Destination Marketing Podcast

Today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast has Adam sit down with Julie Kirkpatrick, the President and CEO of meetNKY, the host DMO of the Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference. They discuss the interesting dynamic of Julie's DMO in Covington, Kentucky bordering Cincinnati, Ohio and how she's been able to work together with her counterparts at Visit Cincy. Julie underscores the importance of collaboration over competition when working with DMOs in close proximity to each other and the common goals that her organization shares with Visit Cincy. "When we're going out and layering that media campaign, when we're buying programmatic, when we're buying search, when we're doing social, it's all geared towards one platform and it's one call to action and that's Visit Cincy. So you hit visitcincy.com and you're going to see the conjoined story of this region." - Julie Kirkpatrick meetNKY If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

On today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam is still on-location at the Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference. Joy Brown, the executive director of Morehead-Rowan County Tourism in Kentucky, joins the show to discuss Morehead's appeal as a destination and a few ongoing tourism and economic development initiatives in the destination. She highlights how Morehead utilized its location within the Daniel Boone National Forest to drive economic development in their destination. Later in the episode, Joy also touches on a campaign that they're trying with a local airport and how they've been using an AI Tool to collect data points from the campaign. "We had to educate our local community and market that you might see somebody that might be a little scruffy when they come off the trail, but they have all their vacation money in their backpack and they're ready to spend it in our town." - Joy Brown Morehead-Rowan County Tourism If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast is a full-length look at Adam's keynote presentation at the Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference. In this keynote, Adam explores the media strategies of both candidates from this past presidential election and how Donald Trump was able to capitalize on podcast appearances during his campaign. The presentation then moves into the shifting landscape in destination marketing and how podcasting can be at the forefront. He also brings up some examples of Relic podcast clients that have been successful and how they've been beneficial to their DMOs. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

For today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam is on the road at the Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference. Hank Phillips, the President and CEO of the Kentucky Travel Industry Association, sits down with Adam to discuss the ways that this conference will reinforce foundational aspects of tourism and benefit destination marketers with any experience level. Adam and Hank also touch on Kentucky's steady recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the statewide collaboration between DMOs to invest expiring ARPA funds into the future of Kentucky tourism. "The whole point is that that collaborative energy and the pooling of regular funds going forward is going to keep a lot of those initiatives going into the out-years." - Hank Phillips Kentucky Travel Industry Association If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Video game competitions, or esports, are a growing industry that allows DMOs to grow their visitation and increase travel by inviting the esports community into their destinations. Ed Tomasi, an esports consultant for DMOs, Allister Scorgie, the Director of Sport Hosting at Explore Waterloo Region and Loren Gold, the Executive Vice President of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, join Adam for an in-depth conversation about the intersection between esports and destination marketing. Allister and Loren discuss how they started working with the esports community in their destinations and their connection with Ed. They also give a brief overview of esports and underscore the benefits of capitalizing on esports in your destination marketing strategies. "Every destination has an opportunity to be a trusted partner with the esports community, and it just first starts with identifying what you have to offer as a destination and matching it to that appropriate community that's there, but you may not have reached out to them initially." - Ed Tomasi PlayHRDR Explore Waterloo Region Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Today’s episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast is the final episode of our collaboration with Destination Discourse, a podcast recently launched by Adam along with Stuart Butler, the CMO of Visit Myrtle Beach. Will Seccombe, the president of Revolution Strategy and a recurring guest on The Destination Marketing Podcast, joins Adam and Stuart on Destination Discourse to discuss the merits of taking risks and being innovative in the destination marketing space. They give their perspectives on the benefits of taking marketing risks to stand out in the industry and give out strategies for evaluating risky decisions in their professional lives. Watch Destination Discourse on YouTube If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast is a conversation with James Tsismanakis, the Executive Director of Discover DeKalb. After discussing his background in tourism, James highlights how DeKalb has been using podcasting as a marketing tool for his destination to promote economic development, arts, culture and festivals. He tells the story of how a former student got him hooked on podcasting and reveals the successes, challenges and lessons he's learned while developing his destination's podcast. "So a lot of it is really when we start hearing that it was a good show hearing, 'I saw you on the show', hearing, 'oh, you got a big ego because, you know, you're on the podcast all the time and it's always video'. You know, that starts to say you're doing something right, I think." - James Tsismanakis Discover DeKalb If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Today’s episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast continues our collaboration with Destination Discourse, a podcast recently launched by Adam along with Stuart Butler, the CMO of Visit Myrtle Beach. The second episode of Destination Discourse is a deep dive into branded entertainment. They emphasize the need for DMOs to adapt to the changing advertising landscape, especially with the rising costs of paid media. Later in the episode, Stuart pulls from his experience with Visit Myrtle Beach and touches on the impact that branded content like Traveling the Spectrum and Splish Splash Squawk has had on his organization and Myrtle Beach. Watch Destination Discourse on YouTube If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

On today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam sits down with Scott Oklin, the new CMO of Visit Anaheim. Scott talks about how he found his way into this role after working at Travelzoo and how he's looking to use that prior experience in his new role. He also touches on his goal to make Visit Anaheim into a lifestyle brand and capitalize on the destination's incredible events and attractions, such as the upcoming Olympics, World Cup, and Disneyland. Later in the episode, Scott discusses some of the big tourism initiatives already in motion at Visit Anaheim, such as their partnership with the Anaheim Ducks and economic development investments like OCVIBE.  "So we're really looking at it, I think, from this 360-degree holistic standpoint...it's nice and sexy to have your patch on a jersey, that's great. But how do you really have the impact of that in a tangible way?" - Scott Oklin Visit Anaheim If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Today’s episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast is a collaboration with Destination Discourse, a podcast recently launched by Adam along with Stuart Butler, the CMO of Visit Myrtle Beach. Starting today and over the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing the first three episodes of Destination Discourse as bonus episodes of The Destination Marketing Podcast. In the first episode of Destination Discourse, Adam and Stuart discuss AI’s role in destination marketing and what that could mean for travelers and DMOs. They also explore the evolving expectations of travelers, the importance of viewing destination marketing as more than just transactional, and how to ensure visitors get the most value from their trips. Watch Destination Discourse on YouTube If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Neil MacKenzie, the CEO of Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism in Nova Scotia, joins Adam on today's episode to discuss the tactics and strategies that have helped his small destination stand out in larger markets like the Northeastern U.S. He also goes into his background and how the time that he and his wife spent in Japan teaching English became a part of how he got into travel. Later in the episode, Neil goes more in-depth on the unique tactics he's used to market his destination, such as providing photo content for Google Maps and leveraging the beautiful scenery his destination offers. "I've had those questions where they say, are you from Canada? Are you from Yarmouth and Acadian Shores, if we're in New York or something, and I'm like, yep, I live there. And then then they're like, here's my email address, I want more information. That's a great opportunity because they're literally standing in front of you telling you they want to come, right? So let's then take that next step and put some great content in front of them." - Neil MacKenzie Yarmouth and Acadian Shores If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

In this episode, Adam is joined live in the studio by AJ Brau, co-founder and CEO of Wander. She discusses the recent upgrades Wander has made to their technology and explains why it’s crucial for destinations to collaborate with vendors to drive industry innovation forward. Listen and learn how to own your visitor attribution using tools that capture valuable data directly from the source. Also discover what AJ envisions for Wander's future, including becoming the #1 platform travelers turn to when booking a trip. “We want to solve your problems. We don’t have the same insight into your life that you do, and that’s actually the most valuable thing we can gain from working with destinations—learning what their problems are so we can build better solutions for the entire industry.” – AJ Brau Wander Maps If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Brandon Schexnayder, the founder of Southern Gothic Media, joins Adam on today's episode to talk about his podcast, which tells the ghost stories of various communities in the Southern United States. He details his background in the music industry, how he found his way into the podcasting space and what the initial stages were like in creating his podcast. He also discusses some of the most interesting stories he's told on his show and his work with DMOs to tell the ghost stories of their respective communities. Lastly, Brandon gives some insight into how he's been able to grow his podcast and the importance of collaboration in the podcasting space. "At the end of the day though, I have to say the biggest thing that you can do is be involved in the other community of podcasts, period. If you want to grow your show, if you want to grow your content, being involved with other content creators and building that community is going to grow more than anything." - Brandon Schexnayder Southern Gothic Media If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

On today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam sits down with Thomas Salley, the director of Great State of Wilkes, Tourism in North Carolina. Thomas joins the podcast in the wake of the impact of Hurricane Helene and he discusses his experiences with the storm and what role DMOs play when this kind of natural disaster takes place. He also provides important takeaways for other DMOs to use as a future reference when dealing with a natural disaster, such as the importance of reliable communication methods, establishing yourself as the travel spokesperson for your destination and building strong relationships with local government and emergency services. "I woke up Sunday morning after the storm had kind of come through, and I saw all these images and heard people saying, you know, we need all of these things, and just seeing the destruction, I knew I had to do something. So, I felt like in my role, what I could do was to go and be of service to my neighbors." - Thomas Salley Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Great State of Wilkes, Tourism: https://www.wilkescountytourism.com/ Hospitality Relief Workers Fund: https://www.ncrla.org/foundation/nc-hospitality-workers-relief-fund/ Visit North Carolina | State Tourism Director Wit Tuttell: wit.tuttell@visitnc.com State Government Emergency Fund: https://pay.payitgov.com/ncdonations and https://www.nc.gov/disaster-relief-fund-faqs State Hurricane Resource Page: https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/emergency-management/hurricane-helene https://www.visitnc.com/advisory/cAdA/hurricane-helene-travel-advisory If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Tony Carne, a thought leader in AI and the creator of the Everything AI in Travel newsletter, joins Adam on today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast to discuss his background in the travel industry and how he fell in love with AI. Tony also touches on some AI-related things he's seeing in the international travel space, such as AI education opportunities and a company that creates personalized travel guides. He underscores how much AI can increase efficiency and shares his thoughts on how it can impact travel in the future. "The future of destination marketing, as I see it, can change significantly should the leaders in destination marketing choose to make that change. It's no longer, we can't do it because we don't have the resources or it's technically impossible, those pieces have gone away now. It's actually just, 'Do you want to or not?'" - Tony Carne Everything AI in Travel If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

Cody Chomiak from Travel Manitoba and Tom Loftus from Visit Richmond, Virginia join Adam on today's episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast to discuss various tourism topics. They give their perspectives on issues facing the destination marketing industry, such as navigating small budgets and discerning important metrics. The conversation then moves into a discussion about AI and how each person has embraced it in their professional lives. Stay tuned until later in the episode for an AI-driven musical treat. "If we're really wanting to be honest and we're really wanting to use data to inform decisions, we have to be skeptical of that data and also ask deeper questions so that we're not going in a direction that's going to lead us into disaster." - Cody Chomiak Travel Manitoba Visit Richmond, Virginia If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

On this special episode of The Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam joins Dane Carlson as a guest on The Econ Dev Show to discuss the symbiotic relationship between destination marketing and economic development. They discuss how DMOs and economic developers can collaborate and improve on things like site visits to create positive memorable experiences. Adam and Dane also underscore the benefits of owned media and podcasting to their respective industries and the importance of creating valuable content for their respective audiences. The Econ Dev Show Listen to our previous episode with Dane Carlson! If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

In this episode, Adam sits down with Kristina Ainge, PR and Content Director at Relic. They talk about the changing landscape of social media and content marketing and why destinations need to pay attention to both micro and macro trends. With nearly a decade of experience in social media, PR, and influencer marketing, Kristina offers a treasure trove of insights on how to effectively engage audiences and build communities through content. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com

In this episode, Adam is joined by Glorianna Yamin, Vice President of Marketing for Discover Puerto Rico. Glorianna shares her career journey, discusses her recognition as one of Destinations International's 30 Under 30, and highlights Discover Puerto Rico’s innovative marketing initiatives, including a collaboration with Pantone to create a color called “Puerto Rico Sunshine." Glorianna also discusses other creative campaigns like "Sounds Like Puerto Rico" and future projects celebrating Puerto Rican heritage. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.

In this episode, Adam is joined by Nathaniel Sweetman, Sports Marketing Coordinator for Visit Sarasota County. Nathaniel shares his journey into sports marketing, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and community engagement. He discusses Sarasota's unique facilities, strategies for attracting niche events, and the economic impact of sports tourism. The episode highlights the role of personalized PR strategies and the power of compelling narratives in enhancing event visibility and fostering local support. “Try and tell the stories. I think sometimes some of our sporting events have some really cool, unique ties to them. You can come in and bring in 150 events and again, if not many people are aware of it or your stakeholders aren't even aware of it, it's not going to mean much at the end of the day.” -Nathaniel Sweetman If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Relic. If you are interested in any of Relic’s services, please email adam@relicagency.com or visit www.relicagency.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@relicagency.com.