Blog
A Deserving Award for Botetourt County Tourism
I'm writing this blog from my hotel room in Greenville, SC. The Southeast Tourism Society Fall Conference wraps up with a breakfast session tomorrow. I can say about this conference the same things I have said about every STS conference since I joined. It was a...
The evolution of print media. It’s not dead yet!
At about this time 19 years ago my future business partner and I were making plans to launch our business. We were two idealistic kids (we were in our 20 then) with dreams of filling our days doing amazing creative work. We chose our company name because we wanted to...
Where will your trail lead?
I love the concept of Tourism Trails. Not only are they are wonderful marketing tools for destinations, but they are also a great convenience for travelers. It's easy to see why they are becoming so popular with the traveling public: 1. Convenience. There is...
The Truth Shall Set Your Brand Free
Truth in advertising is considered by some skeptics to be an oxymoron. Advertising practitioners are only slightly more trusted than members of congress (now that really hurts!). Well, this advertising practitioner is here to talk about the importance of truth in...
What I Learned at Marketing College
Tonight is the eve of the final day of the 2010 Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College in Dahlonega, Georgia. At this time next year I will have finished my third year and earned the designation TMP (Tourism Marketing Professional). For those unfamiliar with STS...
Reflecting on long-term business relationships
Like most entrepreneurs, I tend to keep my eyes and thoughts fixed on what lies ahead and not on the past. I get excited about what the future holds and I think about what new clients and assignments will come our way next. Once in a while, however, it is gratifying...
The Powerful Impact of Tourism Spending
At the end of this month I will be attending Southeast Tourism Society's Marketing College. I'm looking forward to second year classes that dive deeper into subjects that were introduced in the first year. The curriculum arrived in my e-mail last week and I...
Hitting the slopes in July
Last week we were in the middle of a heat wave here in Roanoke where the daytime temps were flirting with 100 degrees. You might think that would make it difficult to focus our thoughts on an ad for skiing. Not at all. In fact, it was wonderfully refreshing to think...
Volunteers make America better every day
In honor of the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States of America, I’d like to offer an opinion on one of the many things that makes this country great. • When floods, fires, storms and earthquakes strike,...
The elevator pitch in, of all places, an elevator
The elevator door closes. After a long day at the conference there was finally some time to head up to the room to check e-mail and find out what's happening back at the office. I'm sharing the ride to the 9th floor with a charming lady from Tennessee. We...
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