Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Bacon

Need we say more?

Some Southside

We caught Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes with the Blue Olives (who never sounded better) at one of the smokingest shows we've seen in a while last weekend at the Chicago House of Blues. Damn.

And we just gotta share some Southside on this Music Friday...cause we're still hummin' and snappin' to so many tunes.

Problem is, there are damn few Southside Johnny videos that are either watchable or listenable on YouTube...except for this full length TV concert video from a decade or so ago. Yeah, his hair is longer...but this is pretty much what you'll get if you catch the man and his band on tour this year (last dates before going to Europe are in PA & NY next month).

And do...we're still shaking our heads and smiling. Best club night in a long time.

If you sadly don't have the time to just let the Southside concert run, here are my favorite markers for ya:

4:55: Talk to Me
30:55: All the Way Home
40:00: The Fever
51:35: We're Havin' a Party

You should have one, too! Happy Weekend, y'all!

 

OK...Lemme Get this Straight

In order to meet Federal mandated budget cuts, the FAA has announced it will be shutting down 149 air traffic control towers across the country beginning next Sunday.

In doing so, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta assured skittish citizens that the skies would remain safe.

If that's true, why were we spending $600 million to operate these superfluous spires in the first place?

 

Photo credit: Marcus Wong (Wongm)

Back at'cha, Mr. Mayor

In our last episode regading the sad, sad machinations in San Diego, the Mayor was furiously backpeddling, trying to wring some amended concessions out of the evil hotel industry that had voted to assess themselves a fee to develop a marketing fund for the city. You see...the Mayor was on the ropes after making a series of outrageous demands when a judge agreed to expedite the hoteliers lawsuit to compell him to sign the agreement.

Then...shock, gasp, OMG, citing the difference between the word "the" and "an," the judge found in favor of the Mayor and said he didn't have to sign "the" agreement passed by Council last year.

Yesterday afternoon, the Council voted to order the Mayor to sign "the" agreement. The Mayor is threatening to stall and veto...but Council has the votes to override.

See, boys and girls? This is why we love Destination Marketing...

Said nobody that ever had to put up with this shit...ever.

But, we still do. Hang in there, San Diego.

Will the Comparison Pale?

Restaurants (and, especially, fast food chains) spend a pile of money to make the photographic representations of their product look good.

Don't believe me? Has your Big Mac EVER looked like this?

Of course not. Not ever. Not even in-store.

Which is why I'm just a little confused as to why McDonald's is launching a new Social Media promotion encouraging customers to post pictures of their Big Macs.

Will the amateur photos of Big Macs that are half that high and not close to as sexy hurt the brand?

Really? How can't they?

Affinity Hotels & Resorts

What do Disney, Hard Rock and Whole Foods have in common? I mean, besides fanatical fans?

Resorts.

You expect it from the first two...but Whole Foods?

It's the newest trend. Icons in semi-related fields opening semi-related opportunities for consumers to bask in the presence of their favorite brands. Weber Grills did it with their restaurants. American Girl did it with their retail operations. And now, Whole Foods has announced plans to develop a healthy lifestyle resort near Austin.

And, in just a few days, the Legoland California Resort opens in Carlsbad. If there is a fanbase...there is an opportunity to expand the brand to envelope fans in their passion.

Me thinks it's just the beginning. We're gonna see Iron Chef Resorts, Retro Rat Pack Resorts and a Twilight Resort.

Which is just what some destinations will need to stay relevant for as long as the fad lasts.

If You Don't Ask...

At already over 2 million views, there are chances that music (and/or Billy Joel) lovers have already seen this viral gem.

A student in the audience at Vanderbuilt University asked Billy if he could accompany him on his favorite song. Billy thought for a moment...shrugged and said, 'OK."

What happened next was magic.

This Music Friday, it's Billy Joel (with Michael Pollack) and "New York State of Mind."

On Launching a Brand

This whole Destination Brand thing has been a nightmare for so many DMOs. Mostly because the vast majority of people don't understand what a brand is. They think it's a logo...or a tagline.

Of course, it's neither...but that doesn't prevent the media (and the comment gallery) from ridiculing those behind the critically important work that goes into identifying a destination's uniqueness and then creatively encapsulating it into, what my friend Marsha Lindsay calls, an "executive summary" of the product.

So, when my friends in the Destination Marketing world ask me how they should roll out their new brand to the local community, I smile and say, "tell no one." Really...I know it's real tempting to show everyone what you made in shop class...but, it's just gonna attract the trolls.

Instead, I encourage my all my friends to softly incorporate the new brand online and in print...and then credit it with the growth in visitation the following year. Unfortunately, most of us have a hard time with delayed gratification.

Visit Mankato has just launched its new brand (facilitated by another friend, Bill Baker of Total Destination Marketing) and they took a different tack. They produced a video explaining the essence of the attributes that support the brand and how the logo and tagline support them.

Even more importantly, they utilize a number of community faces to support the new brand promise. Faces that will underscore the support that key community figures already have for the new brand.

And, that should slow the peanut gallery from attacking the sensational work that went behind a brand that so works.

Kudos to Anna, her Board and Bill. Well played.

This'll Be Fun...

A Florida appellate court has now ruled that OTAs don’t have to pay Room Tax on the full price of the hotel rooms they sell (will this tennis match ever end?).

The dissenting judge asked what would then prevent hotels from doing what some hotels threatened to do years ago in Madison. Angry at a proposed room tax increase, a few hoteliers said they planned to change their pricing model. The room would be $1...if you bought this nifty $80 baseball hat. Thus, the room tax collected would be 6 cents.

The City Attorney made it pretty clear that such a move would result in other punitive penalties, so the movement never took root. But...I'm sure someone will figure out another way to turn this into a nightmare for DMOs.

Sadly...

Thanks to my friend Cole Carley for the catch.

Every Craving Will be Satisfied

Yesterday, I went off on one of those hip, trendy hotels that, in the interest of being hip and trendy, have made the process of actually staying in a hotel more complicated.

Part of the problem is allowing "the creatives" free reign. Hey, the bathroom is very hip. But, hip as it is, it fails because there is no way to turn on the shower without getting a blast of cold water in your face. It's as if the designers never actually STAYED in a hotel.

And, the promotional messaging is sooo unbelievably over the top. Yesterday, I commented on this promotional line, seen in the elevator: "Every Craving Will be Satisfied." And, yeah...I had some (out of context) fun with it.

But, let's put it IN context. The placard was refering to their 24-hour food service. So, yeah, delivering someone to satisfy my carnal cravings was a little out of context.

However, IN context? My every craving? Let's see...how 'bout an order of grilled giraffe with a side of frog legs, lightly fried with cayenne and panko, some reindeer pate with water crackers and some slightly seared sheep balls on Wonder Bread.

No? Don't have any of that in the back? Reeeeally?

But...but...your sign said...