Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Landing a Dream Job

I can't imagine my life not in the travel and hospitality field...and yet, that's never where I aspired to be when I was younger. I stumbled into it quite innocently and I've never let go (or, probably more truthfully, it never let go).

But why wasn't it an option? My mother instilled in me an ethos to always give back; to be in service to others. And, I can't think of an industry that is more "in service" than the service industry. So why wasn't it a viable option as I made way way into adulthood? Because, historically, we've paid shit wages and demanded impossible hours of entry-level positions? Because society and educators didn't value the work we do? Because self-absorbed asses in our midst think it's OK to demean service workers to their faces?

An interesting story in Fast Company caught my attention over the weekend. Roughly half of teens aspire to work in an artistic or investigative career. Only 2% of careers are in the arts/creative field and 8% are investigative (think scientist, detective, researcher, etc.). Why don't more dream of a job in hospitality?

Which then got me thinking about the new Amazon Prime series "Life's Rewards," where a rich playboy loses everything and is forced to live off his hotel points. As I suggested to Visit St. Pete / Clearwater's Steve Hayes on the DMOU podcast, my favorite aspect of the show was not just the character's reawakening...but the service staff around him that helped him find his way.

The answer isn't ads that extoll the virtue of a life in hospitality (did those Army ads make you want to join...or was it the TV shows and movies that glorified the cause?). We need more shows like Steve's to inspire the other half of teens that hospitality is a path worth considering.

Prime Visibility

On an episode of the DMOU podcast, Visit Nashville's Butch Spyridon quipped that he never thought he'd be a film producer. But, with last year's release of the sensational "It All Begins with a Song," he did.

I'm guessing Visit St. Pete/Clearwater's Steve Hayes could say the same thing after "Life's Rewards" premiered on Amazon Prime last week. A story of a guy who loses everything (except his billions of hotel points), the series is shot on location at the Don CeSar hotel on St. Pete Beach (TripAdvisor's 2001 Best American Beach).

The first DMO-produced TV series designed to stream on a major platform, "Life's Rewards" is a joint project by Visit St. Pete Clearwater, the St. Pete Clearwater Film Commission and Visit Florida and stars Sebastian Rocha. You can check out the trailer here.

Gotta love it!

The Chef as The Story

If you've yet to catch an episode of the new CNN travelogue series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, treat yourself. Beautifully shot, the series explores the variations in cuisine, traditions and preparations throughout the country.

Just as beautifully shot (and no less culinarily compelling), is a new online series we recently stumbled upon from our friends at VisitNorfolk.  City with Bite is a semi-weekly video series featuring local food and culture icon Nomarama as your host with a stated mission to try all 600 of Norfolk's independent restaurants. And, with 4 episodes already online and streaming, we're so planning our next visit to the city!

Click on the slightly irreverent trailer and I dare you not to watch all four episodes.

Congratulations to Kurt Krause and the crew at VisitNorfolk. Sensationally played!

This is What DMO Pros Do

In yesterday's post, we shared a story about how a City government has shifted from "them's the rules, bub" to "how can we make this work." Refreshing...and as Quint Studer points out in Building a Vibrant Community, that's exactly what today's local governments should be doing to encourage private sector Place Making.

The back story makes this tale even better. Amie Burrill is the Executive Director of Experience Burnsville. The reporter who wanted to do a story on the soon-to-open Ineffable Brewing Company had reached out to Amie via the DMO's Facebook page using Messenger on Monday morning around 10. That would be the morning of Labor Day, when Experience Burnsville was closed, for a Labor Day story to run that evening.

Never fear...because DMO pros like Amie don't pay attention to holidays or operating hours. Even when they are out of town, as Amie was. But, because she brought her "business phone" along on her trip, she picked up the message in minutes, connected the owners of Ineffable to the reporter and alerted a Board member (also a City Council member). An hour later, the TV crew arrived at the brewery to interview the owners (and the City Council's Dan Gustafson). And, the piece aired that evening, showcasing not only the brewery but the City's can-do response to entrepreneurial opportunities for viewers throughout the Twin Cities.

This is how it's done in the pros.

Nicely played, Amie.

 

Shakespeare on the Zoom

One of the delights in living in South Central Wisconsin is American Players Theatre. Shakespeare (and other classics) are performed each evening under the stars (and the bats) and weekend afternoons, on a stage nestled into a hillside near Spring Green (Frank Lloyd Wright's former Wisconsin haunt). It is one of the blessings we look forward to as Winter gives way to Spring, and Spring to Summer.

Alas, poor Yorick, there will be no outdoor season in this year of "the VID." But, that's not stopping APT from "playing in the woods" (albeit virtually). Tomorrow evening, they'll be performing "Julius Ceasar" via Zoom on Wisconsin Public Television and their own American Players Theatre Facebook page.

And yes, I know tomorrow is also the premiere of "Hamilton" on Disney+. Luckily, both will be available to stream on your schedule...and Wisconsin Public TV is waiving its geographic restrictions so anyone can see all of APT's Zoomy productions through July 26. 

Thanks APT...this will make this season's parting a far less sweet sorrow.

It's Called Product Placement

Thanks so much to our friend Tammy Potts-O'Kelley (CEO of the Heart of Carolina Visitors Bureau) for deftly sliding my book, "Destination Leadership" into the shot when she was recently interviewed by Fox8.

That's got to be worth more than a few drinks next time our paths cross.

Thank you, Tammy...and congratulations for recently nabbing the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Travel and Tourism International. So deserved...

 

More Super Bowl Love

Last Monday morning, I posted that Destination Marketing had won the Super Bowl. In particular, we raved about Jeep's Groundhog Day commercial featuring Bill Murray in Woodstock IL (standing in, once again, for Punxatawney PA) and Squarespace's quirky homage to Winona MN with Winona Ryder.

My inbox and comments sections blew up almost immediately with other less obvious, but clearly loved, destinations in the spotlight. Such as:

Boston: Hyundai's Smaht Pahk ad with Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch, and David “Big Papi” Ortiz.

Juneau and Sitka AK: The Visit Sitka team worked the Google to find the perfect picture for the ad about the platform's ability to help one remember.

Table Rock Lake, Moab, Alcatraz and (especially) Philadelphia: Facebook's ad promoting Groups that closes with Chris Rock and Sylvester Stallone on the "Rocky" steps.

And...of course, a bunch of NFL towns with the NFL Next 100 ad. Madison's Deb Archer even shared that the local football field shown was from her high school (Libertyville IL).

So, destinations won even bigger than I initially imagined. As it should be.

Thanks to everyone for the catches. Here's to next year!

Destinations Take the Stage on the Super Bowl

This morning, two destinations are basking in the glow of unprecedented visibility through last evening's telecast of Super Bowl 54. Actually...make that three.

Squarespace featured Winona Ryder in her hometown of Winona MN. Visit Winona doubled down on the exposure by creating a Squarespace website that took the destination's message even further. And, the backstory videos are even cooler.

Then, there's Jeep...giving two destinations a bump with a Groundhog Day homage on Groundhog Day. Social media blew up in Northern Illinois last week when Bill Murray was spotted with a film crew in Woodstock IL (on the town square that was the stand-in for Punxsutawney PA in the movie). Sure enough, even Ned Reyerson reprised his role in the teaser. And, both communities benefit.

We can only hope that this becomes a thing...

 

The Softening of Intent

A few weeks ago, our friends at Destination Analysts released preliminary findings on the State of the American Traveler. One of the findings was shocking, given the relative strength of the economy: At this time last year, nearly two-thirds of American leisure travelers (65.3%) said that leisure travel would be at least a “somewhat high priority.” This year, the corresponding figure has sharply dropped to 59.6 percent. 

Why are we less inclined to do what we've always said we want to do? Is it because travel isn't as much fun anymore? 

Are consumers beginning to decide, with their brand new gazillion pixel flat screen TV, to curtain their love of travel in favor of experiencing the world in 4K with 360 sound? I mean, what the hell? All the hassles are mitigated. They don’t hafta sit nexta someone on a plane that should have purchased two seats and a bar of soap sometime in the last two weeks. They no longer are at the mercy of hotels that gave their room away and now must walk them half the city away at 10pm when they are tired and cranky. And, they don’t hafta endure self-absorbed assholes that bogart the view or use their mobile devices like walkie-talkies so everyone within a block can hear their sensationally unimportant conversation.

Why not just curl up, call up GOusaTV or any number of channels…and see the world from their Barcalounger?

Yeah but, they then won’t experience the world.

Let's keep that in mind as we create the stories and experiences to get them off the couch.

The Other Bill Geist

After inadvertently starting a small online ruckus after posting a piece entitled "Saying Farewell" (I was just moving...not stepping away), all the online pieces about Bill Geist's retirement are bound to raise a few eyebrows.

That would be the CBS Bill Geist...not me.

We two Bills have had led curiously connected lives. Both from Illinois. Both authored books (his sold considerably more than mine). Both of us have spent time on TV (he on CBS Sunday Morning; me on the CBS affiliate in Madison WI). And, we both have daughters named Elizabeth (his goes by Libby; mine by Liz). We have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (but he earned it).

We've never met face-to-face, but corresponded via e-mail. That I own the billgeist.com domain, I would often receive story ideas meant for him. I would dutifully pass them on.

I met his son Willie a couple years ago. When I introduced myself, he said, "Oh yeah...you're the guy from Wisconsin." Too funny.

Bill leaves a legacy of fascinating stories, told in a style that are all his own. A handful were excerpted yesterday as he said farewell on CBS Sunday Morning. My all-time favorite was his visit to the Heart Attack Grill.

Thanks for the smiles, Bill. Sunday mornings will never be the same.