Hello Family — from Beantown. DJLT is in Boston (yes DJs travel too — LOL) this week and was watching Sunday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers versus the Detroit Lions; when what to my wondering eyes should appear — but a series of commercials inviting all and sundry to come to Bermuda! Cool. Very cool and well done to the Bermuda Department of Tourism!

Kudos to BDOT for marketing Bermuda effectively. We live in a society that is extremely critical. We are quick to criticise but seldom give praise with the same level of enthusiasm with which we criticise the actions of others. This is human nature, but I find it very frustrating.

You find that it happens in all relationships involving humans, be it intimate relationships, boss-employee relationships, parent-child relationships, etc. We have to do some work here.

So today I will contradict this theory and show that some of us in the media and indeed regular members of the public can give praise with the same level of commitment and dedication that we use to highlight flaws, and criticise people, organisations and Governments for their mistakes and shortcomings.

Today’s beneficiary of praise is the Bermuda Department of Tourism. The sentiments around Bermuda’s new advertising campaign have been well documented over the past two months. There have been no shortage of critics, bloggers and/or opinions.

Even I have had my say on the subject and at the risk of contradicting myself will share a perspective. I reiterate my belief that no flashy or fancy marketing campaign is going to be the panacea to our problems until we address some other things like reducing crime, improving customer service, giving value for money and until all Bermuda residents ‘get’ the simple truth that we all have a duty to protect, develop, harness and grow our tourism business by individually and collectively providing WOW experiences to each visitor we encounter.

However, we still must have some type of marketing campaign, with flashy ads. We fail to do so to our peril — because all our competitors have cool advertising campaigns. Ever seen the ‘Come to Jamaica’ adverts?

There are some things in life and business that you have to do and there are some things in life and in business that you can’t afford not to do. Advertising is one of them.

It reminds me of that famous statement I learned after university, which says: “Half the money spent in advertising is wasted; the problem is that nobody knows which half.”

Anyway, I was watching Sunday Night Football in my hotel room and the game was boring; but a series of ads for my beloved Bermuda flashed onto the huge flat screen TV and caused me to perk up, snatch my spectacles and pay attention!

The ads were short and sharp. Not too long so as to bore people but impactful, with pretty images which entice the viewer to consider a trip to this fascinating place.

At this point I wish to share a perspective. Critics need to understand the aim of advertising, well one of the aims, which is to effectively and consistently place the name of the advertiser and its messages in the minds of potential consumers.

The fact that the ads were during a football game impressed me and suggests that someone is making intelligent ad placement choices at BDOT or at the very least BDOT is getting, and heeding, sound advice.

Since they’re on a football tip, why stop at Sunday Night Football? It would be nice if they took it to the next level and advertised Bermuda at the Super Bowl and other events that a large number people are likely to be watching. I will accept if the decision is to stick with regular season NFL games for value for money purposes, because Super Bowl ads are expensive to place. But the audience that watches football tends to be an audience that has the kind of net worth and disposable income that can afford the Bermuda vacation or the Bermuda business trip.

I wasn’t in the US during the US Open so I don’t know if any ads were strategically placed during that event, but the BDOT should consider such events, analyse the cost and if good value for money, stick in some Bermuda advertisements.

So, BDOT, keep up the good work and my hope is that this, and all of your efforts, produce additional visitors to Bermuda, putting more bums on seats and more heads on beds. Good luck and well done ... DJLT