Editor’s note: In this blog series, District Marketing Mojo, Verdin President and CEO Mary Verdin interviews a leader in the world of marketing and communications for special districts and business improvement districts each month. Check back here regularly for new interviews.
The Strategic Disruptor: Unleashing Creativity in Tourism
Carl Ribaudo isn’t your typical tourism marketing consultant. Forget cookie-cutter strategies and top-down approaches. Carl’s firm, SMG Consulting, believes in dismantling everything, then putting it back together from the bottom up, in a stronger, more innovative way.
For more than two decades, Carl has been shaking things up in the tourism industry. His primary clients are destination marketing organizations (DMOs), especially those beyond the major tourist hubs. He believes the secret sauce lies in resident-centricity. The idea is, rather than turning to visitors to define the unique sense of place in a given destination, start with the people who choose to live there. By harnessing creativity to amplify the residents’ voices, you can create a destination strategy that not only touches on the emotional aspects of a place, but also is in-sync with the community. Bringing residents into the bigger picture also mitigates the common situation of tourism entities and residents feeling at odds with each other.
The three key ingredients to Carl’s results-driven approach:
- Bottom-Up Thinking: Carl flips the script. Instead of focusing solely on attracting visitors, he starts with understanding the residents’ passions and concerns. This resident-centric emergent approach fosters a sustainable and authentic tourism experience.
- Unleashing Creativity: Ditch the standard attribute-based marketing. Carl uses scenarios, design thinking and ideation to help DMOs discover their unique competitive edge.
- Embracing Change: Carl isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. He sees obstacles as opportunities to develop innovative solutions.
This approach helps Carl dig deeper, uncovering the heart and soul of a destination. He focuses on building narratives that resonate with travelers seeking authentic experiences, which can transform them into “Connected Visitors.” Imagine swapping crowded tourist spots for genuine interactions, discovering your inner peace on a mountain bike adventure, or fostering family bonds beneath a blanket of stars.
An example of this is the Lake Tahoe Visitor Authority. There are many beautiful vacation spots in California and across the west, but nothing compares to the natural, pure beauty of Lake Tahoe, the “clearest, bluest freshwater lake in America.” Their “Awe and Then Some” positioning brings this to the forefront through all touchpoints (see breakout).
And Carl lives the dream he helps create for others. When he takes time to disconnect, he really disconnects. He does this by exploring scenic highways on his motorcycle, conquering national parks and embracing the thrill of whitewater rafting. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty (or maybe a little muddy) in the pursuit of authentic experiences.
Carl is currently working on self-publishing his book, Strategy and Creativity Matter: Notes from the Road, which will be available soon on Amazon. With a growing library of blog articles ranging from the politics of tourism to what we can learn from Burning Man, Carl decided to pull them together as a resource for those looking for insights and tools to transform their destination from ordinary to extraordinary.
Connect with Carl on LinkedIn, follow him on Facebook, and sign up to receive his e-newsletter to stay on top of the newest insights in destination marketing.
After the Visit Lake Tahoe agency developed the campaign, SMG Consulting created a comprehensive strategy for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority to change the competitive playing field and put them at an advantage. This strategy wasn’t built in a boardroom. It incorporated innovative techniques like economic analysis and scenario planning to ensure a long-term vision. SMG went beyond traditional methods by truly immersing themselves in the community. They conducted over 100 interviews and conversations in various locations, from ski lifts to hiking trails, engaging with both residents and visitors. In addition to these informal interactions, they held several community meetings. This emphasis on gathering diverse perspectives resulted in a groundbreaking plan. It proposed a new structure for resident inclusion and a stewardship approach to unify all tourism efforts.