Gathan D. Borden

THE DMO OF THE FUTURE: Should They Hire Event Planners?

Every now and then, I like to sit back and think about what the future holds for the travel & tourism industry – specifically for DMOs and CVBs. Although I’ve only been in this industry for a short period of time, one thing that I have noticed is that there seems to be a lack of vision within our industry. And when I say lack of vision, I’m talking about where is the DMO/CVB going to be 10 years from now? What will the role of the DMO/CVB be in 2025? And how do we start to lay the groundwork now for that transition?

Maybe we can shed some light on that topic through this series of posts, titled “The DMO of the Future”. I like sharing my thoughts and I like looking to the future, so why not write it down and share with you? With that said, here is my first installment, and it is posed as a question: Should DMOs/CVBs hire event planners?

Let’s look at the definition of an event planner: An event planner is someone who manages the process of a project such as a meeting, convention, trade show, ceremony, team building activity or party. They handle budgeting, timelines, selection of event sites, food planning, transportation, theme development and contingency plans.

HERE’S A SCENARIO. How resourceful would an event planner be to every meeting planner who is planning their meeting in your destination? Not only would the DMO/CVB Event Planner serve as an extension of the organization, but they would become a valuable resource to the meeting planner or organization that lacks resources for a successful meeting (i.e. Small Meetings). Most planners hire event companies through destinations anyway, so why not just bring that outsourced work under the umbrella of the DMO/CVB? If you couple this with your Destination Services team, you’ve got a strong package to deliver to the meeting planner and their organization.

HERE’S ANOTHER SCENARIO. When the DMO/CVB sales staff travels to other cities to recruit visitors via trade shows  festivals and/or fairs, how valuable does the DMO/CVB Event Planner become in arranging an event/activity on behalf of the destination? They find the venue, create the theme, arrange the food and transportation, and now all your sales staff has to do is what you hired them to do – sell.

HERE’S ONE MORE SCENARIO. Does your destination lack in having adequate festivals and events? The DMO/CVB Event Planner could be the lead project manager in developing a festival or event for your destination that brings in visitors from all over the world. Developing a festival with the organizational backing of the DMO/CVB is vital to its success.

Having someone on your staff, solely dedicated to planning events for sales activities and for booked business would be an interesting shift in how DMOs/CVBs recruit and retain visitors. Think of having a mobile wedding reception at your disposal anytime you wanted, but the person who plans it actually works with you. Do you think this would work?

13 THINGS DESTINATIONS NEED TO BE READY FOR IN 2013

Right on time to kick-off 2013, I made a list of 13 things that I think destinations need to be prepared for. DISCLAIMER: These are not sure-fire predictions. Think of these more as tiny morsels of information to keep in your brain.

1.  The evolving role of communications/marketing staff. Press releases, story pitches and travel writers are no longer the main focus of marketing communications departments. Now we’ve got social media, website management, in-house graphic design and creative direction, just to name a few, that our communications departments are responsible for. In this ever-changing media world look for more staff members to become chameleons.

2. Consumer confidence increase. By all reports I’m reading, everyone is predicting that 2013 could be a record travel year. Consumers are feeling more confident now, and are willing to make that trip. Whether that trip is out of town or a staycation, the good thing here, is that they are spending money again – money that you want spent in your destination.

3. Government meetings decrease. Despite other market segments of travel seeing a rise, the government market segment is heavily scrutinized for its spending. Expect to see lesser government meetings in your neck of the woods. This now opens the door for you to pursue another market segment that you may have been neglecting.

4. Mobile takes over the travel experience. If you can remember one thing, it’s this, “Mobile is the needle. Social is the thread.” Our lives, in particular our travel experiences, are woven together by the use of social media, and mobile is the tool that starts and ends the process. Mobile usage is on the rise, and will continue to be so in 2013.

5. Your website is your life and blood. How many times are we going to experience the wrath of Edgerank on Facebook, privacy setting changes or the complete shutdown of a social network site to understand that we don’t own that land. Don’t allow outside networks to influence your marketing success - it’s only rented property. Build up the assets that you do own, and that is your website.

6. iPads are the new black. We live in a time-strapped society, where our sales people only have a small window to influence a planner or tour operator to book the destination. iPads have breathed new life into sales presentations, that don’t require Wi-Fi, plugs or a screen. Make sure you’ve got your sales materials loaded on the iPads in an easy-to-use interface for your staff so that they can effectively sell the destination.

7. Get personal with your visitors. In the marketing world, we are so inundated with mass communications, that no one takes the time to write us a personal note. Ditch the mass e-blasts and try one-on-one communications again – we’ve seen great success in it, with the ability to connect to our potential visitors in a more personal way.

8. RTOs are worth a shot. Regional Tourism Organizations are a great way to bring a collective group of people together to promote a niche market that everyone can benefit from. Look around and see what you share with other communities within your state/region and develop a plan to capitalize on that experience so that you can dominate that segment of the market.

9. DMOs need to be the expert. While we are the tourism expert for our respective destinations, DMOs need to go one step further, and become the expert in particular fields. Our hospitality partners need our support and providing them with expertise in terms of marketing, planning or some other business aspect will result a team-wide effort to win business for the destination.

10. Don’t create, curate. Social media has opened the door to allow anyone to become a content creator, so odds are, what destinations want to create someone else has already beaten you to it. Just because DMOs are the authority on the destination, doesn’t make them the authority on destination content. Some of the best stories are told by those who have no affiliation to the DMO, so reach out to those people and use what they have instead of reinventing the wheel.

11. Local bloggers are the new media. If your local bloggers are not on your media list, then you are missing the boat. Bloggers are just as credible, if not more credible, than your traditional journalists nowadays. And given the importance of reach and social media, bloggers have wide networks that allow for your message to be seen by more than just the local media.

12. Direct mail is not a bad thing. Snail mail is back on the rise I tell ya! Because of the increased number of digital communications options consumers have a hard time sifting through which emails to read and delete. Take the time and craft a direct mail campaign that allows the end user to touch and interact with your message for your destination. Go one step further and make it personal, and I guarantee you it’ll be a great sales lead.

13. Niche can make you rich. Every destination has a story, and every destination has something unique. A niche marketing strategy is specific to one product. As the DMO, your goal is to uncover that one thing and market the hell out of it. In turn, that niche market can lead you to rich content that makes you a “top places to visit”.

Are any of these things are your list to do for 2013?

5 REASONS WHY YOUR DESTINATION ADVERTISING SUCKS

The best way to encourage and persuade travelers to come visit your destination is through advertising. Nothing tugs at the heartstrings more of potential buyers than to be able to see the product that they are about to purchase, and in this case, nothing is more important than for the traveler to be able to see themselves in your destination. We all can use a little guidance as we continually develop new advertising strategies, and for that reason, I have decided to share with you five reasons why your destination advertising sucks. (For the context of this post, we’ll refer to advertising as just TV, radio, print and digital – no social.)

Your skyline is your advertisement. How many destination/travel publications have you read, where the ad used by the destination is a beautiful shot of their skyline? Too many to name I’m sure. BREAKING NEWS – people can get a skyline shot anywhere! In this day of technology, skyline photographs are easy to come by, so odds are that if travelers see the same shot in your advertisement as they have seen on your digital properties, it won’t be enough to keep their attention. Use a hero image that is indicative of the traveler’s experience, as you cannot visit a skyline.

Your copy is not compelling. Surely there is a list somewhere of the “most overly used” words in destination ad copy. Words like ‘experience’, ‘unique’ and ‘ideal location’ are used all the time. Read your copy, and if you feel like you can insert Anytown, USA into the ad, you have a problem. Let your ad tell the story of your destination that leads the reader to research it a little further on your website where you can convert them into a visitor.

Your creative doesn’t match across platforms. There is nothing worse in the world of advertising than when your ads do not match across multiple forms of media. Between print, TV, radio and digital, there should be some cohesiveness to the look and feel of your ads. There may also be times where you have changed the creative design of your print advertisements, but haven’t changed the creative design of your website. No worries, as that happens…your simple solution here is to create landing pages within your website that reflect the current ads you are running, and integrate them seamlessly into the skin of your website.

You are in the wrong publications. As a destination, it is imperative to know your story and know who you are for in order to reach the right people – and I’m talking beyond the women 25-54 segment. Audience segmentation is key, so make sure that your ads align with the right forms of media to get your message to the right audience at the right time in the right place.

Your agency does it all, and you just say ok. I’m all about teamwork, heck, “teamwork makes the dream work” (I just had to say it.) I truly believe that the best ideas are born out of collaboration, no isolation. Don’t allow your advertising agency to isolate you so far from the marketing process that the only input you give is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. You should know more about your brand than they do, so it is critical for you to lead the strategy planning of how and where your messages go.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA PYRAMID: Three (tions) of social media

How are you gauging your brand presence on social media? I’m not talking about the likes, followers, fans, etc, but more about your actions on social media – actions that are broad enough for us to understand, but yet narrow enough for us to focus on.

Let’s look at a pyramid real quick. Pyramids are triangular in shape, with sides that converge to a single point at the top, with the majority of the weight at the base, which is the foundation. Strong foundations are the main reason why pyramids are still standing today, and have lasted since ancient civilization.

We can take this same pyramid, and use it as an analogy for social media. There are three action levels in the social media pyramid for brands, and quite frankly there are three social networks that align perfectly with each of these strategies. While some of us are at different levels, we should all strive to be doing all three – to get us to the top.

LEVEL 1 = INFORMATION.

This is your base, and probably the greatest strength of social media. Information is key, right? We already know what a simple internet search will provide us with, but social media is now giving us that same information without having to search for it. We can open up any number of social networks now and get breaking news, current affairs and other updates. Consumers are spending so much time on social networks that brands need to understand the importance of sharing information as opposed to waiting for a consumer to search for it. So at a minimum, you should be sharing information.

BEST TOOL: Facebook

LEVEL 2 = CONVERSATION.

What brands like the most about social media is using it as a way to converse with consumers – and by all means, they are correct. It’s one thing for you to share information, but it’s another thing for you to have conversation. At level two is where most brands fail, as they forget how to communicate with people. How many times do brands forget to respond to comments – both positive and negative? That is a killer. Conversations lead to prospects, prospects lead to purchases, and purchases make them customers. I always tell people to follow the 80:20 rule, 80 percent communication, 20 percent information. If you follow it, it forces you to have conversation.

BEST TOOL: Twitter

LEVEL 3 = INSPIRATION.

Now we are at the top, and this is the newest phase of social media – one that is taking off rather quickly. If you’ve figured out the art of sharing information, and mastered the craft of conversation, then inspiration is where you can get consumers to make that purchase. Social purchases are still not widely adopted, as consumers still make that final purchase in the store or at another time on an e-commerce website. But, I believe those times are changing with the rapid adoption of sites like Pinterest and Gentlemint that are built around inspiration – which in turn can easily link to a transaction page on your website. The group-buying sites Groupon and Living Social are good at this, and pretty soon brands will figure out a way to do it too.

BEST TOOL: Pinterest

Where are you at in the pyramid of social media?

Is Foursquare the New Travel Guide?

So I’m in on vacation this week in Destin, FL, experiencing sunshine, the beach, the family and a little sunburn. One of my biggest joys about vacation and traveling, is getting out and exploring my surroundings. So when I was looking for places to eat and things to do, I ditched the visitors guide, and went straight to Foursquare!

Because I work in marketing at a tourism organization, my goal of introducing Foursquare to our social media mix was to be an extension of our visitors guide. Being able to connect and communicate with people exploring our city in real time is key, and being able to give them recommendations and tips makes the experience even better.

So back to Destin… I’ve been to several new restaurants and attractions in my week here all based solely on what I found through Foursquare. I will admit that I used Twitter and Urbanspoon to reinforce my decisions, but Foursquare is where it all began.

The new updates in Foursquare, under the ‘explore’ tab have a wealth of information. From places offering specials to food and nightlife, Foursquare became my mobile visitors guide. And to make the experience even better, when I checked in to places and posted it via Twitter, surrounding businesses decided to strike up a conversation with me.

So I guess to answer my own question, yes, Foursquare is the new visitors guide…at least that’s my opinion, what do you think?

“WHEN SOCIAL MEDIA GOES RIGHT”

As companies continue to explore ways to capitalize on the use of social media, especially location-based social networking sites, other companies have already figured it out. I’m an avid social media user, borderline “social media junkie”, and I play around with several location-based social networking sites, i.e. Foursquare, Gowalla and Whrrl. On my recent trip to Chicago, I experienced something I’ve never experienced before.

 And it went a little something like this:

——

VIA TWITTER

Gathan D. Borden (@GathanDBorden)

4/14/11 12:56 PM

Pretty fancy rooms now, they’ve upgraded since I was here last time. (@ Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago) whrrl.com/e/jzkAs

VIA TWITTER

Hyatt Reg Chicago (@HyattChicago)

4/14/11 1:40 PM

@GathanDBorden good call on the upgrade! We just completed a $90M guestroom renovation revinate.me/3AR Welcome to the hotel Gathan.

——

 Look at that! Within 45 minutes, I had a response from the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Not only did they respond and acknowledge my tweet, but they also added a link via YouTube, which was a video of the hotel renovation process that included the Hotel General Manager talking about the renovation. And what they did was simple…follow the basic rules of social media.

 Be responsive. Join in the conversation folks. Half the battle with social media is just listening. Don’t allow your brand to be discussed and you not have any say. Be it positive or negative, you should be monitoring what others are saying about you. Respond in a timely and positive manner, and bring something of value to the conversation.

 Be personal. Cut the corporate speak. Make sure that your social media tone matches your brand voice. Talk to people as if you were at a party, and discussing your brand over drinks. The less formal, the better. Know who you’re talking to by calling them by their name, it adds more of a personal touch.

 Be open. Allow people who are talking about your brand to really know what’s going on. Bring them into your world and make them feel a part of your social circle. Ask questions, post videos and showcase photos. Be comfortable enough, to leave the social door open, so that people can make suggestions and comments to you.

That about covers it. Next time you’re in Chicago, I recommend you stay at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Along with the newly upgraded rooms, when you check-in (socially, that is) you’ll get a friendly welcome.

 Remember, there is no such thing as a social media guru…my thoughts are simply that, MY THOUGHTS! What works for some, doesn’t work for others. It’s all about exercise and execution.

10 TIPS ON RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST

I got asked this question earlier today, and have been asked multiple times about running effective contests via a social networking site. Now I do them often for our destination for the Bourbon Country brand through two of our primary social networking pages (Twitter - @justaddbourbon and Facebook - Bourbon Country: Just Add Bourbon, shameless plug there.)

I think there is this myth that it is a complicated strategy, of which it’s not. But I also want to dispell the notion that it’s not as easy as a hit-it-and-quit-it post.

Running contests provide great opportunities for live feedback between you and consumers and dramatically increases the engagement you will see on your various social networking pages. Allow me to share with you my 10 tips on running an effective social media contest.

TIP #1. Let your followers know that a contest is coming, with build-up messages the day before. Telling them to get ready and asking them to invite people to join in the fun.

TIP #2. Let your followers know when you will announce the winner, sharing with them the dates and times.

TIP #3. Always include a photo of the actual prize that is being given away in your post.

TIP #4. Tag people on the photo or post to help increase awareness and ask them to help spread the word.

TIP #5. Let the contest run all day, with the 1st post around 9a. Then send reminder posts about the contest at 12noon, 3p and 6pm.

TIP #6. Randomly go back and check on the comments and respond in the comments section on Facebook about what people are posting or share people’s comments on Twitter. On Facebook, I find it easier to keep track of entries as opposed to Twitter. I use a “comment to win” strategy, where they must put their answers to the contest or whatever it is in the comments section below the post.

TIP #7. I normally don’t do trivia contests, because all of the posts that come after the 1st person who answers the question right, are the exact same. I prefer contests where I’ll post a prize photo and simply ask “Do you want this?” (Generally speaking of course) or I ask people to share their stories with me and I’ll pick the best story. You get some very random and funny posts, but it keeps the conversation going.

TIP #8. Use Facebook and Twitter to cross-promote the contest. I think we are getting to the point where most people are on both sites, but may not check each of them equally. If anything else, this just adds awareness.

TIP #9. When the winner is selected, that should be a status update, all by itself.

TIP #10. The prize should be packaged and mailed, along with a handwritten note from YOU. Simply thanking them for following, and asking them when they receive their package to post back to your wall. If the prize is something that can be worn, then ask them to take a photo and share with you as well.

So there you have it folks, pretty simple and to the point. Remember, there is no such thing as a social media guru…my thoughts are simply that, MY THOUGHTS! What works for some, doesn’t work for others. It’s all about exercise and execution

5 TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU TWEET BETTER

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question. Well let me give you the answer. Yes, you should be tweeting. Tweet your little hearts away. Matter of fact, in the world of travel and tourism, I view Twitter as a modern-day concierge service, or an extension of your call center. So I’ve got 5 tips on how you can Tweet better as a member of the tourism community. Whether you are a CVB/DMO, attraction, hotel, restaurant or any other business for that matter, I think these will help you in your quest to conquer Twitter-verse.

 1) BE SERVICE-ORIENTED AND NOT SALES-DRIVEN.

 Let’s be honest folks, how many of you have ever made a business transaction across Twitter? Not me. I think you have to be real careful when having conversations with people on Twitter as to not go for the hard sell. It’s a turn off. Instead use Twitter to be more of a customer service option. As a CVB on Twitter, people are always looking for recommendations and ideas, not a sales contract. Always offer advice, recommendations and tips to those you respond to. In return, they will come back to you and will also recommend you to their followers as a “knowledge-expert”.

2) SEEK OUT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT YOUR COMPETITION.

Chances are that if someone has been to a neighboring city or any other cities in your region, they probably have your city in their competitive mind sets. So if you see that someone had a good time in a neighboring city, why not reach out to them and suggest they come visit you? If you can tie in what they did in that neighboring city to what you can offer in your city, then you’ve really got a great conversation starter. For example, you can start a conversation as easy as this: “Hey @_____, saw you had a blast in _____ at the MLB game. We’re the Home of the Louisville Slugger & just an hour away. Come see us too!” (Yes, I used my destination.)

3) ADD LINKS TO YOUR TWEETS.

Social media is about engagement. Make sure you add in links, photos and videos to your tweets as often as you can, so that your followers can get a real sense of the message you are sending out. Adding links, photos and videos is also a great way to see what people are clicking on, not to mention it’s a great way to drive traffic to specific URLs.  In the end, you can view and see what links, photos and videos people are clicking on the most, and then that will give you a blueprint of successful tweets for you to mimic in the future.

4) USE A WEB-BASED AGGREGATOR.

One of the cool things I love about the Internet is that you can find just about anything you want by typing in words. On Twitter, you can do the same thing, by using the ‘Search Twitter’ function. But that can be very time-consuming. I recommend you get a web-based RSS feed and news aggregator. These aggregators are a great way to get all of the information to come to you, so that you don’t spend your time typing in searches all day. Me personally, I use Google Reader. I have all of my ‘search twitter’ functions filtered into my Google Reader by topic. I can click on a category, see the actual tweet, click on that tweet and then reply or retweet as necessary, all with a few simple clicks. So when folks are tweeting about my product, I can pretty much reply to them, even if the tweet is a few days old, as Google Reader will keep that information for me until I decide to delete it myself.

5) CREATE TWITTER LISTS.

Use your twitter lists to create niche followings in the Twitter World. Twitter lists allow you to organize others into groups, or “lists”. Once your list of Twitter followers gets to a certain number, it is very hard to keep track of the tweets you deem important in your timeline, so Twitter lists is a great solution to that problem. As a CVB, we have Twitter lists of our attractions, hotels, events and festivals in Louisville, local media, travel writers, and conventions and tradeshows in Louisville, just to name a few. One of the other cool things about Twitter lists is that you can follow a list without having to following everyone on that list individually. You can give your followers recommendations of niche categories and suggest they follow these lists for more information on certain topics. How’s that for customer service?

In the end, tweet as often as you like. I am not going to tell you how many tweets a day you should send, because if you add in the RTs, the @ replies and your own tweets you want to send, the numbers can add up. However if you start to notice that no one is responding or you are losing followers, then maybe you are tweeting just a little too much information. Remember, there is no such thing as a social media guru…my thoughts are simply that, MY THOUGHTS! The key to Twitter is creating long-lasting open-ended conversations, Happy Tweeting folks!

5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR VISITORS CENTER A “COOL” SPOT

During your vacations and travels, when is the last time that you have actually been to a Visitors Center? If you work at a CVB/DMO like me, then probably you’ve been to one, to check out the competition and see what others are doing. But for the general leisure visitor, and even locals for that matter, the number of them visiting your Visitors Center is probably a lot slimmer.

We know that our Visitors Centers are there to primarily serve the tourists by giving out brochures, city information and discount tickets, but how do Visitors Centers make their locations cool? How can Visitors Centers get people in their doors and keep them engaged before they run off to explore the city?

Well, I thought I’d share with you some great ideas and tips on how to make your Visitors Center a “cool” spot to visit:

1. PROVIDE PHOTOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES. Each destination across this world is known for something, so why not replicate that “something” you are known for in the Visitors Center. Let me give you an example: At the Louisville Visitors Center, there is a life-size statue of Colonel Sanders holding a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Now he is not directly related to tourism, but he is iconic in these parts of the world, and people love to come in and get their photo taken with THE COLONEL. And while they are in our Visitors Center, our goal is to get them interested in what else we have to offer in the city. (SIDE NOTE: We also have a Kentucky Bourbon display too.)

2. HOST EVENTS. Most cities have plenty of activities and events, and for those activities and events that have a broader appeal, why not host an event at the Visitors Center to capitalize?  In Louisville, Abbey Road on the River - the largest Beatles tribute festival in the world - comes annually. But here’s what we do that’s cool, We host a Rooftop Concert,  complete with bands, live music and lunch, that is a re-creation of the Beatles’ last concert held on the rooftop of the Apple Building in London on January 30, 1969. People in town for the festival and locals heading out for lunch will hang out at the Visitors Center and watch the concert while enjoying lunch and friends. We combine that with specials on merchandise inside our Visitors Center for those in attendance.

3. OFFER SPECIALS TO PIGGYBACK OFF LOCAL EVENTS. One of the newer things we are doing at our Visitors Center is capitalizing on the downtown foot traffic on the days of college basketball games, thanks to our brand-new downtown waterfront arena, the KFC Yum! Center. We have a sandwich board that sits outside on game days, and simply says “Show your UL Basketball ticket and get 25% off”. And you know what, people actually come in! We’ve done these for other events in the city as well, just as a way to drive foot traffic.

4. PROVIDE INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS. Nothing keeps people entertained more than videos. Give visitors inside your Visitors Center the opportunity to watch your commercials, podcasts, and videos or even send electronic postcards to family and friends. You could go as far as to offer a touch-screen computer that will allow visitors to drag and drop attractions, hotels and restaurants that they want to see, and then give them the ability to print it off.

5. USE SOCIAL MEDIA. Our Visitors Center offers a Foursquare special to anyone on their 1st check-in. We’ve got the decal in the window and everything! On their 1st check-in, they 25% off all merchandise, except for sales items. We also have an Urban Bourbon Trail trek in SCVNGR – a tour of 9 world-class bars and restaurants in Louisville - and the last challenge is in our Visitors Center. But maybe you are not on Foursquare or SCVNGR. Ever do contest giveaways on Facebook or Twitter? Why not have the people who win come by the Visitors Center to pick up their prizes?

Remember, there is no such thing as a marketing guru…my thoughts are simply that, MY THOUGHTS! Make your Visitors Center appealing to both visitors and locals alike, the visitors will come back and the locals will be your brand ambassadors!