Blog
Simplest form of travel – A walk in the woods
Walking along the famous Appalachian Trail this weekend got me thinking once again about a favorite subject – travel. Sometimes travel gets complicated (customs, visas, missed connections, currency exchange, language barriers). Other travel experiences are as simple...
Make an investment in a strong brand
It frustrates me to see organizations and destinations throw away good money on advertising and communication material that is unfocused and misdirected. Advertising is a creative interpretation of a brand designed to create a specific response. If the underlying...
Dividing the fully integrated pie
At the recent Spring Meeting of the Southeast Tourism Society, there was an interesting session on the future of print media communication where the panelists offered an impassioned argument that print is not dead. It was immediately followed by a session on cutting...
There’s nothing like Australia
For more than 20 years one of my favorite tourism brands has been Australia. Tourism Australia has gone through several advertising campaigns over those two decades. Honestly, I can't even remember all of them as some were quite forgettable. The fact that I remain...
Goodwill: So much more than just retail stores
I’m going to veer slightly off subject for today’s blog post. I'm not writing about branding strategy or tourism or even about life at a creative firm. Today I want to tell you about an amazing organization that is making a difference in people’s lives in the Roanoke...
Enthusiasm on the job
I have always admired people from all walks of life who do their job with great enthusiasm. The delivery driver who carries heavy boxes in from the pouring rain and still manages a smile and a "have a nice day." A janitor who cleans up after other people and manages...
It’s National Tourism Week
Today marks the end of National Travel and Tourism week. All week long Twitter and Facebook have been abuzz with stories of how DMOs and CVBs have celebrated the occasion with contests, press releases and special events. Many places took the opportunity to educate the...
Making good tourism campaigns great
I've posted several entries recently about the new Roanoke Valley CVB ad campaign and why I think it is powerful. Today I'd like to shift gears slightly and invite you to engage in the dialogue. Instead of examining just one example, let's consider the factors that...
A Versatile Campaign
Continuing our occasional look inside the re-branding of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, this week the second ad in the new campaign appears in print. It is another outdoor-themed ad in Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine with a special focus on...
Hermes – Messenger of the Gods
In Greek mythology Hermes is the messenger of the gods as well as the patron of boundaries and the travelers who travel across them. How appropriate that two of the three Hermes Creative Awards won by Inprint are for tourism initiatives. The Hermes Creative Awards is...