Destination On The Left

In this episode, you will learn about using partnerships to maximize effect from Kelly Rapone. Kelly has been Tourism Marketing Director at the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce in the Buffalo Niagara region of NYS for the past 13 years, and a part of the Chamber's Tourism program for 18 years. In her role, Kelly manages implementation and development of the overall tourism marketing program for Genesee County. In addition to her work at the county level, Kelly has been instrumental in several regional and statewide tourism marketing initiatives including the roles of regional administrator for Greater Niagara Region, project manager for Country Byways of the Greater Niagara Region, and project coordinator for the War of 1812 Honorary Peace Garden Trail brochure. Kelly is also the founder and administrator of the Haunted History Trail of New York State. The Haunted History Trail of New York State began in 2013 and features attractions from almost every region of New York State including haunted dining, tours, attractions, events and accommodations, with many of the attractions tying back to New York's local history. In 2015 the Haunted History Trail of NYS was recognized with an Excellence in Tourism Marketing Award Statewide by the New York State Tourism Industry Association. It is the only state-wide paranormal tourism trail in the country. What you'll learn about in this episode: Kelly's background and how she became the Tourism Marketing Director at the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce How to identify and focus on niche markets The challenges Genesee County has faced standing out against much bigger destinations How Genesee County has collaborated with other destinations A newly renovated visitor center, a redesigned website, and other projects that Kelly is working on right now Some of Genesee County's very unique assets and how she founded the Haunted History Trail Making the time to form relationships that lead into great partnerships Ways to contact Kelly: Website: VisitGeneseeny.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-rapone-8586791

In this episode, you will learn the skills that transfer from working client side to agency side and traits every PR professional should have, from Colleen Knopeck, Associate Consultant at Break The Ice Media. Colleen uses her passion for writing and storytelling as an Associate Consultant at Break The Ice Media. She brings with her demonstrated success in proactive media relations and brand marketing communications for B2B, B2C, and B2E audiences. Colleen holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communication: Journalism/Media Studies from SUNY Geneseo and a Master's Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from St. Bonaventure University. Her enthusiasm, attention to detail, and commitment to exceeding expectations are reflected in her work, and in the results she drives for her clients. What you'll learn about in this episode: What Colleen does at Break The Ice Media How Colleen uses the experience she brings from the client side What clients want from agencies Key qualities in a PR professional Passion and persuasion and why these traits are important in PR Why a love of organized chaos is beneficial in PR How Colleen ties it all together in an ongoing campaign Resources: Colleen's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/top-6-traits-that-successful-pr-pros-need Colleen's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/150-days-and-counting-4-things-ive-learned-by-going-client-to-agency-side

In this episode, you will learn about using hashtags over a variety of social media channels and how to use Instagram effectively from Jessica Reilly, Associate Consultant, at Break The Ice Media. Jessica is a graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Political Science. She started at Break The Ice Media in 2016 and brings with her a duality of knowledge, combining her classical PR training with marketing skills. She has a passion for social media and analytics. Her personal strengths include a love of research, and a strong sense of curiosity. She brings a fresh perspective and attention to detail to all the client projects she works on. What you'll learn about in this episode: What Jessica does at Break The Ice Media Why travel hashtags are important Three main challenges with hashtags What makes hashtags on Instagram different than other platforms What you need to know about creating your own hashtag Travel hashtags that you need to know about Why Instagram is a tremendous platform for the travel/tourism industry Instagram takeovers: why having someone else take over your Instagram account can be a great idea Ways to find great Instagram content to share Resources: Jessica's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/destination-insta-sensation Jessica's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/trendingnow-hashtags-and-the-tourism-industry

In this episode, you will learn about Facebook ad campaigns from Camille Zess, Consultant at Break The Ice Media. Camille is adept at working in the digital media space. Her passion for creating online and email marketing campaigns shows in the high quality and creative work that she produces. She is an accomplished writer, creating content for social media, websites, blogs, the press, advertising, journalism, and research writing. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Hiram College and uses her flexibility with words to capture the voice of the brands Break The Ice works with. Her personal strengths include an advanced understanding of marketing, a talent and passion for copywriting and the ability to produce results. What you'll learn about in this episode: What Camille does at Break The Ice Media The importance of staying on top of the changes in the ad dashboard How to choose the right campaign objective Why you need to be clear on the demographics of your audience before launching a campaign How to keep an audience from being too narrow and using lookalike audiences How Facebook judge's ad images and what makes a good image The new ad tools and why they're important including website conversion and lead generation Why the best use of your ad dollars isn't boosting Facebook Campaign work Camille has done for Wayne County's Annual Apple Tasting Tour How to structure the landing page for a campaign Instagram ads Why weekly monitoring and patience is important with an ad campaign What Facebook's "Standard Events" and where you need a coding expert Resources: Camille's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/beyond-the-boost-digging-in-to-facebook-advertising

In this episode, you will learn about destination marketing strategies, the benefits of FAM trips, and strategies for businesses to prepare for groups from Rhonda Vaccaro, Vice President and Senior Consultant at Break The Ice Media. Rhonda has more than 20 years sales and new business development experience. She has worked in technology, environmental services and hospitality and travel industries. She is a master at creating relationships, working with prospects and turning them into sales for Break The Ice Media's tourism clients. She has a deep understating of sales strategies, relationship development and creating win-win opportunities. What you'll learn about in this episode: What Rhonda does at Break The Ice Media How Rhonda works with receptive operators to make their lives easier Marketing and sales tactics that Rhonda uses with receptive operators The proper follow-up and why it's important in marketing Why Rhonda loves FAM tours The importance of educating everyone involved on how they will benefit from a FAM tour Why communication is key for a successful FAM How to treat your FAM guests as VIPs Remembering to have fun during a FAM tour What a business needs to do before they're group ready Resources: Rhonda's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/collaboration-in-tourism Rhonda's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/increase-foot-traffic-with-motorcoach-business-10-ways-to-become-group-ready

Sarah Blackwell is a Consultant at Break The Ice Media. Sarah brings knowledge of the public relations industry to her work at Break the Ice Media, including the ability to write, pitch, and tell a great story. Her experience working with journalists and passion for PR and social media has allowed her to help her clients get great exposure and effectively connect with their target audience. She is a graduate of The College at Brockport, SUNY, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism/Broadcasting (concentration: PR) and a dual degree in English. She joined Break The Ice Media in 2013, and brought with her hospitality and marketing experience from internships at Disney, Southwest Airlines, American Cancer Society, and Susan B Anthony House. She is very involved with the Public Relations Society of America, Rochester Chapter, co-chairing both the Young PR Professionals and PRism Awards Committee. Her personal strengths include her ability to find, research, and implement new media. She brings a fresh perspective, creativity, and attention to detail to the client projects that she works on. What you'll learn about in this episode: Collaborative PR programs that Sarah works on The work Sarah has done on Haunted History Trail, Cross Border Showcase, and the Finger Lakes vacation region What a Media FAM trip is, why it's so important, and what makes a FAM successful Strategies on how to use group trips effectively — and why they are losing popularity Strategies for helping journalists do live "pre-coverage" before they write their articles — a strategy that is new to the digital landscape How to build a journalist itinerary (and when to schedule break time) How to fund FAM trips Working with experts to build a FAM trip without dictating The time commitment needed to build an itinerary Resources: Sarah's blog: breaktheicemedia.com/how-to-adapt-your-fams-to-a-changing-media-landscape

Nicole Mahoney started Break The Ice Media in 2009 in response to the evolving needs of small- to medium-sized businesses, in particular, the rise of social media. Break The Ice Media is a boutique marketing and communications firm with a focus on travel, tourism, food, wine, and hospitality. As CEO, Nicole is responsible for working with clients to understand their marketing needs, develop strategic marketing plans and execute those plans. She is also responsible for building a team that can deliver. Break The Ice Media specializes in collaborations that leverage resources of multiple partners for the creation of successful marketing programs within the travel and hospitality industry. Break The Ice Media views these programs as "coop-etition" where partners cooperate with their competition to create a program that is larger than one they can execute alone. Building these programs requires a leader who is level-headed, an effective listener, with an ability to move a group towards consensus in order to move forward. Nicole received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts in Communications from The College at Brockport, SUNY. Nicole loves the Finger Lakes region of New York State where she was born and raised. She is raising 4 daughters with her husband, John. What you'll learn about in this episode: What Nicole learned at the Marketing Outlook Forum The emerging international travel trends Why Mexico will surpass Canada as the #1 source for arrivals by the end of 2016 Why China will surpass the UK as the #1 source for overseas arrivals by 2020 Why India will be the second largest market for consuming class households by 2025 How the US domestic leisure market will continue to grow in 2017 by the same rate as 2016 The research that shows that people are starting to see travel as a better use of money than material things Adventure vs. relaxation: what travelers want their vacations to feel like Why people are wanting more and more to be travelers, not tourists The rise of peer-to-peer lodging and what travelers that use these alternatives are like The World Food Travel Association's study The 2016 Food Travel Monitor How food and beverage influences leisure travelers to seek out a destination Why a positive food or beverage experience will motivate travelers to return The rise of peer-to-peer dining and psycho-culinary profile research Project Time Off: the initiative to get Americans to use their vacation days The unlimited vacation policy at Break The Ice Media The economic impact of Americans using their vacation time Resources: Nicole's blog

Jennifer Ackerson is President and Founder of ALON Marketing Group, a respected tourism sales and marketing consulting company. She specializes in effective strategic development for growing travel and tourism supplier businesses with a focus on B2B and travel-trade client relationship building. Jennifer is a 20-year veteran of the Travel & Tourism industry with experience in the hotel, destinations, attractions and tours, transportation, restaurant, and travel buyer sectors. Jennifer has an excellent understanding of the tourism and visitor dynamic. Her distinctions include an unparalleled assimilation into the domestic and international buyer/seller relationship, which results in a high level of successful strategic business development activity. Her past work experience includes working for Marriott Hotels, Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, Riese Restaurants, New York Apple Tours, Skyline Multimedia Entertainment, CitySights NY, and most recently, 15+ years of independent tourism consultation. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why it's so important to build up the buyer-seller relationship What ALON does to help its clients stand out from the crowd What Travel Trade is Why staying focused is so crucial in the tourism industry ALON's collaboration programs What's coming up for ALON Why you can't be afraid of your team knowing more than you do How to figure out if a partnership is good at the beginning of the relationship Why you need to make sure everyone in a partnership is on board with the project vision What Jennifer and ALON looks for in their clients and partners Ways to contact Jennifer: Website: www.alonmarketing.com

Glenn Clark is the president and creative director of Clark CSM Marketing & Communications. He has worked as a Designer and Creative Director alongside world-class talent at agencies such as Partners + Napier in Rochester and Eric Mower & Associates in Syracuse prior to founding an award-winning agency. His vision for Clark CSM has always been to create amazing work with an attentiveness to a wide-array of clients while specializing in tourism and destination marketing. His clients will agree, Glenn is a blast to work with and usually the most enthusiastic person in the room. Even better, he'll never turn down an invite to grab a beer. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why he started Clark CSM How Clark CSM got its foothold in the travel and tourism industry What Glenn did for a skiing location in a year with no snow How telling the right story allowed Glenn to help a coffee shop stand out Why you need to work on the business, not in the business What Glenn is doing with the craft beverage industry How to create a powerful, memorable brand through authentic marketing Why it's important to connect in person -- not just on social media The creative branding blogs that Glenn has launched Ways to contact Glenn: Website: www.clarkcsm.com Resources: Two Cows: www.clarkcsm.com/two-cows Crafting A Brand: http://eepurl.com/ci_eV5 Three Things Every Thursday: http://eepurl.com/bAHYrL

For Leah Mueller, traveling is more than a job -- it's her passion. After earning a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from Niagara University, she went on to study abroad before starting her career. Leah has broad and varied expertise in the hotel, attraction, restaurant, and private company sector. She has been with Visit Buffalo Niagara for over 15 years and was a key partner in expanding their international appeal. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why passion helps you connect with customers How Buffalo has grown in the last 5 years What challenges and opportunities come from Buffalo's location near Niagara Falls and I-90 How Leah has combated those challenges New York State in 9 Days: a project Visit Buffalo Niagara is collaborating on with Dutchess County Tourism in the Hudson Valley and Visit Syracuse How working with competitors creates win-wins What Leah looks for in partners What makes partnerships not work Ways to contact Leah: Website: www.visitbuffaloniagara.com