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Are CVBs to be Known as DMOs? The
3 December 2004 edition of the Zeitgeist e-Zine The word leaked out yesterday morning while I was talking with my friend Cole Carley of the Fargo-Moorhead CVB. No, Cole didn’t spill the beans…but, as we talked, the weekly e-update from USAE popped into our respective mailboxes: IACVB to Change Its Name . . . The International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus’ Board of Directors has recommended the association change its name to “Destination Marketing Association – Representing Destination Marketing Organizations Worldwide.” Final board approval is slated for March 2, 2005 after receiving member feedback, with official adoption scheduled for August 2005 at its annual meeting in San Diego. “Hey, look at that!” he exclaimed…and then, we both pondered the proposed name change that most of us have been awaiting for the past few months since the IACVB meeting in Boston last July. So, we mused, if IACVB is to be the DMA…that may very well mean that CVBs will become DMOs. Just over two hours later, a communiqué arrived from the mothership, confirming USAE’s scoop, and including the new “brand promise” for the CVB industry: "We are the visitor’s and meeting professional's trusted partner – the heart, soul and energy of our destination. We drive economic success and enhance the quality of life in our communities. Our communities appreciate our contribution: 'The better the CVB, the better the experience.'" Throughout the day, I fielded a few e-mails from CVB professionals across the country asking for my take on the announcement. In many of the communiqués, I sensed a bit of a let-down from people that were expecting something sensationally different. After all, one wrote, “we’ve been calling ourselves a DMO for years.” And, I had to agree with the sentiment. As readers of these missives know, I, too, was expecting something more dramatically different…along the line of Canada’s radical shift to naming all its CVBs “Tourism (insert destination name).” But, of course, that wouldn’t work in America, where the majority of the citizenry don’t understand or appreciate tourism like countries across the globe do. So…we now appear to be looking at calling CVBs DMOs. While I must admit that DMA doesn't have the aural "heft" of IACVB, I'm less interested about what the association calls itself than I am about what CVBs will be called. And, as last evening progressed, I became increasingly more comfortable with the concept of DMO as a new identifier for CVBs. It may not be sexy or flashy. It may not be the “para-digum” shift that many marketers craved. But…it says what we do. Where “Convention & Visitors Bureau” left people puzzled, “Destination Marketing Organization” says it much more clearly. A couple early posts on Joan Eisenstodt's MIMlist were critical of the change, saying that the term CVB is well known and respected and should not be changed. And, for many of the professional meeting planners and suppliers that populate that list...it is! And, if they were the only market we needed to touch, we wouldn't be talking about branding. They'll still use CVBs, regardless of what we call ourselves. Current customers are not the target of this initiative. Someone I deeply respect in the industry opined that the new identifier is too limiting. We do so much more, she said. But that gets us back to the conundrum of creating an set of words that explains what we do to people who don't get it. And that is the audience for which the new name is being developed. And isn’t that exactly what successful branding is all about? Not trying to teach the world a new song to sing…but to use words and concepts they understand to communicate the message. I agree that DMO doesn't communicate the benefits that residents and communities derive from a CVB's work. But, I'm not sure that any name could do that without confusing the core work we all do. And, while our ultimate mission is economic development and quality of life...how we do it is through sales and marketing. DMO may make it easier to wipe the confusion of their face so that we can then communicate the benefits. At least IACVB is not suggesting taking an organizational name like the National Tour Association and changing it to the undistinguishable “Crossphere” (which, when said real fast sounds like “Cross Fear"). I don’t know about you but, rather than thinking group tour, the new name makes me think of being scared of Christians or intersections. Later today, IACVB is opening up a two-month comment period for its members to weigh in on the new name for the mothership…and the brand promise for the industry. And I’d like to hear your thoughts too. We’re all in this together…and we are about to enter a crucial phase in the evolution of the Destination Marketing, Sales, Management and Leadership world. Til next time, Bill Wanna comment on this or other topics. E-mail Me!
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