Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Don't Wait, Supplies Are Limited.

Readers of this blog that are also members of Destination Marketing Association International might have caught CEO Don Welsh's Friday e-mail that informed the membership that his senior leadership team had gathered for a two-day strategic planning workshop...facilitated by yours truly.

While it was a sensational honor to be asked to serve as the team's trusted advisor during the process, it will be the level of engagement, passion and commitment I witnessed from staff that will stay with me for years. Truly, I can't remember a time when I was surrounded by more high-level thought and ideation in this sector. Don has assembled an amazing team.

Which should suggest to anyone in our industry that has been holding back on registering for this year's Annual Convention in Minneapolis that they'll be kicking themselves when they hear from their peers about what they missed.

It's the New DMAI, babies.

But, don't wait...there are precious few hotel rooms remaining.

Just sayin.'

 

The Joker Returns

Steve Miller went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the early '60s. He played in bands with guys like Boz Scaggs and Ben Sidran. Since then, he's had a few hits here and there...and was recently inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

He came back home last Friday for the first time in over 25 years...and simply cooked.

Before he went on, we saw some friends that had their teenagers in tow. When I asked if they were looking forward to the show, they responded with the obligatory grunt and a roll of their eyes. I spotted them half-way through the set, in rapt attention.

Yeah, Steve's music can do that. On this Music Friday, we're going with a live version of "Jet Airliner."

He's all over the south and west in some of my favorite towns for the rest of this tour. Trust me on this.

Go.

Reputed vs. Respected

Yesterday, I received an unsolicited e-mail from a firm I've never heard of with an e-mail address that doesn't match. Here's the opening line:

I am (redacted so as not to totally embarass) from (a firm I'll never engage), a reputed design agency and online marketing firm.

I'm sorry...this isn't even a spell-check error. This person never learned the English language. Reputed?

Which immediately reminded me of Joe Santagato's hilarious tear downs of people who can't communicate with the rest of us.

This is sooooo NSF a business environment...so get your headphones out.

 

Generational vs. Values

Labeling people sucks...unless they are consumers. Then it's OK.

Because research has given us insights into the way that ethnicity, wealth (or lack thereof) and age influences purchasing decisions, we design our marketing messages to match those stereotypes.

The easiest is age. Millennials are different from Boomers (except when they are not). Gen Xers are slackers who now have kids. 

You see where this is going?

Virgin Hotels isn't buying a bit of it as they design their new properties. As Skift's Greg Oates wrote last week in a great piece on the brand: "Virgin Hotels is attempting to find the right design and programming balance that caters to people within different age groups who share the same lifestyle values."

What a concept, because lots of us possess traits from different generations and different realities. And, Greg's interview with Virgin Hotel CEO Raul Leal has tons more gems. 

Worth your read...

Lemme Get This Straight...

Earlier this year, Hertz said that Uber and Lyft were cutting into its rental car business.

Now, it is renting its cars to Uber and Lyft drivers at prices about which its regular customers could only dream. Whaaaa?

Turns out that Hertz is renting Uber and Lyft drivers the cars that it is rotating out of service in the belief that it will make more money that way than if it just sold the outdated vehicles to the used car market.

Which may well be true...but, if Hertz makes it easier for more Uber and Lyft drivers to enter the shared ride market, doesn't that turn this all into a Catch 22.

And, as Uber and Lyft drivers can now rent their ride at an insane rate, they won't be buying as many cars, disrupting yet another industry.

My head hurts...

America

While we have some significant issues before us...it's still a hell of a country.

And Home Free nails it.

Happy Independence Day, y'all.

You Were Going to Actually Work Today?

It's a holiday weekend and I think nothing could be more appropriate than a band of brothers roaring through an hour of cover tunes from dead rockers.

The Hollywood Vampires are Alice Cooper, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Johnny Depp and a supporting cast of characters that includes Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan (Guns 'n Roses).

There is a lot of fan video out there that is fun to watch but, as fan video audio goes, not up to the lofty standards of Music Friday.

So, here's their full set from Rio last fall. And, you can see them tonight in Bethlehem PA, Milwaukee's Summerfest next Tuesday and in Aurora IL next Thursday.

Admit it. You weren't planning to work today anyway.

Crank it up...and all the best, y'all, for a rockin' weekend!