February 3, 2021
Jim Cowan heads the Chickasha OK Economic Development Council...and is playing the long-game. While he certainly hosts potential investors to the community, Jim is focusing a lot of his work on the Chickasha brand. On this episode of DMOU, you'll hear the unique philosophy and vision of an Economic Development guy that sounds a lot like a Destination Marketing pro. Music Videos. PR coups that go International. And, a story about Jimmy Stewart. It's a refreshing conversation with a bright new voice in Community Development.
January 26, 2021
It's been over two decades since destination marketing turned digital...and the number of platforms we use to touch consumers and clients has exploded. TwoSix Digital's Dave Serino and Brian Matson share their thoughts on what's next for destination marketing, how DMOs are missing opportunities to own their data and how e-mail marketing is far from passe. Plus, you'll learn what Dave aspired to be, growing up as a kid in Pennsylvania, in the Bonus Round.
January 6, 2021
As Co-Chair of Destinations International's Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force, Visit Baltimore's Al Hutchinson has been at the forefront of the movement to accelerate change across the travel, DMO and hospitality sectors. In this episode, he shares the backstory of this Summer's manifesto from Black leaders in the DMO space, the newly released CEO Pledge from Destinations International and how Visit Baltimore is partnering with Guinness on an innovative apprentice program. Oh yeah...and a Bonus Round question that screams "Hit Me." It's a great way to kick off a bold New Year of DMOU.
December 19, 2020
All destinations aspire to be welcoming communities...but only a handful of communities have moved to ensure that the welcome truly extends to those on the Autism spectrum. Visit Mesa CEO Marc Garcia recently shepherded a community-wide effort that resulted in his city becoming the first Autism Certified destination in America. On this episode, Marc shares his story from genesis to certification...and his road to becoming a DMO pro.
December 6, 2020
Norfolk and Virginia Beach are less than a half hour apart but have been destination competitors for decades. In a DMOU episode recorded in September, VisitNorfolk's Kurt Krause shares the process that brought the two destinations together for a legendary campaign that very well may have serious post COVID legs. You'll also hear how VisitNorfolk is working to bring the story of the region's Underground Railroad to life.
November 19, 2020
One of the nation's most sought after marketing strategists joins DMOU to offer her take on what's ahead for Destination Marketing and the Experience Economy in a COVID-vandalized world. In this episode, Marsha Lindsay suggests ways for DMOs to underscore relevance and teach our communities how to fall in love with themselves once again. She also shares her views of how forces outside the DMO world will impact our lives going forward. It's a fascinating conversation for anyone trying to divine what's next.
November 14, 2020
DMOs that are active in the Sports Tourism and Events field have a new tool created to measure their competitiveness, enabling them to make more informed choices in future facility development and event acquisition. On this edition of DMOU, Jon Schmieder (Founder of the Huddle Up Group) shares the evolution of the Sports Tourism Index, how it works...and a sneak peak into the imminent launch of Scout, a new searchable database designed to match events and destinations.
November 8, 2020
The fall-out from the pandemic has impacted Destination Marketing Organizations particularly hard...and no one is more tied into how that is impacting DMO Culture than Tammy Blount-Canavan (former DMO CEO, past Chair of Destinations International and now EVP with Fired Up Culture). On this episode, Tammy shares her thoughts on how Zooming has impacted leadership and collaboration, how this moment in time is an opportunity to diversify professional staff and much more...including the story of when she once stood on the top of Seattle's Space Needle.
October 31, 2020
Jake Steinman joins DMOU to share the evolution story of the TravelAbility movement. From creating a Summit that brought the disability community together to help advise the tourism and hospitality industry to next steps during the pandemic, Jake shares his exploratory journey into the realization of our collective lack of empathy for travelers with disabilities. And yeah, there's a Bonus Round question you're not gonna want to miss.
October 3, 2020
As with most public gatherings, Destinations International's annual Advocacy Summit is going virtual this year. On this episode of DMOU, Jack Johnson, Andreas Weissenborn and Gabe Seder preview the upcoming Summit and discuss the need for diversified revenue streams, the updated 2020 lexicon and the opportunities to more effectively tell our story.
September 25, 2020
Stevens Point is the 28th largest city in Wisconsin, yet its DMO's utilization of sector-specific technology rivals first-tier destinations across the country. We sit down with Sara Brish of the Stevens Point Area CVB to discuss her philosophies on investing in technologies to compete more effectively and operate more efficiently...and not letting destination size or budget prevent her DMO from operating like a major market operation.
September 14, 2020
This Summer, Nashville's Butch Spyridon assumed the Chairmanship of Destinations International. On this edition of DMOU, he outlines his agenda for the organization in the coming year, focusing on Diversity and Advocacy. In our conversation, Butch goes deep on both topics and shares his experience in producing brand-defining documentaries that showcase the voices behind Music City.
September 3, 2020
Earlier this year, Simpleview asked sector veteran David Peacock to lead its Future Tourism Group, a think tank created to envision next steps and design the necessary tools to get there. In this episode, we sit down with David to discuss how the process began, pivoted and is positioning itself to guide DMOs into the future. Plus, we talk about broken bones and how an unintentional Visitors Center almost cost a destination a boatload of money. Join us.
August 30, 2020
Shelly Green (former CEO of Visit Durham) is one of the DMO world's thought leaders. Thus, when she wrote her CDME paper on Ethics, we were all over learning about her research into what we're doing right...and wrong. In this episode, Shelly shares the concept of "ethical blindness" and offers up examples of how the best intentions can trip us up. And, you'll learn more about her international musicality in the Bonus Round.
August 18, 2020
When Ray Hoyt was named CEO of Visit Tulsa, he knew Job #1 was increasing revenue for the DMO. Over the past decade, he has grown the organizations budget from $1.8 million to $7 million by increasing his City's investment of Room Tax, developing an aggressive Corporate investment program that is a model for the DMO sector and managing an exhaustive drive to establish a Business Improvement District. In this edition of DMOU, Ray shares his path forward in diversifying his DMO's revenue streams and positioning Visit Tulsa to continue to be able to drive business, even in an economic downturn.
August 16, 2020
17 years ago, Dave Nolan was serving as the CEO of what is now known as Destination Cleveland. To say he was riding high would be a considerable understatement. Awarded the key to the City, his Convention Sales Team was shattering production records (without a convention center), the national media had fallen in love with the city's renaissance...and then, it all came crashing down. They weren't "rookie mistakes," Dave says. "They were veteran mistakes." He recently reached out to DMOU to share the caution signs he says he missed in hopes that others never have to go through what he did. Join Bill and Dave in this, at times, painful and yet powerful conversation.
July 1, 2020
DMOU catches up with Destinations International CEO Don Welsh and the Foundation's Jack Johnson to discuss how the industry's trade association is responding to the cascading challenges relative to the pandemic. In this episode, you'll hear their thoughts on the availability of an online portal for DMO pros to connect and share, the increased online content that the Organization is creating for everyone in the DMO space (and not just for members) and plans for next month's Annual Virtual Convention on July 14-15.
July 1, 2020
Richmond Region Tourism EVP Katherine O'Donnell joins DMOU to share how her Organization has made significant strides in changing her destination's narrative with two community-based initiatives to highlight and support LGBTQ and Black Tourism. Far from "checking a box," Katherine walks us through the extensive process RRT used to ensure deep community engagement. She also discusses how the RRT Board recently made the difficult decision to advocate for the removal of Confederate Statues, despite concerns by some that such a move would negatively impact the Visitors Economy. If Diversity and Inclusion are increasingly on your radar, this is an episode you need to hear.
June 24, 2020
On this episode of DMOU, Bill Geist hangs with Bentonville CVB CEO Kalene Griffith to drill down on how her DMO has become a model of community engagement. From weekly meetings with key community leaders to being engaged in virtually everything that screams Bentonville, Kalene has developed an agency that is a true Shared Community Value. You'll hear her strategy for engaging community leaders, building a rock star staff...and how Rugby prepared her for leading her organization.
