2019 Advocacy Summit
2019 Advocacy Summit
Nov 12, 2019
Nov 14, 2019
Register
Madison, WI map icon
date_range November 12-14, 2019
location_city Madison, WI, USA
location_on The Edgewater

Join us for the 2019 Advocacy Summit, as we bring together advocacy experts and destination organization professionals to exchange ideas on the latest trends and threats to our industry. Discover from insiders the tools and research available to you in our “Marketplace of Ideas” and enhance your leadership skills with advocacy training.

Learn about strategic planning, talent development, diversity, inclusion and equity and working with legislators. Whether fighting for your funding, defending your destination against the weaponization of travel, or lighting the way through dark money politics, this summit will help you become a more effective advocate for your destination organization and a community shared value.

Schedule

Tuesday November 12, 2019
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Registration
Details +

Tuesday, November 12 from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm (Edgewater)

Tuesday, November 12 from 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm (Monona Terrace)

Wednesday, November 13 from 7:30 am – 5:00 pm (Edgewater)

Thursday, November 14 from 7:30 am – 12:00 pm (Edgewater)

4:00pm - 4:15pm
Welcome & Summit Overview
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Venue: Monona Terrace Convention Center
4:15pm - 5:00pm
Opening Keynote: A Conversation With David Maraniss
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David Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author and associate editor at The Washington Post. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and won a Pulitzer for National Reporting for his 1992 coverage of then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. David was also part of The Washington Post team that won a Pulitzer for their 2007 coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting.

In "A Good American Family: The Red Scare and My Father," a riveting new book with powerful resonance today, David captures the pervasive fear and paranoia that gripped America during the Red Scare of the 1950s through the chilling yet affirming story of his family’s ordeal, from blacklisting to vindication.

Moderator: John Roach, Founder/CEO of Roach Projects
Introduced by: Stacy Ritter, President & CEO, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB

Venue: Monona Terrace Convention Center

5:00pm - 6:30pm
Opening Reception
Details +
Hosted by Destination Madison and Simpleview
Venue: Monona Terrace Convention Center
Wednesday November 13, 2019
6:30am - 7:15am
Yoga
Details +

Start your first day of the DI Advocacy Summit with a morning yoga class! This free, 45-minute class will be held in the Red Crown Club at The Edgewater Hotel.

Mats and water provided. All abilities welcome. Pre-registration is required and space limited to 20 participants.

Register here:  https://diyoga.eventbrite.com

Hosted by Destination Madison.

8:00am - 9:00am
Breakfast
9:00am - 9:15am
Day Two Welcome & Overview
Details +
Day two welcoming message from Don Welsh, President/CEO of Destinations International. Followed by Sara Meaney, Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary-Designee.
Venue: Edgewater Hotel
9:15am - 9:45am
The Controversial Conversations In 2019 and What It Means for 2020
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What started as an algorithm to figure out who members of Congress worked with most frequently has evolved into a fully integrated software platform across seven products, across multi levels of government, and over several countries, Quorum Analytics offers solutions in stakeholder engagement, legislative tracking, and grassroots advocacy. Working with Destinations International, hear about the rise of controversial political conversations that marked 2019 and what that may hold for 2020. This will include tactics to consider when facing these types of issues.

Speaker: Amanda Turner, Director of Account Management, Quorum Analytics

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
9:45am - 10:45am
Fighting Unwelcoming Legislation & Policies
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When it comes to tackling the statehouse or city hall, nothing beats assistance from an experienced expert. Four different lobbyists who have worked on destination organization or related issues will offer their thoughts on the current state of politics in Canada and the United States, successful strategies, tactics and messaging as well as answer questions from Summit attendees.

Panel:
  • Ashley Harris, Director, Industry and Government Relations, Visit San Antonio
  • Marcus Margerum, Vice President, Government & Community Affairs, Atlanta CVB
  • Joel Brennan, Wisconsin Secretary of Department of Administration
  • Rob LeForte, Director of Government Relations and Campaigns, Impact Canada
Facilitator: Bill Geist
10:30am - 10:45am
Break
11:00am - 12:00pm
What Keeps Us Up at Night
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The diversion of visitor taxes to fund affordable housing projects, governments issuing RFPs for "marketing services," hotel moratoriums being implemented, the rise of local tourism resistance groups, and more. Hear from the Destinations International Advocacy & Research Staff on the worrisome industry trends they are seeing that should be keeping all of us up at night.
  • Jack Johnson, Destinations International
  • Andreas Weissenborn, Destinations International
  • Matt Ozuna, Destinations International
Venue: Edgewater Hotel
12:00pm - 1:15pm
Lunch
1:15pm - 1:45pm
Understanding the Sentiment of People in Your Community
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The Travel & Tourism industry continues to grow at a healthy pace, but not without some challenges. Over the past decade, we have been witnessing significant resident backlash against tourism growth in destinations large and small. In 2018, Longwoods International conducted the groundbreaking American Resident Sentiment Towards Tourism report in partnership with Destinations International. In this session, summit attendees will be given a sneak peek at the 2019 results and examples of how destinations are using this data.

Speaker: Amir Eylon, Longwoods International

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
1:45pm - 2:15pm
The Cornerstone: Representing A Shared Value of Your Community
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At Destinations International’s Annual Convention, Jack laid out the case for the need for every destination organization to become a shared value in their community, to become a common good. In this follow up, Jack expands on that theme and focuses on what this approach means for the mission of a destination organization, the definition of a destination organization and the activities within a community of the destination organization.

Speaker: Jack Johnson, Chief Advocacy Officer, Destinations International
Introduced by: Cara Frank, Simpleview

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
2:15pm - 3:15pm
Community Engagement Shirtsleeves
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Destination organizations need to communicate with residents, engage with industry and civic stakeholders and educate all on the importance of destination promotion within their communities. But How and where can be difficult to figure out. At the beginning of the day, summit attendees will vote on which questions in this area they want to tackle as a group to find ways to address this need.

Facilitator: Shelly Green
Venue: Edgewater Hotel
3:15pm - 3:30pm
Break
3:30pm - 4:15pm
Stewardship & Community Alignment
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DestinationNEXT has been instrumental in helping destination organizations adjust to continually changing political and economic realities. The new 2019 Futures Study represents the most comprehensive review of the many diverse factors driving the future of the global visitor economy and the role and strategies of our industry. More than 500 destination leaders in over 50 countries participated in the new survey. Respondents were asked to rank 52 trends and 64 strategies relating to how destination organizations are managing growth in a changing marketplace.

Speaker: Paul Ouimet, Founder and CEO, MMGY NextFactor
Venue: Edgewater Hotel
4:15pm - 5:00pm
The Importance of Community Buy-In for your Success
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Destinations International argues that every community must compete with every other community for their share of the world’s attention, customers, and investment. To compete, people need to be aware of a community, have a positive impression, and want to visit to experience the community and meet its people. Destination organizations are uniquely positioned to fill this need. Therefore, destination promotion is an essential investment to develop opportunities and build quality of life to benefit all the residents of a community. When a destination organization works in this way, it means that they are community assets. Learn how a resident focused approach has lifted Rockford's and Madison's image of itself and positions it to compete.

Panel:
  • Deb Archer, Destination Madison
  • John Groh, Greater Rockford Area CVB
  • Cassandra McAuley, Tourism Calgary
  • Facilitated by Greg Oates, MMGY NEXTFactor 
Venue: Edgewater Hotel
5:00pm - 5:15pm
Day One Take Aways/Wrap Up
Details +
Speaker: Bill Geist, DMOproz

Bill Geist is the Chief Instigator at DMOproz and specializes in strategic planning, governance, marketing and legislative issues for destination marketing and management organizations. He will bring all these talents to bear and provide his list of ten key take-aways from the first full day of the Advocacy Summit. See how your list compares to his!
5:15pm - 7:00pm
Happy Hour
Details +
Based out of Madison WI, DMOproz along with their friends at Longwoods International invites everyone to the Edgewater’s Red Crown Club bar for Happy Hour right after the sessions wrap on Wednesday. Have a drink and mingle with your friends before heading out to dinner. Open bar until 7pm from the top of the Edgewater’s historic Langdon Building. 

DMOproz President, Bill Geist was the former CEO at the Greater Madison CVB. With Deb Archer's capable hands at the helm in 1995, he stepped away to provide cutting-edge Consulting and Speaking services to the DMO Industry across North America and has been ever since. Thanks for coming to see us (and our friends from Longwoods) here in the Mad City!

6:00pm - 8:00pm
Dinner On Own
Thursday November 14, 2019
6:30am - 7:30am
Madison Fun Run
Details +
Start your morning with a guided 3-mile run through the UW-Madison Campus, State Street and State Capitol regions. All paces are welcome and shorter/longer route suggestions can be provided.

Run will leave from the Edgewater Hotel lobby at 6:30 a.m.

8:00am - 9:00am
Breakfast
9:00am - 9:30am
Marketplace of Ideas
Details +
Round 1 - 4 Concurrent Sessions
Grand Ballroom A - MMGY NextFactor
Grand Ballroom B - Simpleview
Grand Ballroom C - Arrivalist
The Mendota Ballroom - JLL

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
9:30am - 9:45am
Break
9:45am - 10:15am
Marketplace of Ideas
Details +
Round 2 - 4 Concurrent Sessions
Grand Ballroom A - Resonance
Grand Ballroom B - Simpleview
Grand Ballroom C - Tempest
The Mendota Ballroom - The Experience Institute

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
10:15am - 10:30am
Break
10:30am - 11:00am
Marketplace of Ideas
Details +
Round 3 - 4 Concurrent Sessions
Grand Ballroom A - Resonance
Grand Ballroom B - Simpleview
Grand Ballroom C - Arrivalist
The Mendota Ballroom - Longwoods International

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
11:00am - 11:15am
Break
11:15am - 11:45am
Marketplace of Ideas
Details +
Round 4 - 4 Concurrent Sessions
Grand Ballroom A - Tempest
Grand Ballroom B - Simpleview
Grand Ballroom C - US Travel
The Mendota Ballroom - MMGY NextFactor

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
11:45am - 12:45pm
Lunch
1:00pm - 1:45pm
Stop Thinking About and Start Doing Destination Development
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Despite prioritizing destination development—or management—destination organizations continue to invest significantly more dollars and resources in other areas. But ignoring this vital function could lead to alienated locals, confused stakeholders and missing the chance to be the connective tissue of your destination. Jim McCaul, Vice President of Destination Development for Resonance Consultancy, joins Destinations International’s Alyssa Poulin to discuss how to truly integrate and develop this practice as a core part of your organization

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
1:45pm - 2:15pm
The Travel Economy: What 2020 Might Look Like
Details +
Adam Sacks has worked with national, provincial/state and local tourism offices throughout the world. He is an authority on measuring the economic impact of tourism activity–both broadly and for specific initiatives and projects. He has advised destinations on tourism investment policy, the effects of proposed entry procedures, tourism taxation, and marketing strategies. He has provided numerous destinations with analysis on market positioning and emerging opportunities. In this session, Adam will review where we are today and perhaps more importantly, where we will be in 2020.

Speaker: Adam Sacks, President, Tourism Economics

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
2:15pm - 3:15pm
Destination Development & Sustainability Shirtsleeves
Details +
Destination organizations need to take a larger role in the evolution of their destinations. Whether it is destination management, development, sustainability, or just taking their deserved spot at the economic development table, destination organizations need to master the skills to not just promote the destination, but skillfully help move it forward. At the beginning of the day, summit attendees will vote on which questions in this area they want to tackle as a group to find ways to address this need.

Facilitied by: Shelly Green
Venue: Edgewater Hotel
3:15pm - 3:30pm
Break
3:30pm - 4:15pm
Beyond Diversity: Working Successfully in Today's World
Details +

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not an add-on or afterthought but rather an integral aspect of successfully working in today’s world. Understanding all stakeholders is challenging as the landscape of stakeholders shifts. Learn the key concepts necessary to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of business, community engagement, and government relations.


Speakers:

Tonya Ladipo, President, The Ladipo Group, Moderator

Deb Archer, CEO, Destination Madison

Jack Johnson, Chief Advocacy Officer, Destinations International

Leslie Orrantia, Deputy Mayor for City of Madison, WI

Stacy Ritter, President and CEO, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB


Venue: Edgewater Hotel

4:15pm - 5:00pm
Our New Industry Lexicon
Details +
Words matter in politics, and those words need to be chosen carefully. If we are going to be successful in changing the narrative surrounding our industry, it starts with a values-based approach. That means talking to stakeholders in a manner that is simple and emotional and connects their values to your organization. In this session, we demonstrate why our industry must utilize a new tourism vocabulary to connect with elected officials and residents in a meaningful way and how to implement the lexicon with your staff, your board, and your key stakeholders.

Speakers:
Jack Johnson, Destinations International
Andreas Weissenborn, Destinations International

Venue: Edgewater Hotel
5:00pm - 5:15pm
Day Two Take Aways/Wrap Up
Details +
Speaker: Bill Geist, DMOproz
Bill Geist is the Chief Instigator at DMOproz and specializes in strategic planning, governance, marketing and legislative issues for destination marketing and management organizations. He will bring all these talents to bear and provide his list of ten key take-aways from the first full day of the Advocacy Summit. See how your list compares to his!
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Closing Reception
Details +
Location: Madison Children's Museum
Sponsored by Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau
* Schedule subject to change.
Registration
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location
Madison
,
Wisconsin

HOST HOTEL


The Edgewater
1001 Wisconsin Place
Madison, WI, USA
+1 608-535-8200

Overflow Hotel

AC Hotel Madison Downtown
One N Webster St
Madison, WI 53703
+1 608-286-1337