Blog
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...
Who should do a brand overhaul?
Every once in a while I will see a headline in one of the advertising industry trade publications about a major business undergoing a brand overhaul. KFC, Spirit Airlines, JC Penney and others have attempted it in recent years. When I speak with groups about...
Top 50 Tourist Attractions
I saw this list of the top 50 tourist attractions yesterday on Facebook. Everything about this fascinated me. There are places on this list that I've never heard of. The truth is, I'm not nearly as well-traveled as I'd like to think I am. I've only...
Five Ideas to Commemorate July 4th
Read the Declaration of Independence It’s a powerful document that is still relevant 239 years later. Everyone knows the line about all men being endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....
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