{"id":76296,"date":"2025-11-15T20:35:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T20:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/?p=76296"},"modified":"2025-11-15T20:35:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T20:35:54","slug":"lessons-from-a-destination-marketing-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/lessons-from-a-destination-marketing-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from a destination marketing expert"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"hs_cos_wrapper_post_body\">\n<p>If you think balancing your content calendar and your Monday meetings is too much, imagine if you also had to factor in superstition, literal witch trials, and being a magical mecca for millions.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not all black cats and broomsticks. Today\u2019s master oversees year-round tourism marketing for one of the US\u2019s oldest and most history-rich towns \u2014 and also one of the largest Halloween destinations in the world.<\/p>\n<p><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27\" id=\"hs-cta-bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27\"><!--[if lte IE 8]>\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n<![endif]--><a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/53\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27\" style=\"border-width:0px;margin: 0 auto; display: block; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px\" height=\"58\" width=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27.png\" alt=\"Click Here to Subscribe to Masters in Marketing\" align=\"middle\"\/><\/a><\/span><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=560&amp;height=560&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Ashley Judge, a smiling woman with glasses\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 560px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=280&amp;height=280&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp 280w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=560&amp;height=560&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp 560w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=840&amp;height=840&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp 840w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=1120&amp;height=1120&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp 1120w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=1400&amp;height=1400&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp 1400w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp?width=1680&amp;height=1680&amp;name=ashley-judge-mim-blog.webp 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\"\/><\/h2>\n<h2>Ashley Judge<\/h2>\n<h3>Executive director, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salem.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Destination Salem<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Fun fact: <\/strong>Ashley lives on the same street as the iconic Ropes Mansion (aka Allison\u2019s house in <em>Hocus Pocus<\/em>) and gives away <em>1,500 pieces of candy <\/em>every Halloween!<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Claim to fame:<\/strong> Before Destination Salem, she bootstrapped an ecommerce gift shop called Always Fits to $10m in annual sales.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2>Lesson 1: Nobody\u2019s offended by \u201cRemember us?\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>As things start to look spoOoOoky in SEO and social marketing, Ashley Judge is finding scary good success with owned media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich doesn\u2019t feel sexy in 2025, but it is,\u201d Judge says. (Note to self: Sexy Marketing Channel costume?) \u201cAlgorithms change, but emails let us tell our stories and connect to our people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The key, she says, is finding the right mindset. \u201cIt\u2019s <em>not <\/em>a hard sell pitch. It\u2019s just, \u2018Hi! Remember us?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To illustrate her point, imagine being on the email list for a local arcade. If your inbox is constantly full of ads, you\u2019re gonna send them straight to spam hell. But if they just send a little hello and maybe some free tokens\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s on a day when you don\u2019t want to go to an arcade, you just won\u2019t go to an arcade. <strong>But you\u2019re not likely to be offended by a \u2018Hi! Remember us?\u2019 campaign.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then, one day, it\u2019s a Tuesday and you\u2019re bored and you get an email from the arcade, so you go in. But that can\u2019t happen if you\u2019re not emailing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To find that mindset, Judge recommends imagining you\u2019re sending the message to a friend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat would the accompanying text be if I screenshot this and sent it to one of my friends? It would be very weird if they got a text from Ashley that said \u2018THIS JUST IN!\u2019 But my friends aren\u2019t going to block me if I say \u2018Wouldn\u2019t this be fun?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Lesson 2: Marketing is removing barriers.<\/h2>\n<p>What would you do if you were expecting over 1 million visitors, but only had 3,000 parking spots available?<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I\u2019d curl into a ball and cry. But Judge had a better idea: Convince them to take the train. So she scooped up a dozen of Salem\u2019s many colorful street performers and whipped up a campaign around riding Salem\u2019s public transportation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>In every facet of marketing, there\u2019s always an opportunity to remove barriers. We\u2019re answering business and customer service challenges.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=560&amp;height=300&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp\" width=\"560\" height=\"300\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"salem-train-mim\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 560px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=280&amp;height=150&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp 280w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=560&amp;height=300&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp 560w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=840&amp;height=450&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp 840w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=1120&amp;height=600&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp 1120w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=1400&amp;height=750&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp 1400w, https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/salem-train-mim.webp?width=1680&amp;height=900&amp;name=salem-train-mim.webp 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shadaphotodesign.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span style=\"font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;\">Photo credit: Jessica Shada<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Analyzing the problems that exist along your customer journey is a great way to inspire useful marketing content and boost your metrics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>When you have millions of eyeballs, any small barrier to conversion could be the loss of thousands of orders.<\/strong> A really small example: a pamphlet that\u2019s been distributed to motor coaches for years, that was meant to be a trifold, that got uploaded as a PDF. Who wants to read an upside-down PDF?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not sure what haunts your audience, I bet your Sales and CS teams have a clue. And you\u2019ll be their new best friend if you ask them.<\/p>\n<h2>Lesson 3: Let your audience tell you who they are.<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWhen I worked in ecommerce, we focused on personas like \u2018The Bestie,\u2019 or \u2018The Bird Lover,\u2019 or \u2018The Sweary Friend.\u2019 These hyper-specific profiles made our marketing feel like you were talking to one person at a time.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, specific personas as a concept may not be new, but Destination Salem raises it to an artform. Faced with the challenge of a very broad audience with very diverse interests, Judge and her team needed a way to very quickly talk to many different people.<\/p>\n<p>So they magicked up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salem.org\/discover-your-perfect-salem-trip\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span>\u201990s <\/span><em>Cosmo<\/em>-style quiz<\/a> that sorts you into personas like Cultural Connoisseur or Epicurean Explorer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur biggest group, for example, is what we call \u2018Muggles Seeking Magic.\u2019 They\u2019re not part of modern witch culture, nor are they history buffs, but they\u2019re seeking tarot, aura photos, and spell shops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The quiz then offers viewers personalized suggestions and the chance to create a custom itinerary. But it also doubles as a data collection tool, which allows Judge to better understand who is visiting Salem and why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about starting with the broadest umbrella, and then pointing them to the places that are best for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, if you\u2019re burning with curiosity, I\u2019m an Atlas Obscura Enthusiast.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Lingering Questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Every leader must justify marketing and brand investment with hard numbers. How do you functionally bridge the gap between creative, intangible brand value and tangible financial outcomes, and how do you justify that brand investment to key stakeholders?<\/strong> \u2014 Katie Miserany, Chief Communications Officer and SVP of Marketing, SurveyMonkey<\/p>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Answer<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Judge says:<\/strong> In destination marketing, our work sits between numbers and imagination. We\u2019re here to drive economic value for residents and small businesses, so we measure everything: visitation, spending, seasonality, excise tax.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But the way we get there is by creating a bit of fantasy.<\/strong> People don\u2019t visit because of data; they visit because they\u2019ve been pulled into a story about a place. Our creative work builds that story, and when it works, you can see it in the numbers that follow.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Week\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n<p>Judge asks: <strong>What\u2019s something your team does purely out of love for the user \u2014 not metrics, not growth, just because it feels right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af\" id=\"hs-cta-e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af\"><!--[if lte IE 8]>\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n<![endif]--><a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/53\/e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af\" style=\"border-width:0px;margin: 0 auto; display: block; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px\" height=\"613\" width=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af.png\" alt=\"Click Here to Subscribe to Masters in Marketing\" align=\"middle\"\/><\/a><\/span><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Published by Dralys Blog \u2013 Stories | Insights | Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Discover more on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dralysstore.com\" target=\"_blank\">DralysStore.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pld-like-dislike-wrap pld-template-2\">\r\n    <div class=\"pld-like-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-like-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"\" data-post-id=\"76296\" data-trigger-type=\"like\" data-restriction=\"no\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                        <i class=\"fas fa-heart\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-like-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\">    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you think balancing your content calendar and your Monday meetings is too much, imagine&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[74,34,65,176,45,177,10],"class_list":["post-76296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dralys-insights","tag-dralys","tag-e-commerce","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-ecosystem","tag-innovation","tag-smart-shopping","tag-technology"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76297,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76296\/revisions\/76297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dralysstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}