Five ways tourism marketers often fool themselves.

March 17, 2023

Filed under: Marketing Strategies, Observations From the Field, Spending Budgets Wisely — @ 8:04 am

Listen up marketers…we like to think we’re always making wise choices, but sometimes we stick our heads in the sand. When budget, staffing, or timing is tight, it’s soooooo tempting to cut corners and say to ourselves “it’s fine.”

A cartoon image of a dog with a small brown hat sitting on a chair surrounded by a room that's on fire, while he is sipping coffee calmly and saying "this is fine." This is meant to illustrate what's happening as part of the five ways that tourism marketers often fool themselves.

Y’all…it’s really NOT fine, and deep down inside, you know it. Here are five ways tourism marketers often fool themselves, and how it comes back to bite them in the booty.

1) We can water down this BIG idea and still get BIG results.

The excitement and energy that accompanies a big idea is invigorating, infectious, and lasting. This is especially because the magnitude of the potential results makes us star-struck.

Here’s the rub, however. When – due to budget, operational challenges, timing, executive indecision, or whatever – that big idea gets watered down before implementation, often marketers are super bummed that the results aren’t the ones with which they originally fell in love. They conveniently “forget” that they dramatically pared down the idea, and never shed that infectious, lasting excitement they had at the start.

If this describes your organization, fear not…you’re not alone. I can’t tell you how many times clients have asked us for a BIG BOLD IDEA, which they love at first hearing. And by the time it comes back to us after several washings through their various committee discussions and lengthy decision-making processes, we don’t even recognize it. This phenomenon is quite common. In fact, it’s so common that we even have a term for it at Redpoint: vanillafication. That’s taking bright, colorful, tasty ideas…and wringing all the flavor out of them until they’re just vanilla.

Folks, there’s no harm and no shame in paring down ideas. Necessity (and the reality of your situation) often demands it. But if you pare down your ideas, you must proportionately pare down your expectation of results accordingly. Not doing so is just one way that tourism marketers often fool themselves…and then they’re disappointed.

2) It’s fine if we just replicate last year’s event as is.

No, it’s not. Whether it’s a trade or consumer event, whatever tourism thing you’re selling…it’s being sold to people. And people get desensitized so easily.

It’s essential that you add at least one new element to your annual events each year. It doesn’t have to be huge or cost a lot of money. Just something different than your audiences have experienced at that event before. It keeps the event fresh, makes an impression, and gives folks something to talk about…and maybe even post on social media or share in other ways.

Moreover, if you seek news coverage of the event, you actually need “news.” If the event is 100% the same as it was the last time they heard about it or attended, there’s literally nothing for them to cover. They need a nugget of something new to make their editorial coverage interesting and timely.

I know, I know. Tourism marketers are so busy and often stretched so thin that it’s a relief when you can finally put something on autopilot and not have to invest new creative energy or logistical planning into something that’s already “done.” Sorry, friends. This is yet another way tourism marketers often fool themselves.

3) We can wait to fix this website issue.

There are days when I feel like it would be easier to raise a child than properly maintain a website. Platforms evolve, things break, algorithms change, content gets stale… the list is endless.

The mission to keep everything current and in excellent working order is so relentless that it’s tempting to ignore some of the issues for a while. Like… “until I have the budget,” or “until I have the time,” or “until next year.”

Because of this, often tourism marketers fool themselves into thinking, “oh, it’s not that bad if that one part of the navigation is wrong,” or “it’s only a few broken links on pages people don’t use much,” or “yeah, the site is slow to load but it’s not that bad,” or – my personal favorite – “these photos aren’t the best, but they’re fine for now.”

This sort of ostrich mentality does your business grave damage. Why? Because it’s quietly and invisibly turning away potential customers…AND YOU DON’T EVEN HEAR ABOUT IT. Trust me, no one ever calls you up and says, “I was going to book with you, but your website annoyed me so much I decided against it.” They don’t do that…they just walk away.

Sure, if you look at your website analytics, you can see symptoms of this. But that’s easier to ignore (if you’re even looking…and many businesses, especially with DIY marketing, aren’t). Imagine if all those folks who walked away actually DID call you up and say that? You’d make fixing your website the highest priority instantly.

Your website is your virtual front door. Stop losing business because of it. On both desktop and mobile, it needs to be visually appealing AND fully functional. That means it’s fast, easy to navigate, informative, and current, with no broken links or wonky formatting. Users care about all of that, but as importantly…so do search engines.

Tip: here are six common website issues to look for on your site.

4) These photos are good enough.

I can’t tell you how many times tourism operators have handed me a brochure or a business card (sometimes even at a trade show!) and said, “This is us, but don’t look at the photos; they need to be updated.”

Here’s a story that puts that situation in perspective. During a website audit, we showed a hotel client that the highest number of people were leaving their site from their photo gallery page. Sweet lordy. A photo gallery page should inspire people to check dates and start the booking process, not leave the website.

Investing in a major photo shoot had seemed like something they couldn’t afford. But that audit showed them that they couldn’t afford NOT to do it.

Photos are an essential selling tool in tourism marketing. They can’t just be “good enough.” They have a job to do, which includes things like catching attention among cluttered social media feeds and capturing the imagination of website visitors. Ultimately, you want your photos to inspire action, whether it’s to read a caption, click a link, or inquire about booking.

Please don’t fool yourself when it comes to the quality of your photos. You will lose money because of it.

Note: for tips on this, see The Secret to a Great Tourism Photo and What Makes a Dramatic Tourism Marketing Photo.

5) It’s fine if no one else in our organization knows what marketing is doing.

In so many of the organizations we work with, marketing lives in a silo. And it’s sooo tempting to keep it that way. No scrutiny, no one chiming in with opinions, no questions about how budgets are being spent. We hear that a lot: “I just gotta keep my head down and churn out the marketing stuff.”

If this is you, hear me out. This is a major way in which tourism marketers often fool themselves. In the tourism industry, the relationship between marketing and all the other departments is crucial. Our product is experiential, and its delivery is dependent on operations, guest service, human resources, and more. It’s an ecosystem that needs to be in harmony at all times.

Because of this, EVERYONE needs to know what marketing is doing. Marketing is bringing in the guests who fuel the engine that delivers the experience. So, that engine needs to know what marketing is doing to make that happen…especially so they can live up to those promises.

Distribute a monthly update, make periodic presentations, even go door-to-door Erin Brockovich style and tell folks what’s happening. One business I know hosts a monthly “snack time,” at which they lure folks from other departments in with free snacks and share the upcoming marketing tactics while soliciting input for the future. Figure out whatever works for your organization’s culture and just do it.

~~~

Overall, it’s likely that time poverty and budget constraints are the two biggest culprits behind many of these unwise choices. So I get it… it’s not easy. But awareness is the first step toward change, so grab yourself a beverage and think about where YOU might be fooling yourself in your tourism marketing activities. Feel free to make that an adult beverage… you might need it. 😉

The use of experience guarantees in tourism marketing.

December 12, 2022

Filed under: Public Relations, Marketing Strategies, Observations From the Field — @ 12:24 pm

With a looming recession in a post-pandemic world, you may – should? – be considering the use of experience guarantees in your tourism marketing. Why? Because travelers will be less willing to risk their precious dollars on an unpredictable experience.

A rare black Amami Island rabbit sitting nestled in the forest in Japan, showing how the use of experience guarantees in tourism marketing can be successful.

But offering a REAL guaranteed experience of any kind could be risky for you. Sure, you can say “we guarantee you’ll have a great time” (and by the way, here’s why you should never say someone will have a “great” time). But that’s quite different from “we guarantee XX will happen or we’ll give you a refund.” So much of the hospitality experience is subjective that it’s hard for you to TRULY guarantee that certain things will happen.

So what CAN you money-back guarantee without exposing yourself to excessive risk?

First, embrace these two key factors:

Most consumers don’t have a clue how much risk is involved to you. All they’re thinking about is the guarantee to them. So your low-risk guarantee – which may seem like a “duh” to you – still has marketing value.
The bolder the guarantee, the higher the risk. And the higher the risk, the more powerful the marketing proposition. You need to decide your comfort level on the financial-risk-vs-marketing-power spectrum, and it’s different for every brand.

Second, remember that tourism experience guarantees serve a MARKETING purpose, not an operational purpose. Indeed, marketing and ops departments often have polar opposite views of guarantees: marketing would love to guarantee everything, and operations would love to guarantee nothing (because they aspire, but what if circumstances don’t allow them to deliver consistently or are completely beyond their control?).

And since these guarantees serve a marketing purpose, they must be marketing-worthy…or else what’s the point? Such guarantees set you apart from your competitors and, if they’re cool enough, can attract hefty attention in both traditional and social media.

Gather food for thought from these examples:

No Brainer/Low Risk

There are so many whales in the Juneau, Alaska, area that Princess Cruises can offer a whale sighting guarantee on their paid shore excursions. You can spend 200 bucks on your ticket, knowing that if you don’t see a whale, you’ll get $100 back. VERY attractive for travelers, VERY low-risk for Princess.

Also on the wildlife front, tours on the remote Amami Island in Japan offer guaranteed sightings of the island’s rare black rabbit, an animal exclusive to that area. If you don’t see a rabbit, you’ll get a 50% refund. If you’re up for some light reading, check out this deep scientific study that assessed the benefit of these guarantees on both the tourism economy and the conservation of the rare Amami Island rabbit. The punchline: that guarantee is good for everyone…the tour operators, the visitors, and the rabbits.

A few years back, thanks to some crafty fine print, Priceline promoted a Sunshine Guarantee for its packages. The promotion covered a shockingly wide variety of destinations (really…July in Seattle?) and the bottom line is that if it rained more than the expected amount on your vacation, you get your money back. You’re probably thinking… were they nuts? No. They just had great lawyers that mitigated their risk:

Bolder Options with Financial Bite

One of the boldest and riskiest tourism marketing experience guarantees I’ve ever seen actually hails from Redpoint’s own client portfolio. Years ago, we launched a Sleep Guarantee for The Benjamin Hotel in NYC as part of its comprehensive sleep program that included a 12-pillow menu, a Sleep Concierge, and rooms specially designed for an ideal night’s sleep. The guarantee, which offered a full refund if you don’t sleep as well or better than you do at home, added MAJOR strength to the hotel’s sleep positioning and attracted the attention of high-profile media from Good Morning America and The TODAY Show to The New York Times (multiple times… here are two), The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and more. It was a strategic component designed to attract media attention and you know what? In the ten years we worked with them, fewer than 10 guests asked for that refund. So let’s say that total refund cost was (generously) $10,000. The PR value of the sleep guarantee easily exceeded $1 million in that same 10-year period. ROI: The hotel knew their high-end clientele wouldn’t be out to make a quick buck on this offer, so in reality it wasn’t as risky as it seemed.

And the Uzbekistan government also did the math. In summer 2020, they offered US $3,000 to any visitor who contracted Covid-19 while staying in the country. This seems like a hefty financial risk to them but 1) were people even traveling internationally at that time? And 2) It sounds mercenary but that potential $3,000 per person was definitely way LESS than the value of the marketing attention they gained. So, even if they ended up paying out the money, it was a sound investment.

Aruba also realized how skittish folks would be about booking travel amidst a pandemic, so they offered a “Happily Ever After Guarantee.” Billed as “the first postponable pandemic destination booking policy,” it allowed bridal couples and honeymooners to reschedule without penalty for up to a year if Covid-19 wrecked their travel plans. A bold move, for sure, as multiple properties had to agree to honor the policy. But it worked, and it set them apart from other Caribbean destinations.

If you’re considering the use of experience guarantees in your tourism marketing, heed this advice: be playful, be bold, and be strategic about your fine print. For example:

A Tastiest Tomato Guarantee? Lookin at you, Woodstock Inn & Resort.
A Freshest Lobster Guarantee? Lookin at you, Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl.
A Bird-Sighting Guarantee? Lookin at you, Trinidad & Tobago.
A Fresh Air Guarantee? Lookin at you, Tasmania.
A 24-Hour Music Guarantee? Lookin at you, Nashville.

When you evaluate carefully and do the math, such guarantees may not be so risky after all. Consider any claimed refunds as a “marketing investment.”

And hey, while we’re doing math and looking at your P&L, see here why you can’t find love on a spreadsheet.

Six surprising things you can rent by the hour.

October 13, 2022

Filed under: Customer Service, Observations From the Field, This is Cool, Branding Strategies — @ 8:40 am

The tourism industry changed dramatically when platforms like VRBO and Airbnb enabled travelers to forgo hotels for a vacation home rental. But not only did this change traditional tourism lodging models…it gave “regular people” a thirst for renting their stuff to tourists, thrill seekers, and folks looking to relax. I mean…why stop at lodging?

And suddenly, the apps and online matching platforms were born. Here are six surprising things you can rent by the hour, from regular people who have something you want and don’t/can’t own yourself.

A Garden

Love gardening or want to try growing some veggies, and don’t have your own patch of land for the pleasure? The platform Shared Earth matches people who have plots of unused land with aspiring gardeners in their area. Through the in-app messaging system, you can get information about the sunlight, soil quality, and other pertinent facts to help you determine if that particular land is suitable for the types of things you want to grow. Tourism professionals…take note here. Got some land you could share with the community this way? Worth considering.

A Swimming Pool

Want an escape but can’t afford the time/money for a vacation? Rent someone’s swimming pool and yard by the hour through Swimply (which might be the most perfect brand name on the planet). You plug in your desired location and time and voila…a list of pools for rent and their photos are shown. Then you just book and go. One gent raked in nearly $200,000 just renting out his pool over the course of two years. The only downside to such a perfect brand name comes when you want to develop new revenue streams: Swimply is beta testing Swimply Spaces, through which you can rent people’s tennis courts, private gyms, and more. Cool idea but it dilutes the power of the name.

An aqua blue swimming pool with a stone waterfall feature is just one of the six surprising things you can rent by the hour.

A Boat

Why buy a ticket for a boating experience with lots of other tourists? Rent your own for an hour or two – even with a private captain and/or crew – from someone who has a boat to rent out as a side hustle. The Boatsetter app will match you with your perfect boating experience in your preferred location. Yachts, fishing boats, party boats, pontoon boats, sailboats…even jet skis are available. And the locations are pretty diverse, with both ocean and lake options across the US.

Outdoor Sporting Gear

In another example of a perfect brand name getting diluted through expansion, Spinlister began as a way for folks to rent bikes of all kinds, from touring to mountain and everything in between. Over time, it grew to feature a wide range of outdoor gear like surfboards, stand-up paddle boards, skis, and more. This makes total sense for folks who are casual outdoor enthusiasts that have neither the inclination nor the storage space to own their own gear. Tourism professionals…take note here: there’s a Spinlister Pro version available for businesses, so if you want to lure in all those folks staying in Airbnb’s around your community, this might be a gateway.

A Yard for Your Dog

The brilliantly named Sniffspot – and please for the love of branding, Sniffspot…don’t you too start renting out other things that make no sense for your name – will allow you to rent someone’s backyard for your dog to play in by the hour. And not just a backyard…the listing options include private hiking trails, fenced in/roam free areas, yards with pools the dogs can use, yards for private use, yards for playing with other dogs, yards with doggie agility courses, and more. At prices that range from $5 – $20 (ish) per hour, it’s an incredible value…even if you have your own yard for your dog, but occasionally want to rent one with a pool or agility course to give your pup its own mini-vacation.

A black dog and a brown dog running fast in a large yard, one of the six surprising things you can rent by the hour.

Your Driveway

If you’re fortunate enough to have a driveway, garage, or any kind of owned area that could be a parking spot in a densely populated area (where scoring a parking space is like winning the lottery), you can rent it out through SpotHero. At first glance, the website looks like it’s only used by big companies and parking garages, but regular folks can rent out their home spot here too…by the hour, day, week, or month. It’s a super helpful service for people who don’t have time to waste looking for a parking spot, but don’t want to pay the exorbitant fees often charged by garages, stadiums, and (sorry tourism industry) urban hotels.

And in addition to these six surprising things you can rent by the hour, here’s a bonus: Fat Llama. Want to rent a painting? A photography lighting umbrella? A scooter? A sewing machine? A ukulele? A drone? A power drill? You can find it all (and more) at Fat Llama.

Now THERE’S a brand name that can handle expansion into any category. Because…random.

For some memorable examples of when tourism businesses treated me with the same kind of personal relationship vibe you get from these “regular person” rentals, check out these 10 unexpected (and fabulous) tourism guest service stories.

Four character traits that foster good timing in marketing.

September 20, 2022

Filed under: Public Relations, Digital Marketing, Crisis Communications, Marketing Strategies, Observations From the Field, Effective Communication — @ 12:58 pm

One of marketing’s most critical tentpoles is timing, and there are four character traits people (and businesses) should possess that can help foster good timing in marketing. You should know which of the four are your strengths and weaknesses, and then understand how each is impacting your marketing success.

Why? Because in marketing, you should play to your strengths. And if you want to execute the kind of marketing campaigns that aren’t a good match for your weaknesses, you’re going to waste time and money…guaranteed.

Do a little soul searching about yourself and your company’s traits and behaviors to see where you stand on these four essential character traits:

1. The Decisiveness to Act Quickly

For some marketing concepts, especially those tied to a trend or current events, you need to act NOW. The power of social media only heightens this urgency. Your window for success may only be 24 hours, and even launching something just two days later will fall flat and yield you zero ROI.

A fabulous recent example of this comes from startup coffee company Cometeer. When investment bank Goldman Sachs announced it was ending the free cold brew perk previously offered in its NYC HQ, Cometeer had a free coffee table set up right outside of the bank’s building just 16 hours after the announcement was made. Here’s how they made it happen. Had they done it even just a week later, the news value would have been too low to make it worthy of notice. It HAD to be linked in time to the announcement that the cold brew perk was being discontinued.

Tip: What if this is your weakness? Steer clear of marketing concepts and campaigns that will be a complete failure without tight, precision timing. You may want to do them oh-so-badly, but you’ll just be frustrated that they didn’t work as well for you as they did for other companies you envy. Years ago, on the day American Airlines announced it would now charge a $25 fee for checked baggage (an industry first at the time), we put our client Loews Hotels in the media spotlight by announcing ON THE SAME DAY that Loews would give a $25 credit to all incoming guests who flew American and checked a bag. That Loews Baggage Buy Back Program was in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and more the moment we pitched it. Media wanted to share it in conjunction with news about the American Airlines fee. Had we pitched it a week later, the airline fee story would have been old news, and no one would have cared.

At the time, we had another hotel brand client who saw what we did for Loews and said, “we want an idea like that for us!” And it’s just not that simple. That was a client who took four weeks just to approve a simple weekend package press release. They would never be able to turn around such operational decisions across dozens of hotels (and approve the pitch copy) quickly enough to catch the news wave. So we’d be doing them a huge disservice and wasting their money if we forced them to try. A business that can’t make decisions quickly has more success with marketing concepts that have a nice long runway and lots of wiggle room for timing bottlenecks.

2. The Willpower to Wait

OK so maybe you’re awesome at making decisions and acting quickly, but sometimes good timing requires that you have the willpower to wait. Jumping the gun – before the facts are in, before the campaign is REALLY ready, before details are agreed – can not only tank your marketing ROI, but it can also cause you real harm. A few examples we’ve seen in our time as marketing and PR counselors:

A government official at a destination wouldn’t wait for talking points following a violent hate crime against a tourist. Instead, he insisted on speaking with the press immediately and gave his opinion on the situation without knowing the facts. Turns out, the facts belied his opinion in a BIG way, and the destination suffered immeasurably for it…not to mention the fact that they had to pay us a fortune in crisis management fees for damage control.
I can’t even count the number of times a hotel has pushed us (against our advice, I promise) to launch a package – through PR or an email blast or social post – BEFORE they’ve got all the details finalized on the website and BEFORE they’ve shared it with their reservation and front desk agents. They want to “get it out there and start selling,” but they don’t seem to get how much this harms them. When consumers want more information (or to book) and can’t make it happen, they get frustrated. So not only does the hotel NOT get the sale, now they’ve pissed people off.
I also recall a colleague being traumatized by the fact that she was “forced” to announce a huge brand partnership in the media and on social channels before the contract was finalized. The owners were trying to secure more hotel management deals and felt it would be a huge feather in their cap to have that cool partnership announced as they were engaging in other negotiations. When the partnership fell through before the deal even got signed, the harm to their image – and their business – was excessive under the circumstances. They earned an unwelcome gold medal in backpedaling, for sure.

Tip: What if this is your weakness? This one’s tough, because it’s psychological and personality driven. You need to be aware that it’s in your nature and admit to yourself that your impulsiveness can do your marketing great harm. In this case, you need to surround yourself with cool-headed sounding boards who can objectively rein you in when you’re about to go rogue. And then – sorry if this is super blunt, but I say it for your own good – you need the humility to listen to them.

3. The Resistance to Complicate Things

Lack of this resistance is definitely the most common weakness we see (when it comes to marketing), and often goes hand in hand with not being able to act decisively or quickly.

The more complicated you make something – too many goals for a single campaign, too many decision makers, too many layers in a concept – the harder it will be to nail successful timing. For some reason, it’s an incredibly common human trait to overcomplicate things. Part of it is time and resource poverty. Our resources are so precious that we try to force them to serve many masters at once.

But a HUGE part of it in the business world is the (often misguided) need to get multiple people involved in various projects and decisions. If I had a nickel for every time we were ready to launch a campaign for a client, and at the eleventh hour someone said “hey, let’s get Jeff’s opinion on this before we flip the switch.” Inevitably, Jeff has something to add that derails the timeline and – I’m sorry to say – is most often not helpful. But we made Jeff happy by looping him in so… Politics 1; Marketing Success 0.

There’s a principle called Brooks’ Law that was originally created to address communication challenges among software project teams. But it really applies to ANY type of team working and making decisions together, like a marketing team and its extended family (executives, operations, etc.). Visually, it shows lines of communication necessary for various team sizes, like this:

One of the four character traits that foster good timing in marketing, this diagram of Brooks' Law shows how larger teams require exponential lines of communication.

In associations, governments, and large companies, it’s not unusual to find a committee of 10 or more involved in projects and decisions. Do you see how complicated those visuals are? That’s an accurate reflection of the logistics required to get consensus. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that these types of organizations find it hard to achieve perfect timing…it’s just too darned complicated.

Tip: What if this is your weakness? There’s no easy fix for this one, other than to say steer clear of marketing concepts that require tight timing or “drop dead precision launch dates.” You may not be able to capitalize on current events or hot news topics, but you CAN give yourself a lengthy runway to get ducks in a row long before an important event will take place. See how we did this for the four provinces of Atlantic Canada, making a social media splash the moment the Canadian border opened during the pandemic.

4. The Discipline to Stay Abreast of the News

Marketing needs to sit well within the context of what’s going on in the world. Being oblivious to current events can have unfortunate timing consequences, from ill-timed insensitivities to launching a product/service you claim is “a first”…when it’s been done before.

A recent, cringeworthy example of this is when the television show Canada’s Drag Race tweeted “This crown is up for grabs” on the day Queen Elizabeth II died. Obviously, they meant the drag race crown, but ugh… the tweet was pummeled with criticism and had to be deleted. This is a helpful lesson that pre-scheduling social posts can be a useful tool, but unless you stay abreast of the news, it could backfire.

Redpoint nearly fell prey to this once with our popular tourism marketing newsletter Tickled Red. For the March 1, 2022 issue, the subject line was supposed to be “Bubblegum and Tombstones in Tourism.” Tombstones referred to the brilliant concept of Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard… but the issue’s timing was just after the war in Ukraine started and casualties were piling up. The newsletter draft was written before the war started, but we pulled that story (and the subject line) the day before it was scheduled to send. It was not the right time to be celebrating tombstones of any kind.

Tip: What if this is your weakness? If you’re not someone who immerses themselves in news every day, and you don’t have a marketing agency at your disposal to help stay abreast of news, here’s a quick fix for one-off marketing plans. Just before you’re about to launch something, hop on a social channel like Twitter or LinkedIn and see what news is trending. Also, do a search online for keywords related to your campaign or concept. A quick Google search will likely reveal anything glaring that may conflict with your plans. And then either make your changes accordingly…or have the willpower to wait (see #2 above).

If you’re scheduling social posts in advance, however, then it’s super risky for you to NOT stay abreast of the news. So if it’s not in your nature to keep up with current events, it’s best to just change your habits: either stop scheduling posts or start checking the news often.

Folks, the bottom line is…no one is perfect. You and/or your company may claim some of these character traits as weaknesses and there’s no shame in that. But you’ll have more success and achieve a greater ROI in marketing if you choose concepts that play to your strengths instead. It will make timing your friend and not your enemy. Reflect on these four character traits to see how well (or not) you foster good timing in marketing.

Want more tips on how to get the most out of marketing? Check out these 20 tips we assembled from our 20 years of experience as tourism marketing counselors.

Six cool examples of marketing.

September 19, 2022

Filed under: Marketing Strategies, Observations From the Field, This is Cool, Branding Strategies, Effective Communication — @ 12:16 pm

At Redpoint, we geek out over marketing success and recently, we’ve discovered these six cool examples of marketing worthy of applause.

Utterly Unexpected Trade Show Booth

When we were kids, those claw machines at arcades and amusement parks were irresistible. But as adults? Imagine BEING the claw, and swooping into a giant tank to grab as many prizes as you can. Hats off to Squishmallows for this standout trade show booth at VidCon, where fans waited in line for four hours just for their 20-second turn in the Human Claw Machine.

One of six cool examples in marketing, this image shows a trade show booth filled with Squishmallow stuffed animal toys and a person hanging above them ready to grab as many as possible.

Seriously Clever Video Ads

It’s quite reasonable to assume that not EVERYONE will be interested in watching The History Channel’s documentary series about the Roman Colosseum. But their marketing folks have produced a series of video ads that give it wider appeal and the best possible chance of luring in non-history buffs. Meet Gaius Falco, head groundskeeper of the Colosseum (by way of New Jersey?), in these two ads.

Brilliant Branding Concept

OK, we can’t even breathe because this concept is so absurdly PERFECT. Follow me on this: Heavy metal band Metallica has a famous song called All Within My Hands. In 2017, the band created a nonprofit organization called All Within My Hands Foundation. And one of its signature programs is the Metallica Scholars Initiative. This initiative partners with the American Association of Community Colleges to support scholarships and fund programs for students to learn trades working with their hands, such as welding, electrical engineering, HVAC, construction, and more. The program supports 32 community colleges across 27 states. We’re talking millions of dollars in funding here. BRAVO, both for the initiative and the sheer branding brilliance.

One of six cool examples in marketing, this logo for the Metallica All Within My Hands Foundation shows a light blue hand with a keyhole and guitar neck.

Most Relatable Billboard (possibly of all time)

Score one for “good old fashioned” Timex, who managed – with just ten simple words and a photo – to instantly communicate how their product provides a solution to one of the most popular, gut-wrenching problems on the planet.

One of six cool examples in marketing, this Timex billboard shows a picture of a watch and the caption "check the time without seeing you have 1,269 unanswered emails."

Smart…but Creepy?…Product Launch

This product came out a few years ago, but we just stumbled across it recently. The Shelves of Life product is a bookshelf that can be repurposed into a coffin, so you can be buried in it when you die. Wait…what? Indeed, this is true and it can be purchased, and it comes with visual instructions and diagrams for making the shelf-to-coffin transformation. More about it here, and more about the designer, William Warren, here.

One of six cool marketing examples, this set of bookshelves can be transformed into a coffin when the owner dies.

Video Storytelling That Steals Your Heart

Bravissima, Barilla! This video tells a story about Izyan Ahmad (“Zizou”), a young tennis player who had a dream of playing against Roger Federer when he was 11 years old. Watch what happened five years later.

And in addition to these six cool examples of marketing, here’s one of our throwback faves. When the baker hired Simone, it started a seriously cool chain reaction.

What’s a “newsworthy” animal experience in tourism?

June 20, 2022

Filed under: Public Relations, Observations From the Field, Media Relations, This is Cool — @ 5:00 pm

In our role as PR counselors, we’re often asked how to make things newsworthy, and tourism animal experiences are no exception. It’s a valid question because the answer requires more than just adding discounted zoo tickets to a hotel stay to create a package. To be newsworthy, there must be something extraordinary, unique, unexpected, or timely about it.

Before I review some examples to illustrate the point, let’s just be clear on this: being “newsworthy” in ANY subject is not easy, nor is it often achieved passively. You have to pursue it deliberately, and in most cases jump through some hoops to make it happen. Proactive investments are usually required, whether financial, creative, or both. Risk – often high risk – is usually involved. And a thoughtful runway of time and planning is key.

This means that, as a tourism marketer or owner/operator, you must have both vision and patience if you want to create concepts that are newsworthy.

And these folks did.

Here are four illustrative examples from around the world of newsworthy animal experiences in tourism:

Jamala Wildlife Lodge

This hotel is set within the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra, Australia. And by “set within,” I mean the accommodations are organically nestled into the entire experience, not a stand-alone hotel that happens to be located on the grounds. Rooms and suites offer exclusive viewing perches, or share glass walls with animal habitats, allowing guests unrestricted viewing from the privacy of their own space, like so:

A woman taking a bubble bath while watching tigers prowling on the other side of a glass wall is a highly newsworthy tourism animal experience at Jamala Wildlife Lodge.

From jungle bungalows to giraffe treehouses and rooms that put guests up close and personal with sharks, meerkats, capuchin monkeys and more… it’s no wonder the website prominently features a “join the waitlist” option.

What elements make this a newsworthy tourism animal experience?

The financial and architectural investment to create unique accommodations that offer rare 24/7 access to animals.
Only a small handful of hotels like this in the world provide such an atypical experience.
Dramatic, unexpected photos/video to promote the experience.

The Biosphere at Treehotel, Sweden

The entire concept at Treehotel is extraordinary and newsworthy… a collection of dramatic, high-design treehouses distinctively different from each other. But one – The Biosphere – takes your breath away both visually and experientially:

A photo of a hotel room suspended in the air from a tree, adorned with 340 birdhouses on the outside is a newsworthy tourism animal experience available at The Biosphere at Treehotel in Sweden.

Adorned with 340 birdhouses attached to its exterior, guests enjoy a front row seat to some of the most spectacular birdwatching possible. The Biosphere’s design is meant to protect and foster the local bird population. But lordy, it manages to be a showstopper in the process.

What elements make this a newsworthy tourism animal experience?

Well, 340 birdhouses to start (duh). Pretty sure it’s the only accommodation in the world with THAT distinction.
It’s visually arresting, and photos of it stop people in their tracks, even when mindlessly scrolling on social media.
The bold, complex design earns news attention for both its financial and creative investments.

Caiman, A Brazilian Ecotourism Retreat in the Pantanal

The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland, and its 42 million acres spans across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Caiman Ecological Refuge, with 18 lodge rooms and two private villas, is within the Pantanal in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The 150 miles to get there from the airport are fraught with dirt roads that have no internet or GPS access, but it’s worth the drive because this:

A photo of a jaguar with mouth wide open, showing sharp teeth, is part of the newsworthy tourism animal experience guests can have at Oncafari and the Caiman Ecological Refuge in Brazil.

One of Caiman’s conservation partners, Onçafari, is dedicated to the conservation of once-endangered and now near-threatened jaguars with research, protection, education, and repopulation. Guests can go out with guides to learn more about these elusive animals through up-close interaction. Nocturnal guided exploration is also an option for those feeling brave.

What elements make this a newsworthy tourism animal experience?

The confluence of the Pantanal, jaguars, and deeply meaningful conservation efforts.
The Caiman Ecological Refuge itself, which offers guests education and interaction with many other options for sustainability education…from livestock ranching to conservation projects for endangered and illegally trafficked birds.
The remote location. There’s no convenient airport shuttle and no public transportation. You need a special kind of car that can take the dirt roads or a turbo-prop aircraft to get there. Basically… you have to really WANT to get there.

Natural Habitat Alaska Bear Camp

It’s true there’s no shortage of “bear viewing” experiences in the tourism industry, especially in British Columbia and Alaska. So it takes an unusual one to stand out. Once again, we lean into the “hard to get to” element here. With Natural Habitat, you fly in a private bush plan over volcanoes, glaciers, and icefields to get to this remote Bear Camp:

An aerial view of the Natural Habitat Adventures Bear Camp, which is a highly newsworthy tourism animal experience.

The weatherproof tent cabins are surprisingly designed for comfort, with climate control, lighting, hard floors and a solid door. It’s not glamping…but it certainly ain’t “roughing it.” The three days you spend at the camp gives you extraordinary up-close access to Alaskan brown bears with experienced Expedition Leaders who both educate and safeguard you. This is no “quick tour to a viewing platform” so you can take a selfie and prove you were there. This is a full-on bear immersion.

What elements make this a newsworthy tourism animal experience?

The remote location. Any place “only accessible by plane or boat” already piques media interest. The harder one must work to get there, the more interesting it becomes.
The layout and design of the Bear Camp. Just one spectacular aerial photo (as shown above) is enough to capture a traveler’s imagination and interest.
The collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF). There’s no denying that such respected brand recognition adds credibility to the experience.

These four experiences aren’t all newsworthy for exactly the same reasons, but two things are certain with all of them:

They’re not “news-washing,” which is when a business tries to put a slick bow on something to make it seem newsworthy, without making the under-the-hood investment needed to give the angle true, credible substance. When a program, package, or experience focuses more on “looking good” than “being good”… a credible journalist can sniff that out in a heartbeat, and it’s a turnoff.
They all have extraordinary photo/video opportunities to help tell their story…and the business has invested in capturing the BEST photography/footage at likely a hefty cost to them.

Investing in “hero shot” photography is essential to developing a newsworthy story, as you can see with these tourism animal experiences shared here. Journalists NEED photography, and it’s only natural that they’d want to use ones that tell the story visually, in just one glance…and that cut through the clutter to get people’s attention.

For more tips on this crucial news element, see these tips on the secret to a great tourism photo.

The secret to a great tourism photo.

October 26, 2021

Filed under: Digital Marketing, Website Strategies, Marketing Strategies, The Power of Persuasion, Observations From the Field, Media Relations, Social Media, Spending Budgets Wisely, Branding Strategies — @ 11:59 am

Tourism is a highly visual industry. Photos are a key tool used to tell tourism stories, but there’s a secret behind the great ones that make the biggest impact. Someone took the time (and often, money) to get it right.

More dramatically put: someone resisted the temptation to use photos that were easy to get but kind of “meh” in terms of quality. “Meh” photos serve the functional purpose of photography, but they are completely uninspiring and make no impactful impression on the viewer. So, yeah…you have photos to put on your website. Check that box. But are they seducing site visitors into considering a trip? That box stays unchecked.

Fear not, there are a whole bunch of “great” and “meh” photo examples down below. But first…

Sucky (and Silent) Consequences of Using “Meh” Photography

When tourism businesses choose to settle for “meh” photography, it causes much heartbreak. Throughout my career as a tourism publicist and marketer, I’ve seen:

A hotel client who lost a highly-desired Architectural Digest story about their opening launch because their photography wasn’t good enough. (AD wasn’t being snooty…their photography was NOT good enough.)
Another hotel client whose online booking conversion rate absolutely sucked…and a website audit revealed that people were leaving the site after looking at the photo gallery. (Tragic, as a photo gallery should inspire people to hit the “book now” button.)
A destination client who was included in a syndicated news editorial round-up…and the only one of the eight destinations included without a photo accompanying their blurb because their photo wasn’t “quite right.” (Seven destinations with glorious vibrant photos and only one with just text… which one do you think got overlooked by readers?)

But those are examples where the consequences were traceable and known. Far more dangerous are the silent consequences of “meh” photography. No one ever leaves your website unimpressed and without booking…and then calls you up to say, “hey, I was considering a stay at your hotel, but just wanted to let you know that the photos didn’t really sell me on the place so I just left the website without booking.”

So, the bottom line is…you don’t even know how many sales you’re NOT making because your photos are just “meh.”

But trust me. If they’re “meh,” it’s happening.

Why Is This So Hard?

Why do so many tourism businesses settle for less-than-great photos to use in marketing? Three common reasons.

They feel it takes too much time and they don’t have the bandwidth to organize/oversee it.
They don’t want to spend the money for a photographer and/or stylist.
They don’t understand the difference in impact between a “good enough” photo and a “great” photo.

It’s a real head-scratcher to me, but I’ve seen clients spend $20-$30 million building a gorgeous hotel, and then fight with me about spending $20,000 on photography for the website, brochures, and socials.

In other scenarios, I get the… “My sister-in-law takes great photos as a hobby – you should see her Instagram. So I’m just going to have her do all our photography.”

Or the… “I don’t have photos of THAT specific program even though that’s what we’re promoting, so can we just use a general photo instead?”

Or the… “These brochures are really old and our hotel rooms don’t look like that anymore, but that’s all we have so just use those at the trade show.”

To spend all that money building your business and brand, and then NOT spend the money on a professional photographer to produce photos that help you sell it? That’s fumbling at the goal line. And it’s sabotaging the ROI of all the money you spent on building the business itself.

What Should a Great Photo Do?

A great photo is like an assist in sports: it should assist you to close a sale. That assist might come in the form of (for example)…

An Instagram photo that stops thumbs while someone is scrolling and makes them want to explore your entire Instagram profile…and ultimately your website.
Photos on your website that evoke emotion, inspire a desire to visit, make them want to check pricing and logistics for a trip.
Photos in a magazine that arrest people’s attention as they’re flipping through the pages and make them want to read the accompanying editorial story…which hopefully makes them want to visit your website.

Here’s a great case-in-point. Years ago, I was in Armenia with a photographer getting shots of a collection of new boutique hotels launching that year. We had no staff with us (literally no staff – the hotels weren’t even open yet) and no stylist. It was just her and me trudging around the countryside with tons of photography equipment. And FYI – while I’m eager and helpful, I know zip all about being a photographer’s assistant.

Here’s what one of the hotels looked like, with a simple “point and shoot” approach.

It DOES look like a historic castle, and you DO see it’s right next to a rushing river and nestled in the mountains. So, it definitely gives a sense of place and is “ok.”

Here’s what it looked like when the photographer got done with it.

Listen, folks. This was NOT a simple point and shoot. We had no cell service and no radios to communicate with each from opposite sides of the river, and crossing that river was no picnic either. Her trying to signal to me which lights to turn on or off, which umbrellas to move slightly left or right, and could I tilt that ONE light on the side to angle more toward the patio? No, not THAT one. THAT one.

Getting this shot took HOURS. Actually days, because we had weather issues intervene.

But look at those two photos. Which one stops your thumbs while scrolling and which one makes you say “OMG that place looks breathtaking and I want to go there?”

Great photographers do more than just click a button on a camera. They harness the power of lighting, tone, context, perspective, props, spatial relations, and emotion. In this case, the photographer studied the situation and said, “what photo…what angle…what perspective…what styling is going to show this building in the best, most seductive, most appealing way?” And after taking a lot of test shots from various positions at various times of day, this nighttime photo won the honor. (Should I mention how many design and travel magazines made this photo their centerfold?)

I mean…if your sister-in-law can do all that, then by all means lets hire her.

What’s My Point?

Getting great photography isn’t easy. It takes time, planning, and commitment. You may need to invest in props and other items to achieve the objective… flowers, food, drinks, people, and more. You may need to reschedule (and spend money on a wasted day) because of weather. If you’re already open, you may need to clear entire public spaces for several hours or a day – losing revenue from paying guests who don’t have access during that time. You may need to take a shot over and over and over and over again to get it just right. And damn it, you definitely need a professional photographer and/or stylist to do it justice.

Yes, all that costs time and money. But the difference between “meh” photos and “great” photos is entirely about MAKING MONEY. Skimp elsewhere if you must. But do not skimp on great photography.

To further illustrate the difference, here are a few examples of photos I’ve come across in my tourism work. Some of these businesses know the secret to a great tourism photo, and some clearly don’t understand what makes an impact.

By the way, there are deliberately no business names here. This isn’t a commentary on who’s doing it right and who’s doing it wrong. It’s an objective look at how photos do or don’t make a worthy impact.

Everything about this charcuterie board screams “dig in.” Lighting, color, texture, positioning. This delicious photo was no happy accident.

This cocktail gets completely lost in this photo. It’s a gorgeous color, but sitting on that similar colored surface, the vibrancy doesn’t pop as it should. Plus the background is super distracting. If you’re a DIY Instagrammer for your business, and just taking quick snaps like this “on the fly” for posting, at least do this: take that glass and snap pics of it in in a few different settings, and from several angles – high, low, above, side, etc. If you take a dozen photos of this cocktail – which can be done in just a few moments – you’ll immediately be able to spot the one that shows the cocktail off to its best advantage.

Let’s talk about dramatic architectural features, such as floating pools. We once had a client that was debuting a floating pool and they fought us like the very devil about getting overhead drone shots of it. They didn’t have easy access to a drone and didn’t want to pay for it. But honestly, a straight-ahead shot of a floating pool just sucks all the drama out of that super-cool architectural feature.

To illustrate, here’s a picture at another hotel of their floating pool taken from different angles. You can see how one showcases the floating pool and in the other, it gets lost.

And these folks REALLY did their floating pool villas justice, ensuring their website gallery shows them from multiple angles and various times of day:

Food shots need special attention because visuals aren’t necessarily the main sensory trigger for humans when it comes to food. Taste, sound (sizzling, pouring, sauteing, etc.), scent, and texture all play a role in our emotional connection to food. And that’s hard to communicate in a flat photo.

Here, capturing sugar in mid-shake on this cannoli gives more energy, life, and interest to the photo than just a static pic of a cannoli.

But these pancakes are nearly unidentifiable in this photo. In the quest for a close-up to show the dripping, oozing goodness, perspective gets lost here. If you’re scrolling quickly, you can’t even tell what it is, and that super-crisp piece of bacon on the side doesn’t help… it almost looks like the pancakes are sitting on a wood shelf. Perhaps backing up the camera to show the whole plate, and catching the moment when the chocolate syrup is being poured onto the pancakes might achieve the objective better. But – you know what I’m going to say – try it a dozen different ways before deciding which one makes the right impact.

Oh, you’re taking pictures of animals? NEVER just snap one-and-done. You take tons of photos from multiple angles in order to get one that will stop people in their tracks. Like this:

And finally, these folks are rebuilding a really important and historic wall. But this photo will stop no thumbs. I’m sure the dude on the right won’t be pleased that his behind is on Instagram, and everyone milling around looking down at rocks doesn’t do the story justice. A close-up of a volunteer holding up a piece of rock with a huge smile on his/her face… or better yet, faux-kissing it?… could better tell the story of the passionate volunteers involved. Or have him/her sitting on the wall and get enough context in the shot to see “kissing the rock” and the wall itself. Or… hey, I’ve got an idea… take a dozen different shots and see what works best. 😊

So, in conclusion, please do what it takes to get great tourism photos. There’s really no secret to capturing ones that make an impact… just spend the time and/or money to do it right.

And let me just clarify: by “great,” I mean photos that achieve your objective of inspiring people to emotion and action. “Great” is one of those vague words that always need clarification and shame on me for using it so liberally in this post. See why you should be careful using that word here.

10 Unexpected (and fabulous) tourism guest service stories.

September 20, 2021

Filed under: Customer Service, Marketing Strategies, Observations From the Field, This is Cool — @ 8:58 am

Here’s the way to create indelible tourism memories: deliver completely unexpected, fabulous, and highly personal guest service. Also, spoiler alert…there’s a story in this piece about my trip to Spain that’s going to horrify my mother. (Mom, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry. I’m older now and I won’t do it again.)

Tourism businesses – hotels, airlines, attractions, cruise lines, tour companies, etc. – often invest a ton of money and labor developing comprehensive guest service programs and amenities. And those bring value to the tourism experience, no doubt. But the simple truth is that PEOPLE create the unexpected, joyful moments that make the most lasting impressions on guests. Moments like these ultimately transform guests into ambassadors.

I travel for a living because I do tourism marketing and consulting work around the world. So that means I’ve stayed at hundreds of hotels in dozens of countries and have thousands of tourism experiences under my belt. Many of these have been utterly outrageous – like the time I stayed at a five-star luxury resort in the Caribbean for a grand total of 12 hours (including sleep) as part of an island-wide site assessment.

At this resort, I had my own butler, who literally unpacked my entire suitcase and pressed all my clothes and hung them…despite the fact that he was just going to fold and pack them all up again 12 hours later. When I came in from dinner that night, he had decorated the entire bathroom with flower petals and candles, drawn a bath, and had champagne chilling next to the tub for me. I was tempted to stay awake all night just so I could see what he’d do next.

You’d think an experience like that would be near the top of my “best hospitality experiences” memory list, right? But no…and not because it was too short-lived to enjoy it. It’s because there’s nothing extraordinary about that level of service at that type of resort. Don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely lovely and I enjoyed every second of it. But it all followed a carefully planned script that was delivered uniformly to all guests. Plus, for the price of that suite, it was completely expected. Indeed, I’d have been disappointed if the service had been anything less.

So no…those types of experiences don’t top my “best hospitality experiences” list. In fact, all of the experiences that have made a lasting impression on me and turned me into a loyal, enthusiastic ambassador for each organization have just two things in common: 1) they were completely unexpected, and 2) they happened because an employee I encountered went out of their way – and off script – to bring me joy.

And here’s the best part: most of the experiences cost the business absolutely nothing to deliver.

So here, in no particular order, are 10 of my most unforgettable, unexpected, and completely fabulous tourism guest service experiences.

I was offered a home-cooked meal.

When I called the Torrent River Inn in Hawke’s Bay, Newfoundland to make a one-night reservation that split up a 10-hour drive for me, I asked what dinner options would be available for my late evening arrival. Turns out, the inn is in the middle of nowhere, AND their restaurant would be closed, AND it was Canadian Thanksgiving that day. Guess what? The employee on the phone – who was not the owner, btw – offered to bring me a plate of food from her family’s Thanksgiving dinner when I arrived. She wasn’t even going to be working that night.

I was sent the souvenirs I regretted not buying.

As I was checking out of the Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart, Tasmania, the bellman asked me what I was going to regret most about leaving their beautiful island. I didn’t even have to think about it: I had seen a mug at a touristy store in town that cracked me up and was just sooooooo Tasmania. But not being “that kind” of a souvenir buyer as a rule (I’m more likely to buy a local recipe book or items made by a local artisan), I didn’t buy it. But as soon as he asked me what I would regret about leaving, not buying that mug was the first thing that came to mind. When I got home to New York three weeks later, guess what was waiting for me? A set of four of those mugs, compliments of the hotel.

Picture of souvenir mug that says Send Tassie More Tourists the Last Ones Were Delicious

They brought me handpicked wildflowers.

My stay at the York Harbor Inn in Maine began horribly: the night I arrived, I realized I had strep throat. It took a bit of time to get the right meds, so for 72 hours I stayed feverishly holed up in my room. Ultimately I even had to extend my stay because I was too sick to leave. On the day I emerged from the room for the first time, I let housekeeping know I was stepping out for a while so they could go in and fumigate (bless them). When I got back, besides the room being sparkly clean, there was a jar filled with wildflowers and a note: “We’re so glad you’re feeling better. Love, the Housekeepers at the York Harbor Inn.”

They made me a pillow.

In what might just be the greatest guest service experience of all time, this housekeeper made history for me. At the hotel that has since been rebranded as Hotel Halifax in Nova Scotia (but don’t worry, the staff is the same and the service is just as exceptional), Sandra the housekeeper recognized that I was using a towel in a pillowcase every night during my stay…and then she started making towel pillows for me on her own. Let me be clear: I do this in hundreds of hotels and no housekeeper has EVER done anything other than remake the bed with fluffy pillows intact and towels hanging back in the bathroom where they belong. So to discover Sandra’s towel pillow with a special note to me was like the greatest surprise of my tourism life. In fact, when I blogged about the story, it was shared over 100,000 times and even earned Sandra and the hotel an award from their corporate brand. Read here How One Housekeeper Won My Brand Allegiance…and My Heart.

A note to Chris Miranda from the housekeeper at the Hotel Halifax as an example of unexpected, fabulous tourism guest service.

I was given free coffee and treated like a celebrity.

To this day, I still don’t know how she did it. When I walked into the sundries store at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Vermont to get a cup of coffee, the cashier told me she knew who I was and the coffee was on the house. Yes, I was there to deliver the inspirational keynote speech at the resort’s season-opening employee rally. And yes, it’s not like they had a ton of guests roaming around just before ski season started. Maybe they had sent around my picture to all staff or posted it in the employee breakroom, or maybe she just figured the one stranger in the shop HAD to be the day’s guest speaker. Or maybe – could it be? – she remembered me from when I spoke there a year prior, even though we hadn’t met. But you know what? I don’t want to know. It’s way more magical not knowing. I was just recovering from a grueling, white-knuckle nine-hour drive in a snowstorm to get there, and to be unexpectedly recognized by a random staffer and given free coffee was just the BEST THING EVER.

There was a dog waiting in my room.

While presenting a tourism community workshop on developing hotel packages and experiences at the Rodd Miramichi River Hotel in Miramichi, New Brunswick, I jokingly suggested that it would be awesome if hotels could offer a dog as part of a stay. As there were many dog lovers in the audience, we bounced that fun topic around a bit and everyone learned how passionate I am about dogs. Turns out, the general manager of the hotel happened to be in the audience for that workshop. He secretly texted a hotel staff member to quickly go buy a toy dog (It barks! It moves!). By the time I finished that workshop two hours later and went up to my room, that dog was waiting there for me…complete with dog bed, treats, and a special note from the hotel. Tourism guest service doesn’t get more unexpected and fabulous than that.

Christina Miranda showing a fabulous and unexpected tourism guest service example while she sits in a dog bed holding the toy dog delivered to her room at the Rodd Miramichi River Hotel.

I got extra dumplings just because I asked for them.

While at legendary restaurant Buddakan in NYC, my indecision between two appetizers prompted me to order one and then mischievously ask if I could just taste ONE dumpling from the other… just so I’d know for next time. Imagine my surprise when – in addition to the appetizer I ordered – the server brought out an ENTIRE dish of Szechuan pork dumplings instead of just one…and then told me there was no charge for them. That simple act of kindness (and investment) earned them my loyalty, return visits, and about a zillion referrals. In fact, I did the math at the time and their ROI for that one gesture was so strong that I wrote about the experience here: You Can’t Find Love on a Spreadsheet.

I got into a sold-out bullfight in Spain against all odds.

There was not a ticket to be had for the high-profile bullfight happening when I was staying in Madrid. Watching a bullfight is not for the faint of heart, but I had no intention of leaving Spain without experiencing such a rich cultural tradition. When I asked the concierge at my hotel, which has since been rebranded as the ME Madrid Reina Victoria, I learned that there was no way I could snag a ticket without giving up my retirement savings. I went away sad. Until the next day, when he took me aside at breakfast and told me a family he knows agreed to let me join them, no charge. TBH, it was like being in witness protection: I was taken to an appointed street corner on the back of a motorbike by one of the hotel’s dishwashers, met there by a niece in the family, handed off to a cousin in a café near Las Ventas Bullring, and then – no lie – smuggled into the arena by the family. This incredible group of nearly 30 people shared their food & drinks with me, educated me on the whole spectacle of bullfighting as it unfolded, and introduced me to nearly every person in our section of the arena. And they wouldn’t accept a dime. It was truly one of the best days of my life, being embraced by these strangers and immersed into their culture. It was only the next day that I realized I was lucky that all those witness-protection-style-logistics didn’t end up with me being sold on the black market to a world of unpleasant things. Ah, to be young and blindly trusting again.

They protected my cupcakes to the death.

When I arrived at the WestJet check-in desk at LaGuardia Airport enroute to Newfoundland by way of Toronto, I had 875 cupcakes in tow. My goal: get those cupcakes all the way to St. John’s, NL, in one piece – frosting intact – to deliver as a surprise at a tourism industry speech. I was a nervous wreck because we all know baggage handlers aren’t always the most gentle caretakers, but there was simply no other way to get these cupcakes there fresh and on time. Enter Jesse and Alex at WestJet. They dove right into being co-conspirators on “Operation Cupcake Surprise,” and took personal responsibility for marking the boxes and shepherding them to the plane. Then, at the gate, they introduced me to the baggage supervisor who personally stacked my boxes on board in a cool dry area, making sure they were all upright. And they alerted the flight crew of the precious cargo to ensure my cupcakes and I got the same extraordinary treatment when we changed planes in Toronto. The cupcakes were in perfect condition upon arrival. PS – they even gave me an upgrade. #fan4life

Chris Miranda stands between two WestJet employees at the gate in an example of unexpected and fabulous tourism guest service experiences.

Someone bought me a hairdryer.

While staying at The Peninsula Chicago, I needed a hairdryer with a special attachment as mine broke during the arrival flight. They didn’t have it at the hotel, so on my way out to my dinner meeting, I asked the concierge for help locating a place to purchase one. Requirements: it had to be on my route to/from dinner, open in the evening, and definitely have it in stock. I told him I was absurdly pressed for time that night, but needed it for 5am the next morning to groom for a big presentation. The concierge instantly responded to my stress level and just said “go to your dinner, I’ll take care of it for you.” When I got back to my room that night, the hairdryer was sitting on my bed with the money I gave him to buy it and a note on the box: “This one’s on me. Knock ‘em dead tomorrow.”

You see? It’s PEOPLE that make the most lasting impressions. PEOPLE create the unexpected and fabulous guest service moments in tourism. And those moments become marketable. They create ambassadors for your brand.

So if you’re a tourism business, the moral of the story here is this: 1) hire kind people who like to make others happy, and 2) give them the freedom – within reason – to put that skill into practice with your guests.

Oh and here’s a tip: do NOT let ridiculous and out-of-touch corporate policy override guest happiness. The chocolate chip cookie policy at this resort is another experience I’ll never forget…but not in a good way.

Here’s a smart idea for tourism content creation.

August 12, 2021

Filed under: Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategies, Observations From the Field, Social Media — @ 10:11 am

Recently, I came across the National Aquarium of New Zealand’s Instagram page and thought: now there’s a smart idea for content creation in tourism. Their “Penguin of the Month” feature awards both a “naughty” and “good” category. The award post captions are hilariously descriptive and draw the audience into the ongoing competition. I even admit to being disappointed this month when little Mo reclaimed the Naughty award after finally winning the Good award a few months ago.

The beauty of this concept isn’t just leveraging the cuteness of penguins. It’s the fact that they’ve established an interesting, personal, and sustainable stream of content that eases the burden of content creation.

The most frequent complaint we hear from marketers who are responsible for feeding multiple social and marketing channels weekly is this: it’s a pain in the a** to figure out what to post all the time. This is especially true if content creation is only a sliver of the person’s job. Coming up with ideas for engaging content takes time and mental bandwidth. And if you’re a tourism marketer who wears many hats, you know those two things are always in short supply. This is why concepts like Throwback Thursday were born, because it’s an easy reach for a weekly content idea. (BTW, don’t ever use the hashtag #tbt. Here’s why.)

It’s always smart to find marketing ideas in the wild and use them to spark new ideas tailored to your own unique situation. You can get more specific help on how to do that here, but for now, let’s talk about the “of the month” type of content feature.

Obviously, if you’re a zoo, aquarium, or any type of animal farm/sanctuary, this idea is ideal for you. It doesn’t matter if other attractions are doing it too… it’s not a mutually exclusive marketing concept. Your “of the month” feature is tailored to your animals, your attraction, and your audiences.

But what if you don’t have cute animals in your content toolbox? You can still tap the “of the month” magic with an interesting, personal, and sustainable stream of content that makes sense for YOU. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hotel, destination, tour company, restaurant, cruise line, or whatever. People generally like to be entertained by tourism and hospitality content. This means you’ve got a blank canvas to craft an engaging concept that works for your business. For example, you could do fun, funny, and/or tongue-in-cheek versions of…

Quirky Object of the Month Award, for which you tell a fun story about an interesting knick knack, piece of furniture, piece of artwork, weird utensil, or whatever else is on your property. Don’t just describe it…give it personality. “This pitcher shaped like a rooster is a fan favorite here at the inn. It was originally used to hold milk at the family’s breakfast table, but now we often use it to hold sangria at our Friday happy hours. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why it’s a fan favorite?”

View of the Month Award, which could take many forms. Shots from inside hotel rooms looking out, cool/breathtaking views in your area, secret viewing spots only locals know, etc. Again…captions shouldn’t be boring here, like “isn’t it breathtaking?” Rather, add flair, like a recurring theme of “if this view could talk, it would say…” and each time answer it with something that grabs attention. Like, it would say “…why didn’t you bring a picnic?” Or “…sell your house, pack your belongings, and just move here already.” Or “…would you like a side of wine with this?”

Activity of the Month Award, which could cover anything from physical/exercise activities (i.e. hiking) to seasonal activities (i.e. berry picking) to “only in your area” activities (i.e. oyster shucking down at the local marina) to quirky/random activities (i.e. instructions for proper stretching after a long car trip).

The categories are endless and would be all the more engaging if they’re unexpected. A city destination might do a “Parking Spot of the Month” feature, and use it to highlight a cool block of shops in various neighborhoods. A hotel might do a “Guest of the Month” feature, but it’s all about the dogs, cats, and other pets that visit…not people. A cruise line might do a “Towel Animal of the Month” feature, and make up a story behind each animal as if it were a live being.

The point is…an interesting, personal, and sustainable “of the month” feature is an excellent way to ease some of the burden marketers face in generating content.

And WATCH THIS SPACE to see if little Mo the penguin ever makes it back to the “Good” list.

What does cheugy mean? When you know…you know.

May 4, 2021

Filed under: Observations From the Field, Effective Communication — @ 9:35 am

A picture of homemade lasagna with the caption "wait, is this cheugy?"

Cheugy means something or someone that’s just a smidge off-trend and “trying too hard.” Never heard the word? You’re not alone. But why should you care? Well, if you’re a marketer and you want to reach Gen Z…you should. You might be using cheugy concepts in your marketing (oh the shame!) and you don’t even know it.

The trouble is, defining what’s cheugy (pronounced chew-gee, with a hard G) is subjective. And a clear explanation is elusive, despite a multitude of sources that try to define it. For example:

In Rolling Stone: “…an aesthetic that is somewhere between basicness and cheesiness.”
In The New York Times: “It’s not embarrassing or even always negative.”
In The Urban Dictionary: “The opposite of trendy.”
But Insider said it best: “Ultimately, cheuginess is a vibe, something you can sense without always being able to substantiate why.”

Wait…what? I just read three articles and a dictionary definition and I’m still not certain I can identify something that would universally be considered “cheugy.”

Perhaps it’s my age. The term is apparently a dig at Millennials by Gen Zers, implying that all the things Millennials thought were cool in high school are no longer cool. So I guess if you’re a Gen Xer or a Boomer, you’d probably be wise to stay out of the dialogue. Gen Z will just come up with another term (that none of us can understand) to describe how “older people” try too hard to use all the young people’s slang. Or wait…does that just make us cheugy? I’m so confused.

I remember being a kid in the early 80’s when a friend at summer camp tried really hard to define the word “preppy” for me. It was another of those “you know it when you see it” kind of terms and I obviously didn’t see it. She even gifted me her copy of The Official Preppy Handbook (“don’t worry, Grand-ma-ma will get me a new one”). And still…it was pretty clear that if you weren’t preppy and didn’t have that magical essence naturally in you, simply flipping your collar up wouldn’t cut it. You imposter.

Cheugy is the same way. You just have to know it when you see it, so if you DON’T… don’t despair. Our brains aren’t wired for everything, and just the way you may not understand calculus or be handy with mechanical things… so too, you may not be capable of identifying cheuginess. Not even if they come out with The Cheugy Handbook.

However, if it helps, here are a few things that seem to be universally accepted as cheugy:

Ugg slippers
Barstool Sports
The Instagram caption “I did a thing”
Sneaker culture
Being an iced coffee addict
Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes

But don’t go thinking you’ve got the definition nailed, even if looking at that list gave you a good idea of the cheugy vibe. Because even among those who coined and spread the term, there are regular debates about what’s truly cheugy…and that’s not even a permanent label. Apparently, low-rise jeans were once considered cheugy, and now they’re not. Try to keep up.

Here’s the big question though. Now that the mainstream media have written all about the word, giving license for the uncool and uninitiated to bandy it about, will Gen Z even want to use it anymore? Or will the term itself be deemed cheugy? We’ll have to ask Gaby Rasson, the 23-year-old software developer who’s credited with creating the term back in 2013. Gaby – clearly the idol of Gretchen in Mean Girls, who tried so hard to make fetch happen – will always reign supreme as the last word on cheuginess.

In the New York Times article, someone said “lasagna is cheugy.” Dude, my mom just made a killer lasagna this past weekend and I cleaned my plate spotless. If that makes me cheugy, I’ll gladly take that label with a side of meatballs and a glass of chianti.

And one last thought. I recently wrote a blog post about Marketing Lessons from The Princess Bride. It was wildly popular, but now I’m thinking…is The Princess Bride cheugy? BRB. DMing Gaby.