Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

When Trump Comes to Town

God help any destination that the President selects for a rally.

The drive-by media will instantly brand you as a hotbed of all they believe is wrong with this country.

Last week, it was Duluth MN...a town Terri and I love. A town we intentionally chose as our annual Thanksgiving weekend retreat a couple years ago. I mean, hey...with stores like Electric Fetus and eateries like Zeitgeist, what's not to like?

Rolling Stone covered the Trump rally, using a stringer that should have known better (she lives a few hours away in the Twin Cities...and is now apologizing). The story, which has been edited after a virulent backlash of criticism, essentially equates Duluth's primarily white population and struggles in the post-industrial age with being "Trump Country."

Nothing could be further from the truth. As a pushback piece in City Pages said: "Duluth shot his ass down (in the election) by a two-to-one margin. For that, it should be applauded, not insulted."

That didn't stop the reporter from denigrating this progressive renaissance city. All she saw was Trump...and that means bad.

You gotta love a Mayor that punches back, however. In a Facebook post liked by over 6,000 and shared by over 3,000 (how many of yours get that kind of traction?), she nails what is so Duluth: "You saw our downtown as a place where 'every surface is covered with a thin layer of grime.' What you call grime, we call reconstruction dust and progress." Simply brilliant.

And, goes on to question why a magazine would be so dismissive of a town that produced an artist that wrote a song from which it took its name: "Isn’t your magazine named after a song by some guy? Yeah. He was born here."

I understand that this President can go wherever he pleases. But, if he selects your town, be ready.

Duluth was...and will benefit in the long run. As a cool city should.

Brilliant

Most advertising in airports is vapid (with the exception of the coordinated campaign at CMH).

But, I do have to give props to Enforce Consulting for their recent ad in the concourse of the Madison Airport.

Madison is a magnet for talent. Its vibe is ultra-hip, music scene solid, culinary offerings off the charts and blessed with amazing lake views and the most gorgeous Capitol and Convention Center combo in the country (hey, it's why we live here).

But...it does suck in February. No contest there. It does...unless you like to ice fish and cross country ski.

Enforce knows that and plays it perfectly (click image to see the ad). 61 degrees in February, indeed.

Well played, my friends.

Can't Have it Both Ways

Ibiza is an island off the coast of Spain that is known for its nightlife and party scene. Will Ferrell wanted to produce his new Netflix film (called Ibiza) there...but the government said no after reading the script. So, it was filmed in Barcelona and Croatia.

Wouldn't you know it...now, residents of Ibiza are pissed because it wasn't filmed on their island. And, how their party culture is portrayed. Which, of course, they may have been able to influence had they allowed the comedy to be shot there in the first place.

Just sayin...

Teaching Our Children Life Lessons

Besides the life lessons imparted by my loving parents, I learned a lot about living from the Board games I played as a child.

I learned that children are expensive from the game of Life. I learned that things are often not as they appear on the surface from Clue. And, I learned to make good choices from Chutes and Ladders.

All three are identified as being among the Top 10 Board Games for kids by FamilyEducation.com. As is Monopoly.

But, is the new edition of the venerable board game, expected out next month, really what we want to teach our kids?

It's called Monopoly: Cheaters Edition...and, according to Fast Company, it "plays faster, zanier, and perhaps more apropos of the current socio-political climate. Most of all, it’s a version of Monopoly that properly reflects the impulses inside our own dark hearts." 

One of the available cheats encourages players to steal money from the bank. If one is clever enough to pull it off, they not only get to keep the money but receive bonus cash. To be sure, if you get caught, you have to wear a handcuff connected to the Board. But, still...

Call me old-fashioned...but is validating cheating something we want to teach our kids?

Just sayin...

On Congressional Inquiries

What do they really accomplish?

Congressional inquiries are nothing more than the ability for legislators to showboat their "power" to make things change. They capitalize on citizen concern regarding an issue, call the accused parties to testify and...then what?

They saw the opportunity to haul Mark Zuckerberg in front of the panel because people were concerned about data privacy. They asked a bunch of fairly unsophisticated questions...and, the result? 

Nothing...other than Zuckerberg made an estimated $3 billion as his stock increased on Congress' inane inquisition.

Sigh...

The Dark Side of Disruption

To paraphrase CSN&Y: "Four dead in NYC."

As of last month, four New York cabbies had committed suicide because of mounting financial pressures brought about by the explosion of ride-sharing platforms such as Uber and Lyft. And, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of City officials.

Tightly regulated, cabbies used to fight for a limited number of "medallions" that would give them the right to drive a taxi and make $200 a day. Only 13,600 medallions are issued...but, with 63,000 disruptive ride-sharing drivers now on the streets, many cabbies say they're lucky to make $50 a day.

Disruption. It's all shits and grins until somebody shoots themselves on the steps of City Hall.

While we love the convenience and experience of ride-sharing, we can't ignore that there is a dark side to disruption.

The Distracted, Forgetful, Not Very Smart Consumer

It's not uncommon in our work with destinations across the Americas for local Stakeholders and Boards to be consumed by the bad news that seems to emanate from their communities. They are convinced that potential visitors will hear of the terrible, horrible (fill in the blank) and cross the destination off their list.

With the possible exception of Bermuda, which saw some 3,000 cancellations after Hurricane Irma decimated Barbuda (honestly, can people really be so geographically challenged?), bad news doesn't seem to register with many consumers. And, if it does, it doesn't stick.

A recent study by Destination Analysts reveals that "travelers’ memories are short, and people intuitively understand that time heals wounds caused to a place."

As the marketers of our destinations, we need to realize that we are simply too close to our own reality to truly understand how few people are actually paying attention. Thus, we need to stay the course in our upbeat marketing of our communities...because most consumers are willing to listen.

 

The Overreaching Authority of State Government

I understand the need for a uniform set of State rules that govern how Counties and Municipalities operate...to a point. But, can someone explain to me why local government's taxation decisions are any of the State's business?

Take my home State of Wisconsin, for instance. Cities are prohibited from enacting a Local Sales Tax, even if local residents wanted one. We are prohibited from doing what cities like Oklahoma City have done; enacting a one penny sales tax to drive infrastructure enhancements. And, one look at that city's meteoric growth and prosperity should cause any sophisticated resident to weigh the "pain" of a penny versus the development that has resulted in a sensational enhancement of the region's Quality of Life. And, yes, Oklahoma City residents continue to approve that penny tax every few years.

Why should State government have the authority to restrict a community's decisions on how best to prosper, indeed? Why should Florida's House of Representatives attempt to throttle local county's economic development efforts? And why should petty partisan politics deny a Mississippi community the ability to continue to fund its DMO when that destination's City and County governments both asked for the authority to do so?

That's what happened last week as the Mississippi Legislature adjourned without approving a requested extension of a Restaurant Tax for Columbus and Lowndes County...revenues from which provide almost all the funding for the DMO, support funding for the region's Economic Development effort and funds for community recreation facilities and festivals. And, the State's rejection of the tax wasn't because they were getting heat from their constituents.

It's because Senate and House leaders refused to negotiate a philosophical difference, preferring to attempt to prove their individual level of command and control. Which is kinda like what gangs and children do, with no thought to the consequence. And then, walk away with little more than a shrug of indifference.

And, that's simply wrong.

 

Don't Blame Amazon

Just as Video didn't kill the Radio Star, at least one analyst maintains that Amazon and the internet didn't kill Toys "R" Us.

In a fascinating piece on eMarketer Retail, Krista Garcia crunches the numbers and finds that Toys "R" Us wasn't hurt by Amazon as much as they were by Target and Wal-Mart: "Toys "R" Us buyers were less likely to purchase on Amazon than toy buyers in general and more likely to buy on both Walmart and Target (46.8% vs 38.6%)."

Her analysis holds that there is still room for specialty big-box retailers (like Best Buy)...but that the debt Toys "R" Us had accumulated prevented them from transitioning to a Best Buy strategy of becoming a "showroom" for product.

Free Agency for DMOs?

I can't remember a more interesting day for the NFL, Stupor Bowls included. It's Free Agency...a moment in time when unsigned and unprotected NFL players can deal with any team in the league.

Minnesota started this morning off with three pretty good Quarterbacks in their stable. They made a deal with a QB they think is even better. Their three existing (now former) QBs quickly made deals with three other teams. And that's just the action in the ranks of Quarterbacks. Scores of running backs, receivers and other players are making deals in numbers that should keep Sportscenter on the air for 3 hours tonight.

But, it got me thinking. What if there was such a thing as Free Agency for Destination Marketing Organizations? A brief moment each year when DMOs could poach the best and the brightest from other DMOs?

One one hand, our superstars would get paid a whole helluva lot more (think we could negotiate guaranteed contracts like Kirk Cousins?). On another, we'd certainly see just how much a vibrant visitor economy means to community leaders when bidding wars break out over top talent.

Would that mean we'd all need agents?

Just a thought...