell Kachina dolls to tourists, they

are sensitive to how others may use the Kachina costume or idea. For example, in 1987, Miss

Philippines (an ethnic Halala) won the costume competition in the Miss Universe pageant,

wearing a Kachina costume. However, Halala religious leaders complained that the use of a

Kachina in the pageant was sacrilegious. Most recently, the Halala protested when Unicola—

now diversifying into alcoholic beverages—started an alcohol distillery in the capital city of the

Philippines, Manila, and began selling very popular (and profitable) rum in bottles shaped like

Kachina dolls. The marketing team decided on this packaging strategy in order to closely

connect Unicola’s rum with indigenous Filipino culture and society. As a special Christmas

holiday promotion, the Unicola distillery had planned to distribute 5,000 of the Kachina doll

bottles in Manila and provinces to the south. Unicola has also considered marketing this product

internationally as very specialized high end rum. It had already shipped 2,000 bottles
domestically (i.e., in Manila and to the south), with another 2000 bottles currently being

warehoused and the last 1000 bottles under production, when it learned of the Halala complaint.

Reflecting the Halala’s anger, a tribal leader asked “How would a Catholic feel about putting

rum in a statue of Mary?” The Halala not only complained, but also received assistance from a

very prominent senator to have production halted. Your international business strategy

consulting firm has been hired by Unicola to provide expert advice on how to handle this very

sensitive and timely problem. Therefore: 1. What should the distillery do concerning production

and packaging (i.e., bottling)? 2. What courses of action might it take with regard to stakeholder

concerns (i.e., how can Unicola turn a lose-lose into a win-win for all stakeholders involved in

this strategic crisis)?