Deciding on your why is not important only for tourism campaigns, but for anything you set out to accomplish. Interestingly, so many organizations and individuals struggle with this, meaning that they often move forward with decision after decision without ever clarifying their fundamental purpose. It is often more difficult to establish your why as the scale of your organization increases. Destination management organizations (DMOs) serving small communities or towns, usually find it relatively easier to decide on a unifying, driving purpose. When you get to the regional, provincial or national level, where the interests of more stakeholders are involved, establishing a set of aims that everyone can agree on becomes that much more complicated.

A good PR and marketing consultant will spend a lot of time asking an organization to define its why before moving on to the next step. It is usually not effective to come straight out and ask what your “why” is. It is better to ask a series of questions that will get the conversation going, nudging everyone involved in the process to explore together with the aim of finding that unifying purpose at the heart of the project. There is no formula for what makes a good ‘why.’ It could be as simple as gaining general recognition for the value of tourism, or as complex as identifying and targeting viable sources of funding. The exact ‘why’ will be unearthed during these early discussions and will make it easier to hone and refine your strategies going forward.

Listen to our podcast to find out more about how to discover your ‘why’ and how to implement your plans accordingly. You can go back and listen to previous episodes for more tips on marketing strategies, public relations and more. Contact us for more information!