Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Chaka Khan

Can it really be 50 years since that first Rufus album hit the stores and the charts? A song written by Stevie Wonder for this fledgling R&B band out of the Southside of Chicago, the Grammy Award winning "Tell Me Something Good" was Top 5 in America...out of nowhere.

On this Music Friday we share one of the first televised versions of the song (on the Midnight Special in July 1974)...and recently to kick off an NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

And, then...there's this jam with Prince one night in London on "Sweet Thing."

Simply Sensational. Simply Timeless.

Next on DMOU: Wisconsin's Anne Sayers

As we celebrate out 150th episode of the DMOU Podcast, we hang with Wisconsin Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers and talk about how the Badger State captured the culinary world’s attention with the most recent season of Top Chef. Anne explains how Wisconsin Tourism made it happen through amazing collaborations and shares how they are extending the reach of the series (and major events like the Republican National Convention and next year’s NFL Draft) far beyond the events themselves. Plus, a Bonus Round question that involves Muppets. Join us.

Bring It

This week, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania launched it's new Tourism Brand...the Great American Getaway, only to be dunked by a viral comment from Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.

In an interview on TNT with Anthony, Charles Barkley admitted that he hadn't been in Minnesota for decades...to which Anthony replied, "Bring Ya Ass." Within hours, Minnesota native and comedian Jon Savitt snapped up the URL and it now redirects to the Explore Minnesota website. And, Explore is taking full advantage of the moment. 

Brilliant.

Tonight's the Night

Tonight's the night for Wisconsin foodies to be validated. It's not just cheese curds and brats...though I'm sure variations on a theme will be on display when the new season of Top Chef premiers tonight. It's all about Wisconsin, baby.

And Travel Wisconsin is debuting its first National TV spot on the telecast...and, I gotta say, it's the best piece of creative to come out of the Department in years (even with the obligatory golf shots). 

Nicely played, Wisco. Nicely played.

More National Exposure

Destination Marketing Organizations are increasingly the go-to resource for local media looking to build stories about the cool stuff going on in our communities. But it still catches us by surprise when the national media comes calling.

At least at CBS Sunday Morning, they seem to have stumbled upon us. First, it was interviewing Adam Burke from Los Angeles Tourism on the Hollywood sign in November. And yesterday, Steve Hill of the Las Vegas CVA was featured in a story about the upcoming Super Bowl in Sin City.

Very cool.

 

Tommy Smothers

As the wise-cracking half of the folk/comedy duo The Smothers Brothers, Tommy Smothers (along with his brother Dick) had a profound impact on television's role in American life and on the explosive (pun intended) music scene of the late '60s.

The Brothers (along with a writers team that included Rob Reiner, Albert Brooks and Steve Martin) aggressively pushed the boundaries of social commentary during the Vietnam War, ultimately getting cancelled by CBS for not delivering shows with enough time for the censors to remove content deemed too controversial.

But, as we say farewell to Tommy on this Music Friday, it is the music with which we celebrate his life. In an era in which rock bands were rarely given airtime, the Brothers provided a platform for Americans to experience, often for the first time, performers like Buffalo Springfield, the Doors, Simon & Garfunkel and Steppenwolf.

One of the most comical (and ultimately dangerous) moments came when they turned the stage over to The Who.

But then, there were Tom and Dick...supremely talented in their own right. This is "The Impossible Dream."

Sleep, sweet prince.

Bigger than the "Big Game"

What does it say when an event that simply picks future winners and losers without a resultant highlight reel is more important than the Super Bowl?

That's what the Mayor of Detroit said yesterday in announcing updated plans to hold the NFL Draft in the Motor City next April. “This is potentially bigger than the Super Bowl,” Mayor Duggan said. “Only 60,000 people can get tickets to the Super Bowl. But for the NFL Draft, hundreds of thousands can get in — and they stay for the weekend.”

That's why Detroit is reportedly changing the playbook from past NFL Drafts and concentrating all its events downtown. According to Duggan, “When you have 300,000 or 400,000 people coming from across America, we want to change the image of Detroit in their minds once and for all. We felt like to do that, we had to build the draft into the city.”

And, ain't that the whole point of events? To change perception of a destination?

Like Detroit did in 1896...when it launched a never-before utilized Convention Sales strategy to land national events to showcase the city to potential investors.

Why Milwaukee?

Tonight, the first debate of the 2024 Presidential frenzy will take place in Milwaukee.

That's right. A very red event in a very blue city.

How did this happen? Well, a lot of it was the work of Visit Milwaukee (and you can hear that story with Peggy Williams-Smith on the DMOU Podcast). And part of it was the fact that Wisconsin has become one of 6 or 7 battleground States that will likely determine the next President.

Fascinating back story on how we got here from WFAE.

And let the bold-face lies, personal attacks and and unprofessional groveling begin.

A Missed Opportunity?

Every time I slide into a rental car and find that the satellite radio feed hasn't been activated, I shake my head, thinking of all the potential subscribers SiriusXM is forfeiting by not giving the service away to rental car companies. Just think (I think to myself) of all the people who have decided they won't pay for radio who might be convinced to subscribe if they had a few hours to experience the vastness of genres that are unavailable on terrestrial radio. It wouldn't cost SiriusXM anything to do it. Thus, the ROI could be substantial.

After reading this article on HotelManagement.net, I began to think the same thing about hotels and the way they serve up the availability of streaming services. Oh, you can find HBO on most in-room channel lists...but the other streaming services expect guests to enter their subscription information to stream their content. Again, why? And, no...I'm not entering my user name and password on a hotel TV, no matter how secure I'm told it is.

I ended up subscribing to HBO years ago when I got hooked on The Sopranos after watching a few episodes in hotel rooms. Never would have if I hadn't gotten that taste. So why don't the other streaming services offer their content free to hotels. I mean, really...one in-room episode of Poker Face would cause me to subscribe to Peacock in an instant.

Opportunity lost. Every night. Every room.

The Weather Channel

Let's be honest...The Weather Channel has turned into Reality TV. Not really sure when it happened (maybe it was this moment when Jim Cantore lost his shit with Thundersnow), but I used to rely on The Weather Channel for.....ummm, weather.

Clearly with the Winter Storm Event called Olive, there will be travel delays. I'd kinda like to know how the ice storm is impacting DTW tonight. How double digit snow totals will snarl MSP tomorrow. And, which interstates are closed to me.

Instead, I've just endured an hour of correspondents marveling at how the wind is creating snowdrifts in Green Bay and Minneapolis.

I know I live where that happens every winter...but can I get some news I can use?

Or, is it time for the Weather Travel Channel?