Are DMOs still relevant in the age of digital?
Speaking at the Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit, Jan Hutton, ex-GM marketing at Destination NSW and CMO at Destination Gold Coast, said she “categorically” believes the role of destination marketing organisation (DMOs) are more relevant now than ever, but they need to remain progressive and involved in the new landscape.
L-R: Jane Hutton, Rene de Monchy, Patricia O’Callaghan and Lauren Quaintance
In a panel moderated by the co-founder of Storyation, Lauren Quaintance, Hutton spoke alongside Rene de Monchy (CEO, Tourism NZ) and Patricia O’Callaghan (CEO, Destination Gold Coast), about the shifting roles that DMOs have post-pandemic and how they liaise with key stakeholders including locals, travellers, and governments.
Discussing the question of whether DMOs are relevant at all now that digital is eating up traditional mass marketing campaign’s functions, Hutton said that someone needs to do the groundwork in bridging conversations between the public and the private.
“If the DMO wasn’t there, suddenly you’d have policymakers making decisions on behalf of the industry with no engagement, no understanding, no tourism leadership,” she said.
“The role that the DMO has played in the messaging and the management and the support of industry and lobbying – lobbying with government, whether that’s for recovery, or new markets, or just to mitigate risks, or sustainability and new aviation policies, I think that the DMO, when done properly, is a very potent voice and an aggregate of key stakeholders around the table from industry and government.”
While DMOs are in the business of scoping and generating demands, Hutton added that they need to hold themselves accountable when it comes to translating interests into results.
“I know that DMOs are about high quality marketing, and I’m a big believer in brand building. But I do think we’ve got to keep challenging ourselves to say that that amazing investment in the top of the funnel has to lead in the balance sheet of a business conversion is critical. The industry needed now more than ever.”
The full recording of this session will be available on Mumbrella Pro.
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Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.
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Jane Hutton
Lauren Quaintance
Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit
Patricia O'Callaghan
René de Monchy
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