Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Wisconsin...You're on Deck

Sensational news out of Illinois last week that their State Legislature has, on a bi-partisan vote no less, approved one of the best pieces of Tourism Improvement District legislation we've ever seen. Aided by our friends at Civitas Advisors, which recently assisted the launch of their 200th TID in Louisville, Land of Lincoln DMOs will soon be able to work with their local hotel communities to increase resources for Destination Marketing and Development.

Hey, Wisconsin? Your competitor to the South already has a sensationally better DMO grant program than you do (and has for almost 40 years). Gonna let them get even further ahead by continuing to sit on your hands?

Just sayin'

If Everyone Cared

We close each year of blog posts with a plea for the coming year. From hunger to inhumanity and the environment to runaway government, we've been sharing these songs since 2006.

There are those moments in which songs mysteriously shuffle forward, as if there is an invisible force directing your next move...and that happened yesterday in the shower, listening to my new waterproof bluetooth speaker. I had pretty much decided on a track earlier in the week...but shifted gears upon hearing a song I certainly hadn't expected to fill the room.

This year, it's our wish for the world to care from Nickelback.

And as we lie beneath the stars,
We realize how small we are.
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be.

Imagine, indeed. 

Best wishes for a caring New Year....and we look forward to catching up on the other side.

New on DMOU: Lynn Tillotson

Imagine a world in the Destination Marketing space in which there was absolutely no public funding made available to your agency. Could you make that work?

That's exactly how Maine's Visit Portland operates...and CEO Lynn Tillotson joins us on this week's edition of the DMOU podcast to share how she does it AND survived during the Plague.

I certainly don't recommend it (just imagine what she and her team could accomplish on behalf of their community if public investment were added to the mix)...but what they've done without it so far is powerful.

Municipalities Should Have the Authority

Let's be clear, some of our best and most memorable overnight stays have been in short term rentals. But, STRs are strangling workforce development in several communities around the nation by taking full-time housing off the market. That's a dilemma.

Outside of the gobs of money that STR companies are funneling into political candidates, how does a State say to its municipalities that they do not have the authority to regulate the voracious consumption of housing stock that is creating existential harm to residents and workforce?

It's like an issue we've struggled with for decades here in Madison. Because there are so many State and University owned buildings downtown (that are exempt from local property taxes), city residents are forced to pay significantly more in property tax than those in other cities. To make up for this, the City has asked for the ability to enact a half penny sales tax (which most thinking Madisonians would approve) in order to reduce property taxes. But the State blocks this because legislators want to be able to say they are holding the line on taxes so their re-election chances improve.

Municipalities should have the option to do what they believe is right for their residents without State intervention. If taxes get too onerous, residents will turn out those responsible. We really don't need the State to tell us how to run our communities. But they can't hep themselves, apparently.

Kudos to Akron for jumping ahead of a State bill that would prohibit requiring STRs to play by the same rules as other lodging businesses. And, by a 13-0 vote.

I mean really, cosmetologists and hairdressers must be licensed. Someone renting out their home as a business shouldn't be?

Sigh....

 

 

Time to Get Back to Work

Now that the mid-terms are (mostly) over, it's time to get back to work.

Hopefully, as a DMO pro, you've already built at least a cursory relationship with your Federal and State delegations (something that should have been in play for all candidates over the past few months so that you're ready to roll regardless of the victor). 

And, top of the docket for the Tourism and Hospitality industry right now is the bi-partisan House Resolution 9231...the Service Worker Economic Stabilization Act, designed to remove disincentives in the present tax code that discourage companies from spending on in-person meetings and business travel.

According to Tourism Economics, the bill would increase revenue at travel businesses that offer food or entertainment services by about $70.4 BILLION over the next two years, many of which are small businesses.

You know what to do...call or write your Senators and Representatives now.

 

Time to Exhale

While it will take days to sort out reality from conspiracy theory...the mid-term election process is complete.

No more incessant TV ads or online pleas for campaign contributions. The hundreds of dollars spent on direct mail to our home alone that influenced absolutely no one (except for one we received last weekend from an independent candidate that featured her extended family posing with rifles that confirmed...yeah, no), I can pretty much ignore. The 3 e-mails a day asking for more money for the same candidate? I gotta shake my head.

As I'm not privy to the research that may back up the approach I experienced this cycle (please tell me this crap works on everyone else and it's just me), let me share my thoughts on how campaigns are getting this all wrong.

First up, TV. Attack ads work. I hate 'em and I wish we could have a real conversation about the issues that demand our attention. But, they work...and I can ignore them if I choose.

But, here's my deal...the e-mail onslaught to which I was subjected this cycle was beyond laughable. And, I hafta wonder where they found the brainiac that ran their digital campaign. 

After making the mistake of donating to a campaign, I averaged three e-mail a day asking for more...every day for the past two months. And, as late as 4:20pm on election day. Many missives thanked me for my contribution...so they clearly knew I was in. But, if you know someone is in, why would you be so needy as to ask them for more...three times a day for months at a stretch?

And maybe because I gave more than the candidate's initial request of $5, they thought I must be aware of the nuances of campaign finance reporting requirements. Because, why else were so many of their pleas related to meeting some random fundraising deadline that (let's be honest) means nothing to anyone who is not in the inner circle.

And then, they provide my contact data to out-of-state campaigns and I start getting pleas from random candidates across the nation? What...did the level of my contribution signal to your algorithm that I was a "true believer" and that I would give a shit about races around the country? And, assuming their database could assess my fairly independent past voting record, why would I get e-mails from fringe members of your party, expecting me to give more to your campaign because I received a request from them? The candidate in question ultimately lost...and there's at least a percentage point they forfeited because they had polarizing national candidates asking independents to give, as CCR once said, "more, more, more."

In this era of data, it is inexcusable to not be able to target supporters and contributors in a more sophisticated manor. But those that pose as political experts are often anything but. In years past, we've offered our services in perception analysis to campaigns to help hone their approaches and have been rejected by rank amateurs posing as campaign "experts" who thought they were all that and a bag of chips. The reason? They certainly didn't want consumer data to challenge their campaign strategy.

My guy lost. He didn't have to. His attack ads were actually very good. But his campaign crew was woefully unsophisticated in their digital approach. 

You could have engaged me at a much higher and more meaningful level...but all you cared about was my money.

Sad, really.

For all of us.

It Was 30 Years Ago Tonight

It was 30 years ago this evening that we made our way to a side meeting room at Madison's Downtown Concourse Hotel (Senator Scott Klug's Victory Party was in the main ballroom that night). Dog-tired after an over 2-year public campaign to prepare Mad City voters for a decision that could change the city forever, we knew that polling showed we owned a razor thin edge...but we were exhausted at the months of combating innuendo and lies from a small but highly vocal minority.

It came down to the final few far westside precincts around midnight before the outcome was final...with an eighth of a percent of the vote clearing the latest hurdle in building one of Frank Lloyd Wright's last, great unbuilt masterpiece, Monona Terrace.

Sadly, a number of those that played a crucial part in the referendum win aren't here to raise a glass to the herculean effort to get this project to fruition, most notably George Nelson and Morris Andrews. But, I'll be raising my glass to them tonight, remembering the camaraderie and mentorship of those days and nights as we changed Madison forever.

30 years ago tonight...and, yeah, our polling was a little off.

Interested in more of the back story? I was honored earlier this year to be interviewed by Andreas Weissenborn of the Destinations International podcast "Architects of Destination Advocacy." Listen in here.

Phoenix Rising

As we breezed around a corner into the trade show area of last week's Upper Midwest CVB Fall Conference, what to our wondering eyes would appear but our friend Staci Wilken (the former CEO of Visit Kankakee County). 

As we talked about the tumultuous year that she's had, I thought back to a DMO CEO with whom I worked during my days in Madison. When I asked why she abruptly stepped away from what was (at least outwardly) one of the choicest gigs in the Midwest, she replied, "you can only be told "fuck you, you suck" so many times a day before it's really not worth it anymore." And, this was an individual that rarely swore in public.

That's pretty much what happened to Staci at the hand of a micro-group of community "leaders" who wanted her gone...despite the incredible work she had accomplished in her time there. So, she left behind the sickening bullying to recapture her life.

And, like a phoenix, there she was, launching her new venture called Experience Edit, an experience-based management agency. A what, you ask? Check out her Facebook page to get a more nuanced understanding of how Staci can assist you and your organization.

And, welcome to this side of our world, my friend. 

The Most Cost-Effective Path Forward

This just in...the Destination Marketing Organizations in Manitowoc and Two Rivers WI have announced they will be collaborating on a joint Visitors Guide next year.

According to the Interim Director of Explore Two Rivers, such a collaboration “provides the most cost-effective path forward for businesses to market themselves to tourists with the distribution plan and the power of a joint visitor guide.”

Ummm, tell me again why y'all thought breaking up the DMO that represented both communities last year was such a great idea? 

Because it never sounded like a cost-effective path forward.

Just sayin...

It's the Statehouse, Stupid

How has America veered so wrong?

This is a fascinating analysis that avoids blaming the commonly held belief that it is all about the former President.

It's not a short read...but, as we head to the mid-terms, it's revealing as hell.