Destination Marketing: Do Private Companies Do It Better?

Are DMOs up to the social networking challenge put forth by OTAs?

Mark Shipley, president of Wanderlust (a travel and destination marketing firm) explains the challenges facing DMOs. Mr. Shipley cites their multitude of varied stakeholders (government, hotels and other local businesses) and their complex political ties as factors that may put public destination marketing organizations at a disadvantage when competing for consumer mindshare. This public versus private debate is growing considerably as technology has shifted the way travel is marketed. Now, OTAs and private companies that have revenue at stake may have an edge on driving consumers to destination markets. Does this signal a shift in how destinations are branded and promoted?

Connect: Destinations
Destination marketers are facing the dual challenge of a turbulent economy and rapidly evolving technologies. This convergence is resulting in a new paradigm for DMOs, NTOs and CVBs. PhoCusWright Connect reveals new best practices for DMOs in a series of articles and video interviews designed for destination marketers.

PhoCusWright’s Destination Marketing: Understanding the Role and Impact of Destination Marketers reviews the changing dynamics and priorities of destination marketers. Purchase the full report by July 31 to save US$200 off the regular price of $695.

How to be Social on PhoCusWright Connect >>

Date: July 16th, 2009 @ 14:42

Author: PhoCusWright

Categories: Blog, PhoCusWrightPosts

Tags:

http://buhlerworks.com/wordpress jebworks

Mark spells out clearly the challenge DMOs face and the result in case they do not step up to the plate soon to play a role in the trip planning process. Their active involvement in the social web and integration of relevant user generated content and social networking features, using available and yet to be developed, technology tools is an urgent requirement. The threat he mentions by private sector innovators is real.
http://twitter.com/PembridgeAnna Anna Pollock

Joe (jebworks) and I have spent much of our respective careers trying to introduce DMOs to new ways of marketing and, while the majority are still locked into traditional push broadcasting methods, it's exciting to see a few really bravely experimenting in this area. (Queensland, New Zealand, Philadeplhia spring to mind). While Mark's diagnosis (ie the political nature of these organizations) is an impediment, a deeper cause – failure to appreciate that destinations are, in essence, networks of people, many of whom care passionately about the place they are living in, working in or visiting. In a networked economy, the DMO's role is to enable and encourage residents, businesses and visitors to extend the invitation, create and share content, enrich visitors' experiences and ensure they return home raving about the destination.
http://buhlerworks.com/wordpress jebworks

Anna raises a great aspect relevant to the DMO role, the involvement of what's often called stakeholders, a term that usually is limited to commercial partners of the DMO. This term should be expanded to include those people she mentions, who often show an active interest in getting involved and are indeed passionate about the place they live and share with visitors. They are an underutilized resource, one that British Columbia has made an effort to include more in their work.

What strikes me – and is a source of frustration at the same time – is the lack of DMO involvement in discussions like these where they could either learn something, or even if not, make their point of view known to a professional audience. Crowdsourcing and wisdom of the crowd should be part of their modus operandi but doesn't seem to be, at least yet.
http://www.joobili.com Joobili

In our work with European NTOs and CTOs we've discovered there are always one or two people who really “get it” but finding those individuals is the first challenge. The second challenge is navigating the politics and hierarchy Mark describes. If private companies are just now beginning to really leverage these social media opportunities, history tells us broad DMO adoption of these tools is still 3-5 years away.
http://buhlerworks.com/wordpress jebworks

Absolutely agree with you. The first objective is to increase the number of those who “get it” and possibly at the level of where decisions are made, the second to make them aware that in future their position will be increasingly be less secure with that time lag of 3-5 years in their adoption of new technologies and tools. These developments come at an ever faster pace.
http://twitter.com/ClaudeBenard ClaudeBenard

Thanks for this great video and comments.

Agree with you, and the lack of innovation and the strungle for change are the main DMO's problem's.

Also, many have budget problem and very complicated RFP process to deal with (especially in France).

Private sector have many opportunities to make better services to serves the final customers

In fact, they don't are anymore the owner of their destination….

But, they can deal with their unique asset > the quality content on their destination >> maybe it's the key to make deal with private sector and private technologies
jamesmacgregor

While I tend to work with DMO's in more remote areas of the planet, the fact is they all have the same access to this information that you and I do. But they don't use it. They do not subscribe to electronic newsletter, they don't spend even an hour a week on line doing investing some particular subject that may affect the promotion and delivery of their destination product. While I am aware of the politics that can be associated with these organizations, I have found that a well informed DMO manager can usually use that information to orient the political structure which more often than not includes poor;y informed GM's of the major properties or in bound operators. How to we keep the DMO management and staff current? I don't know? Perhaps a DMO oriented e-magazine that we all support. On several recent 'winning' proposals to do strategic plans, I have said that I will, as part of my mandate provide the stakeholders in the region with a monthly newsletter during the planning cycle and a quarterly newsletter for 1 year after the contract. And when the newsletter arrives on their desktop I get a telephone call thanking me…..not what I am looking for…I want them to send me a bit of information.
jamesmacgregor

While I tend to work with DMO's in more remote areas of the planet, the fact is they all have the same access to this information that you and I do. But they don't use it. They do not subscribe to electronic newsletter, they don't spend even an hour a week on line doing investing some particular subject that may affect the promotion and delivery of their destination product. While I am aware of the politics that can be associated with these organizations, I have found that a well informed DMO manager can usually use that information to orient the political structure which more often than not includes poor;y informed GM's of the major properties or in bound operators. How to we keep the DMO management and staff current? I don't know? Perhaps a DMO oriented e-magazine that we all support. On several recent 'winning' proposals to do strategic plans, I have said that I will, as part of my mandate provide the stakeholders in the region with a monthly newsletter during the planning cycle and a quarterly newsletter for 1 year after the contract. And when the newsletter arrives on their desktop I get a telephone call thanking me…..not what I am looking for…I want them to send me a bit of information.