Twenty years. Yes, 20. And, yet, it went by so fast. Zeitgeist Consulting marks its 20th anniversary this year…and we thank you for supporting us over the past two decades. As the Grateful Dead surely said as they completed their final concerts last week, what a long strange trip it’s been.

We're experiencing some seriously psychedelic metamorphoses in the DMO Industry right now. We've never seen the rate of change hurtling forward as quickly as it has in the last 24 months. Back in 1995, the internet was just starting to get some traction. Like anything new, there were the early adopters (like us!)...but there were also those that were in complete denial. That first disruptive technology brought a tidal wave of change, from OTAs, Consumer Reviews and Social Media all disintermediating DMOs to providing an easily accessed information platform that has profoundly changed how we sell. 

Blackberry ruled the mobile device world before Apple introduced a product that should never have gained traction…but did in a fairly sensational way. I’m not sure there was any way that Blackberry could have responded, but management’s approach to the iPhone ensured they wouldn’t. They judged the iPhone as illogical, with an only 8-hour battery life and an older, slower network and a lousy keypad. For months, they did nothing, believing the initial iPhone to be an inferior product.

With this post, I mean no disrespect to Economic Development Agencies, Chambers of Commerce, Downtown Improvement Districts or Community Development Organizations. Each has a critical role in the future prosperity and long term sustainability of our regions. But, let’s get one thing straight. None of these organizations has the ability to significantly alter the public perception of a place like a Destination Marketing Organization. None. There. I’ve said it. And, I’m saying what many of us in the Destination Marketing world have always silently believed... because we now have proof.

“If it bleeds, it leads.” That’s the mantra of many old-school news organizations. It's the concept that consumers are drawn to bad news...thus, advertisers that desire the attention of those consumers should place their dollars on the most sensationalistic media outlets to score the most eyeballs.

When we work with communities such as St. Paul, it’s easy to focus on “the Downtown.” In most of these municipalities there is a general understanding that the Downtown is the heart of the destination. When working with County or Regional Destination Marketing Organizations, however, small town community pride makes the process much harder. There is the expectation that we (and the DMO) must be fair and treat every community within the destination with equal attention.