A lot of time, destination marketing is marketing by committee. It’s a CVB or Tourism Board—an extension of city government, and there for tied to someone who has a job because of politics. And that really is a shame.
Because politics is a game of ego and agenda. As such, if someone in politics wants the venture to succeed, then they likely have a counterpart who wants to see it fail. Far too often destination marketing efforts are caught up within this dynamic.
Here’s the painful truth: your marketing can’t be about politics and be successful. It can’t be about ego and agendas, because it has to be about the traveler. If it’s not about the traveler, it simply isn’t going to be effective.
But even in a political situation, your success only needs one thing to get a foothold: one person to take a stand for it. And I mean really take a stand. Someone will have to be accountable for your program if it is to succeed.
Do you have the courage to do that? Because that’s what it will take. You will take the blame if it doesn’t work. And you will likely get begrudging credit if it succeeds. Unfortunately, it’s not going to succeed if someone isn’t there to act as a security blanket for the political process.
But if you are, if you can convince people to just get out of the way while you do what needs to be done to increase traffic, then you will succeed. Just remind them that the only ego that matters it the travelers, and the only agenda that matters is getting heads in beds and dollars in the doors.
Now, if you’re NOT a CVB or T&T Board, you’ve got it easy. That is, as long as you can get out of your own way long enough for the traveler to take center stage.
Thanks for visiting Serious Destination Marketing.
