Case 1: The New Zealand Film Commission.

They’re putting on a free seminar that was scheduled for tomorrow. I RSVPed and got a confirmation email. Then, on Friday, their newsletter told me that the event was postponed because of the large numbers.

That’s good news, but unless I read the entire newsletter from start to finish, I may have missed it. The piece also said those who had RSVPed would get an email.

You’d imagine they’d send this email before the originally scheduled date, just for those who don’t subscribe to the newsletter. But no.

In the end I had to ring up Wellington just to confirm for my peace of mind that I will not be missing out if I stay home and work tomorrow.

I used to think the film industry put up deliberate barriers to entry, but I’m coming to realise it’s more often neglect of marketing and communications.

Still, it’s a free seminar, so what am I moaning about!

UPDATE: Minutes after posting this, I received aforementioned email. Maybe my phone call acted as a catalyst, or maybe it was one of many … I was on hold for a long time!

Case 2: The Newspaper Advertising Bureau

Called NAB for short. I wanted to contact them, so I typed in NAB.co.nz … like any sane person would. Nothing. Have they gone out of business maybe?

So then I Google the term Newspaper Advertising Bureau NZ … the URL is NABS.co.nz … what the duck is the S for I don’t know.

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In both these cases, there wasn’t some evil ogre on the other side going “I hope they don’t find the information they need!”

But that’s the impression I, as a potential customer, journalist or fellow human being (potential? hmm) receive when you neglect the finer points of marketing and communication.