Brianna Francis, VP of Marketing Communications at York County, joins the HootBoard Visitor Information and Destination marketing podcast. We covered many topics around tourism, marketing plan templates, and content creation for promoting a destination. We discussed the importance of in-destination marketing and how it can drive a great user experience. I remind everyone that I didn't pay her to say that since our interactive tourism kiosks help direct traffic to the touchpoints of a destination. :)

0:00 - Intro

1:07 - Brianna takes us through her career path and how she came to be the VP of Marketing Communications.

2:38 - We start talking about DMO Content Creation process, and Brianna gives us insights for presenting the content and make it more consumable.

4:19 - Action Item! - Find your newsletters, blogs, and older content and identify one specific thing that can be identified and used as a singular focus for your visitors. Don’t dilute your content with too much stuff, but focus on a specific thing and talk about it on your blogs, content pages, so that people do not get distracted.

5:16 - “Let’s be the news” Brianna said about creating DMO content that is new and necessary. This is the mindset to help drive content that enables the consumers to know what is happening now and why it is important to them.

6:20 - He taking about getting a pulse on the community and other ways to identify the information that is necessary and worth sharing. We also get into how seasonality can play a role in creating content that resonates with the area.

8:40 - The question is “What do you look for when choosing your next piece of content for your blog or social media?” Brianna speaks to the importance of using analytics tools like Google Analytics to identify what your area is searching for and how that can be used to create new ideas.

10:48 - Staying relevant and following the buzz. We talked about how the news mentioning their location created a lot of interest. This is a good way to identify topics that might add more insight to what they are talking about, or maybe even adding clarifying information.

12:02 - Brianna gives us advice on how to approach working with guest bloggers and micro influencers.

13:36 - We get into the process of pitching, why it is important, how it has changed over the years. We learn what mindset one should consider having when making the pitch.

17:50 - The role politics plays in the tourism industry.

18:57 - In-destination marketing is an important part of the guest experience. We asked Brianna what she thought is an often overlooked part when destination execute its in-destination marketing.

23:37 - Brianna talk about guides and kiosks and how they may be often overlooked when getting full utilization about of your in-destination marketing.

25:06 - I make sure everyone knows that I did NOT pay Brianna to mention the importance of kiosks at a location. :)

25:40 - Brianna gives us two quick reactions and important takeaways to remember.

27:06 - What is the most overlooked thing in in-destination awareness?

28:07 - Brianna let’s us know where to find them online.

28:30 - We start saying our goodbyes. Thank you Brianna!

This episode has some great action items! Adam stoker joined the HootBoard Visitor Information and Destination Marketing podcast. We covered many topics including his favorite destination marketing campaigns and strategies. We spoke briefly about the HootBoard touch screen kiosk software and how it helps DMOs. We also got into his book, "Touchpoints: A Destination Marketer's Guide To Brand Evaluation And Enhancement," and broke down some of its main points. These touchpoints can include a directional hotel signage experience, or even an interaction. We also talked about some of our experiences with the destinations we have personally visited. It was a very informative discussion, and we walked away with some great action items.

0:00 - Intro and getting to know Adam’s career journey, and his accomplishments thus far.

8:06 - Do you have any favorite or clever destination marketing strategies that you’ve learned about over the years that you find particularly effective? Adam talks about how important it is to be authentic when marketing a destination.

9:50 - Adam shares a great piece of copy from Nebraska’s destination marketing campaign and a great line “Only boring people get bored.”

12:40 - We go into the importance of identifying and understanding features vs benefits. A destination should be able to articulate these two things when talking about what they offer.

13:15 - Adam shares another great campaign idea called “Idaho’s 18 summers” that targets families with kids. This emotional campaign talks about how there are 18 summers between the birth of a child and their 18th birthday, and the importance of family time.

15:14 - Discussion on another great campaign from Bryce Canyon Garfield County. It’s about their Covid recovery campaign and the copy that accompanies the campaign is titled “upgrade your dust.”

17:36 - We get into a Covid discussion and how destinations are opening up.

21:15 - Strategies for Marketing to Different demographics

25:32 - Adam is the author of Touchpoints: A Destination Marketer's Guide To Brand Evaluation And Enhancement. He gives a nice intro to the book and goes into detail about it.

28:51 - By the time someone experiences your destination, they should be able to tell an effective story. The story of a destination is very important. Adam talks about how a story brings a destination to life.

32.00 - The power of a strong recommendation from a local wait staff employee. Adam gives an example of a unique touch point he had at a restaurant during his experience in Knoxville TN.

32:30 - Satya shouts out Knoxville. #knoxrocks

33:36 - Adam shouts out knoxville. #knoxrocks

34:35 - Adam Stoker’s book can be found on Amazon. You can order the physical book or get the ebook. It’s got great reviews, and there is great feedback. Adam has a wealth of knowledge, and his book is a great addition to the destination marketer’s reading list.

36:26 - Adam talks about how the book is a DIY tool. Adam talks about the process of how he can help a destination roll out to help destinations as a service.

37:52 - Todd from Schenectady shouted out.

39:00 - We go into the different DMOs and their reactions to Covid. It was a challenging year, but DMOs definitely rose to the occasion to keep things going and adapting to what was happening.

42:00 - Adam shares a trend that we all can agree is a useful way to get the information out there - the power of podcasting. He envisions a day where any DMO will use podcasts to get people to talk about their location.

47:57 - What is an action item destinations can do today to enhance their brand? Adam gives a great answer.

48:35 - What are some resources that destination marketers or travel destinations are not taking full advantage of and should be.

Andrea Johnson is the Director of Marketing and Communications at eXplore Lawrence Kansas and joined the HootBoard Visitor Information and Destination Marketing podcast. Bryan was particularly excited about this episode because he lives in Lawrence Kansas. You'll get to see a very non-biased look at how much Lawrence Kansas is loved. Andrea shared great information about education, content and website marketing, big event marketing in a university town, and other useful insights in the destination marketing industry. Enjoy!

0.00 - Intro

1:26 - We get to know Andrea Johnson who is the Director of Marketing and Communications at eXplore Lawrence where she is responsible for managing the Unmistakably Lawrence brand. Andrea markets Lawrence, Kansas as an unmistakable place to visit, and does so through various digital, social, print, and media tactics.

3:03 - We talk specifically about the education backgrounds, college majors we each have, and how our education worked its way into the careers we currently have. Andrea goes into finding tourism and destination marketing, and the career journey aspect right after graduating college.

6:51 - We learn how the term “Unmistakably Lawrence” came to be as a slogan.

8:05 - We express our love of Lawrence Kansas. We talk about what we believe makes it unmistakable, and how it stands out from other towns and cities in Kansas. Bryan talks about the income potential from Mass Street busking.

11:55 - We talk about the Virtual Press Trip as part of the Women in Travel Summit. It was supposed to come to Kansas City but got postponed due to Covid. Influencers and bloggers were brought together on a virtual press trip, and the team had 1 hour to show off Lawrence and what makes it special. It was a really great experience.

16:35 - Andrea talks about how events are looking now, and what is happening as the city starts to open back up.

19:36 - We talk about commencement and how Andrea worked with the city and university to engage the influx of new visitors.

25:35 - We discuss the role technology plays in delivering health information. This was good for covering the Covid situation and how to communicate restrictions for every out of state visitor. The digital communication role played a significant role in the ongoing change.

26:01 - We dig a little deeper on what organizing the graduation experience looked like. Since the last graduation was cancelled, there were actually two weekends that needed to be managed with graduating students.

29:58 - We start talking about the website, how it is designed, how the content experience benefits the users, and the more popular parts of the website.

33:15 - Establishing KPIs is an important part of any website redesign. We get into what the destination marketing website could look at as an achievement metric.

35:48 - Bryan expresses his love of the website’s best food and drink specials lists in Lawrence Kansas. The website does a great job of organizing the food and drinks specials, and it’s a great way for the local community to find the best food deals for them. We had to find out how popular it truly was.

38:00 - We learn about how university towns do a lot of marketing to the new students and families that come to town. There are many ways that people can engage with the new students in the area. We go into orientation, school visits, and the different ways college town marketing inspires students to get around the town.

43:04 - Every town with a CVB or DMO likely hosts conventions that are lesser known. Bryan loves learning about the hobbits, sellers, and other enthusiasts that meet up in areas, and he wanted to know what specific conventions happen in Lawrence of which he isn’t aware. He is surprised at the answer.

47:00 - We start saying our goodbyes, we ask Andrea to promote any links, websites, and events: Fall - September 4th Debut of Encountering John Brown Exhibit at Watkins Museum. Unmistakablylawrence.com. Follow on Youtube, facebook, twitter, and instagram.