Know what you’re not

Sveinn Birkir Björnsson – Promote Iceland

Sveinn demonstrated how a DMO can make a big impact on a smaller budget. It starts by understanding what you’re not and not being afraid to take a stand. How many DMOs claim to be “diverse”? How many DMOs claim to have “something for everybody”? Island doesn’t. And Island is not afraid to say so. As a result, the people that visit are much more likely to love the place. And when people that will probably love you visit, the stories they share in social media will be much stronger, building the right brand amongst their circles.

Manage your destination experience
Peter Kentie – Eindhoven 365

You can leave it up to the Dutch to present the transition from destination marketing to destination management in a visually stimulating way. In Eindhoven, Peter isn’t city marketing, he’s city making. They are practicing the future role of the DMO. Very little promotion but instead play an active role in managing the destination experience.

Eindhoven also know what they are and what they’re not. They have defined their niches as technology, design and knowledge. Positioning the city in these niche groups and “turning up the volume” to engage visitors and generate the right stories. Even citywide Wifi has been thought off.

Develop a brand your residents connect with
Peter Kentie – Eindhoven 365

Making your residents an active part of your promotional efforts is critical for a DMO. That’s why we recommend our clients to choose a destination hashtag that speaks to local pride for example. Eindhoven took it one step further by crowd sourcing their visual identity and pretty much open source it so others can use it for their purposes. The result is an identity people that’s used across the city connecting with people so strongly that some now carry tattoos with the logo. Have anyone in your destination a tattoo with you logo?