Feeling quite a bit warmer but less cooler than if I were in Iceland and other missteps …
It just stinks when somewhere south of $4.5 million dollars of tax payer money – which is allocated for a much needed shot-in the-arm campaign for Rhode Island tourist economy – gets blown.
We had high hopes. We were thrilled that Gov. Gina Raimondo was finally behind an effort to get that proverbial light out from under a barrel and use Rhode Island tax dollars in a smart way to invigorate such an important part of the Rhode Island economy. What happened?
Sadly, the usual thing happened. A honey pot of state money attracted out-of-state interests with no local chops or local/historical knowledge. A Massachusetts communications officer, Betsy Wall, got the job spearheading the effort. As if there were no one – not an ad agency or PR exec, or private company director of corporate communications, in the State of Rhode Island who could make this work for us. Someone with vision who could channel the information and data and come up with a compelling, results oriented campaign which would be measureable and therefor sustainable.
Then Havas – a New York City ad agency and PR firm was retained. As a media professional for 25 years I have personal experience with Havas. Unless you are of their go-to media group, like FaceBook or Google, they do not return calls. They barely return emails. They won’t communicate with media contacts like us at Coastal Angler Rhode Island as they truly believe there is nothing we could bring to the table but a rate card. I could name names, but what is the point – you know who you are in the newly established office of Havas in Providence. Hope you did not sign a long term lease, if you are even really based in RI.
Now we find that the slogan is a total bust and, unbelievably, the video made to promote the beauty and riches of Rhode Island contained shots from Iceland. Two members of the Governor’s own staff pointed out that the footage did not even look like Rhode Island. OMG. It would be hilarious if it weren’t heartbreaking. This is worse than the $5M “coffee cup ring” logo debacle of the 90s: at the time Lucent could afford to lose that money.
But Rhode Island can’t afford to send millions in taxpayer money down the rat-hole without some real soul searching and accountability.
At this point half of the money is gone (but thanks for that $20,000 rebate on the Iceland video bit.) Betsy Walls is fired (resigned) and the Governor has had the good grace to admit that mistakes were made.
Can we please bring this home? We need some Rhody common sense guiding the spending of Rhody tax dollars. Can we please push folks like Steve Medieros and Wendy Mackie of RISAA and RIMTA to the front of the line for a seat at the table and give them real power over the budget to make things happen? These guys may not be as cool as the hipsters of Havas (although Wendy is definitely more chic than Steve – sorry Steve) but they know what they are talking about. They spend every day thinking about what drives success in the fishing and boating communities in Rhode Island and working tirelessly to make us stronger. They are passionate, connected and smart. They should be upfront giving input and watching how this money is spent and results are delivered and measured.
Tight Lines.
Lisa Helme and Mike Danforth
