Virtual

• Sarah Quinlan, Managing Director, Carolantic Fund
• Josh Collins, Director, Destination Activations + Marketing, Streetsense

Sponsored by

Before anyone ever heard of Covid-19, Longwoods International conducted a survey of 4,000 adults to measure perceptions and attitudes about tourism and the impact of tourism on residents in a community. Enter Coronavirus. Since March, Longwoods International has been conducting more surveys in weekly waves to dig deeper into American resident sentiment about travel to their community. Answers aren’t simple: it’s a double-edged sword.

Speakers:

• Erin Francis-Cummings, President & CEO, Destination Analysts Research
• Andria Godfrey, Vice President, Longwoods International
• Brian London, President & Chief Executive Officer, London Tourism Publications
• Adam Sacks, President, Tourism Economics

Sponsored by Longwoods International

“2021 Marketing Plan”: Those are three scary words, right? But this is your mission should you choose to accept it. We’re facing an economic and health crisis all at once. Although “unprecedented” was the cliché of 2020, we don’t yet know if “recovery” will be the keyword for 2021. What we do know is that scarcity brings clarity: We are challenged to figure out how we can be frugal, how we can be prudent, and above all, how we can gain trust. 

Speakers:

• Gathan Borden, Vice President of Marketing, VisitLEX
• Justin Bresler, VP, Marketing & Business Development, Visit Denver
• Laura Libby, Senior Vice President, Miles Partnership
• Staci Mellman, CMO, Visit Florida

Sponsored by

What does success look like? The days of biggest and best, tallying up visitor percentage increases, and counting heads in beds are over. When KPIs change, as they now must, the ROI needs to be adjusted as well. What will new KPIs mean for tourism marketing and stakeholders? What new KPIs are coming into play for 2021?

Speaker:

• Leah Chandler, CMO, Discover Puerto Rico
• Zeek Coleman, Director of Data Intelligence, Visit Savannah
• Jay Kinghorn, Chief Digital And Analytics Officer & Co-founder, Entrada Insights
• Mitch Whitten, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Visit Fort Worth

Sponsored by

Learn how to innovate now, rather than hunkering down just to play it safe. See new opportunities that you couldn’t see before. Brian will also bring fresh ideas and examples from his friends in the travel innovation space. 

Speaker:

• Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce

When you’re standing at the top of the ladder, it’s the wrong time to discover that the screwdriver in your hand doesn’t fit. Discover what tools are out there and which ones your team needs to get the job done well in this challenging environment.

Speaker:

• Leroy Bridges, Vice President, Digital and Communications, Visit St. Pete Clearwater
• Matt Clement, Managing Partner, Madden Media
• Melissa Gogel, Vice President of Marketing, Tourism & Communications, Visit Phoenix
• Jeff Robinson, Director of Marketing, Visit Indy

Sponsored by

Every destination needs to take a good, long look at brand promise. Update your website, content, social messaging and advertising only after you’ve done a meaningful brand audit. Do you know how and where to begin?

Speakers:

• Ali Daniels, SVP/CMO, Visit Seattle
• Nekasha Pratt, Director of Marketing, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development
• Allison Schult, Chief Navigator, Mile Marker 630
• Adam Stoker, President & CEO, Relic

Sponsored by Relic

Tune in for this one-hour breakout session to brainstorm this week’s hot topic(s) with your peers.

Sponsored by

The travel landscape has changed drastically, and who used to come to your destination is probably not the same as those coming to your destination now, or booking a trip in the near future. So, who is your new target audience and how do you reach them? Hear the latest data from Expedia Group on traveler sentiment and learn more on how to best reach them with the right message at the right time.

Speaker:

• Valerie Bradley, Vice President of Marketing, Visit Macon
• Ed Harris, President & CEO, Discover Lancaster
• Matt Hansen, Director, Business Development, Expedia Group Media Solutions

Sponsored by

Many former leisure and business travelers are going to take some convincing to pack their suitcase again. Disclosing safety and cleaning protocols are now considered table stakes for travel marketing during the pandemic, but any brand falling short of these new expectations is likely to be called out. At the same time, compelling storytelling and visuals are more important than ever as travelers seek an escape from endless hours at home. Striking a balance between developing trust and driving booking intent may sound tricky, but you’re in for a treat as our panelists uncover how to appeal to travelers during these scary times.

Speakers:

• Jim Johnson, Vice President, Account Planning, VDX.tv
• Shannon Lowery, Content & Social Media Manager, Visit Savannah
• Liz Mabe, Digital Marketing Director, Discover Puerto Rico
• Brian Wagner, Assistant Commissioner Marketing, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

Sponsored by

Community and tourism are inextricably linked. New York City gives us the best example of a mega-sized destination taking a micro-sized granular approach to re-building through public and private community partnerships, beginning with residents as the foundation. Building strong partnerships in tough times will benefit the destination in good times to come. 

Speakers:

• Elan Cole, Executive Creative Director, NYC & Company
• Nancy Mammana, Chief Marketing Officer, NYC & Company

The marketing landscape is more complicated than ever. How can we look ahead into 2021 when we have no idea what the world will look like next week. Deciding where to invest your brand’s efforts is a daunting task but it’s good to know you’re driving on a two-way street. There is a way to track social media sentiment and trends in real time to best inform your priorities and focus.

Speaker:

• Andrew Phillips, Senior Account Executive, LinkedIn
• Martin Stoll, CEO, Sparkloft Media
• Elise Trivers, Social Media Manager, Visit Denver

Sponsored by

Visuals are crucial to successful marketing initiatives. The images and videos we use have an enormous impact on the success of our digital campaigns. Do your assets align with our new reality? They better! We’ll look at some of the more innovative things others in the industry have been doing to make sure their visual assets are relevant, reassuring, and inspiring during these challenging times.

Speaker:

• Jake Brown, Content Manager, Visit South Bend Mishawaka
• Brian Matson, Senior Director of Strategy & Education, TwoSix Digital
• Eliza Voss, Director of Marketing, Aspen Chamber Resort Association

Tune in for this one-hour breakout session to brainstorm this week’s hot topic(s) with your peers.

Sponsored by

Everything you always knew about influencers has changed…or maybe not? How is coronavirus affecting travel influencers and destination marketing plans? The debate is on. For sure, we can all agree that overtourism is yesterday and that diversity is now, getting much needed attention in brand promotions everywhere. 

Speaker:

• Jade Broadus, Vice President, Travel Mindset
• Lindsay Fruchtl, VP of Marketing, Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Andrew O’Connor, Associate Director, Content Marketing, Destination DC
• Deborah Stone, Founder & President, Pineapple PR

Meetings Marketing: Nobody, but nobody, would argue that online networking is better than in-person meetings. There’s certainly a sensory aspect to live events that virtual cannot replicate. That said, we must all do our best to put a band-aid on this wound while it heals. And, it’s essential that we talk about it now. 

Speakers:

• Sonya Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer, Visit Sacramento
• Stephanie Davis-Smith, VP of Content Creation, Connect Meetings
• Mya Surrency, Co-Founder, Digital Edge Marketing

Going to the beach and taking hikes in state and national parks were so last summer. Ski resorts are facing complications. There’s limited access to museums; live sports and cultural performances are unlikely to be open at all. So how do urban and suburban destinations market to people’s passions in the post-Covid reality?    

Speakers:

• Patrick Harrison, Chief Marketing Officer, Visit Tampa Bay
• Richard Peterson, President & CEO, U.S. Cultural & Heritage Marketing Council
• Scott Rose, Sr. VP, Chief Marketing Officer, ZooTampa at Lowry Park

The COVID-19 pandemic and the current trend of third-party cookie deprecation has had a big impact on the tourism industry – it’s never been more important for marketers to gain a more nuanced understanding. Constrained marketing budgets, limited resources and understanding where to invest marketing dollars to maximize ROI are key challenges DMOs are facing. With the lack of ‘actual travel intent’, creating demand is the new name of the game. It’s crucial to find, attract and connect with people who want to (safely) travel, so you can boost your economy and bring value to your local community when they need it most.

Speaker:

• David Chastain, VP Tourism, Epsilon

Sponsored by

Brainiacs Without the Bluster: A keynote panel of travel vertical leaders from the digital space add their personal insights and insiders’ perspectives to suggest what 2021 will look like…fasten your seatbelt.

Speakers:

• Shaun Aukland, Global Business Manager, Google
• Laura Fernandez,  Head of Industry, Travel + Tourism, Pandora
• Carly Houlahan, Account Manager, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook

Branding is your biggest asset—a strong, trustworthy brand makes all the difference. Yet, with so much content, channels and noise out there, only the most useful brands are being rewarded with people’s time and attention. Data and machine learning are the best allies to become that brand.

Speakers:

• Alvaro Melendez, Co-Founder & CEO, Crant
• Scott Schult, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce / CVB
• David West, Executive Director, Destination Marketing – Herschend Family Entertainment
• Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President and CMO, Atlanta CVB

Sponsored by

Did you know that Airbnb, Uber, WhatsApp, Slack, Square, and Venmo were all born out of the last recession? It will happen again…silver linings are out there in 2020. Let’s take a look at innovation that has already been released by lockdown and a few seeds that have been planted for 2021 and beyond.

Speakers:

• Tedd Evers, Founder & CEO, TripTuner
• Laurie Jo Miller Farr, Editor, The Travel Vertical
• Jake Steinman, eTourism Summit Founder and Chairman Emeritus

Sponsored by

Tune in for this one-hour breakout session to brainstorm this week’s hot topic(s) with your peers.

Sponsored by

Your tricky task? To demonstrate how a marketing investment drove actual visitation. What are your tools, how do they work, what do they capture, and importantly…what do they miss? Let’s hear from the vendors who can shed light and answer the tough questions while explaining just how their products are evolving to tackle ever-changing privacy restrictions.

Speaker:

• Gray Lawry, VP, Strategy & Insights, Miles Partnership

Sponsored by

Your 2021 marketing plan is probably dotted with partners who didn’t appear in last year’s marketing plan, right? Well done. If not, this is the time to lay down foundations and leverage relationships with local partners to rebuild and make small, strategic strides toward recovery in 2021.

Speaker:

• Jason Hackett, Senior Vice President, SL Green Realty Corp.
• Mo Parikh, CEO, Bandwango
• Douglas Quinby, Co-founder & CEO, Arival
• Wes Rhea, CEO, Visit Stockton
• Eric Thompson, Vice President of Marketing, Visit Salt Lake

Sponsored by

The tourism industry has been hit hard by COVID-19, forcing destinations to cut programs and scale back. But It’s also provided DMOs with an opportunity to rethink their strategies and investments. In this session, Simpleview will share a few examples of how destinations are using data to adapt their marketing strategies.

Speakers:

• Katie Cook, Digital Marketing Strategist, Simpleview
• Paul McLeod, Director of Business Intelligence, Simpleview

Sponsored by

Join Destination Analysts who will lead a heated and hilarious discussion with a panel of very opinionated travel industry “professionals” as they debate “unpopular opinions” about our industry. 

Speaker:

• Myha Gallager, Senior Director of Research, Destination Analysts

Presented by

During this one hour virtual workshop we will demystify Machine Learning and understand the different types of data that you might already have available. We will dissect a case study in the travel and tourism sector, walking you through the whole process and having a sneak peak behind the scenes–from data collection to processing to applications of machine learning and advanced analytics. These are all ingredients that leading companies leverage to make a difference today. 

Speaker:

• • Alvaro Melendez, Co-Founder & CEO, Crant

Sponsored by

Raise your hand if you learned a ton this year…the hard way. While nobody saw 2020 coming and we don’t have a crystal ball for 2021, we do have some of the best and brightest minds in travel and tourism to talk about “21 Predictions for 2021.” And that includes you. 

Submit your one top prediction and we’ll pool the most frequently mentioned ones so a panel of experts can comment. 

Speaker:

• Josh Collins, Director, Destination Activations + Marketing, Streetsense
• David Downing, President of Brand at United Landmark Associates
• Bill Geist, Chief Instigator, DMOproz
• Matt Stiker, Founder, Capital M Marketing

Sponsored by

Make sure you tune in to as many virtual conversations throughout the month of October so you will know who you’d like to meet (in a virtual setting). Now is the time to connect with other DMOs, attractions or cutting-edge vendors in these brief, one-on-one virtual appointments.