7 Truths

A friend of mine’s job is to make sure a mega-bank’s marketing is ethical, especially any advertising about products.

Although probably subject to regulations, it is a voice of conscience that many in my former field of community destination marketing could use when tempted to place ads for no other measurable reason than to make a stakeholder happy.

This sort of ethical compliance might also come in handy whenever a few are tempted to use ad mediums, such as billboards, that desecrate roadsides and degrade the brands and appeal of towns and states, including their own.

The latter would probably even volunteer to be strapped to the bumper as willing hostages for lawmakers trying to push a bill through in North Carolina that would legalize thousands of illegal billboards, permit their conversion to digital even where residents are overwhelmingly opposed, as well as drive up the cost of road construction.

Pushing aside that public opinion polls show North Carolinians are opposed, regardless of party, gender or geography, a sponsor pointed out that billboards “are no different than radio, TV or newspapers.”

Uh, there is at least one crucial difference.  Radio, TV and newspapers produce content in return.  Billboards destroy content when they blight their surroundings and destruct scenic character.

The legislation’s sponsor went on to use tourism as a justification because “its visibility to the traveling public must be preserved and fostered.”

Okay, let’s forget for a moment that for decades in survey after survey, scenic character and climate have been the two overarching draws for tourism here.  Billboards, eh, not so much.

Any tourism concern still using billboards in North Carolina should take heed from marketing guru Seth Godin who wrote that “Marketers need to spend less time making promises and more time keeping them.”

I’ve had some experience here and there marketing tourism including two decades in North Carolina so let’s look at whether billboards are important to tourism:

• It is true that 1-in-10 Americans prefer to see ads on billboards, however, 90% don’t.
• It is true that 3% of small businesses advertise on billboards, 1-in-10 when medium size businesses are included, however, 90% don’t.
• It is true that .2% (two-tenths of one percent) of adults find billboards the most influential ad medium for purchase decisions, however, 99% don’t.
• It is also true that nearly two-thirds of Americans now use smartphones, 67% of which use them for turn by turn navigation while driving, and 75% while traveling.
• It is also true that beyond smartphones, 40% have other portable GPS devices and 17% have it built into their vehicles, and this is ramping up in North America to another 13 million vehicles annually.
• It is also true that on the road, 62% use mobile devices to find restaurants, 46% to find attractions, 42% to book and research accommodations.
• It is also true, according to Michelin, that as a backup the remaining 39% rely on old fashioned maps, guides and Internet print outs to find their way around.  Billboards fall in the 5% who use none of the above or “other.”

You do the math and decide whether it makes sense to surrender North Carolina’s brand to an obsolete advertising technology which represents a tiny number of jobs and almost no tax revenue.

Then, it might be a good idea to let your elected representative know how you feel.

Of course, tourism isn’t the only consideration.

On the other side of the ledger, not only is scenic character the reason visitors including more than 80% of newcomers and relocating visitors find North Carolina appealing but making trees and vegetation a priority yields air and water purification, carbon sequestration and of course, private property values and quality of place.

Of course, billboard companies, nearly all of them headquartered out-of-state, have obviously filled the ears of lawmakers otherwise.  Too bad they aren’t subject to greater ethical compliance regulations, too.

As for my former profession in community destination marketing or visitor-centric economic and cultural development, it is a good sign that 200 have earned accreditation which includes having a code of ethics.

But it reminds me of when employers found it wasn’t enough on applicants to ask if job applicants had a car, so they added a follow-up question, “Does it run?”

Destination Marketing Association International dropped a long standing requirement that members and their staff members sign a code of ethics about a decade ago now because some “good ‘ole boys” couldn’t see how to enforce it, especially when other “good ‘ole boys” were in violation.

Of course, the answer was easy.  Throw the bums out!

The Value of Coming In Third

I didn’t remember that my adopted home of Durham, North Carolina is only one of 150 communities it serves, when SONOCO awarded it a Bronze-tier Sustainability Star Award this month.

Durham is no stranger to accolades, especially in the sheer breadth of areas recognized, but in my former career as a community marketer, I would usually breeze past one like this to immediately dig down into the rating scheme and how the community could improve.

Beyond validation, accolades serve as a vanity metric for some but the true value of any ranking, if scientifically done, is as an extremely useful diagnostic to shed light on areas for improvement.

More later in this blog on why accolades are a double-edged sword when it comes to community marketing.

In this case though, it was apparent that Durham was one of the few—if not the only—community awarded at any of the three tiers and that in addition, Energy Digital has named Durham a “Top 10 Recycling Community in the US.”

Durham was the only city in the Southeast to make the list, falling right after Madison, Wisconsin, which hopefully it will soon emulate at recycling plastic film such as shopping bags.

Making its appearance in the top ten even more remarkable, North Carolina as a whole ranks 41st at recycling.

Durham recycles 1,000 tons of material a month (2 million lbs. – 8 lbs. per capita) so it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking this must be the norm everywhere until you read about some other pretty cool cities that really struggle with recycling.

It is also important for Durham to remember that SONOCO Recycling alone now collects 292,000 tons of material a month or 3.5 million tons a year.  If they aren’t already doing so, SONOCO could help us establish a per capita benchmark for which to strive.

Beyond their diagnostic value, community accolades are a signal of quality.  But care must be taken when using them to leverage awareness through community marketing for visitors including the more than 8-in-10 who secretly shop a community as a visitor first.

The accolades provide reasons to believe in Durham’s deep-rooted values and personality traits but a study published last year shows The Paradox of Publicity.

Community marketing is about helping people make decisions that are best for them, and Durham is not for everyone, no community is, but especially one such as this with a strong sense of place and identity.

The study shows there may be more enduring value in not being first in a ranking or accolade, which according to the researchers, if not used carefully, can lead to adoption by audiences who would not have been attracted otherwise.

This can lead to a backlash and disgruntled individuals.  This is why community marketing arms must do their best to provide a full range of content that will help potential visitors, newcomers and relocating executives find the right fit, even if it isn’t your community.

In other words, don’t be quick to discount missing out on first place.

An example is another recent ranking of metro areas by a series of indices that rate sprawl.  When I first looked at the work of researchers at the University of Utah, I questioned if they had been careful to look at variables such as whether the region is polycentric.

Fortunately, they also provided the measure by county, which in a polycentric area, more accurately reflects how people live and perceive where they live.

At this level, the indices reflected accurately what I know to be the differences between Durham and other counties in North Carolina (pages 33-34.)

Sometimes, using rankings or accolades requires digging more deeply into the metrics before publicizing them as a means to help prospective residents, as well as officials, make decisions.

I was shocked recently to hear two people, one in my former profession, question the value of undergoing an in-depth organizational diagnostic for accreditation or reaccreditation.

Communities have very different personalities unless they have surrendered theirs to emulate others.

But I can’t imagine a community that would tolerate having representatives that aren’t accredited or eager to seek any diagnostic that would ensure they are proficient.

Don’t give me the bunk that you are too busy, or in my mind, you better be busy looking for a new line of work.

Best “When It Doesn’t Seem Like Marketing”

Anyone who reads this blog with any frequency knows that for several years I’ve been a fan of Tom Fishburne, the founder and CEO of Marketoon Studios.  His daily blog illustrations about marketing should be a must read for non-marketing folks, especially those who think they know all about marketing.

Next week Tom is presenting to a gathering of marketing chiefs for community-destination marketing organizations (DMO,) many of whom get it.

More importantly, next month he presents to a forum of my former CEO peers for these organizations, far too many of whom are still stuck in old models of marketing.

For anyone who is interested in some of the concepts Tom will probably illustrate during that DMO innovation conference, click here to read a presentation on marketing he was asked to give at Google last fall.

I particularly liked the part of his presentation to Google when he illustrated why “the best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.”  This is particularly salient insight for public officials and many involved in other aspects of economic development who still think community marketing should be about big, glitzy ad campaigns or mega-facilities and events.

This type of thinking was discredited even before my now-concluded 40-year career in visitor-centric economic and cultural development began.  Unfortunately, it is still being perpetuated in some circles even today by people who assume they are expert at everything and close themselves off to new information.

Folks, such as this, remind me of a line in one of my favorite duets, written by Rodney Crowell, “You can’t talk when I don’t hear.”

A “Best Practice” Scenic Cities Certification

I’m working with a group that, by adapting a great Texas program now in its third year,, hopes to pattern a program to certify North Carolina towns and cities as scenic.

Only 20 of the 1200 cities and towns in Texas have achieved the designation which is based on 73 stringent criteria that demonstrate that a community is serious in its commitment to quality-of-life development including an effective bundle of programs, ordinances, rules, and regulations.

Under the Texas certification, cities and towns there can build additional points toward certification with the goal of earning Recognized, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Certification.

The program is particularly useful to community/destination marketing organizations (DMOs), commonly called convention and visitor bureaus, to which I devoted my now-concluded four-decade career.  Those DMOs that are aware of the importance of sense-of-place should certainly already understand the things that desecrate it.

DMOs are also in the best position to leverage the certification to signal a community’s worthiness for consideration by potential visitors, event planners, filmmakers, newcomers and relocating executives.

The one improvement I hope we make with the North Carolina program is to be sure to include the Destination Marketing Association of North Carolina as a partner along with the NC League of Municipalities and the NC Association of County Commissioners, and many other organizations including the soon-to-be reignited Scenic North Carolina.

Here are a few of the benefits to a city or town that has been certified under the Texas program:

• improves property values
• attracts new business
• enhances economic development efforts
• educates your citizens about the importance and impact of local decision-making
• improves quality of life for residents
• makes your city more appealing to tourists
• shapes your city as a destination center for travelers and meeting planners
• positions your city to serve as a model for emerging scenic cities, and
• creates synergies with other certified Scenic Cities.

Certification itself earns:

• technical advice and support during the application process
• exclusive access to Scenic City logos for use on city website, print materials
• media release regarding certification issued to local and regional newspapers, radio, TV
• Scenic City emblem to post within city limits
• recognition at a special luncheon event to be held in the Fall following certification, and
• synergies with other certified Scenic Cities.

If communities want to pre-qualify for the North Carolina program, I suggest reviewing the Texas application upon which we will expand and improve.

Nothing Like A Thorough Top-To-Bottom Diagnostic

People who second guess their community’s destination marketing organization (DMO) may not care because the motive is usually either to secure special benefit or to appear smarter.

For any who do care, they really only need to ask one question.

Has the official DMO working on behalf of my community earned full accreditation to the best practices and highest standards of community marketing?

Only one in every ten in North America are accredited including the nine just added to that list including the DMO in Asheville, North Carolina bringing to six the number in this state to earn the distinction.

The DMO for Durham, North Carolina was among the first in the state and the first two dozen in North America to earn accreditation four years ago and now becomes one of the first three of ten worldwide to earn re-accreditation and with an unprecedented 12 exemplary citations.

Accreditation is a rigorous, top-to-bottom diagnostic involving 53 mandatory and 29 voluntary areas of community marketing. Re-accreditation involves an additional 21 mandatory and 1 voluntary.

Durham can be very proud of and happy for my former colleagues including the governing board of that organization, now chaired by friend and former long-time State Senator, Wib Gulley who was just completing his two terms as Mayor of Durham when I was recruited here more than two decades ago to help jump-start Durham’s first-ever community marketing organization.

My private-sector friends are usually incredulous that any organization would voluntarily elect to undergo a thorough diagnostic like accreditation to best practices and standards. It is a real achievement and one in which Durham can truly celebrate as another reason to believe this is “where great things happen.”

Unfortunately the organization responsible for visitor-centric economic and cultural development remains the only economic development organization in Durham that has undergone the scrutiny of an accreditation diagnostic.

Each of the others are sincerely encouraged to pursue accreditation and if one isn’t available to work hard to establish one as credible as the one for DMOs. Without a doubt, accreditation is the most significant professional enhancement in my four decades in that field and possibly over the entire 115 year span since the first DMO was established.

Durham’s Rising Stars In Community Destination Marketing

Now not only is DCVB Chief Executive, Shelly Green, vice chairman and rising through the ranks of the governing board for the organization that accredits destination marketing organizations worldwide,

…but former DCVB marketing exec Vicki Isley has just been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Destination Marketing Association International.

Congratulations!