I wasn’t able to attend the launch of the new Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDoT) campaign but thanks to modern technology, I’ve been able to have a look at the print and electronic media advertising, and the remake of Hubert Smith’s ‘Bermuda Is Another World’, by Collie Buddz and Twanee.I’ve also checked some of the blogs and understand the mixed reviews. But, here is a thought, a perspective the ads are cool and the remade song is OK, but until every Bermuda resident ‘gets it’ it won’t make a difference.Everyone must understand that we all have a duty to market, protect, help, sell, enhance and harness our tourism product. We do this by simply being more friendly and helpful to our visitors and setting a high standard of customer service. Until that happens, no amount of advertising will help generate more visitors in the long-term. More on this after the top 20.Holding at #1 is Birthday Cake by Rihanna and Chris Brown. In the #2 spot again, is Rihanna’s other hit, Where Have You Been?Improving to #3 is Titanium by David Guetta featuring Sia. Falling to #4 is Wild Ones by Flo Rida featuring Sia, a high-energy dance track. Up to #5 is Climax by Usher, a typically steady and consistent pop track which has a variety of remixes to satisfy everyone. Slipping to #6 is Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jespen, still one of the most popular songs on the circuit.Improving to #7 is Cheater’s Prayer by Christopher Martin. Up to #8 is the crossover dance hall hit She Doesn’t Mind by Sean Paul. Still improving, but at #9, is Link Up by Destra, a monster soca hit for 2012. Tumbling to #10 is Starships by Nikki Minaj. Down to #11 is Glad You Came by The Wanted.Improving to #12 is Wide Awake by Katy Perry. Up to #13 is Mercy, by Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra, advances to #14. Falling to #15 this week is Boyfriend by Justin Bieber.Improving to #16 is last week’s essential new tune, Whistle by Flo Rida, a creative, unique pop hit. Up to #17 is Lights by Ellie Goulding, yet another monster pop/dance track.Slipping to #18 it’s Give Me All Your Luvin’ by Madonna featuring Nikki Minaj and MIA. Falling to #19 is Dance Again by Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull. Tumbling to #20 is the hot dance track by Chris Brown and Rihanna, Turn Up The Music.Now back to this week’s topic, the new tourism marketing strategy. Well the jury is out, many persons have their opinions and some negative people will be critical of whatever the BDoT produces.Some people, perhaps like me, are less critical, easier to please, and find the ads okay.But to indulge those who demand a commitment, here is my grade. I give the ads a B and I give the song a C. Good effort. I like the colours, images, scenes and I get the concept.Most of them hit the right mark and attract the right audience. The song is cool but it isn’t better than the original. I understand what they were trying to do but the song is average.I must reiterate that the most vibrant marketing campaign will not mean anything if we don’t step up our game and deliver on what the advertising is saying or promising.Until we stop committing crimes against locals and visitors, until every Bermuda resident becomes as friendly as people used to be back in the day, until the standard of customer service drastically improves such that it is consistently excellent, until all workers in the industry adopt a better attitude and lose their sense of entitlement, until workers stop thinking that they are doing guests a favour by just being present, until the rate of absenteeism by workers declines, until every guest is made to feel like they are the most special guest on the planet, until we improve our product, until we give people more night-time and daytime entertainment options, until we get all of that right; no marketing campaign is going to make one iota of difference to our tourism industry.Here’s an example. I was driving through my hood, Devil’s Hole, earlier this week and stopped at Foxy’s to grab some lunch. I bumped into a couple of visitors on a moped, looking at a map.They were looking for a beach that wasn’t too touristy they drove behind my car and I led them to John Smith’s Bay.That, ladies and gentlemen, is the way you deliver a WOW experience and that is the way Bermudians used to treat and take personal responsibility for our visitors. Ask yourself when was the last time you did something like that for a visitor? Probably not recently right?That is the problem. We’re not serious about tourism individually or collectively. We don’t get it. We don’t care enough. We pay lip service to it but when it comes to putting our action where our words are, we come up short.We don’t understand that experiences like what I provided the other day are what made visitors come back to Bermuda again and again. We are often too busy to go that extra mile for visitors but we have to get that back.The day that the other 64,999 Bermuda residents get this and are willing to do what I did this week is the day that we will begin to really reinvent and grow our tourism industry. Until the rest of you get it, no flash ad and no Collie Budz remake will make any difference.You cannot throw money at a problem like this and solve it with the writing of cheques. The ads are cool and very necessary.But to be successful, this kind of appreciation for the tourism industry has to continue to be done at the grass roots level, starting with schoolchildren and it has to be sustained throughout a person’s life.You can’t stop doing what I did just because you’re now a fancy lawyer or accountant or a department head or a CEO. None of us is too big, too important or too busy to stop and help out a visitor, show that we care about them, appreciate them choosing Bermuda and that we hope they come back again and encourage their friends and family to do likewise.That’s what we really need to do. Ads alone will not get it done.When we all deliver WOW experiences that people will never get anywhere else, then we will start to increase visitor arrivals, increase visitor spending, extend the length of stay, increase the repeat visitor factor and thus reinvent, revitalise and grow our tourism industry.Peace…. DJLT.