Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

When it's Not About the Next Election

I love Chicago. Maybe it's because I grew up in its shadow and I feel "at home" there...but, it's just such a perfect destination for the arts, culture, entertainment, sports and culinary. 

Except when you live in pockets of the city that have been ignored for decades; where crime and decay rule. That's the part of any city that breaks our heart.

Chicago has a new Mayor. And, she has a mountain to climb to fix what's wrong with her city while supporting all that is right.

A recent critique in Patch laid bare the challenges ahead. But, it also included a quote from Mayor Lori Lightfoot regarding the path forward that was as refreshing as an autumn morning: 

"And if it means that I sacrifice myself politically, so be it in pursuit of the right thing."

I so want to believe.

The Right Thing vs. Resident Taxes

In what was probably my favorite class in my quest for my MBA, our professor would pit members of his class against each other in search of the truth amidst an ethical dilemma. The results were often fascinating, opening our eyes to concepts and realities we had never considered. 

An interesting conundrum is facing my city of Madison. The genesis of a project in our downtown core that was initially designed to provide a second HQ hotel for our convention center has de-evolved into a hodge-podge of special interests that includes office space, retail and residential (and, not surprisingly, not nearly the required rooms needed for the Center). And, it's the residential component that is now gumming up the works.

To make the project financially feasible, a developer has proposed a number of residential units with spectacular views of the lakes and the Capitol, from which the resulting revenue will make the financial package work. The City has requested the developer make a number of the units "affordable." The developer agreed...and set aside some of the lower floors for these units, floors from which they couldn't command top dollar for the somewhat diminished view.

Ahhh, but not so fast. That's not fair, according to the City...which is pushing for "affordable" units throughout the structure so that disparate socio-economic citizens can co-mingle as equals. Noble, to be sure. But, according to the developer, the numbers don't work.

So...here's the dilemma. Should City taxpayers be on the hook to subsidize these units to make the developer whole in the name of social equality?

Thoughts?

Image: Gebhart Development

The Unintended Consequence

We've really gotten to a point in our society that we elect people that clearly don't understand how all this works. 

Take Solvang CA. Some City Council members there decided that they should put the contract for Destination Marketing up to bid (is there a city council chat room where this idiocy is getting lift...cause it's happening across the county with increasing frequency).

Ultimately, the Council in Solvang severed the contract with its CVB and its CEO, Digital Media Director and Accountant were let go last week. Then, the City clearly realized its folly and extended limited funding through this month.

When asked WTF, the Mayor said, "August is a busy month for tourism in Solvang, and keeping the Visitors Center open during that time was a priority for us all."

Ya think?

“This is also a crucial planning time for fall events,” he said. “By extending funding, we are able to support the Visitor Center ambassadors as well as two full-time staff dedicated to event planning, social media (and) website maintenance including an events calendar, film and sales.”

Yeah...ooops?

The Mayor went on to say, “Tourism is very important to the City Council. It is essential to provide helpful information to tourists and give them a reason to return to Solvang with its cherished annual events.”

As that takes funding a talented staff of Destination Marketing professionals, apparently not.

Sigh.

Sweet Lemonade

As the saying goes, "when somebody hands you a lemon, you make lemonade."

It was more than a lemon that America's sitting President lobbed at Baltimore over the weekend...and the team at Visit Baltimore took the opportunity to acquaint readers of the Baltimore Sun, New York Times and Washington Post to some of the great aspects of the city. Like top 5 accolades for business, minority entrepreneurship, women in tech and more (click the image to see the ad).

It reminds me of the great video Rockford used to punch back at Forbes a few years ago when that publication named them the third most miserable city in America. That was a classic.

And, Visit Baltimore's response will now join the playbook for how to make sweet lemonade.

Nicely played...

Turning the Tables

It's always dangerous to base an opinion regarding a destination news story on one source; nuance is everything.

But, the story coming out of Putnam County NY over the past few weeks is almost too weird not to believe it. I mean, you simply can't make some of this stuff up.

The Putnam County Legislature has been pressuring its CVB for more accountability over the past year. The CVB has, for whatever reason resisted. Frustrated, the County placed an ad for a new Executive Director in May, even though the CVB is an independent agency.

At some point, the CVB Board and its CEO decided to close up shop, shut down the website, close the office and returned State grant funds. And, sometime around July 1, they actually did it. Now, County Legislators are facing the rest of the summer season with no destination website and no Plan B.

Destination Marketing Organizations have often had to tread carefully with their funding partners for fear of retribution in the form of canceling a contract, regardless of the pain that shuttering a DMO would have on local businesses.

Now, government will have to weigh whether messing with a DMO could result in the same pain visited upon their constituents if the organization says, "screw it," and closes up shop. 

Crazy...

The Tax You Don't Pay

We hear it all the time. Elected Officials often reject the idea of raising Hotel taxes because, regardless of the ROI, they fear that voters won't understand (maybe they're the same people that don't understand that vegi-burgers are made out of vegetables). They fear the electorate will only hear the word "tax" and vote against the measure or, more importantly, them.

The Wichita Falls CVB has just launched a new campaign to encourage voters there to approve a Hotel tax increase with a brilliant twist: It's the Tax You Don't Pay."

As much as we've all explained it that way...this is the first time I've seen it actually lead the conversation. We typically tout all the advantages of such an increase and follow-up with the "and the best part is residents don't pay" angle as the logic. But the DMO in Wichita Falls is attempting to take the issue off the table first.

Smart...and I can't wait to see how this plays out.

Nothing Better to Do?

When a State Legislature passes a law that forbids plant-based meat providers from using the word "burger," I guess that should signal to us that they've already tackled all the really pressing issues of the day.

Except Mississippi was recently ranked the third worst State in the nation on issues including healthcare, education, the economy, infrastructure, opportunity for residents, fiscal stability of state government, public safety and the natural environment. So...I'd venture that there's still some work to do there.

The bill was promoted as being necessary so that Mississippi residents wouldn't be confused when they went to the grocery store or out to eat. If the Legislature really thinks that those they represent don't understand that a "veggie-burger" is made of vegetables, maybe it should tackle the education system first.

Just a thought...

Authenticity in Messaging

I remember chuckling upon seeing Taco John's use a stock photo of a woman that we had used for the original iteration of DMOU. It's not like Taco John's (or DMOU) was selling something that needed to exude authenticism. The image of that person was simply eye-candy.

However, when one is running for public office, authenticity is a thing, n'est-ce pas?

Check out this story from CNN that shows that virtually everything from a new Trump commercial is stock imagery...featuring models and locales other than the America he claims to want to make great.

For those of us in Destination Marketing, stock imagery is never a good idea.

For those trying to inspire support...I'd say it's an even worse idea.

 

The Hubris of Going it Alone

The politicization of Destination Marketing continues to rise, with local governments increasingly thinking that they can achieve a higher ROI by taking their investment in their regional DMO and doing their own thing. And, while I can certainly understand the community pride that drives such conversations, the reality is that, unless a community is talking about the redirection of millions of dollars, this won't end well.

The City of Eureka has withdrawn from its regional DMO because community leaders there don't think that the organization's redwoods-centric marketing provides it with enough visibility. They've taken their $370,000 ball and gone home.

As the City searches for an ad agency to fulfill the role of DMO (which, in the immortal words of that esurance commercial, "that's not how any of this works"), the Times-Standard editorial board has weighed in with a brutal smack-down that underscores the folly at work.

Such a strategy, they opine, means that Eureka will have roughly $5,000 to spend per month per market...not counting agency commission, staff, website or design).

Exactly.

Somewhere, "That 70's Show's" patriarch is uttering his famous one-word line.

Compromise is in the Air

As we begin to close out the week before those in the Destination Marketing world begin to celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week, two of the most high-profile political stand-offs appear to have found a sense of common ground.

The now-annual battle between the Florida House of Representatives and Visit Florida appears to have been mitigated with a compromise agreement to keep the DMO's doors open...but with a 33% reduction in State investment in the program. Sadly, you can be sure this won't be the last time this battle erupts again in Tallahassee.

And, in New Orleans (where the Mayor channeled the donkey in Shrek when referring to her disagreements with DMO Chief Stephen Perry in a State hearing), it looks like a deal is also in the offing.

In both cases, Destination Marketing loses ground...but not the war.

I was honored to be a presenter at this week's summit of the Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations, where I heard a DMO pro sigh that it is so hard to tell our story to government because what we do is not a "core service."

Destinations International's Jack Johnson quickly retorted, "but, Destination Marketing is a core service." And, minutes later, took to the stage to prove it.

Let's make this the year that the conversation of our importance and efficacy shifts from defense to offense. Our communities deserve no less.