Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

The Trap

The quicksand in which so many marketers find themselves is they believe they know what good marketing looks and feels like. Like, tourism video always needs a golf shot (we've proven that's a complete fallacy through DMOvizion...indeed it's the worst image you can show in run-of-schedule TV).

They believe they know the mediums that will be most effective to capture the imagination of their target markets. And...radio? No one listens to terrestrial radio anymore (which couldn't be further from the truth).

I haven't listened to local radio for years. I do when I'm on the road to get a sense of the communities in which I'm working...but, my home choice is always satellite, internet or my own playlist. But, what I do or prefer means nothing...research means everything. And this recent post from Roy Williams is a must read for any marketer that believes radio is dead.

New on the DMOU Podcast: Kara Franker

For DMOs that produce destination events, it often consumes months of staff time. Yet, Visit Estes Park turned a festival that a neighboring community was preparing to sunset into an event that garnered national media attention in just 100 days. CEO Kara Franker guests to tell the unique story of the revitalized "Frozen Dead Guy Days," an event that not only bolstered a need time on the calendar but also raised money for workforce housing and daycare initiatives. It's a stirring story of community collaboration you're not going to want to miss. You can find the conversation HERE.

And, while you're at it...check out the sensational video behind the story Kara tells on the podcast about backing a Room Tax increase to support local workforce housing and childcare.

Simply brilliant.

Don't Break Out the Champagne Yet

Last week, we shared the good news that Minnesota and Indiana finally joined the club and will be investing meaningful dollars into their Destination Marketing efforts. The proposal to knee cap Florida Tourism stalled and an attempt to eliminate the Hawaii Tourism Authority failed.

But, not so fast. While the HTA survived, the State Legislature ended their legislative session last week without budgeting a single dollar for Destination Marketing.

The HTA will have to "apply" for funding and the requests will be vetted by the Department of Budget and Finance. Lawmakers and the Governor's Office. According to a news release from the Governor's Office, this is the result of a "compromise solution" with HTA...one that HTA CEO John DeFries says he is "thankful for a funding approach that will allow HTA to continue its important work in destination management and visitor education to keep supporting our top economic driver.” 

Let's all hope so.

Next on DMOU: Peggy Williams-Smith

How does a very Blue City land a very Red Convention? Visit Milwaukee’s Peggy Williams-Smith joins DMOU to share the story of how her Team and City landed the 2024 Republican National Convention. We’ll also discuss how Milwaukee was named one of National Geographic’s Top Destinations and how Visit Milwaukee has expanded the organization’s community awareness, visibility and support. Plus a Bonus Round question on her deep Beer City roots.

Join us.

Re-Acquiring Resident Support

When residents begin to push back on what they perceive to be a community, neighborhood or attraction that is too crowded, they often point the finger at visitors. Whether that's true isn't the issue; local perception is.

Which is why what operators of East Maui's Twin Falls have recently done is so brilliant.

Earlier this month, they staged their first "locals-only day" and the results were pretty fascinating. According to the Maui News, heavy days at Twin Falls see between 200 and 450 cars, taxing the environment and creating parking headaches. On the day reserved for locals, only 150 cars were counted. So, check off the overcrowding box.

But, the really sensational part of the project was reacquainting island residents with one of their favorite childhood memories that they hadn't revisited in recent years because of all the tourists. As one of the employees there said, “the majority (who came) said they hadn’t come here in years and they had avoided the area because it was just overcrowded, so that was one of the comments we heard the most.”

And the island visitors who were turned away? A member of Friends of Twin Falls said, “most tourists were very understanding and ventured to the next stop on the road.” 

Gotta love it. Well played.

That's Bold

Every year seems to favor a new word...intentional one year, paradigm the next, pivot during the plague, etc.

In virtually every interaction I've had with community leaders in the destinations with which we've been working, this year's word is "bold." As in community leaders looking to their Destination Marketing Organization to "be bold." While DMOs are under fire in several destinations, there are many other communities that are looking to their DMOs to step up and lead. Which is exactly what we should be doing. As I've said before (and will to my last breath), our sector is less DMO than DLO: Destination Leadership Organizations.

And, there is no other DLO that has been bolder this year than the Sedona Chamber and Tourism Bureau. Readers of this blog have followed with us the dumpster fire of a community that lost their shit 5 years ago. Listeners of the DMOU podcast have heard former CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff explain how the Chamber moved aggressively to mitigate issues that residents found onerous.

On Monday, the Sedona Chamber cut ties with the City and called upon it to rescind the portion of the Room Tax that historically funded tourism promotion. In doing so, the Chamber took a bold step to support local business and the community's economy in ways in which elected officials are unable...doing what's right without fear of retaliation or retribution by people who are singularly motivated by what will get them re-elected and not what's right for the community.

Bold kudos to you, Sedona Chamber/Bureau. Here's to doing what's right, regardless the cost.

New on DMOU > Community Engagement

It's not a part of the primordial DNA of DMOs, but Community Engagement is an increasingly vital component of our work. Visit Anchorage's Jack Bonney joins the show and shares his philosophies on how to build a rock solid community relations program that is based in the yin and yang of what your DMO can do...and can't. And, from that, building a relationship based on trust, service and admiration can be a beautiful thing.

It's just one of over 100 interviews waiting for you in the DMOU vault. 

New on DMOU: Rachel Brown

A Destination Marketing consultant recently opined that diving into Sustainability and Stewardship carries with it some danger...and we don't disagree. But Visit Durango's Rachel Brown counters with all the reasons her DMO believes they must engage. She discusses how they've adapted the Care for Colorado program on a local level and shifted their budget to Destination Management. Plus a Bonus Round question that features her staff's Team Building initiative. Very cool stuff.

Sticking with Gen Z

It's a conversation I've had with several HR Managers in the past year: Gen Z is stunningly whipsmart...but they are snowflakes, melting (or melting down) at the slightest criticism or re-direct. One HR pro told me recently that their firm was done tiptoeing around them, that it was depressing ROI and that older, more productive workers were quitting because Gen Z was impossible to work with.

And, it's not Gen Z's fault...it's ours for coddling them. Most don't know failure or defeat because we didn't allow them to experience that emotion...and many are now utterly incapable of accepting it.

I thought of those conversations when I saw this fascinating article on the future of Malls in Fast Company. America's small regional and local Malls are failing, littering our destinations with blighted parking lots and outdated structures.

A group of High School students were asked to ideate the next generation of Malls. Their initial recommendations were mostly cosmetic...and unceremoniously rejected by Mall ownership. Not unexpectedly, half the students quit the Team...but the story is about the ones who stayed.

The remaining students devised a plan with more radical ideas, focusing on features that they, as teenagers, would want to use. The students proposed using vacant stores in the Mall for experiential offerings, like virtual reality rooms and an immersive themed spa. Their second presentation to the mall was received more warmly. “Victory tastes sweeter after the heartache,” one of the Team said afterward.

Which, of course, got me to thinking. As Destination Marketing Organizations increasingly engage in product development or upgrades, our failed Malls are often our biggest eyesores and missed opportunities. Should we take a page from this playbook and convene our teens and Gen Zs to counsel the experts on what would bring them back to the Mall?

'Cause the rest of us have moved on.

Just a thought...

New on DMOU

Next up on the DMOU podcast series is BVK's Victoria Simmons. The agency, probably best known in Tourism circles for their highly successful "That's WY" campaign for Wyoming, released its 2023 Trend Report over the holidays...and we sit down with Victoria to get a more nuanced view into to the findings.

That and over 100 interviews with some of the brightest minds in destination marketing await you in the DMOU vault. And...be sure to subscribe to be alerted each time a new episode drops.