Destination Marketing Podcast

Will Seccombe, President and CEO of Connect Travel, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about the importance of continuous learning. Topics discussed include changes Will has seen over the decades he's been in the industry, evolving as the times change, and the marketplace format at Connect Travel conferences.  "We're at a place in time where the successful programs of just a few years...

John Ricks, Nebraska Tourism Director joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk risks worth taking. Topics discussed include the home run Nebraska Tourism campaign, having the guts to run with a risky idea, and benefiting from earned media.  "We knew right from the get go that rather than just informing the public, that we had a real perception problem here and that we had to define and go a...

Brie Timings joins The Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about influencer marketing and video content. Topics discussed include researching influencers, creating good video content, and being comfortable in front of the camera.  "Does their content actually resonate with my destination or my brand? Are they a partier and they're just trying to go to party scenes? Am I a party destination and d...

Kevin Wright from Travel Oregon joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk going against the grain. Topics include the new Travel Oregon campaign, the media distribution plan around it, and healthy collaboration with an agency.  "We wanted to position Oregon as a place where people could find happiness. This idea that people are overworked, they're stressed, the 24 hour news cycle, trying to...

Tom Love joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk branding a destination. Topics include the definition of a brand, touchpoints you can and cannot control, and how to evaluate those touchpoints. "I think for not only destinations, but really for all products and all categories, the brand is the single most important asset you have. It's the most valuable asset a company has next to its empl...

Stephanie Weeks, Social Media Marketing Specialist for Visit Plano, TX joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about Social Media for destinations. Topics include the social media budget, the growth of full-time social media managers in destinations, and the importance of a content calendar. "The social media budget is a really important tool and should be increased every year. If you have...

Jess Darington, social media manager and influencer joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk social media management. Topics include lessons learned working as a social media influencer, how to choose and work with influencers effectively, and the importance of organic social media. "I'm a firm believer in organic social media instead of just boosting posts or paid promotions. Because the p...

Chris Spendlove joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk tradeshows. Topics discussed include the value of tradeshows, useful tools for destination marketers, and the need to get your destination's foundational branding elements cemented. "This is who we're trying to talk to, this is the list of our unique value propositions that we've identified, let's map these value propositions to the n...

Leif Pettersen, renowned P/R expert and juggler, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk Public Relations for Destination Marketers. Topics include taking risks in P/R, creating urgency for the media, and common P/R mistakes destinations make. "If it makes you a little bit nervous, it's probably gonna be great...draw the line at panic. If you start to panic, probably a bad idea. But anywhe...

Host Adam Stoker records remotely in this quick update episode. Topics include a Texas Tourism Industry Association Conference recap, a life update for Adam, and an introduction to the Destination Marketing Podcast producer, Kyle.  Follow the Destination Marketing Podcast on social media: Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Pod...

Colby Remund, Chief Creative Officer at Relic, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk Design Principles. Topics include style guides, mistakes in destination marketing creative, and design principle basics. "Be practical in your approach to developing a style guide. Make sure that your needs are covered in how the style guide is prepared and then hopefully it gives you the foundation movi...

Dave Williams joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk destination marketing at the state level. Topics include the Mighty 5 Campaign, the state programs Utah offers to its DMO partners, and tips for DMOs to work better with state partners. "To be able to go from one park to the next just felt like a point of differentiation that nobody else had. And rather than try to be all things to all...

Jim Bartoo, Director of Marketing for the Nashville Zoo, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk Destinations and Zoos. Topics include the relationships between the Nashville Zoo and the DMO, cooperative marketing efforts, and how to tie an attraction into the overall destination experience. "You can share information with people, they'll pick it up and they'll share it with other people a...

Lane Tucker, Operations Manager for Eagle Point resort, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk key partnerships between ski resorts and destinations. Topics include working with other businesses in a destination, challenges DMOs need to be aware of to support a ski resort, and successful tactics to divert traffic from Southern California resorts. "It's hard for a DMO, being the county, to...

Aileen Ramos, Director of the Tourism office for Laredo, Texas, joins the Destination Marketing podcast to talk Authenticity and Branding. Topics include telling your own story as a destination, taking control of the narrative around your destination, and unique challenges of a border town.  "For us, we found the best way to get our message through is bringing people to the destination. We know th...

Ryan Starks, Director of the Tourism Office for Heber Valley, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about the relationship between economic development and tourism. Topics include being creative with fundraising, public private partnerships, and the positives of a good relationship between economic development and tourism.  "At the county and the city level, there are so many opportuniti...

Amrita Gurney, VP of Marketing for Crowdriff, Joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about content. Topics include the importance of content for destination marketers, keeping content current, and the Crowdriff platform.  "I think there are two or three themes that are coming up that are challenges that we know people face: one is continuing to get smarter about the way they work. We know...

Co-host Jordan barker joins the Destination Marketing Podcast as a guest for the first time. Topics include maximizing technology in a tourism marketing role, a rundown of attribution, and the value of testing and learning. "Yes we have a lot of great tools that will help you track the effectiveness of your marketing spend, and that's absolutely the way we should go...the caveat is that there are...

Jim Eustace from Bound joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk website personalization in destination marketing. Topics include A/B testing on your website, knowing when it's time to personalize your website, and personalization and A/B testing for conventions and events.  "I think the first question is: Is your website important? Do you drive traffic to your website? Do you believe that p...

Adam Stoker talks about highlights from the first 12 episodes of the Destination Marketing Podcast, recaps some of his favorite insights from guests, and looks forward to the future guests of the show.  "You don't get to control the perception of your brand- It's the sum of all of those touch points together...as we think about a destination brand, so many people think that it's just the marketing...

Lesha Coltharp, the Executive Director of the Tourism Office in Vernal, Utah, joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about navigating a unique tourism economy. Topics include unique challenges of Uintah County, the Origin of Adventure campaign, and finding ways to benefit off the pass through tourist.  "We're taught that you need to have something that draws the customer in- it doesn't ma...

Hope Stokes, Director of Brand Management for Amarillo, Texas, Joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk attribution for a small destination. Topics discussed include using Adara to help make marketing decisions, the value of data in marketing, and useful free technologies for a small destination. "Any time we do anything, we want to make an informed decision- it's never a good idea in marke...

Cody Adent joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about building a tourism ecosystem. Topics include the Southern Utah Tourism Conference and the challenges of putting a conference together, lessons in customer activity from Zionnationalpark.com, and the importance of good web design and presentation.  "We don't have an overcrowding issue, we have a distribution problem. It's not that we...

Josh Collins from Streetsense joins the Destination Marketing Podcast to talk about technology tools to enhance destination marketing. Topics include under-utilized tools, cost-effective technologies for lower-budget destinations, and the importance of email marketing.  "(Permission) is such a key way of thinking about email: Here's this real person that gave me permission, so I need to treat that...

Falyn Owens, Executive Director of the Garfield County Tourism Office joins the Destination Marketing Podcast. Topics include the Take Your Time campaign, maintaining a good relationship with hotel partners, and effective customer service within destinations. "I don't think people realize that sometimes tourism funds, especially in our county- search and rescue, the ambulance, trash collection, so...