The Fitzrovia Partnership Business Improvement District has once again proved itself incapable of promoting events for the benefit of local businesses despite its vast marketing budget. This time the Fitzrovia BID, which is supposed to be working in a public-private partnership with Camden Council, published the wrong date for its Christmas market and the mistake was repeated and printed in the Camden Magazine and then distributed to thousands of homes in the south of the borough.
A rather embarrassed source in the Fitzrovia Partnership told Fitzrovia News “someone’s going to hit the roof over this!” after the error was pointed out.
In early October the Fitzrovia BID published details of the Fitzrovia Christmas Market on its website saying “to be held on South Crescent, Store Street on Thursday, 4 December”. The event date was later changed to Thursday 27 November, but no-one it seems informed Camden Council who later published a notice in the what’s on section of the centre pages supplement of the Camden Magazine.
The Fitzrovia Partnership BID receives over £1,000,000 a year from a levy on businesses and voluntary contributions and receives business advice and support from Camden Council who are also represented on the board of directors. The BID spends about £350,000 a year on marketing. Since August 2012 the BID has trousered nearly £2,500,000 from Fitzrovia businesses.
Fitzrovia News questioned the source why — when they have such a large amount of money to hand — they keep making simple mistakes and are incapable of keeping their website up to date with accurate information. Last month they promoted a Halloween event at a pub that had closed two years ago and in March they suggested restaurants for mothers day when they were shut.
“We are human and we make mistakes”, said our source.
Rather confusingly the Fitzrovia Partnership runs two websites — one corporate, and one for consumers who they are hoping to cajole into the area.
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