Promotion Assistant

The first weekend I was in Oxford last July, I had been trolling the Internet for things to do and came across an advert for a free Oxford walking tour that afternoon. Sounded good to me so I called up my friend Olena, the only person I knew in Oxford at the time as she had interned for my team in Chicago.

Olena and I arrived at the meeting place and our Scottish guide explained he was trying to get his new tour guide business, I Love Oxford Walking Tours, off the ground. This free tour was for promotion and he was hoping we would write up a review in Trip Advisor. Fair enough.

Along with us on the tour was a photographer that was going to take photos that may be used for his promotional materials and for a journalistic entry on this new start up business. We all had to agree that our photos could be used.

Well in the end the tour itself was not good. The guide rambled and it was difficult to follow his stories as he jumped around in topic and I didn't retain anything he said. Not only that but the photographer followed Olena around and was rather creepy asking for her email address to send the pics he had taken.

We did not fill out a Trip Advisor review.

A while later I realized that our photos were on the I Love Oxford website. And months later I teased Olena because a picture prominently featuring her had been blown up into a poster displayed on Broad Street.

Last weekend I was buying a coffee at Coffee Republic and looked down next to the register and saw my face. I have apparently made it onto a business card. Guess I can't tease Olena anymore. This photographer didn't get me on a "model day" and now my face is all about town associated with a tour I didn't even like!