Blog
The Importance of Great Photography and How to Make it Even Better
A few days ago was World Photography Day, marking 177 years of the art and science of photography. The value of photography is of special importance to those of us in advertising. The chances of an ad capturing attention and then stirring up emotions are a thousand...
Lessons from being a tourist in a tourist-heavy city.
A few weeks ago I spent a long weekend being a tourist in Washington, DC. I had not been there in quite a few years and had forgotten what a wonderful city it is for tourists. Since I make my living in tourism marketing and branding I guess I'm not a typical...
RFP: It Should Stand for ‘Request for Partnership’
A Request for Proposal is an all-too-common mechanism for purchasing goods and services. When an organization is in need of something — from paperclips to highly-skilled problem-solving consultation — they issue an RFP and receive bids. RFPs almost always require...
Is Imitation the Most Sincere Form of Flattery?
Well, this is both disturbing and humorous at the same time. It seems that a CVB is Indiana liked a campaign by a CVB in Utah so much that they decided they would use it themselves. Read the full Adweek story here. It’s disturbing because we work in a creative...
When Destination Brands Get it Right
We talk about brands a lot here in this blog. We talk about how a brand is much more than a logo. We believe a brand is how people think and feel about a destination — in other words, its reputation. We also say that to be successful a brand must be built upon a...
New Video – We Love Small Town Downtowns
Last weekend at the same time that the online video and 30-second TV spot for the highly successful History Over the Water campaign were receiving ADDY Awards in Roanoke, the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism was unveiling a brand new video for 2016...
A Great Getaway in West Virginia
Right now we are putting the final touches on a new case study to be posted within a couple of weeks. I think that the readers of this blog who work in tourism marketing, or marketing in general, will find it interesting. We'll share some research and conclusions...
If you missed our session at VA-1
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the VA-1 Virginia Tourism Conference in Richmond. The two-day agenda was packed with general sessions, breakout sessions, visiting with exhibitors and a few impromptu meetings in the corner of the hotel lobby. It was hectic,...
Three ways to guarantee that your new tourism destination brand fails
So you're thinking about working with a professional firm on a branding strategy for your community or perhaps re-branding because your current approach is old and stale. Congratulations. You may have just taken an important first step at this very moment while...
It’s too easy to criticize
I always thought it would be fun to have the job of food critic. I could visit as many restaurants as I wanted on someone else’s expense account and then write about what I like and, more importantly, what I thought should be better. Now I’m not so certain that I’d...
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