509 replies to this topic

[HB]

There is another in next Month

[HB]

.

[tedward]

Reverse angle (and a little closer) from this morning:

[VicHockeyFan]

V2V sent a bulk mailer yesterday.  It was pretty underwheming with information.  No schedule, prices etc.  I know, it was designed to make you go to their website, but the cost of conversion must have been horrendous. 

 

I'm not sure they are off on the right foot, marketing-wise.

[jonny]

I saw that too.

 

The cost of that mail out probably could've hired them a marketing coordinator or two for an entire year.

 

The only way V2V works is with fabulous relationships with hotels and booking companies. I don't think mass mailouts helps them achieve that.

[Bingo]

It's back....

 

[Cassidy]

The difficulty for the Vancouver/Victoria run in a passenger ferry, has always been the fixed fuel costs.

 

It may begin service at a competing passenger rate, but that rate will definitely go up accordingly (and quickly) in order to balance their fuel costs with their passenger volume (which definitely won't be 100%).

 

I fondly recall when the Boeing Jetfoil briefly ran between Victoria and Vancouver, a vessel that was extremely fast, and also impervious to sea conditions ... but alas, it needed to run at 100% occupancy on every run in order to cover its incredibly high fuel costs ... and even as utterly amazing as it was to ride in, it ran at a lower usage rate than 100%.

 

You definitely need locals to use the service, as well as tourists. If for nothing else but to bridge the off-season gap where vessels on this run may often only have 15% or 20% occupancy without additional local use.

For locals, who are wise to the actual costs of ferry - floatplane - or helicoptor ... as soon as the fares on any one mode of transport begin creeping above those of any one of the other modes of transport ... locals will usually move to the less expensive service.

And of course locals will require their car in Vancouver far more often than tourists will ... so therein lies the elephant that's always in the room, which is B.C. Ferries.

 

But I suppose the era when the Boeing Jetfoil ran (mid 80's) was a long time ago, and folks travel habits might have changed since then - such that they will look favorably at a service like this new one ... but based on fixed fuel costs and the inevitable "rough ride" in this kind of vessel if the seas are high (and the subsequent bad reputation acquired) ... I don't think this service will have long term legs on this run.

[HB]

The biggest difficulty is the cost per passenger and secondly..the time  and thirdly  no daytime trip out form Victoria but I better not say anything more negative about this bound to fail venture...and and for the useless waste of money mail-outs...when its not your own money you are spending for things like that who cares...there is more where that came from(investors)

Edited by HB, 15 March 2017 - 08:57 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

I saw that too.

 

The cost of that mail out probably could've hired them a marketing coordinator or two for an entire year.

 

The only way V2V works is with fabulous relationships with hotels and booking companies. I don't think mass mailouts helps them achieve that.

 

I'm a marketng guy, right?  I do it for a living.  I'm not the best guy in town, but I know some main rules.

 

I like direct mail.  But you have to understand it.

 

First, it gets in the hands of your prospect along with several other pieces of mail that's more important to them.  So it has to stand out.  The V2V piece did that.  Then after that it failed.

 

It did not have enough information on it to say "let's keep this around".  Not even the sailing schedule.

It was on the wrong paper to post it to your fridge.

It did not tease with "see much more on our website".

 

I bet the cost of conversion was $5 per website view.  That could have been achieved with 22 cents online.

[jonny]

It didn't even have a bloody coupon!

[VicHockeyFan]

It didn't even have a bloody coupon!

 

Like I say, there was zero about that piece of paper that made anyone want to hold on to it.  And you are right, with no coupon, it has no way to track its effectiveness.  

[Mike K.]

Who's behind V2V's marketing?

[VicHockeyFan]

Who's behind V2V's marketing?

 

At some point Tartan was.

 

http://tartangroup.c...ons-case-study/

 

But there is no way there are putting out this stuff.

[Rob Randall]

^Oh, that's interesting. Maybe Tartan came up with the website and the concept of marketing to tour groups and were cut loose at some point. Because I can't see Tartan throwing money at pamphlets under windshield wipers.

[Mike K.]

No. That's so ...odd.

[Rob Randall]

 

In February 2015, the City of Kirkland purchased roughly 30 historical pieces of the Kalakala, the world’s first streamlined passenger vessel. The Kalakala was built between 1933 and 1935 at the Lake Washington Ship Yard in Kirkland’s Carillon Point.

 

The Kalakala was dismantled in Tacoma, WA and the City seized an opportunity to save some of its own history by purchasing a wheelhouse, doors, valve wheels, a section of ornament hand railings, the top window section above the car entrance doors in the bow of the ship.

 

The City of Kirkland’s vision is to repurpose the salvaged pieces for an art installation that commemorates the historic ferry and Kirkland’s early history as a regional shipbuilding center.

A Citizen Committee with members of the Cultural Arts Commission was formed to explore possible art concepts and locations.

 

The committee selected four artists to develop art concepts using the salvaged pieces of the Kalakala Ferry. These concepts will be revealed at a Public Open House from 5-7:30 p.m. on January 31, 2018 at the Kirkland Performance Center.

 

https://www.eventbri...ion-41890556783

[Mike K.]

I guess we stole their Orca-themed surfboard thunder?

[VicHockeyFan]

FIRST LOOK: NEW VICTORIA CLIPPER V HIGH-SPEED FERRY SET TO START SERVICE MARCH 1

[LJ]

^That's a pretty bland look.

[VicHockeyFan]

 

 

^That's a pretty bland look.

 

Here it is caught up in tuna nets.

 

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 23 February 2018 - 07:41 PM.