This one was a hoot.
Last month, Michael Novakovich (Visit Tri-Cities) joined me on the DMOU podcast microphone to share how outlandish video (by DMO standards) has become such a positive tool for destination brand awareness...and organizational brand awareness. But, the real fun starts when we start riffing in the Bonus Round.
We dropped the latest episode last night. Check it out.
To say it feels great to be back on the speaking circuit would be a supreme understatement.
Thanks to Destinations International for inviting me to moderate a panel last week with the amazing Nan Marchand Beauvoir (US Travel), Beth Potter (Travel Industry Association of Canada via Zoom)) and Bari Golin-Blaugrund from the Cruise Lines International Association at the Advocacy Summit in Houston. Great insights and great content.
And thanks this week to Amanda Davis (Miami OK CVB) and Debra Bailey (Oklahoma Travel Industry Association) for asking me to riff on the post-Plague future of our industry...and open for an amazing presentation from Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell. Dude connects the dots better than any elected official I've seen in years.
Yeah...so great to be back.
Depending upon your age, you either know the name Ron Popeil...or your parents have at least one of his inventions in their house. Or maybe, you know the SNL parody with Dan Aykroyd (or the next one).
"The King of the Informercial," Ron dominated television in the 70s, 80s and 90s with a dizzying array of products that made life easier for an increasingly time-starved world. The Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone and the Smokeless Ashtray were just a fraction of the inventions he created and hawked on TV.
And, as the infomercial was coming to it's close and you were oh so close to picking up the phone, Ron would always intone, "But Wait...There's More" and toss in the closing offer. The "other" Bill Geist featured Ron Popeil on CBS Sunday Morning two decades ago.
Ron passed from this world last week at 86...and as I watched Bill's interview with him over the weekend, a stray thought came to mind.
Was Ron Popeil the inspiration for how Steve Jobs always closed out his product release events at Apple? And, if it worked for two of the greatest inventors of our time, what does that say to us?
It was a number of years ago. I was presenting at a Tourism industry conference somewhere in the Midwest and was among the audience for the lunch speaker.
After the presentation concluded, a DMO friend came up to say that she had the best time watching me watch the speaker. "You didn't smile once," she quipped. So, yeah...I'm a critic. Which, isn't my most endearing quality, I guess. But, I am.
I'm also exceptionally competitive. And, when I see a presenter with a better slide deck, I make sure that my next deck is better than theirs next time. When I see a better open or close, I double down to make sure that won't happen again.
I say all that as a preface to sharing a clip from an old friend that has simply dominated in a niche market even tighter than ours in Destination Marketing. Bill Guertin (yeah, we're part of the BG brotherhood) has just developed a Powerpoint-free presentation that is really unique.
It's called the "7 Voices in Your Head" (the trailer is here)...and, if you are engaged in the selection of speakers for your next event, you should give this a look/listen.
Well played, my friend. So well played.
Another National Travel & Tourism Week is in the books...a week where we salute and honor the impact that the Visitor Economy (and all those that make it happen) has on our way of life.
Interestingly, last week was also International Economic Development Week. Which got me to thinking. As "Tourism is the First Date for Economic Development," shouldn't International Economic Development Week be this week? Just sayin...
A significant number of DMO pros wrote op-ed pieces for media releases and blogs that ran all last week. All pinpointed why Tourism and Destination Marketing are critical to a thriving community. One of our favorites came from John Groh (Rockford Area IL CVB). In "The Top 5 Reasons Travel Matters to Illinois...and to the Rockford Region," he clicks through many of the same points so many made last week.
What I admire most about John's missive was how he personalized the message beyond the stereotypical numbers we so often use. My two favorite lines: "Locally, more than 3,000 of our neighbors go to work every day at jobs generated by visitor spending."
And then, this: "Travel helps families connect, creating everlasting memories and develops a lifelong bond. When surveyed, most children (61%) say the best way to spend quality time with parents is on vacation. At their core, adults know this: 62 percent of adults say that their earliest, most vivid memories are of family vacations taken between the ages of five and 10."
Drop the mic, my friend. That's how it's done. Touch their emotions...not their logic.
Bang on.
Back in 2016, I opined in my monthly Z-News commentary (this month's dropped yesterday) that presenters often lose their audiences by doing what we were taught to do in school. Establish your premise, then lay out your proofs and then bring your conclusion home in a big, glorious finish.
Yeah, that doesn't work. Not in the real world. You gotta get to the good stuff...pronto.
As Seth Godin eloquently said in a slightly different way.
Yeah...we're simpatico. LGC.
(Low Guteral Chuckle)
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