Last week, I posted a blog launching a case study around the JobFest employment tour and promotional packages. We’re going to keep you up to date on the developments on this file, as an ongoing example of the work we do at the CTF.

Our Thursday blog led to a great Mike Smyth full-page piece in Sunday’s Province newspaper, where Smitty rips the program as only he can: 

JobFest is the government’s $3 million rock-and-roll concert tour designed to get kids headbangin’ and career-plannin’.

It works this way: A Victoria band called Acres of Lions has been hired by the government to tour the province and jam with local rockers along the way.

Kids who show up at the free concerts get rockand-roll giveaways like drum sticks, T-shirts, temporary tattoos and a chance to win a free iPad.

They also get on-site career counselling, and an opportunity to complete a computerized aptitude test that steers them into job-training programs.

The government says this creative youthemployment effort is working great, and I’ll get to that in a second. But first, you’ve got to check out the totally bitchin’ promo kit, dude.

This baby weighs in at a hefty 1.5 kilograms. It’s a big black box emblazoned with the JobFest logo in totally tubular heavy-metal font.

Inside there’s a dazzling array of rock-and-roll goodies including multi-coloured guitar picks, dayglo wrist bands, a “foldable metallic” water bottle, a CD and three posters.

The article reports that 2,000 promotional packages were created at a cost of $40 each. Professional designers tell me that this price tag is too low, and clearly doesn’t include postage and other costs (we’ll have to wait for our Freedom of Information request to come back). 

Still, that’s $80,000 spent to promote this tour to “business groups, local governments and media outlets”—but not the kids it’s supposed to reach.

As for the turnout as these rock concerts, watch this CTV report—you can count the attendees on one hand!