Thanks so much to our friend Tammy Potts-O'Kelley (CEO of the Heart of Carolina Visitors Bureau) for deftly sliding my book, "Destination Leadership" into the shot when she was recently interviewed by Fox8.
That's got to be worth more than a few drinks next time our paths cross.
Thank you, Tammy...and congratulations for recently nabbing the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Travel and Tourism International. So deserved...
Those with Marketing degrees have got nothing on a Girl Scout Troop in Chicago.
Going door to door to sell cookies is hard...so why not set up shop where your customers will be and let them come to you?
That's what these Girl Scouts did by setting up a stand in front of a cannabis dispensary on North Clark Street.
The Marketing Manager of the store said, "I admire the hustle."
As do we.
Last Monday morning, I posted that Destination Marketing had won the Super Bowl. In particular, we raved about Jeep's Groundhog Day commercial featuring Bill Murray in Woodstock IL (standing in, once again, for Punxatawney PA) and Squarespace's quirky homage to Winona MN with Winona Ryder.
My inbox and comments sections blew up almost immediately with other less obvious, but clearly loved, destinations in the spotlight. Such as:
Boston: Hyundai's Smaht Pahk ad with Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch, and David “Big Papi” Ortiz.
Juneau and Sitka AK: The Visit Sitka team worked the Google to find the perfect picture for the ad about the platform's ability to help one remember.
Table Rock Lake, Moab, Alcatraz and (especially) Philadelphia: Facebook's ad promoting Groups that closes with Chris Rock and Sylvester Stallone on the "Rocky" steps.
And...of course, a bunch of NFL towns with the NFL Next 100 ad. Madison's Deb Archer even shared that the local football field shown was from her high school (Libertyville IL).
So, destinations won even bigger than I initially imagined. As it should be.
Thanks to everyone for the catches. Here's to next year!
This morning, two destinations are basking in the glow of unprecedented visibility through last evening's telecast of Super Bowl 54. Actually...make that three.
Squarespace featured Winona Ryder in her hometown of Winona MN. Visit Winona doubled down on the exposure by creating a Squarespace website that took the destination's message even further. And, the backstory videos are even cooler.
Then, there's Jeep...giving two destinations a bump with a Groundhog Day homage on Groundhog Day. Social media blew up in Northern Illinois last week when Bill Murray was spotted with a film crew in Woodstock IL (on the town square that was the stand-in for Punxsutawney PA in the movie). Sure enough, even Ned Reyerson reprised his role in the teaser. And, both communities benefit.
We can only hope that this becomes a thing...
The creative team assembled by Discover Puerto Rico is a wonder to behold. And, the hits just keep coming.
The street art in San Juan, especially in the neighborhood known as Santurce, is exceptional...but doesn't match the critical mass of other street-art rich destinations around the world. At least, not yet.
The DMO has gathered internationally recognized Puerto Rican artist Alexis Bousquet and local artists Celso González, Vero Rivera and Bob Snow to identify wall spaces throughout Puerto Rico and paint "Reserved for" signs, which will serve as larger-than-life blank canvas invitations for global street artists around the world, to feature their art alongside Puerto Rico's very own. The invitation mat is out.
Wow. Just, seriously, wow.
We can't wait to return.
In the mid-1970s (when smoking weed was illegal everywhere), Southern Illinois University in Carbondale was known throughout collegiate circles as the Pot Capital of the Midwest. Is the pendulum poised to swing back some 40 years later?
The Carbondale City Council appears ready to legalize recreational use of pot upon that opportunity becoming reality for cities in Illinois at the start of the new year. One Council member is beyond bullish on the concept to attract visitors to Carbondale.
According to a recent story in the Journal Gazette-Times Courier, "I think it puts heads in beds," Adam Loos said, adding that it would attract people between the age of 40 and 60 years old. "You'd be surprised how many people in that age smoke pot," he said. He also thinks it will help student recruitment at SIU.
It certainly encouraged a lot of visits in the '70s.
A number of years ago, tired and late, I pulled up in front of my hotel in Wildwood NJ and let out a long sigh. It was a decidedly '60s hotel, the kind with keys (not cards) and room doors opening to the outside balcony. Not what I was expecting from the client who made the reservation.
Which was a good thing...because I was blown away as I walked into the lobby by the attention to detail the owners had exercised as they made this '60s hotel a '60s hotel. Black and white checkerboard tile floors, a jukebox, formica chairs and period lighting put a big smile on my face. Which broadened when I got to my room and found a lava lamp.
And, that's where the Howard Johnson brand has announced it's going with its remaining hotels...back to the '60s.
“Say ‘HoJo’ and people can’t help but to smile as they think back on the memories they’ve made with us over the decades,” said Clem Bence, the brand’s vice president of operations. He promises a "playful" re-design to evoke the nostalgia gene in everyone who remembers the iconic orange roofline, family road trips and fried clams.
Howard Johnson has committed $40 million to the mid-century redesign. It'll be worth every penny.
Far too many Destination Marketing Organizations claim to have something for everyone...so, it's refreshing when one says "It's Not for Everyone."
My travel bucket list is pretty diverse. Oddly enough, Guam has been on mine for decades (which Katie Cook and I chuckled about on her recent DMOU podcast episode). The tiny island of Tuvalu is, too.
On their page on the South Pacific Tourism website, the DMO lists 13 things to know before visiting:
2. There are no ATMs and credit cards aren’t accepted anywhere, so it’s cash-only even at hotels and guesthouses.
8. If you hear an air-raid siren, don’t panic! It means one of the twice-weekly Fiji Airways flights is about to land; it’s a way of clearing the unfenced airstrip of pedestrians, motorbikes and cars.
9. You can buy a pre-paid internet card at some guesthouses, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to use it. WiFi is notoriously slow even in Funafuti, when it is working. For peace of mind, why not put on your out-of-office reply before you leave home, and enjoy a holiday from connectivity?
13. Tuvaluan food is predominantly simple, local and tasty. When eating with Tuvaluan people, be prepared to sit on the floor and eat with your hands.
Not for everybody, indeed...but that's what makes Tuvalu the real deal. And, isn't that what so many of us are searching for today?
Returning home from our international association's annual convention, we are awash with smiles. Getting to reconnect with so many of our friends and clients in one space over three or four days is what makes Destinations International such a valuable part of our lives. Toss in a simply great closing keynote from Jamie Clarke...and it was golden.
We got to reconnect with our friends Cole and Laura Carley, as he was being inducted into the association's Hall of Fame. And, he slipped me a link to a forgotten song that is too fun not to share.
As we make our way home on this Music Friday, this is the Travelling Wilburys...a '90s collaboration between Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. The video features cameos from John Candy, Woody Harrelson, Whoopi Goldberg, Milli Vanilli, Cheech Marin, actors Fred, Ben and Kala Savage and Monty Python's Eric Idle.
This is the "Wilbury Twist."
Sometimes, the best tourism promotion happens when you just sit back and let it.
An Indiana candle company in Fort Wayne has come out with an unscented candle...and called it Ohio. The description on the back: "Not much to see. Not much to do. Welcome to Ohio. The unscented candle."
Which resulted in Lydia Mihalik, Ohio's Director of its Development Services Agency (not, as the story alleges, the director of tourism), unleashing a 13-part Twitter storm, rebutting the opprobrium. From the smell of hyacinth in Hocking Hills to the stadium mustard at Cleveland's Progressive Field, Lydia waxed poetic on the scents of the Buckeye State.
The tweet that started it all four days ago has been retweeted over 30,000 times and resulted in this article on Cleveland.com (which will assuredly be picked up by others). And, I'm sure Simple Nature will see a serious uptick in visits (and sales) to their website.
I just love it when others do our Destination Marketing work for us.
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