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| This article appeared in this week's edition of the Packet (www.thepacket.ca) and again in the Weekend Telegram (www.thetelegram.com) |
Maybe it's the appeal of the opportunity to be featured on TV or maybe it's the name of the series, but Council seems to have been seriously struck by the "opportunity" to have Clarenville, and maybe themselves, featured in an american based TV segment called "Communities of Distinction" for the low-low price of $25,000. ($24,800 to be exact).
As is usually the case, this proposal came to Clarenville Council with only limited detail, and rightfully it was sent back for more consideration. Communities of Distinction is relatively new but is seen largely in US markets. There is a website for Communities of Distinction as well as a Facebook Page (58 followers) and a Twitter account (39 followers).
In a press release issued in April, they describe the show as:
Communities of Distinction TV (www.watchcod.com) is pleased to present a series about the best in America which will explore the bonding taking place in neighborhoods across the nation. When tragedy strikes, people band together to rebuild and strengthen the ribbons of camaraderie. The engaging show will air throughout the year and air on regional and national cable television networks. (click to see full release)
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| Click this link to bring you to sample shows of Communities of Distinction |
There are lots of opportunities to communicate the benefits of living in our town and we (Council in particular) must evaluate the merits of this opportunity relative to the merits of other communication options of equivalent value. We also need a clear message developed that we can ensure gets communicated. This has not been done and needs to be done first. (if we don't know what we want we will almost assuredly not like what we get)
We know we can do a lot for $25,000 and we know that using a proactive approach we can better target the key message that we want to get out. Communities of Distinction will squander this opportunity - it is a simple distraction from what needs to be done and what needs to be done right.
Marketing is like hunting - to be successful you need a decent quality gun (that can be expensive), you need to identify your target, you need to aim, and then you need to shoot at that target. You're unlikely to hit anything if you don't get each of these steps right, and in the right order. We're being asked to buy a untested gun here and shot it into the sky - don't expect a feed of moose.
This is highly suspicious in my mind. Having worked in the industry for almost 20 years now, mostly in Vancouver where we dealt with American production houses, I have never heard of a fee having to be paid to a production company to shoot a show in a location - usually it is the other way around. The is a common occurrence in the industry amongst the talent where "agents" and "promoters" charge a fee to actors to carry them on their roster. These people we were told, in the very early stages of our career, to keep a wide berth of. Agents make their money on work completed not on "possibilities". Also the last time I checked we were in CANADA - not AMERICA. Oh - and they are based in Florida correct? - ask them if they have a piece of swampland for sale!
ReplyDelete. . . AND what source of tragedy have we experiencec pray tell.