Bill Geist's Zeitgeist's Profile

As the Holiday finds continue on Music Friday, we travel back to a rare unplugged clip of John Waite from 1997 performing his Christmas "hit." The snow fell like cocaine? Whatever...the sentiment is on point. And, it's good to be... Continue reading

Posted 2 days ago at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Trust Us...it'll Qualify

For every really cool story in DMO-land (like yesterday's)...there are the bone-headed, the politically devious and the sensationally unsophisticated tales that make one wanna scream. One of the latter occurred last week when the York County SC Council voted to... Continue reading

Posted 4 days ago at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Fighting Homelessness for the Holidays

As I noted in today's edition of the Z-News (subscribe here if you'd like to stay up-to-date with the world of Destination Marketing), DMOs need to play a part in fighting hunger and homelessness in our communities. Jack Berry and... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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The Grinch...on Steroids

The Grinch. A book by Dr. Suess. The television animation. Jim Carey. The Musical. And now, the Animated Movie. What has been fairly constant since the jump to electronic has been Thurl Ravenscroft's sensationally diabolical "You're a Mean One, Mr.... Continue reading

Posted Dec 7, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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The Lure of Nostalgia

The last Howard Johnson restaurant in America closed earlier this year...victim, not of bad reviews but, of the owner sexually molesting female staff. But, while it was still open, it was a pilgrimage site for Boomers that longed for all-you-could-eat... Continue reading

Posted Dec 5, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Making Lemonade Daily

We are fans of Arnie Weissmann's columns in Travel Weekly...and we often link to the ones we find particularly prescient. We're also big fans of Rockford IL...and were before it was cool to be. We saw the spark years before... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Morgan's Christmas Mash

I first saw Morgan Myles four or five years ago at a Songwriters Festival in Virginia's Blue Ridge. Outside of the recording artists for whom she was writing songs, she was pretty much an unknown. Today, Rolling Stone, Billboard and... Continue reading

Posted Nov 30, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Sure, Let the Embassies Run Tourism Promotion

OK...I may be missing something in the translation. But, this article from Travel Pulse certainly sounds like Mexico's new administration is moving ahead with shuttering the State Tourism Office and offloading tourism promotion to the country's embassies around the world.... Continue reading

Posted Nov 29, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Missed it By That Much

When I first starting getting links to a "story" out of an Atlanta metro newspaper serving, as they refer to it, "communities which encompass several of metro Atlanta’s wealthiest ZIP codes and most desirable neighborhoods," I just passed it off... Continue reading

Posted Nov 28, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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If I Was in My 20s

Maybe it's because I know (and love) Tulsa...and many don't. But, the newest move for this Oklahoma city, while not exactly groundbreaking (a select few have offered similar incentives), would so have hooked me as a 20-something. Honestly? $10,000 and... Continue reading

Posted Nov 27, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Signs and Smartphones

My friend Amir Eylon (Longwoods International) shared this newspaper article with me last week...and I honestly could go a couple different ways with the positions on both sides of the argument. The most egregious comment first: A City Council member,... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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The Power of a Gift

As we begin the month of Holiday-inspired Music Friday finds, it’s not a Holiday song…but a Holiday ad. Celebrating the power of a gift to a young child, a British retailer has launched a stunning video centered around Elton John’s... Continue reading

Posted Nov 23, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Thankful

It is again that time of year to give thanks. We think of our friends across the country that have suffered unfathomable losses from natural disaster, cancer, terrorism, gun violence or dumb blind lack of luck. Other friends are facing... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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The Role of the DMO Board

We talk of it often. How today's DMO Boards seem to struggle with their role. Some seem to believe it's benign oversight. Others think they should be directing Sales & Marketing. The best DMO Boards, as we contend in Destination... Continue reading

Posted Nov 19, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Roy Clark

For most, he was best known as the host of the cheesy, country variety show "Hee Haw." From 1969 to 1993, the show was a mainstay on American TV, at times attracting 30 million viewers, and made Roy Clark a... Continue reading

Posted Nov 16, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Sometimes, Loyalty is Over-Rated

I'm on a flight back to "the compound" after a great day ideating the future of Destination Marketing with members of the Texas Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (thanks for the invitation and kind welcome, y'all). One of the... Continue reading

Posted Nov 15, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Beautiful Dissonance

The GM of one of Philadelphia's most kick-ass steakhouses gathered us around the bar to show us a recent find on YouTube. Longwoods International's Amir Eylon winked at me and said, "there's your Music Friday post." And, it is. This... Continue reading

Posted Nov 9, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Back to the 60s

As a child, nothing heralded the approaching Holiday Season like mail-order catalogs. Sears, JC Penny's, Spiegel...they were the stuff of Santa dreams. We'd pore over them for hours, identifying the treasures we craved. And then, they vanished in the new... Continue reading

Posted Nov 8, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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The California Crisis Matrix

It always seems worse when you think you're in the middle of a crisis and believe that everyone is watching and judging. Or, maybe you've been doing this so long that you just know that it'll blow-over soon and leave... Continue reading

Posted Nov 7, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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A Guerrilla Play

A few months ago in our client newsletter, we wrote about the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority's expansion into community development by leading an effort to persuade Chicago Metro residents to move to Northwest Indiana. It has been wildly... Continue reading

Posted Nov 5, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Darrell Scott

When he covers Sarah McLaghlan's "Angel," our friend Mike Massey often quips that it's the saddest song ever recorded. If that's true, this one is a close second. We fell in love with Darrell Scott when we saw him in... Continue reading

Posted Nov 2, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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If it's Too Loud, You're Too Old

That was a line from my wild, misspent youth, when hard rock overtook the land. The science of the effects of audio on the dining experience followed and, last decade, some restaurants began to ramp up the beats per minute... Continue reading

Posted Nov 1, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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What's For Dinner Tonight?

If it's not Burger King's "Nightmare King," you must not live near one. I mean, really: The meat pile layers a quarter-pound of beef under a crispy chicken fillet, bacon, cheese, mayo and onions. All of it is loaded onto... Continue reading

Posted Oct 31, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Tone-Deafness

On the road, in a town, subjected to local political ads for candidates I don't know. One was bragging that he made $6/hour in his first job...as if that showed that he started from nothing. My first job paid $1.75/hour.... Continue reading

Posted Oct 29, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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Eminence Front

Their most impressive work was produced in the late '60s and 70s. But when The Who took the stage in Toronto in 1982...it was simply magical. I stumbled upon this live version of "Eminence Front" the other day and was... Continue reading

Posted Oct 26, 2018 at Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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