Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

The Intangibles

Every once in a while, I stumble upon post on Social Media that elicits a "hell yeah."

That happened earlier this week when I was blessed with a 2nd level contact on LinkedIn named Stephen Eastridge, the Executive Director of the Jasper County IN Economic Development Organization:

"Economic development in rural communities is tricky. It often means focusing on 100 other things that have nothing to do with the metrics our board members or elected officials measure success by. Last week success looked like this. 6 artists from all over the country breathing vibrancy into our community. I’m grateful to be a part of this each year and excited to work with Cameron Moberg to continue to spread art throughout Jasper County."

And ain't that the truth for all of us in community development? Prove it, they say. Prove that you're moving the needle.

And you can't...but you know you have.

Rando Thoughts on the Annual Convention

A week out from Destinations International's Annual Convention in Toronto, we look back and say thank you. Thanks for the camaraderie, the networking and the learning. Thanks for the honor of getting to moderate a killer panel of DMO thought leaders (Brookhaven's Renee Areng, Burlington's Jeff Lawson and Rapid City's Brook Kaufman) that attracted a standing room only crowd of over 300 attendees.

And thanks for the laughs. Best line I heard in another session's Q&A (and, no...I won't say who said it because it could cost them their job) was that they were struggling with managing Board Members who were eligible for carbon dating.

Which I had to laugh again today when I see that there is so much carbon being emitted in our world that carbon dating is no longer accurate.

So...I guess you're stuck with them, dude.

The Future of Tourism > DEI

Honored to be interviewed (along with my friend Mike Gamble of SearchWide Global and Tourism Diversity Matters) by David Peacock on Simpleview's Future of Tourism podcast.

You can find the video here 

You can listen to the audio here.

It's an important conversation on the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Destination Marketing.

Thanks David, for the opportunity and for all you do for our sector.

10,000

When we relaunched DMOU (Destination Marketing Organization University) as a podcast in the Summer of 2019, I'm not sure we had a goal in mind...other than to share compelling stories from people in and around the Destination Marketing space. It's what we love to do; shining a light on people who are making a difference.

But, waking up this morning to the fact that, overnight, DMOU passed the 10,000 download mark? That's cause for humble celebration.

Thanks to the over 50 guests over the past year and a half that have taken time out of often brutal schedules to share their truths. You inspire us...and we're thrilled to give your voices wings. And, to those that have powered the downloads, thanks for valuing what we've created.

And, if you've yet to listen, the entire library of conversations is available here, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other audio platforms...including our latest episode with Visit Alexandria's Patricia Washington.

Here's to 20,000!

Home Field Advantage

For those who follow sports, there is the belief that playing at home, in front of your team's faithful fans, will give you an edge. And, indeed, home teams historically have had an advantage.

Except in this year of no fans in the stands. As the NFL playoffs progress this weekend, we can look back on the regular season and note that, for the first time in the Super Bowl era, visiting teams won more than home teams. Put another way, this has never happened in over 50 years...and the only rationale is the absence of fans in the stands.

So what does this hafta do with Destination Marketing Organizations? This proves that the more supportive voices (fans) you can assemble at budget time DOES make a difference. The Home Team wins with fans in the stands. 

Cultivate them now...because the reckoning is just around the bend.

Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune

Time to Step Up

We were honored last Fall to be invited to be a contributor to a video series developed by BVK that addressed the need for DMO transformation. Clearly, we've been singing that song for years...but it was cool to have an accomplished agency like BVK embrace our ideas.

The first three videos in the series are out...but we really want to direct you to the opening salvo from Erin Francis-Cummings from Destination Analysts. They recently surveyed over 240 DMO executives and found that 95% recognize the need to transform to meet changing realities. But, less than half believe they can...or are willing to exert the effort.

Erin's episode is a must-see...if for no other reason to realize that you are not alone. And, that you should not shy away from the knowledge that change is required...and you're just the DMO pro to do it.

And, DMOproz is here to assist.

And, One More Thing

In yesterday's post, we referenced a stunning report from PGAV and H2R that was eerily prescient upon its pre-VID completion.

In regards to NET promoter scores regarding diversity, there's this: "People of color are largely less satisfied with their attraction visits; and the younger an American is, the more likely they are to represent a more diverse lineage. It is possible that some attractions are not reflecting these populations proportionately in their leadership and boards, and are therefore not adapting their content, messaging, and attractions/interests to meet these populations’ interests and styles."

It's just one of the reasons, along with Searchwide Global and Destinations International, we penned a position paper on the imperative of Board Diversity.

Oh yeah...and one more thing. Vote like your life depends on it.

 

Join Us Tomorrow

Four former Destination Marketing Executives have been invited to share their take on 21 predictions for 2021 tomorrow at 1 ET / 10 PDT. David Downing, Matt Stiker, Josh Collins and I will be on a panel as part of the eTourism Summit.

To join us, register here: http://bit.ly/2UAk80d

Should be a wild ride.

Gaining a Broader Understanding

Last month, the President issued an Executive Order that would prohibit federal agencies from offering diversity, equity and inclusion training for government workers. In doing so, he called DEI initiatives "divisive" and "un-American."

I'm not sure how helping government workers better understand unintended bias and identify ways to open up opportunities for all is "un-American," but the American Society of Association Executives last week urged the Administration to rescind the directive, post haste.

Truly, the only people that believe that DEI programs are "divisive" are those that want a strict continuation of the status quo...a status quo that pretty much sucks. Which is one of the reasons we issued our position paper on Board Diversity in collaboration with Searchwide Global this summer.

It's also why you should consider the Travel Unity Summit October 21-23. The All-Access Pass is only $50 and offers sessions from some of the top names in travel accessibility and DEI, including Destination DC's Elliott Ferguson, Sports ETA's Al Kidd, HospitableMe's Billy Kolber and many more. And, there are a handful of sessions that are free, including the keynote from Travel Unity Executive Director Roni Weiss.

For more on the Travel Unity Summit, click HERE.

A Powerful Local Message

Full disclosure: DMOproz facilitated the Strategic Planning process for Visit Champaign County...but that really has no influence on my affection for how that DMO has rolled out their Annual Report to the community, along with a simply sensational video designed for local consumption.

As I noted in the June edition of the Z-News (and, if you attempted to subscribe in the past few months and haven't seen an issue, we have recently discovered a subscriber field glitch that dumped up to 100 of you...so please, try again), we reviewed all the Strategic Plans we created in 2019 to see if they were still relevant. What we found is that they were (Marketing Plans were another story). Indeed, our Strategic Plans were often more relevant in a world gripped in crisis than they were when designed. When life is good, it's hard to get motivated. With the 'VID, it's imperative.

Jayne DeLuce is the CEO of Visit Champaign County...and both the Annual Report and video offer a proud and positive message to a community that has been rocked by our government's response to the 'VID and the Big 10's decision to postpone football. Her Chair's Opening Letter to the community is impressively empowering ("Our timelines may be altered, but we remain steadfastly committed that our destination vision...will come to fruition").

The video is simply inspiring.

Jayne and her team nailed it.