Blog
Quit Wasting Money
"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." I don't know precisely when John Wanamaker uttered this famous quote. He built his retail empire in the late 1800s so he said it long before terms like content...
Insights about Building Strong Community and Destination Brands
Last week I had the pleasure of being in the beautiful central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia at Massanutten Resort, where I was the featured speaker at the Shenandoah Valley Partnership's Fall Forum. The partnership's efforts are mostly focused on economic...
Craft Beer – Expectation or Differentiator?
This morning I read a news story about yet another small community getting its first local craft brewery. Visitors definitely enjoy trying local beer just as they enjoy sampling local cuisine. It’s exciting to see the small brewpub scene thrive. It has exploded in...
Don’t inadvertently re-brand
Who would inadvertently re-brand? It sounds a little crazy when you put it in those terms but it occurs a lot. It happens because even seasoned professionals sometimes don’t have a true understanding of the value of a destination’s brand or how advertising should work...
Top reasons to not worry about branding your destination.
We think that every destination should have a solid, unique and comprehensive brand strategy to steer their marketing and public relations. Some may think the branding process is just for larger communities. Ironically, the smaller ones need the direction and...
The Rise of Relevant Ads
Advertising has changed dramatically over the 25 years that I have been in the business — the tactics available to marketers, the amount of data behind every strategy, the media options, the blurring of lines between advertising and other forms of communication...
Rules for Destination Marketing Success
Albert Einstein once said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Of course, he only worked in theoretical physics not marketing. I wish that marketing, especially tourism marketing, were simple. But every destination is unique....
I ruffled some feathers at the VADMO Conference
Something happened at the VADMO Conference at The Omni Homestead in April. It has bothered me ever since, weighing heavily on my conscience. I’ve even lost sleep over it. The time has come to deal with it head-on. I think I offended the bird watching community. You...
How to know when a destination needs to rebrand?
One of the most common questions asked of me is “How do I know when it is time to rebrand?” I often say that if you already have enough doubt in your mind about existing brand strategy (or lack thereof) to ask the question then it’s probably time. Hopefully it doesn’t...
If I Had My Way – Travel & Tourism Edition
The hashtag #IfIHadMyWay was trending the other morning. As with every topic on Twitter, some comments were sweet, some were clever and quite a few were political. I chose not to comment at the time, especially with an opinion on politics because I've learned that...
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