Destination marketing. Yes, thatโs a thing. And for those in the hospitality and travel industry, itโs a very big thing โ or at least it was until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life all around the globe.
Up until the advent of this disease, a new trend had been shaping up in the realm of destination marketing. It’s one that will likely return even stronger once the world resumes normalcy. That trend is the use of personal narratives to promote the variety of offerings in the travel and hospitality industry. And thatโs exactly what 10 students are studying in a new College of Charleston course called Strategic Narratives in Placemaking.
Hospitality and tourism management professor Brumby McLeod has established a reputation for developing new courses, especially ones that enable students to learn through firsthand experiences. And thatโs what heโs doing with this course.
โStorytelling is at the heart of sharing our experiences,โ explains McLeod, โparticularly travel experiences. The students in this class are getting a chance to develop and practice that skill with guidance from international journalists, travel writers, photographers, videographers and leading destination marketing organizations including Charlestonโs own Explore Charleston, an initiative of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.”
McLeod has essentially handed the reins as lead instructor to Andrew Nelson, a veteran travel writer who taught communications, writing and travel branding at Loyola University New Orleans.
โAndrew was formerly the editorial director for special projects withย National Geographic Traveler,โ McLeod explains. โHe has a wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts in the travel and hospitality sector as well as five years of classroom experience at Loyola.โ
And Nelson concurs regarding the importance of stories.
โEverything is about narrative,โ he says. โAnd social media now plays such an important role in this industry. So, weโre helping these students understand what content creators are doing in the travel and hospitality industry, particularly with Instagram as their canvas. The places and properties that are thriving the most โ or were prior to the pandemic โ have individuals creating meaningful and engaging content, and thatโs what weโre challenging the students to learn to do in this course.โ
Student Tyler Roach focuses on creating a unique sense of place for Charleston on the Instagram account @chslocal as part of the Strategic Narratives in Placemaking course.
For the first month and a half of the spring 2020 semester, students in this class posted several times a week on Instagram accounts established expressly for the course. Their objective was to support the work of Explore Charleston, the promotional arm of Charlestonโs Convention and Visitors Bureau. But with the rise of COVID-19 and the fact that so few people are now traveling and hotels and other travel businesses are essentially shuttered, Nelson says the class has pivoted its focus.
โItโs really important for anyone involved in destination marketing to have a crisis plan,โ he explains. โSo, as tragic as the pandemic is, itโs also an opportunity for real-world learning in this class. We discussed that in a recent session (virtually, of course). We resolved that each student will develop a campaign focused on reminding travelers that Charleston is still here and when COVID-19 is over, they should come back and enjoy all of the things they love about this city.โ
Senior philosophy major Tyler Roach says his interest in photography and travel drew him to enroll in this class.
โIโd never heard of strategic narratives before,โ he says, โbut after I emailed professor McLeod and we chatted, it seemed like such a good opportunity. I didnโt know that the class would end up being so focused on social media. That has forced me out of my comfort zone because Iโm really more of an analog person. Still, I think my grounding in philosophy has helped me find the essence of the topics weโre asked to create content about.โ
Roach has been actively posting under the handle @chslocal. He calls it โa localโs guide to life in Charleston, S.C.โ Initially, he gained over 200 followers on Instagram and covered such topics as the quirky beauty of The Neck area, dining at Jack Rabbit Filly and the Notsohostel, Charlestonโs bargain-basement hotel.
โActually, a lot goes into my posts,โ Roach explains. โI end up brainstorming for a few days before writing.โ
Rachel Singletary has pivoted the narratives on her Instagram account to show how Charleston will overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to thrive as a unique coastal city with a rich history.
Senior hospitality and tourism management major Rachel Singletary feels like sheโs operating in the professional ranks because of the work she’s doing for the course.
โI feel like Iโm an active working member of the marketing community in Charleston doing the stuff weโre doing for class,โ she says. โWe get to try out so much material in this course and then youโre critiqued by people who really know this industry, and thatโs huge.โ
Singletary says she understands that the focus of the course had to shift due to the pandemic.
“Life happens and you have to pivot,” she says. “Now, the essential question for us is, how do you sell a destination that people can’t visit? Charleston faces this issue almost annually with hurricanes, so weโre learning that it’s important to keep this city top of mind, not just for visitors but also for all of the Convention and Visitor Bureau’s members. Our job in this class now is to create campaigns that align with the Explore Charleston brand and keep engagement up when visitation is devastatingly low. Luckily, the city already has a strong business community, with a lot of innovation and supporters, and there is no shortage of people who are continuing to make the best of this situation.โ
And Singletary says sheโs grateful for the experience.
โContent creators and social media managers are becoming hot commodities. And to work in destination marketing, you really need these skills,” she says. “I mean I can take good photos and I can construct a story thatโs compelling, but if Iโm not able to generate an audience, then Iโm not being an effective communicator. Weโre learning a lot about how thatโs done, and it’s great that Explore Charleston will actually be implementing several of the strategies students in this class are developing.โ
As a travel writing professional, Nelson concurs.
โCreating content is a skill that almost anyone in almost every profession can use,โ he says. โAnd itโs natural, because people love to express themselves, but not everyone can do it effectively. Thatโs the key to this class.โ
