Those of us that have followed the sad saga of Visit Duluth, the award-winning Destination Marketing Organization that was dismantled by a Mayor in favor of an out-of-state advertising agency, can be forgiven for freaking out at reports that the new Mayor has done it again.
News reports over the weekend suggested that the new Mayor, who lambasted the former Mayor for her boneheaded move to place the entire DMO function (except convention sales) in the hands of an out-of-state agency, has just approved another out-of-state agency are not completely accurate. Sadly, for those not conversant in the DMO world, they'll never understand the nuance. But we do.
Because what was so wrong about the last Mayor's play was that she didn't understand that a DMO isn't an ad agency (and, let's be honest, after the job DMOs did nationwide to save businesses and jobs during the Plague, how couldn't she?). Today's DMO is the choreographer of a destination's brand, a partner to its business community and an asset to the economic development community. No ad agency from out of State could ever fill that roll.
So, here's the deal: The new Mayor is dedicated to rebuilding Visit Duluth to be the DMO that his community deserves (yeah...more than an ad agency). But, that could take 12 to 18 months. In the meantime, somebody needs to handle the marketing of the destination because the contract with the incumbent is expiring (and won't be renewed). Thus, the City is turning to Madden, a firm with deep experience in destination marketing.
When Visit Duluth is back on its feet, it will contract with the agency it believes will be best equipped to market the destination. Assuming Madden rocks the next couple years, the decision should be easy. And, if bringing the marketing back to a local firm is that important to the community, so be it.
But, let's be clear...this is the best bridge solution for the community to get back in the game. And the City is to be commended for doing the right thing.
Recent Comments