Page Thirty-Six  

16 NOVEMBER 2005

The Magic Bullet and other fairy tales.

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STEVE RUSSELL Toronto Star Rochester's high-speed ferry sits in port at Toronto on Monday. A new report indicates that goals for the service are still a long way from being realized and that ridership and revenue are in major need of strengthening How ferry's faring: Need for better marketing, especially in Canada Brian Sharp Staff writer (November 15, 2005) — While the high-speed ferry was heralded for its promise to put Rochester on the tourism map, 69 percent of its passengers thus far are leaving the city with Toronto as their destination, according to a report released Monday. The survey, commissioned by operator Rochester Ferry Co., showed just 22 percent of passengers were coming to Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. Initial estimates were that about half the passengers were traveling from Canada. "That is clearly the challenge for the future of the fast ferry and whether it will be successful," said Mayor-elect Robert Duffy about attracting travelers to Rochester as well as sending them on their way. Rochester Ferry provided passenger and ridership data to the Democrat and Chronicle on Monday. Additional financial data were released in response to an open records request the newspaper filed in early October. Ferry officials point to the destination figures as a starting point to push Toronto and Canada to chip in money for marketing the ferry service. But they say ferry numbers also highlight inadequate marketing to Canadians and the ongoing struggle to boost ridership and thus revenue. September ridership dropped to 25,935 — the lowest total for a full month since service started June 30, but closest to targets for any month so far, said City Councilman Benjamin Douglas, president of the ferry board. A slowdown in ridership was expected heading into fall. The city backed a $40 million loan, created the ferry board and bought the high-speed ferry for $32 million in February. The ferry board then hired manager Bay Ferries Great Lakes and service began June 30. The mid-season start and lack of marketing hurt initial numbers. Bay Ferries also had to win over a skeptical public after the ferry's previous operator abruptly shut down service last year. How we got the information Rochester Ferry Co., which operates the high-speed ferry, provided financial information to the Democrat and Chronicle on Monday in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Law. The newspaper has filed four such requests since June 30. City officials denied the first request, saying no records existed. They provided limited information to the second. The third was granted Monday, and the fourth is pending. A progress report last month showed an operating deficit. Financial data released Monday confirmed that, combined with other expenses, an $8 million reserve had fallen to $2.5 million as of Aug. 31. Douglas promised a full report in mid-December on financial issues and projections for next year. However, he declined to answer whether cash flow had improved for September and October, or to comment on the status of the reserve. (This is what I meant by stretching out the bad news so the ferry can limp to the end of this year's season minus any intense public flak.) "We can't even go into '06 without putting that on the table," Douglas said. "But we don't want to put out piecemeal information out of context."  (Too late.  The ferry status reports have been nothing BUT piecemeal so far.) The ferry is expected to suspend service for January and February, However, while committed to a spring startup, Douglas declined to reaffirm a March 1 restart date. (Until there's a confirmation of a startup date, this means no restart of the ferry in the ferry.) While ferry officials ask for patience, Lee Selover, president of the Harbor Merchants Association, speaks of frustration. "We should know what's going on," he said, adding that he wants a commitment from Duffy to keep the ship sailing on a regular schedule for the benefit not just of Charlotte neighborhood businesses but the entire city. "This is huge. It's just they're not doing a damn thing with it." Timeline Feb. 28: A City of Rochester-created ferry board buys the high-speed ferry at auction for $32 million. May 17: Manager Bay Ferries announces its schedule and rates, projecting a June 17 startup that is later delayed because of engine and computer problems. June 30: The ferry starts service with 590 riders. July 27: Rochester Ferry Co. announces that children 13 and younger can ride free as part of a summer special. A week later, officials announce a second promotion offering half-price tickets to repeat riders. Aug. 21: The ferry hits the gangway while docking in Toronto, smashing three windows. Aug. 30: Bay Ferries revises its fall schedule, cutting weekly roundtrips from 12 to eight. Sept. 23: Bay Ferries again revises its schedule, effective Sept. 29, cutting weekly roundtrips to five. Oct. 26: A report shows gains in passengers per trip but a $4.2 million operating loss covering the six months prior to Aug. 31. Nov. 1: A planned schedule reduction drops weekly roundtrips to four. The ship's success figures significantly in the region's success. With the ferry running in 2004, the Greater Rochester Visitors Association asked the state for $3 million in added tourism dollars for upstate. The money was cut and then vetoed as the ferry disappeared. The association has asked for $2 million next year, said spokeswoman Patti Donoghue. Through it all, ferry officials have a clear mission: to maximize revenue. "From a comfort level, expenses are on budget," said Vince Carfagna, the city finance director who also serves on the ferry board. "The issue is really ridership." Average per-trip ridership for September was 309 passengers, according to newspaper calculations. That compares with 239 in July and 402 in August. Rochester Ferry Co. reduced its schedule twice during September to account for rising fuel prices and declining ridership. Further financial detail showed passenger ticket revenue at $1.7 million through Aug. 31, while budgeted at nearly $5.5 million. The shortfalls continue to accumulate in vehicle revenue and onboard revenue, the latter from sales of food and merchandise. Instead of the budgeted $8.3 million, the ship generated less than $2.8 million. Fuel costs and ongoing pilotage fees all but erased cushions built into the conservative estimates. Fuel was $2.1 million, while budgeted at $1.6 million. Pilotage fees, paid per trip because the ship lacks trained U.S. pilots and must sail under the Bahamian flag, totaled $375,450 while budgeted at $2,500. "If we can do our planning and preparation and give the fast ferry the opportunity it deserves for a full year ... at that point, we can make our best assessment," Duffy said, adding that his remarks were speculative since he has not yet been briefed on the ferry. BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Well, then. 

With so many discrepancies and smoke screens, the latest ferry status report is a masterpiece of deception aimed at getting the public to start parroting a new song.  I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise as that's pretty much been the modus operandi of the ferry project since the CATS days.

Let's take a closer look:

"While the high-speed ferry was heralded for its promise to put Rochester on the tourism map, 69 percent of its passengers thus far are leaving the city with Toronto as their destination, according to a report released Monday.

The survey, commissioned by operator Rochester Ferry Co., showed just 22 percent of passengers were coming to Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. Initial estimates were that about half the passengers were traveling from Canada."

For the past several pages of this web tirade I've been writing the flow of passengers and dollars has been heading more to the north than to the south, ie. towards Toronto instead of to Rochester.

  Canadians have little interest in visiting Rochester because the Rochester area is seen as having little to offer.  Argue that all you want, but that's the way it is.

"Ferry officials point to the destination figures as a starting point to push Toronto and Canada to chip in money for marketing the ferry service. But they say ferry numbers also highlight inadequate marketing to Canadians and the ongoing struggle to boost ridership and thus revenue."

This is insane.  If the destination figures show the vast majority of passengers are heading TOWARDS Toronto and Ontario already, then why would Toronto and/or Ontario toss in more money for marketing?  They don't need to... it's already working to their advantage.  The is clearly a ploy to get the Canadian side of the equation to bail out the ferry's underwhelming financial performance and it's not going to work.  At least not in any appreciable way.

"A progress report last month showed an operating deficit. Financial data released Monday confirmed that, combined with other expenses, an $8 million reserve had fallen to $2.5 million as of Aug. 31."

August 31?  Today is November 15.  A financial figure 76 days old is like using the chequebook balance of August 31 to see how much money's in the chequing account today.  It's bogus and 'confirms' nothing we haven't known for weeks.

"Douglas promised a full report in mid-December on financial issues and projections for next year.  "We can't even go into '06 without putting that on the table," Douglas said. "But we don't want to put out piecemeal information out of context."

'A full report' in mid-December?  Of what?  Figures and totals reporting to the end of OCTOBER?  Delaying the bad news... again.  Dragging their heels... again.  All in a bid to keep the uproar to a minimum so the ferry can finish off this season.

As for 'piecemeal information out of context', that's all we've been told by the ferry corporation.  Example?

"From a comfort level, expenses are on budget," said Vince Carfagna, the city finance director who also serves on the ferry board. "The issue is really ridership."

I've written about THIS before on numerous occasions as well.  "We're spending ('expenses') what we said we would.  We're NOT getting revenue ('income from ridership') as we said we would".  This is yet another attempt to mislead and dupe the public in a bid to sway public opinion.  Tomorrow, thousands of local simpletons will be running around the Rochester area parroting, "Expenses are on budget like they said.  All is good" while completely ignoring that the most important aspect of any business ISN'T the expense, it's the INCOME.  Any twit can add up how much something will cost... who cares?  It's how much that COMES IN that counts.  And the ferry just isn't attracting enough people to make it a viable business.

A memo from the Department of Redundancy Department:

"The ferry is expected to suspend service for January and February, However, while committed to a spring startup, Douglas declined to reaffirm a March 1 restart date."

Do we all have 'IDIOT' tattooed on our foreheads?  Let's go the logical route -- that just what the ferry board hates to see.

"The ferry is expected to suspend service for January and February.." March immediately follows February.  If the ferry service has a planned suspension of service for January and February, inclusive, it stands to reason the service will resume March 1.

Unless, of course, 'we' don't want to have a specific date thrown back in 'our' face when 'we' fail to restart on that date because of a financial mess.  Leaving an 'out' is critical, "But we don't want to put out piecemeal information out of context."

Adventures in statistical graphing.  To the right is a graphic designed by the Democrat & Chronicle to prove that, indeed, you DO have to draw a picture to show the ferry supporters why the business can't succeed.

Notice the peaks on the weekends in September with the Labour Day weekend and the Jays game in Toronto being Happy Days for the ferry organizers.

Let's pause a moment and think about this.  Does it make any sense that Torontonians and Canadians would be taking the ferry to see a Jays game at the Roger's Centre?  No?  Then that means the spike in passengers were Rochesterians using the ferry... not Canadians.

A more revealing chart would be one which shows the numbers of passengers FROM Toronto to Rochester  A N D  the number of passengers FROM Rochester to Toronto.  THAT chart would show the substantially disproportionate numbers of passengers are Rochesterians heading north.  That's money LEAVING Rochester, not COMING IN to the area which is the complete opposite of the ferry's intended purpose.

 The second chart is even more useless but does graphically illustrate the cumulative effect of not meeting the intended ridership targets.

 As written previously, simply fritzing with the projected passenger numbers serves no useful purpose whatsoever.  The ferry board could have set a figure of 1 million passengers for a month... or 100 passengers for a month.  It doesn't mean anything.  The ferry board could have stuck with CATS' projected figures.  It STILL wouldn't mean anything.

 Are the projected passenger numbers what the ferry board WANTS to get or what they THINK they'll get?  Either way, they're so far off the mark it leaves no illusion the ferry isn't as in demand as they either wanted or thought it would be.

 Add up the difference between the intended and actual passenger numbers... add up all the grey area of the bars on the graph.  Compare that to the actual number of passengers... all the red area of the bars on the graph.  Huge difference, yes?  That's saying the City's business plan ridership numbers -- intended or predicted - are so far behind, no amount of marketing or cash infusions will ever make up the loss of revenue.  The disparity only deepens with each passing day the service is allowed to continue.  The gap can never be closed because there will never be a 'surplus' of passengers in any month to make up the difference.

Unless, of course, the city adjusts the projected passenger number to something like 10,000 per month.  Then the dimwitted locals will applaud like trained seals when the city trumpets "Ferry expectations have been exceeded".

Mind you, regardless of WHAT number is assigned to be reached, it's a pointless endeavour as the only meaningful figure is the bottom line: Is revenue keeping pace with expense?  Are enough passengers taking the ferry to warrant continuing service?

62º | Hi 60º / Lo 52º |

Fiddling while Rome burns.  Worrying about getting the socks wet while the Titanic's sinking.  Fussing about the mascara as the tornado approaches.

'Yield management pricing'?  My, aren't WE getting esoteric?

I think RIT economics professor Amit Batabyal said more than he thought he did (or should have): "Yield management implies they have a yield to manage" says it all and is all that needs to be said.  There aren't enough passengers.  There aren't enough Canadians interested in visiting Rochester.

Pound the weekend passengers to make up for the loss of weekday riders?  Oh yeah... THERE'S a plan.  Compared to the value for the dollar, if people are balking at the price of the ferry already the only effect jacking up the weekend price will be is to lower the weekend ridership... which is the peak time of the week.  Hammer your best ridership times... yeah, that makes sense.  NOT.

People aren't going to take the ferry during the week in numbers needed to keep the thing financially afloat.  A handful of retirees and people who don't work for a living can't support the ferry... oh DAMN... there are those blasted Great Unwashed again... going and not doing as the clueless Suits think they should.  It's as if the corporate Rochester crowd thinks their community is filled with people with plenty of disposable income AND time and can knock off work and still draw a salary like they do.

"Well, I can skip a day or two of work so that means EVERYBODY can do the same".  And the reality blows up in their faces. 

Me?  I don't work, so sure, I could hop on the ferry anytime I wanted.  Why on earth would I want to, though?  This weekend I'll be in Toronto for the Canadian Aboriginal Festival followed by a meeting in Woodstock on Sunday; how am I supposed to get from Toronto to Woodstock (65 miles away) if I take the ferry with no car?  If the ferry is no faster than driving to Toronto and costs several times more... and considering I'm more interested in attending the Festival than I am getting my jollies watching a dreary raw Lake Ontario in the middle of November from the inside of a heated boat... what's the point in taking the ferry?

"Ferry officials also would tweak their marketing plan to focus on promoting the boat as a unique, fun experience, said Arnold Rothschild... Marketing will focus on how entertaining the trip itself can be and how different the boat is from other ferries, he said."

"Unique, fun, entertaining experience".  That's supposed to mean something to people who don't give two pits about visiting Rochester in the first place?  "Focus on the ferry, not on the destination", says Arnie.  "Tell the public what we AREN'T instead of the reality of what we ARE... a pricy marine bus to a backwater burg in Upstate New York".  Award-winning strategy.  Give that guy a big fat consulting fee.

"We will identify multiple target markets that will drive demand," Rothschild said.

I've pretty much had it with the current crop of Merlin the Magicians here who seem to think they can predict the future.  Didn't work for CATS.  Didn't work for the city of Rochester's ferry plan.  And it sure as hell isn't going to work for some blowhard in a suit who's convinced the world runs on the very whim and wish of marketing stupidity.  Rothschild can no sooner predict what the future holds than can the ferry board.  He HOPES his marketing scam... uhhh... strategy will work because it lends credibility to his firm's list of kudos to shove in front of other slack-jawed prospective clients so he can pay for the new Lexus, but that by no means allows him the privilege to declare that it "WILL" drive demand.

He's merely guessing at this point and so is his client, the city of Rochester.  Therein lies the fallacy of marketers.

Oh.  Just who the hell ARE Normal Communications?  Their website (www.normalcommunications.com) shows them to be a local Rochester group who go around slapping up the backlit ads in airports and the advertising schlock that appears on busses and bus stop shelters.  You know; the backlit ads for Chanel or the local rental properties... stuff that's supposed to make you want to run out and grab a quart if No. 5 or sign a lease for 50,000 sq feet of retail space?  That crap.  That's Normal Communications.

So look for glossy backlit ads of the ferry in Rochester and Toronto fairly soon.  And artful displays of smiling folks on the ferry on the side of busses and bus stop shelters.

Makes you just want to run out and slap down the plastic for a ticket to ride, doesn't it?

As long as we're busy slagging off the local gang, Logical Solutions (logicalsolutions.net) is the Official Website Manager of the Rochester Ferry Corporation.  Woof.  A potent force to be reckoned with, indeed.  Here's a quote from a LS worker:

"It's fun here. I've worked at places that would never let me shoot the company president with a toy dart gun and still keep my job. Here, I can do it every day - that's cool."

What FUN!  But wait, here's another more earnest declaration:

"Everyone works hard. Sometimes that means long hours, but no one really minds. As long as we're doing good work and having some laughs, we don't mind working hard."

Boy, does this sound familiar.  Maximizing corporate profits at the expense of employee personal time; of course 'no one really minds' -- if they did (or said they did) they'd be hitting the bricks PDQ.  If that's not working for free, then it sure means working far below the initial stated salary based on a 40-hour work week.  In a job market as ugly as Rochester's, it's unquestionably an employer's market.

"Ok, K.  So what's yer point?"  Just this:  Having a local Rochester ad agency and a local Rochester website firm do the busy work to resurrect the ferry business is a case of the blind leading the blind.  Since Toronto is the intended targeted market, why not have a Toronto ad agency and a Toronto website firm do the business?

Reason?  The ferry is a Rochester creation and toy... and to farm out the contract work to a Toronto company (a) is Un-American (b) doesn't keep the money in the local economy and (c) is completely contrary to the Rochester provincial mindset.  It flies in the face of the Good 'Ol Boy cronyism of the local area.

Nevermind that the local talent wouldn't know the difference between Eglington and Islington Avenues; allowing the local expertise of the intended market to do its thing is... well, let's just say our Hometown Pride says we can do it 'just as well and probably a whole lot cheaper'.  That's a serious mistake when you're dealing with a community which is far more socially liberal than Rochester will EVER be... the market is totally different.  And some local ad-pasters are left clueless even though they're convinced they 'know' Toronto and Canadians.

My guess is 'ol Arnie Rothschild, president and chief operating officer of Normal Communications, has his nose more in the trade magazines than on what's going on in Scarborough or Milton.  If he even knows where they are or how to get to them.

But he's about to find out and so are the rest of the ferry supporters who think 'marketing' is all that's needed to salvage this mess.

Wednesday   November 16, 2005

Study said a majority enjoys the Cat. Study: Ferry Passengers Satisfied     by Veronica Chiesi / Scott Fairbanks File Photo Published Nov 15, 2005 Bay Ferries Great Lakes announced Tuesday results of a passenger satisfaction survey about the fast ferry service. The survey was conducted between September 17 and October 30. The results say 95 percent of all customers said they would use the service again. When it comes to the all-important buzz, 94 percent of passengers said they would recommend the service to a friend. Of those polled, 98 percent of riders are satisfied with the overall service and 67 percent of those riders were first time Cat passengers. Corporate Research Associates conducted the survey. Fast Ferry

Oh, well then... I guess that'll be the scuttlebutt heard round the watercoolers of Rochester on Wednesday, won't it?  "98% of the passengers liked the service".

And once again, how many surveys were filled out?   How many of the total number of passengers who took the ferry filled out the survey?  100?  1000?   10,000?  We just don't know and not having the survey sample size information renders this data useless.  Bear in mind; the greater the number of passengers who filled out the survey means the more accurate the survey results are.  A survey of 1000 people out of a total of roughly 95,000 passengers (June through September) is the same as asking one person out of a crowd of 95 what they think... then drawing a wild assumption based on that one response.  It's bogus and pointless.

But the watercooler crowd doesn't care about all that; all they know is the local media had the words '98%' 'Liked' and 'Service' and they're off to the races with pronouncements of 'Ferry = Success'.  Simple and easy to remember even if it's not true.  Dimwits rarely bother with details.

November 16, 2005 3:42 AM

Ferry Marketing Strategy (Rochester, NY) 11/15/05  - The future of the fast ferry may depend on how well Rochester can market the ship to upstate New Yorkers, and even more especially to Canadian residents.  More than fancy brochures will be needed to sell the fast ferry. That marketing was missing this year, and so were many of the riders Rochester officials had hoped for. Most people who rode the ship did so for the experience, according to one survey. (Which means most of the survey respondents could have cared less WHERE the ship sailed.  Rochester just happened to be the southern terminus and not the chosen destination.) City officials said if people ride the ferry once, they'll come back again, and they'll tell their friends about it. Rochester leaders hope to get state money and Canadian tourism dollars to market the ferry. (And if they don't, then what?)  That would go for television and radio ads and promotions tied to events and attractions in Rochester. Varying ticket prices is another strategy--making prices change according to the day of the week—e.g. it would be cheaper to ride on Tuesday than Saturday. Also, riders who book in advance would get better deals. The Rochester Ferry Company originally budgeted $600,000 for marketing the ferry, but much of that was spent on other expenses. (What's to prevent them from using Canadian funds for 'other expenses' like covering the payroll?)  They will budget more this year, and dedicate it to selling the ship both to New Yorkers and Canadians.

Uh-oh.  Looks like Normal Communications is going to be the next target of the Native Canadian's ire.

Marketers are money-grubbing sleazers more intent on padding their own wallets than actually doing good for the general population.  You enjoy the spam you get in your email inbox?  That's marketing, albeit crude as it is.

Normal Communications could care less if the public is offended by the incessant barrage of come-ons for products or services they either don't need or want.  Their aim is to inundate the scene with as much publicity as possible for their clients in the hope that there'll be some noticeable difference in sales.  If there is, it's considered a 'marketing campaign success' and can be added to the list of satisfied customers to shove in front of other prospective clients so they can make even more money.

Cheesy and sleazy.. no matter how hip the office looks.  Aside from turning our daily lives into one continual pattern of consumerism and begging for dollars, it cheapens the quality of life for those who are offended by being treated like some braindead oafs who are incapable of researching products and services they really need or want.

Any fool with access to the internet can find out anything they'd ever hope to know about the Toronto-Rochester ferry.  The history, mandate, organization, route, services offered, schedules, fares, problems, benefits, the good, the bad and the ugly are all available online.  Do we really need to have slick advertising to let us know of the ferry's existence?

No, we don't.  Anyone thinking about taking the ferry has already done so and made up their minds.  The handiwork of Normal Communications isn't going to change much... certainly not enough to save the ferry despite the fat cheque the city of Rochester is going to send to them.

Rochester isn't a player in the world of tourism... at least not to Canadians.  They're not interested enough in the Rochester area to support a project of this magnitude.  That's the gist of the matter.

"More than fancy brochures will be needed to sell the fast ferry."

That sums up the impact marketing will have for keeping the ferry afloat.  Making the Rochester area a desirable destination for Canadians is going to take a WHOLE lot more than bus shelter advertising.

Home » News & Views » News articles NOVEMBER 9, 2005   More ferry figures out   City officials are expected to release September numbers for the ferry momentarily. Meantime, last week they filled in a few blanks on the July-August report. Among the new pieces of information: • The shortfall in riders for July and August was more than 81,000. July's projected ridership had been 74,827; the actual, 26,320. August's projection: 78,684; the actual, 45,481. The business plan had assumed that the ferry would sail at 75 to 80 percent capacity. In July, the average trip sailed at 30 percent capacity; in August, 52 percent. Ferry board officials say they hope to complete the 2006 budget in December, and ridership projections are expected to be lower than those in the 2005 plan, which means that revenue projections will be lower. Among the hurdles the ferry continues to face: "pilotage fees," a cost that the ferry's original owners said contributed to their problems. Unless the ferry flies an American flag --- meaning that it is registered as a US ship --- it must pay pilotage fees. To be registered as a US ship, all of the boat's captains must be American, and there's a shortage of trained captains in this country.  (Correction: There's a shortage of trained captains in this country who're willing to (a) move to Rochester and (b) work for a fraction of what they could make in Seattle or San Francisco.  For only part of the year.  At a company which has all the signs of going under at any given moment.  Go figure, huh?) When the city bought the ferry, officials seemed confident that it would be able to sail under an American flag right from the start, but that didn't happen. Some Americans are in training now, and city officials say they hope there'll be enough trained for the ferry to fly an American flag in the spring. The city had also hoped to get revenue from trucks using the ferry; that, too, hasn't happened.  (Why not?  Why was the city wrong?) But the most serious immediate problem, presumably, is the possibility of exhausting the ferry's line of credit: $40 million secured from the Australian government. The city used $32 million of that to buy the boat, $1.3 million to repair the engines, and another $4.2 million to cover the loss from February 28 through August 31. That left only $2.5 million. The ferry is certain to show a loss in September, October, November --- and on through the winter. It seems likely, then, that the ferry board will have to find additional financing. And it will have to base its case on the board's conviction that in 2006, there'll be enough riders to show a far stronger picture. City officials say that expenses have been in line with projections, despite the rising cost of fuel. The problem has been low ridership. Whatever the September figures show, and whatever the 2006 budget predicts, the ferry board and Bay Ferries will have to find a way to attract more riders. That means marketing. And that means money.

Don't you just love how the American mindset of solving all problems is to simply throw more money at them?

"...the ferry board and Bay Ferries will have to find a way to attract more riders. That means marketing."

No, I say the way to attract more riders is for the Rochester area to clean up its act, open up its mind and look for unconventional ideas which challenge the status quo.  That has nothing to do with marketing.

So who's right?  (I am, of course!)  City Newspaper says it's right.  Who's going to be proven correct?

I already have been.  Canadians have voted by their lack of support for the ferry service that they have no interest in visiting Rochester.... if they did, we wouldn't be having this dialogue in the first place.  There'd be Ontario and Québec license plates all over the Rochester area if they were interested and quite visibly, there aren't.  Doesn't that say something?

It should and to those listening, it does.  To those who don't want to hear it or admit it, they'll just keep on asserting that "all it takes is marketing to increase rider numbers" when clearly, it goes MUCH deeper than that.  These marketing aficionados are convinced they have a highly sought-after destination when the reality is: that's only THEIR opinion -- not the opinion of those who really matter, the Canadian customers.

It's a real blast to the ego to find out you're not as popular as you think you are and the Rochester ferry supporters are loathe to admit as much.  They're still operating on a presumptuous self-image whose time has  L O N G  since passed into oblivion decades ago.  The glory days of Sibley, Lindsay & Curr operating in downtown Rochester have been over for decades, yet the memory lingers like some ghost of the past.  Today's downtown Rochester has scant little in common with the downtown of the 1970's... there aren't even the classic legend restaurants there anymore.

Name one decent restaurant which has been in existence since 1970 in downtown Rochester.  Just one.

You can't because there aren't any.  Places like Eddie's Chop House, the Manhattan, the Top of the Plaza or even the Changing Scene are history... and none have taken their places.  The glorious old movie houses were razed, the historic Cook's Opera House was torn down, River and Front Streets were filled in... there's little character left in downtown Rochester -- certainly nothing that would set it apart from any other similar sized city.

Ever been to San Antonio TX?   I have.  While the Riverfront area is a bit on the touristy side, it's still a draw.  The famed Texas shrine, the Alamo, is interesting enough (right across the street was a Burger King when I was there) and as hokey as the place is, it's a tourist mecca in downtown San Antonio. (Honest to God; the Texans treat that place like it were the Sistine Chapel or something.  Whatever.)  The point is: there's some historical character to downtown San Antonio which sets it apart from say, downtown Fort Worth (the Fort Worth Stockyards are a souvenir hunter's dream as well.  Stuffed rattlesnakes make the perfect complement to the curio cabinet.)

Canadians have no desire to visit a city which is as generic as any other Upstate NY city... that's why they keep on going to NYC because as we all know, there's no place quite like NYC.

While it may be true that getting there's half the fun, if there's no 'there' there... why bother?  That's a view from a Canadian... use or ignore as desired.

Ferry rates high in passenger satisfaction, new marketing campaign underway 11/15/05 Some good news for the fast ferry when it comes to passenger satisfaction. Bay Ferries released its passenger survey Tuesday and 95 percent of all passengers say they would ride the ferry again. 73 percent say they are very likely to take it again and 30 percent say they plan on taking the ferry 3 to 4 times a year. Overall, 98 percent say they were satisfied with the service.   The key to the ferry’s success is to get more people on board and now there is going to be an emerging marketing game plan. The ferry is not going to be marketed as a transportation service but as an entertainment service, which the operators say, will drive the ridership numbers up.   One question NEWS 10NBC asked is why didn't they do this earlier? “I think it probably wouldn't have been responsible to be aggressive in marketing. The first goal was to find out you could run this ship effectively,” said Arnie Rothschild from Normal Communications.   Rothchild owns Normal Communications and is working closely in developing the marketing strategy for the fast ferry.    He showed NEWS 10NBC part of the strategy Tuesday. The plan will market the ferry as a lifestyle not just a boat. It will include a pricing plan like an airline. The farther out you buy a ticket, the cheaper it will be.   Rothchild says they finally have a foundation to work with. “Almost 100,000 people ride this thing in the first three months with virtually no aggressive marketing done and in excess of 90 percent of them said they planned to do it again.”   “This market tells us that we're primarily an entertainment business and it's an entertainment business that has brought excitement to everybody the large majority who have taken it so far,” said Rochester Ferry Company President Ben Douglas.   Ferry officials are focused on ridership because that means revenue.   In September, nearly 26,000 people rode the ferry. That's makes a little more than 99,000 for the season.   The mayor says there is a lot more people to attract. “We're talking about from a market of 12 million people. All we have to draw is about 300,000 to break even and that does not seem to be an impossible task.”   But it is a task that needs to get aggressive. “We got a lot of tweaking to do, but we're going to have the resources to get what we got done,” said Rothschild.   There is a difference between marketing and advertising. The ferry company is in negotiations over advertising in the Toronto terminal.  It's going to happen in the Rochester terminal and on board. Next month Mayor Johnson and mayor-elect Bob Duffy are expected to go to Albany and Toronto to lobby for tourism advertising.

"The ferry is not going to be marketed as a transportation service but as an entertainment service, which the operators say, will drive the ridership numbers up. ....The plan will market the ferry as a lifestyle not just a boat."

 

Oh yeah... like Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous, perhaps?  How about calling in Robin Leach to plug the glitz and excitement of a 2-½ hour ride on some boat across glamourous Lake Ontario on days like today?  (Windy, rainy, cold front approaching and lake effect snows predicted for the area.)  Gimme a break.

“This market tells us that we're primarily an entertainment business and it's an entertainment business that has brought excitement to everybody the large majority who have taken it so far,” said Rochester Ferry Company President Ben Douglas.

 

Just how many times can a public official be wrong before he's excused from his duties?  The only thing The Market has told you, Ben, is that it's not interested in taking a ferry to Rochester.  Any fool who's capable of reading the English language can see that from the dismal passenger numbers.

Still, I do concede it would be in bad form for the president of the Rochester Ferry Company to stand up and say, "This just can't work".  But let's not resort to absurd analysis based on -- most likely --  the theories of some marketing guru who's main objective is to keep the fat consulting fees coming in. 

If 'entertainment' and a boat ride is all the ferry amounts to, then I'd say let somebody else pay to run the charter business.  That's all it really is; passengers collectively get together, pay the price of a ticket and ride the boat which is adorned with shops, movies and a bar.  Rochester becomes nothing more than a convenient place to dock.  The public certainly has no obligation to support a business which returns diddly-squat to the community and is nothing but a money pit.

"There is a difference between marketing and advertising."

 

Do tell.  Let's see what happens to marketing without advertising.  Let's see what effect the advertising will have on the marketing strategy, as well.  My guess is there'll be a little spike in ridership numbers, but enough to save the business?  Hardly.  That's already been determined from the day the ferry first sailed into port.

Trying to second guess the Great Unwashed isn't as easy as marketers think.  But it'll be great fun watching yet another 'professional' organization fall on it's pretentious butt when the best laid plans end up being totally trashed by reality.

Maybe there WILL be some 'entertainment' after all...