Beyond the Doom and Gloom

Marketing

I’m afraid the Timaru Herald has provided us with
some more doom and gloom reading this week.

First we learn that our local meat works are planning
to introduce robots to replace man power which will
put many of our local freezing workers out of work.

Empty commercial buildings without any maintenance
are sure signs of a town that is dying and during the
week we were shown photos in the Herald of some
of the run down commercial buildings in Timaru
with boarded up windows and the paint falling off them.

The headline tells us they are not are not illegal, the council
cannot do anything about them so we just have to put up with them.

Grant Kerr General Manager of Eagle Air in his letter to this
column on sat 30th May informs us that our local air service
is running at a loss. Timaru is no longer the popular tourist
destination it once was which means our Richard Pearse
airport could be on shaky ground.

The missing ingredient in all this doom and gloom is marketing
and this is something The Timaru District Council and its associates
don’t seem to have a clue about how to do it.

Even though I have done my fair share of criticizing the council
for lack of marketing skills. I have always been willing to put
forward ideas that will create more jobs and attract more visitors
to Timaru.

Last week I made a suggestion through this column that we could
promote Timaru as the home of the worlds first flying machine.
My suggestion was to build a replica of the worlds first flying machine
complete with in image of its inventor Richard Pearse sitting at the
controls and place the icon on a pedestal overlooking Caroline Bay.

That image could then be printed onto post cards and souvenirs
to be circulated around New Zealand and the world.
The icon would create curiosity and people would want to come
to Timaru just to see the worlds first flying machine. Everyone would
benefit and besides what a great way to promote the new look Caroline Bay.

There is no magic in marketing.
All you need is an idea and a group of
motivated enthusiastic people who care
enough about the community to make it happen.