WestJet Woos Barbados
Kudos to the recently revitalised national marketing organisation renamed the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, by facilitating the production of a series of videos where the airline WestJet partners with the chain store Michael Hill Jewellery and a number of Barbadian tourism interests to highlight two couples who become engaged on our island .
At the time of submitting this column already well over 1 million people had watched the three videos and this number will rise substantially over the next few days. Add the media coverage by print, television, radio and other shared social media and realistically millions of people will be exposed to Barbados as a desirable destination. Timing of course, can be everything, and the fact that WestJet posted the videos just before Valentine’s Day can be no coincidence.
To reinforce the positive effect the airline rolled out a supportive seat sale to Barbados which required booking by 14th February, but for travel up to 24 June 2015.
When preparing for the filming, a few cleverly conceived twists were applied and to quote WestJet’s Manager of Communitity Investment, Sponsorship and Experiential Marketing (what an incredible job title), Corey Evans, revealed that ‘girls thought they were auditioning to appear on a new WestJet commercial that we were shooting in Barbados, and had no idea what was going to happen’. Adding ‘The result was an experience the two couples will remember for the rest of their lives, and a heart warming Valentine’s Day story to share with Canadians’.
This promotion also seems to be the perfect complement to the current National Wedding Package ‘Forever begins in Barbados’ which offer a number of incentives to help keep real costs down. This is especially important as the value of the Canadian Dollar against its American counterpart has fallen by around 20 per cent over the last year.
Weddings, as you can imagine, are a huge source of business and revenue generation and often buck the trend of seasonal concentration which makes an incredible difference in helping fill beds and airline seats.
A couple of weeks ago we rolled out a re-DISCOVER lunch option to compliment the dinner offer and try and entice more visitors to eat out at what can only be described as our envious selection of restaurants.
Initially we felt this promotion would be of special interest to our villa, apartment and condominium visitors, so we invited almost every one of the major rental agencies to co-partner with us at a miniscule participation cost of around12 cents per client. Sadly, not a single company responded, so we have now placed access to the voucher online. The initial up-take has been phenomenal and guess what!
The largest percentage requesting the vouchers are staying in villas and apartments and clearly from the addresses we are currently mailing them to, the biggest surprise is that the budget travellers are certainly not the only ones looking for value-for-money. It seems that even guests staying in US$1,000 a night rental properties, still appreciate a bargain when they see one.
Barbados Underground 
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two thumps up to all those involved with the marking and promoting of barbados in a positive light, nice commercial and marketing strategy that would give international visitors a birds eye view of the richness and competitive spirit of our island
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David
This is the time of year that tourists look forward to seeing the cane being harvested and visit the Sugar factory,possibly suck some cane and drink crack liquor.
Any word on the harvest?
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@Vincent
Have the payments been released a a PM’s promise at the BCCI luncheon?
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yeah just. as i thought the usual gesturing to obstruct. i belive the sugar was given full discourse many times over .i belive many here on BU have lost their way and catastrophically out of reality .need ac say there is time for a reality check when some always see the need to infuse all and every opinion with a poison pen
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@ David February 16, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Very interesting question posed.
The PM gave an iron-clad assurance that the money was in place and it was just a matter of completing the paperwork.
In this fast ICT age why would it take more than a few days to complete the so-called ‘documents preparation process’?
We shall see if the PM will live up to the commitment made to the sugarcane farmers and have those funds disbursed by the end of this week.
Or should we expect another broken promise in the long line of similar commitments made to the public sector workers, the government’s policies on privatization, the CLICO policyholders and the tertiary education level students?
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My son and his friends just came back from Barbados they stayed in Maxwell. His friends have been to mexico,jamaica, and some other islands but were totally impressed with the friendliness of the island the same thing that impressed me the first time I went 33 years ago. They want to make it a yearly tradition and get more of their friends to go . So there is still life in the old dog keep working on the basics
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@lawson
Of course Barbados is a beautiful island and some of us want to keep it that way.
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I have rented in the gap for july so make sure that skip is gone lol
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David February 16, 2015 at 9:00 AM #
@Vincent
Have the payments been released a a PM’s promise at the BCCI luncheon?
Not yet, at least according to Patrick Bethel Chairman of BSIL in today’s Nation newspaper Feb 16, 2015 page 21.
Quite an amusing little piece with Bethel reported as saying “Forget the drones. Bring the money you owe us for canes”.
Agronomist at BAMC Nyah Nyhathu is blaming the lack of cotton pickers on the non-payment of the cotton picking incentive to cotton pickers for last year’s harvest.
On page 20 farmer James Hamblin is bemoaning the theft of 200lbs of his carrots. How sad.
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David
Last night, early, we saw WI losing to Ireland, in spite of 304. Anybody could beat us because of an inept set of Boards.
We can’t understand how come these people could still be breathing today!
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@Pacha
We appear to lack the wherewithal to stop the rot. In the mean time the people have become numb as a self protection mechanism.
On Monday, 16 February 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:
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NOTE THAT JASON –THE YOUNGEST AND LEAST EXPERIENCED- WAS THE MOST ECONOMICAL BOWLER
I THINK THE JAMAICANS IN THE TEAM ARE MESSING UP JASON DELIBERATELY
ITS AMAZING THOUGH THAT FEW SO CALLED FIRST CLASS GAMES IN THE REGION EVEN GET TO DAY FOUR
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Those who would seek to lionize Jason Holder are no better than the Boards and should be assigned to the same fate.
That is lackey could presume to capital men whose respect he has not earned. Having not performed enough to have his place in the unquestioned. Being merely a lackey for interests on the WICB(C) with selfish agendas. Jason Holder will be like Richie Richardson incapable of mustering any wide support.
This is the criminal nature of what passes for leadership in the Caribbean, in all cultural areas. We submit that the whole cadre should be killed!
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@David February 16, 2015 at 9:00 AM #
Thanks and we have the answer in the Nation……”for the lack of a nail,the kingdom was lost”…….ah well,we are truly on uncharted waters
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If we can’t trust our leaders? And to rub salt in the wounds today we have the MOF asking Barbadians to show patience with the government and the need to extend the austerity programs. How is trust and confidence engendered?
On Monday, 16 February 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:
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As I have said to Mr. Adrain Loveridge and as I will say to West Jet and Adrian Hill DO NOT LOOK TO THE BTA’s or MoTs or and agency that is involved in government’s creation, sustaining or marketing of their product, for anything!!
They are just to be seen as backdrop and stand-ins as you Loveridge have seen with Re-discover
A truly inspiring advertisement and ambience.
For the old man it brought back memories of the four times that I have done this ingrunce
I had to say that, if it was a service that was around 60 years ago, when I did the first “dum(b) dum (b) de dum(b) ….or wedding march, I would had had it in memorable film.
With that tool close to my hand I would never have (sorry but I done type would and hit de send button) might never have gone back down the aisle those three more times.
Wunna know dat every time I would have had the urge to do that dum(b) thingy, the moment, captured in film, would have reminded me of the agony.
De madam knows that I got a dry sense of humour so she going forgive me when she see this.
To all you young men I would say when you find the woman of your dreams, do not let her go. Unfortunately for some of us it took four efforts, I Wonder if West Jet would have featured me those four times?
An excellent marketing concept
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@ Lawson
Mr. Lawson in your quote “…They want to make it a yearly tradition and get more of their friends to go …” you have embodied the centre plank of a marketing campaign that my ingrunt government and its agents the MoT and the BTA and the rest with the letters that the ole man cant remember, CANNOT EVEN CONCEIVE!!
Indeed a GEM (no relationship to GEMS OF Bulbados) but like pearls to swine,
Hidden in front DEM FVCKING EYES!!
De ole man tires of this visionless nation
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Best you ever posted,
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The poultry farmers are unable to supply local demand for eggs because they are unable to import because of the incidence of bird flu in the USA. Very interesting indeed.
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pieceuhderockyeahright February 16, 2015 at 1:55 PM #
“As I have said to Mr. Adrain Loveridge and as I will say to West Jet and Adrian Hill DO NOT LOOK TO THE BTA’s or MoTs or and agency that is involved in government’s creation, sustaining or marketing of their product, for anything!!
They are just to be seen as backdrop and stand-ins as you Loveridge have seen with Re-discover”
Very true.I saw this on the nation news website concerning the recent Air Canada emergency landing.
“Larsen Parris • 7 days ago
Kudos to Air Canada and crew, very professional people. Anyhow there is a positive coming out of this event. This incident was covered by the news media in Canada. This is the first time I have seen Barbados mentioned in reference to being a popular, preeminent vacation destination. I see Jamaica, Grenada, St.Lucia and other Caribbean islands being advertised on a daily basis. I am still waiting to see what initiatives will be made by the BHA or BMI or whatever they are called now, to promote Barbados in Canada.”
Makes me wonder why are these agencies being so heavily funded and not producing desired results.
Good post Mr Loveridge by the way.
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In the forseeable future in Barbados there will be a change in the ratio (2 – 3 – 4:1 ) that exists between the amount of Barbados Dollars that will be being received by persons who – already will be in possession of an amount of US dollars – will be giving less of them, out of all of them they will have – than before the change of the ratio – to persons who will be in possession of an amount of Barbados Dollars, and the amount of US dollars that will be being received by persons who – already will be in possession of an amount of Barbados dollars – will be giving more of them, out of all of them they will have, than before the change of the ratio – to persons who will be in possession of an amount of US dollars, in the same and current financial transactions.
Therefore, from that description immediately above it can be logically deduced that there has – over the last 8 years or so – been a gradual but tremendous slow down in the circulation by the users of the Barbados dollar through out the country, and that there has – over the same period – been also a gradual but substantial slow down in the movement of the US dollar through out this country (with the former taking place before the latter in almost every instance of this slowing down of the use of both currencies – however though there having been a non-causal relationship between the two situations).
There therefore will be this change in this 2:1 ratio in the forseeable future once there remains either of these intellectually and political backward, bankrupt and discredited DLP or BLP disorganizations at the helm of government in this country – given that the real actual cost of use of the Barbados dollar has currently reached stratospheric levels in the country, given that the overall money turn over rate has presently reached abysmally low levels across the all commercial business sectors of the country, and given that the local monetary and financial authorities cannot change the political economic financial circumstances of what reflects the external US dollar component of the ratio itself.
PDC
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Pachamama February 16, 2015 at 11:28 AM #
If you can’t defend 304 runs it is the fault of the bowlers, so don’t try to place the blame no where else.
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To get back on-topic.
Well done Westjet.
And well done David (BU) and Adrian for highlighting the Westjet video.
DD had not ween any coverage of the video up here in the Great White North.
Have Googled and found media reports which should have a positive impact.
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Bahamas offers unique opportunity for travellers to swim with pigs | Caribbean News Now
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Luckily for them, none of our 4 young Canadian friends in Barbados for their promotional, Westjet/Youtube engagements had an accident requiring emergency medical care during their visit.
HONEYMOON HORROR
Canadian couple details recent nightmare at state-run QEH
In light of what they describe as a “horrifying” 15-hour ordeal in the Accident & Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) last month, a traumatized Canadian couple is appealing to Barbadian authorities to take immediate steps to improve patient care at the state-run health care institution.
Speaking to Barbados TODAY from his home in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada this afternoon, David Taylor detailed what he said was nothing short of the couple’s “worst nightmare”, which also ruined their month-long honeymoon.
David, 61, and his wife Pamela, 64, were married last June in Canada but had only travelled to Barbados on January 9 for their honeymoon in “paradise”.
The ordeal started just after 5 p.m. on Friday, January 16, a week after their arrival.
More:
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2015/02/19/honeymoon-horror/
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@ David
You should highlight this story on the blog:
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2015/02/19/honeymoon-horror/
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