$700k on Wendy Williams promotion
BVI News Staff - Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 at 7:23 AM
Wendy Williams being greeted by BVI Tourist Board Chairman Neil Blyden
The British Virgin Islands Tourist Board (BVITB) spent more than $700,000 in the Wendy Williams promotion last year.
Director of the Tourist Board Hadassah Ward told the Standing Finance Committee when she was questioned by Fifth District representative Delores Christopher that the total expenses incurred was $752, 246,45.
Ward, when questioned by Christopher, said the Wendy Williams promotion was not recommended by the North American Office, but an initiative of the former Chairman of the Tourist Board Neil Blyden, and it was part of the Tourist Board’s 2011 annual budget.
When asked by Territorial Ar-large Representative Archibald Christian if the territory received value as a result of the Wendy Williams promotion, Ward said: “The main expenditure was for a promotion during sweeps month and during this time, clips of the different activities Wendy Williams participated in while in the BVI were shown on about 10 times within five to 10 segments, and during this time there was a sweepstake via a website that directed visitors to the Tourist Board website for more information.”
The contest, she said, was to listen for the Virgin Islands word of the day and enter the word on the website. Ward told the committee that the aim of the contest was to educate the viewers about the BVI.
Ward said 20 sweepstakes winners won trips to the BVI, but the winners have not yet been advertised. She said the Tourist Board will ensure that they travel during the slow season to facilitate airlift and room and board availability.
“The results of the sweepstakes will require research over six months to determine the number of visitors who were influenced as a result of the promotion,” Ward said.
The Tourist Board director told Health Minister Ronnie Skelton, when questioned, that the result of the promotion is still to be realized as public relations takes time to be realized.
She told Third District Representative Julian Fraser that the Wendy Williams Show was targeted because that is one of the significant determinants being addressed besides the market was that the 2011 season was the first season without the Oprah Winfrey Show. She said Wendy Williams has the most varied audience of the US day-time talk show in the world.
Ward said the local Tourist Board received calls from the UK, and Wendy Williams has a following in the Middle East, and the show is seen worldwide.
“The board will determine how well the promotion was based on the interest via the website, feedback from hotel personnel and indications on the immigration cards. And there is no concrete method to determine these figures because the Tourist Board did not sell a package. There are no current mechanisms but the board knows what information visitors to the website were interested in and how many pages were traversed,” she said.
Ward said 200,000 isits were made to the Wendy Williams’ micro site and 30,000 visits were made to the Tourist Board website. She said the Tourist Board had several initiatives in the US to prepare for the 2011/2012 season and the Wendy Williams promotion was the largest. She said the promotion was aimed to assist in boosting the awareness of the Virgin Islands.
This article was posted in its entirety as received by bvinews.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of bvinews.com, its sponsors or advertisers.
36 Comments
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Who is Wendy Williams?
As someone who has written a travel guide to the Virgin Islands, it has been very difficult to get assistance from tourism!
This seems like a stupid waste of $$$$$$!
700k on who??or wat?? wat about the youths in the community wat about the community i cant believe this!! u find another way to rob us bvi wake up!!!
And there were no other pictures that could have been used? This was is NOT flattering for either of them.
Archi and Delores need to investigate which company was used to process this transaction and how much it was paid. Some people have no scruples or ethics.
I understand that the north american office was against this project …. Someone needs to investigate now as this is corruption and my guess is money is going back someone’s big pockets.
Are the persons employed by TB qualified in the area of Tourism,Tourism Management, Marketing and the like. I have realized for year people in the BVI get high paying jobs because the have degrees. The thing is all degrees have different majors. TO THE BVI GOVERNMENT – STOP PUTTING PEOPLE IN POSITIONS NOT TRAINED TO DO THE DAM JOB! Sick and tired of clueless people getting paid hundred of thousands of dollars for doing absolutely nothing. WE NEED SOME DAM ACCOUNTABILITY IN THIS DAM COUNTRY. SICK OF THE BS NOW!
The people who watch this wendy williams show will never come to the bvi. This is not our target market. Who allowed this?
people that put took 700,000 just so
Wendy Williams
John Legend
And more to come
Congratulations y’all
Good thing neil is gone cause I heard he wanted to bring the jerry springer show this year.
Five words: Are You &$*%^$in Kidding Me? Why do we even *have* a Tourist Board if they blow three quarters of a million dollars on a stupid @$$ promotion like this that will most likely result in zero benefit to the tourist trade in BVI? Close the damn TB before they waste more money.
The mere fact that there was financial instability in the board for years should have been reason enough to enact a hold on all contracts and outgoing funds. I guessing that the new administration has realized this and they are putting stipulations in place. Sad thing is that this is not the only department spending frivilously. It’s really sad because it is not like the BVI is a big place with a large population where individuals can hide. These characters have no shame. Everyone is just out for themselves.
The question I would like to have answered is… does the $700+ include the cost of the 20 sweepstakes “winners”? Is this a prize for 2 of for 1? ie. Is this for the winner and a guest? All this makes no sense to me because we did not get value for $$$. So I guess whats left to do is point your finger, stick out your lip, squint your eyes and say “how you duowin”. We know how Wendy Williams is doin’
$$$$ 
It never ceases to amaze me how we as a country can cough up 700k to pay over priced entertainers, or embrace talk show hosts (and see no return) but yet our people are sick and in dire need of a hospital (VG to) but they bawling no money no money… when we as a people are gonna start demanding that these people in power take responsibility for their actions…the BVI full of white collar crooks!!!!
I AM IN 100% AGREEMENT WITH YOU!
You all got a lot a sense but just won’t use it, No matter what Government we got I think you all are greedy bastards, You want us to think about others are you thinking about us as part of that others you want us to think about or are you just thinking about the dollars, They gave Wendy Williams $700K plus, everything for her was free on her trip wow they never seek to support one of their own like that we go hungry before you would ever give us that, So you all spend $700K that could of help the country and gave it to someone to leave the country that was a dumb idea, now the $700K you could have used to fix the docks are gone and we got the flip the bill,Ok this is really smart of them now, They want to tax us more to leave Tortola by boat because they want to fix the docks for the tourist because they notice the tourist taking the boat more that is $5 departure tax over the planes that are $20 departure tax, I wonder why? so let me get this straight the boats raise there price already and that was hard so now, you want to make it even harder and then if you do go and buy anything you get Tax on the way back, you guys are just criminals who rob the poor to make yourself bigger, if you really want to help use your pay check to fix the dock – You all sit in your chairs make your bad decisions and then we as a people are stuck with your crap don’t, you all ever think before you open your mouth, you all can’t be that dumb or greedy can you, if you really want to show us that you care take a cut out of you pay and make the new dock you make money for doing nothing you might as well use it for good don’t you agree?
everything about that woman is false – from her weave to her acrylic toe-nails and everything else in between. Even her condesending attitude towards locals. I caught a glimpse of her TV follow up, with the then-Premier – she was even mocking his speech. Do we really need ghetto people to represent us like that? I also caught a glimpse of her audience – total trailer trash. Do those people really visit the BVI, or even want to? Get real Tourist Board. Does anyone at the Tourist Board actually have any common sense?
I am now in England. Who is Ms Williams?
Hey Chickeeeee. Ms Williams is some ghetto talk-show host neither I had heard of until her all-out visit to the BVI.
the problem in the bvi is we have to much people with college sense and no common sense in high places
That must be a picture of her after getting that check from the TB. Look at her, she grinning from ear to ear. She smiling so hard her weave push back! Lord have mercy on my poor country!!!
See how Neil is holding that woman’s hand? Hmmm. For what I can see, she could have taken the kitchen sink and Neil would not have protested. Poor Ms Ward can’t be sure what hit her.
I for one who is an entrepreneur looking to advertise my product on a major television network; much less a regional/local television network in the U.S. was SHOCKED by the amount of monies needed to advertise. Even on advertising spaces between their lowest rated show have a price tag that can give a middle class man ahh STROKE. A large sum of that $700,000 spent by the tourist board must have been used for the in-show advertising.
If Ralph wasnt asleep this would have never happened. evidence of failed leadership of the VI party
But is he put her there, he was wide awake, they just like to support bullsh!t as long as it’s a local doing it, look where it got us. Then they up and down ranting talking about why these international companies don’t hire locals and contribute this and that. Which person in their right mind will really give a s*!t about the BVI or its people when our own Government promotes ph*ckry like this?? This is so frigging shameful it’s not funny!!
700,000 on a failed national parks trust event, 700,000 on a failed wendy williams promotion, HLSCC losing 1,000,000 a year on 3 depts alone, water and sewerage losing more than 10 million a year..and the list of waste goes on, yet those people overseeing these waste are still employed
They should of given that money to IYAZ instead to make a song and a video here
What is being said here don’t make sense. All I can hear her doing is RAMBLING on. however, I just dont understand where that kind of money was spent. I also do not understand how we can expect to spend such money and expect to make it back and more based on what was promoted. I think many organizations around here understand the concept of marketing wrong.
she is trying to put the blame on neal saying its his idea.
It was hi idea and thats why his marketing company got paid, he got paid from both ends. Im not a Haddasha fan, but do your research and see.
majority of her viewers cant afford a trip to the virgin islands.
Neil is long gone so I guess someone has to be crucified.
There must be some signed document approving the waste of funds. Whoever signed off on this is to blame and should be fired or banned from the BVI.
I thought the TB didnt have any money so where did we get 700k from?
this was money to be used for worthwhile projects. Wendy was NOT budgeted for. The product suffered for this. so much could have been done with that money
this is crazy! oh my God. didnt the BVI do their research or cost analysis before undertaking this venture? how much of this 700k went into ms williams’ pocket?
This woman is a lunatic to try and substantiate this nonsense. What she needed to say, was that she made a huge mistake, ask forgiveness and stand down. This recklessness must be punished.
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