Motrin’s recent misstep should serve as the latest example and reminder why companies cannot afford to ignore social media.  The company had released an ad designed to resonate with mothers who carry their children on their back, communicating the message that Motrin can help alleviate the pain.  In doing so, they implied that moms carry their kids as fashion accessories, which did nothing to encourage loyalty among this market.

Not surprisingly, moms began talking loudly online, including blogs, Twitter (who saw the keyword Motrin shoot to the top of the trending topics list) and even YouTube.  While it can be argued that Motrin didn’t really engage with this key audience when it came up with this campaign, it did listen, and as of yesterday had issued an apology on its home page.

Beyond apologizing after the fact, Motrin could have used social media to listen to this target audience in order to develop a more effect message…and even product.  Instead it came off as arrogant and unconnected to the moms it was trying to reach.

Barack Obama’s use of social media has been covered in a few different publications this week, but the New York Times article on how Obama recognized that technology can be used in new ways is really telling.   Obama’s campaign was a bold use of a new technology, an innovation that you don’t expect to see in politics.  And it worked.   How he carries this technology through his Presidency remains to be seen, but let’s hope that the innovative approach continues.
Obama’s forever changed politics, and as tourism marketers we can learn from this.  Whether you use technology or not, staying innovative in order to stand out from the competition is key to long-term success.

Just because you attended the same event as I did and got a contact list with everyone’s name, that does not make it ok for you to ‘take the liberty’ of adding my name (and everyone elses on the list) to your email newsletter list and RSS feed.  That is called spam, and regardless of whether you’re a keynote speaker or a first-time attendee, it’s not something that any email service provider or expert would condone.

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who’s likely to be less impressed with you when you make assumptions that are decidedly not best email practices.  Had you invited me to sign up instead of assuming I wanted to be added to the list, that would be a different story.

Enormous BLTs with artisanal ingredients meet online video at last week’s CalTIA Beyond the Gateways Conference.  ‘Nuff said.

Redmond’s Downtown Partnership has just unveiled the results of its new branding campaign.  Apparently research driven, the new ‘brand’ consists of the tagline ‘Who Knew?’ along with a logo design that includes such diverse objects as American flag, a glass of wine, and a shopping bag.  Oenophile patriots with a penchant for shopping will love it!

While admittedly not as tired as the ‘Gateway to’ tagline or the ‘Discover..’ tagline, it’s definitely an odd choice.  It immediately brought to mind this gem from that classic film, A Mighty Wind - which probably was not the RDP’s goal.

Pennsylvania’s state tourism organization recently redesigned its website, which we’ve commented on in the past.  The latest iteration includes a social network that allows members to share stories, reviews and photos.  It even invites visitor to blog for them.  While still new (and thus lacking a critical mass of content), it’s an interesting and courageous move on the part of a state tourism organization to harness the power of user generated content within the architecture of its own website.

According to eMarketer, online leisure travel is expected to grow by 12% this year to a total of $105 billion, and will continue to grow at an average rate of 11% through 2012.   Interestingly enough, eMarketer asserts that fewer travelers are booking online, claiming that frustration with online travel agent websites and the overall booking process is encouraging travelers to rely more on travel agents.  While that seems a bit extreme an assertion, it does illustrate why it’s imperative that any tourism site - whether it books travel directly or not - needs to be user friendly and easily navigable.

At the beginning of the summer a video was posted on You Tube about a lion raised in captivity and released that was later reunited with its ‘friends’ in an emotional meeting.  Called Christian the Lion, it, like many popular You Tube videos, received coverage on such TV shows as “The View”.  It’s also seen 11 million views since late June.

Humboldt County responded to this video with one of its own, launched late last week, an on-the-mark spoof that uses the region’s unique features to provide a twist.

Humboldt’s video works because it’s timely, and it’s a video response to a very popular current video.  It uses the video spoof to promote itself in a very tongue-in-cheek and authentic manner.  It even continues the story on its website, which viewers are invited to visit.

As of today, Humboldt County’s video has seen 63 thousand views in 3 days.  That’s pretty impressive.

Carl Ribaudo was quoted in the local paper today as it referenced his 2005 white paper on the changing South Lake Tahoe economy. The predictions are still very relevant today, perhaps more so with the bankruptcy declaration of the parent company of two South Shore casinos.

If you’ve not sent your registration in for the SMG Tourism Conference at Lake Tahoe, better do so today, as tomorrow is the registration deadline.

With topics including “The Conversation Economy”, mountain travel research and a follow up to last year’s presentation on destination authenticity, this is one conference you do not want to miss.