With a talent for creating special events that blossomed while working for her dad’s car stereo shop, Nicole Mahoney got her start in marketing at Frontier Field in Rochester. She also began serving as the executive director of the internationally known Lilac Festival. Later on, she headed the Canandaigua, New York Business Improvement District while also performing projects for the tourism promotion agency Visit Rochester.
In 2009, Nicole founded Break the Ice Media, with more than 20 years of experience in tourism marketing. She now hosts “Destination on the Left”, a highly successful tourism marketing podcast.
As a business owner, Nicole knows what it takes to be successful. She founded BTI to help businesses tell their brand story through public relations, digital and traditional channels. She has the ability to uncover unique marketing opportunities and develop marketing and public relations initiatives that help clients build long-term success.
On this episode of Destination on the Left, Nicole shares a personal family story that has inspired her to never give up even when the going gets tough. She explains why using this advice is important to all professionals and how applying it can make you a better tourism marketing specialist.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- Why you should always go for it – just like Nicole’s daughter
- Changing the “soundtrack” in your head to conquer self-doubt
- How to avoid “imposter syndrome” in your quest to pursue your dreams
- How to own your experiences as a unique individual
- The power of stories and their impact on our successes
Believing in Yourself
What inspires you to keep moving forward, no matter the obstacle? For Nicole, it’s the story of her daughter Maeve’s perseverance and strength in the face of self-doubt.
With the goal of being selected as the commencement speaker at her high school graduation, Maeve saw the competition and was filled with self-doubt. Stricken with “imposter syndrome”, Maeve believed she was not good enough and that there would always be somebody better for the job. Nicole quickly reminded her: “The only way to know for sure you won’t get picked is to not even try.”
Realizing she should aim for what she wanted, no matter the odds, Maeve took the leap and went for it. The result? She was selected as one of the two speakers at her commencement. From her success, tourism marketing professionals should always be reminded to aim high, go for it and never give up. You never know if you don’t try.
The Power of Stories
Maeve was inspired after being moved by the commencement speaker at her sister’s graduation. Nicole continues to be inspired by what Maeve shared in her speech: a personal story about great adversity.
Maeve suffers from chronic lung disease, a condition that put her in the emergency room for eight weeks in 2002. Despite a seemingly impossible uphill climb, Nicole, her husband and Maeve persisted, and Maeve was off of oxygen and medication without a transplant when she was five years old. Although she doesn’t remember much of it, Maeve was able to teach everyone the power of her own story and remind her parents of the power of theirs.
Stories like Maeve’s remind us of how different we are and how stories reach us differently. The one constant is this: we all have the power to see the good in stories, change the soundtrack in our heads and go for it. Nicole hopes that this episode and Maeve’s story will resonate with tourism marketing professionals just as much as they did for her.
Resources:
- Email: nicole@breaktheicemedia.com
- Twitter: @Break_TheIce
- Facebook: @BreakTheIceMedia
We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/
Gina Nacey is president and executive creative director of Adventure Creative, an agency based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their focus is on active lifestyle brands, recreation, and destination marketing. Gina has led the strategy and creative direction of Explore Minnesota’s brand new “Find Your True North” campaign, and the Minnesota Zoo’s “Where Amazing Lives.” Adventure Creative helped Sun RV Resorts launch a signature tier of resorts – among much more great work.
Throughout her 20 year career, Gina’s work has been recognized with hundreds of Addy awards, including many Best of Show and Judge’s Choice awards. She was also honored with the American Advertising Federation Silver Medal for achievement in advertising.
Gina has taught advertising, copywriting, and public relations. She has traveled nationally to judge advertising competitions, worked on several nonprofit boards, and served in a variety of roles with the American Advertising Federation.
On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Gina about the creative and strategic work it takes to connect emotionally with your target audience to build a great brand. We talk collaboration and doing work that transcends ego to put the client’s needs first.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- Why solving business problems is the heart of marketing
- How to make an emotional connection with people’s need to visit your destination
- Why marketing needs a seat at the table in broader business decisions
- How to use real experiences from visitors to tell your story
- How to create truly collaborative relationships
Solving A Business Problem
Destination marketing is much more than finding the right words and images to describe your organization. Ultimately it is about solving a business problem to bring visitors to you again and again.
Gina describes her education and experience and how that connects directly with the wide range of skills needed to help solve destination business problems. She said, “We are never doing creative for creative sake. We’re always trying to solve a problem. That requires looking at the numbers and understanding the audience and understanding what the client is really trying to achieve.”
Whether you’re in the agency business, or you’re a DMO or a tour operator, or working in a museum; whatever your role is, you’re there to solve that business problem, move the organization forward, and meet visitor needs.
For Real Co-opetition
Whatever aspect of travel and tourism you are in, you want to win the business. We all know that co-opetition is sometimes the best way for a rising tide to lift all boats. But what if you are competing for exactly the same client at the same time?
That’s the situation Gina found herself in. When an RFP went out for a job, her company was a strong contender. It was between Adventure and another agency local to the client. That’s when Gina said, “Why don’t we share the work? They can do PR, and we can do the branding side and collaborate on everything.” The client was shocked that they would agree to that.
The project turned out well, and the collaboration was real. They made decisions based on what was best for the client. Everyone checked their ego at the door, and that made everyone a winner. We make a point to weave co-opetition into the podcast for exactly these reasons.
Resources:
- Website: www.adventurecreative.com
We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://
Mandy Hagadorn serves as marketing manager at New York Kitchen, an event and education space for all things food and beverage in New York State. She grew up on a farm near Canandaigua, New York. She graduated with a degree in anthropology from Nazareth College. After college, Mandy got involved with event planning in both her personal and professional life. At New York Kitchen, she started as an event planner and quickly moved into the marketing manager position.
She still loves organizing the Craft Beer Festival and is excited about a brand new bourbon-focused festival she’s spearheading for New York Kitchen.
On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Mandy Hagadorn of New York Kitchen about everything from event planning to rebranding. How do you manage a massive rebranding campaign? How do you plan an event from scratch and keep existing events fresh? We’ve got great answers and inspiring conversation in store on this episode.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- How to avoid mission creep when you offer a variety of programs and activities
- The challenge and opportunity of managing a rebrand process
- How to turn events into memorable experiences
- Keys to a good partnership
- Simple ways for businesses to work together to make shoulder seasons more profitable
Offering Variety Around a Unified Mission
New York Kitchen offers a lot of activity: classes, special events, and a place to dine on everything New York State has to offer. Mandy and I talk about how to create a unified mission around a wide variety of programs and activities. With everything a geographically large and diverse state has to offer, how do you stay on point? It’s a challenge Mandy enjoys tackling, and she has some good advice on avoiding mission creep.
Managing a Rebrand
NY Kitchen wasn’t always New York Kitchen. Up until about a year ago, it was called the New York Wine and Culinary Center. But as craft beverages of all kinds have expanded in recent times, “wine and culinary center” did not capture the fullness of what New York has to offer.
If you have ever been involved in rebranding a place with some history and a current fanbase you don’t want to alienate, you know it can be an exciting and stressful experience. Mandy and I talk candidly about some unexpected challenges she and her team needed to overcome in the process.
But the process made them stronger – staying connected with those loyal customers but also showing who they were to a new target demographic. She reflected, “The biggest challenge we faced here at New York Kitchen was the rebrand. But the biggest blessing that we’ve had here at New York Kitchen is the rebranding.” This is a great conversation to listen in on for ideas on what to expect and anticipate as you rebrand a known entity.
Resources:
- Website: www.nykitchen.com
We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://