What Do The Brochures Really Advertise?What does the brochure really say? If it says you'll be "viewing" a castle, it doesn't necessarily mean you're actually going there. If it poses a question such as, "How about taking in a lively folklore show?" you usually can assume the outing will cost extra. What kind of vehicles are used and how many people are on the tour? High-end operators such as Abercrombie & Kent take a maximum of 24 passengers. Insight's "superior-class" tours accommodate up to 48 people on a 53-seat bathroom-equipped bus. On its budget tours, however, every seat may be filled, and there is no bathroom. Per diem prices on a European tour can range from $ 85 on an Insight budget package to $ 450 on a deluxe Abercrombie & Kent itinerary.
What about shopping? "Shop steering," a practice in which the tour director recommends particular stores and then collects a commission on what you spend there, is a common practice. While tour companies maintain they can vouch for the stores, you have a right to know if they have a monetary interest in where you shop. When in doubt, ask. Brochure Aims to Entice Companies The West Seneca Development Corp. has produced a 16-page, full-color brochure to market the town to companies looking to expand and relocate. While other cities and towns have put together similar packages in the past, it's the first time West Seneca has produced such a publication. The brochure touts the town's strengths in location, transportation, infrastructure, services, work force, business climate, education and training, quality of life, utilities, housing, health care and economic programs. "The town itself didn't have any sort of marketing piece that sells or markets the town," said David W. Lawrence, executive director of the Development Corp. "In the past, the Chamber of Commerce put some things together that represented the town, but they reflected more that these are the businesses in the town. "This says these are the advantages of the town. It really sells the town." Among the advantages West Seneca claims are its proximity to the Thruway, Routes 219 and 400, and to Canada; a "virtually limitless" water supply; Bell Atlantic's totally digital fiber-optic communications backbone through the town; and Buffalo/West Seneca housing costs in the bottom 10 percent of 223 U.S. metro areas. An initial printing of 5,000 copies cost around $ 14,000 to produce, Lawrence said, with 14 corporate sponsors picking up the tab. The brochures aren't aimed at the general public. They're being distributed to "multipliers," businesses such as banks, developers, real estate brokers and utilities companies that have an interest in West Seneca can use the publications to drum up new business. "They're going out to people who get in contact with people in their daily activity," Lawrence said. "It's in their interest, and they're serving their clients, to get it out there and use it. "Just as in selling any product, you've got a brochure." He said some copies have already gone to companies that the Development Corp. has heard may be relocating or expanding. "There's hard information there. That's waht we're trying to do," said West Seneca Town Supervisor Paul T. Clark. "If people inquire at the Chamber, or with our developers of industrial park folks, we want to make sure they get enough of (the brochures)." |