Visit Wales (formerly the Wales Tourist Board) has already scored a number of silly own goals with the fiasco surrounding its website failure (exposed on this site) being but the latest.
Even before that particular blunder was exposed, another gaffe has been waiting in the wings for cambriapolitico to swoop upon. VeeWee had, as long ago as 2006 engaged the services of an advertising sales company, based … not in Cardiff, Caerffilli, nor Cwmbran, no, not even in Caernarfon, Caerfyrddin, Caergwrle or Cerrigydrudion…but from across the Severn Sea in… BRISTOL. Uh!?
Remember the Cardiff Civil Service mantra: “An expert is someone from at least a hundred miles away”, and “of course, they do it so much better over there, don’t they? Darling.”
Can you imagine the Scots, Irish or even the French doing the same as our own benighted brethren? Well, can you? No of course not. Not only is Visit Wales keen to visit its bounteous goodness on non-Welsh companies whenever possible (actually that’s your and my bounty, dear reader) but it has chosen a right turkey in its latest ‘external consultant/partner’.
A Welsh magazine (it wishes to remain nameless) engaged the services of Bristol-based DP Media some years ago because of the lack of advertising sales agencies in-country at the time. Tremendous promises were made; attractive looking growth figures were displayed on flip charts and so forth. Sadly the company failed to come up with much more than a quarter-page A4 ad valued at £120 – and over a six-month period. When the said magazine’s marketing manager rang DP to enquire if they needed any leads, she was told “Sorry dear, we don’t really know the country – so, YES PLEASE!” “Well, what about the Royal Welsh Show as a potential advertiser for starters?” quizzed the bemused executive. “Ooooh wot’s ‘at ‘en?” came the reply.
DP Media must be pleasantly – even ecstatically – astonished at its success in winning such prestigious a contract as this. With half a dozen staff and virtually no capitalisation, it’s a real smoke and mirrors job if ever there was one. What on earth were the criteria used for awarding the contract? Were there no Welsh firms with similar qualifications? The whole episode beggars belief. Once again, we’re being taken to the cleaners.
Good on yer VeeWee, another triumph as you try to catch up with the Celtic Tiger with singular lack of success. When will WAG get real on this sort of thing? As the internet chatterers and SMS cognoscenti have it: LOL!!! (Laugh Out Loud).
C’mon there folks! Come Visit Wales – the land of the corrupt, the incompetent and the apparently – untouchable and unaccountable. Land of ‘inclusivity’ (except for the locals).
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It’s all very well writing this sort of stuff and publicising the abuses of power – but how can we make sure something is done to stop it? It seems as though these people have become a law unto themselves. To whom are they accountable?