9 Terrible, Awful, No-Good, Very Bad Meetings Marketing Mistakes

The ‘leisure with a lanyard’ approach is common in business events marketing, but this could quickly lead your travel & tourism organization down a rabbit hole of wasting money and time and still not reaching the right planners. And when you do, your message just doesn’t land with the audience. 

With 100+ years of industry expertise, our team at Go Fish Tourism + Business Events likes to think we know a thing or two (or three… or four…) about driving business for destination organizations, convention centers, hotels, and beyond. Learn from us so your team doesn’t make these terrible, awful, no-good, very bad meetings marketing mistakes. We surveyed our content, creative, media, and account management departments, and here are their top nine no-nos.

1. Keeping Your Sales & Marketing Teams Siloed 

Go Fish Tourism + Business Events was founded with a mission to close the gap that can exist between sales & marketing teams of destination organizations, so of course, this no-no tops our list of meetings marketing mistakes. When messaging, sales materials, and brand identity are fastened together, everyone benefits. When they aren’t, organizations could be left with unsupported sales teams, inconsistent messaging, and off-brand materials that could hinder the effectiveness of the sales process and lead to an overwhelmed marketing team struggling to keep up with the sales needs on top of their priorities. It’s important for sales & marketing teams to collaborate internally on creative and content marketing needs, and if you need the strategies to unify these two departments within your organization, that’s where Go Fish Tourism + Business Events comes in. 

2. Ignoring AI 

We get it—there’s a lot to learn when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), and there are so many new AI tools rolling out all the time that it’s hard to keep up with them. And while your CVB and the human touch remain invaluable to meeting planners even with the AI revolution, not using AI is a big mistake. CVB sales teams can save time by using AI tools like chatbots and virtual assistants to answer an influx of questions on websites and apps. AI tools can also help make things easier by automating repetitive tasks like data entry. 

3. Thinking a Leisure Message Will Work for Meetings

Your brand is a top priority, but there’s a delicate balance involved when speaking to different audiences. Don’t think a leisure message will be effective for meetings. Leisure travelers and meeting planners have different needs. You want to keep brand equity in mind while also wanting to adjust messaging to planners. As Kerrie Yancey, our Director of Content Strategy, said, “By leveraging your existing brand toward planners, you can develop a comprehensive strategy for your destination that ensures consistency across all marketing materials and touchpoints, while still elevating your branding when it comes to the B2B side.” 

4. Not Utilizing Segmented Campaigns

As we touched on in the previous meetings marketing no-no, not every message works for every audience—and this goes for meeting planners, too. Awareness campaigns are great for getting the word out about your destination’s meetings offerings. But don’t forget to utilize segmented campaigns that focus on the different needs of planning professionals. Implementing account-based marketing (ABM) strategies allows you to target a segmented group rather than a broad one—and can increase conversions by 14%, according to Gartner. Go Fish Tourism + Business Events can help identify different segments for your destination, develop strategies, and focus messaging.

5. Putting Sparkle Before Specs

As business event professionals look for more immersive experiences with sparkle that attract attendees, it can be easy to lose focus of what really matters to these planners: the specs. Planners have told Go Fish Tourism + Business Events that they find convention center information and meeting hotel listings the most valuable information on a destination organization’s website. They want the meetings package facts and figures so they can clearly understand size, scope and access.

6. Defaulting to All Platforms

Pick the right marketing platforms; not all platforms play best for every industry. We’re all for repurposing content—turn that new blog into a video! But where do you want to post that marketing content beyond your website? To determine which networks are right for you, you need to clearly identify your audience, your goals and objectives, and what features you need (for example, different platforms also have different targeting options). And, don’t rely on just trade media to reach the planner audience in today’s diverse, digital world. 

7. Using Ineffective Imagery

This no-no might sound vague, but that’s only because so much falls under the “effective imagery” umbrella. Creative that catches eyes is crucial to your meetings marketing, from social media posts to print ads.

So, what do you NOT want to show in photos and videos?

What DO you want to show?

Another key tip from the team: Make sure you’re using high-resolution photos and video. 

8. Changing Campaign Messaging Too Frequently

This tip comes from one of our industry experts, VP of Marketing Strategy Jaimie Hart, who has over a decade of experience as a marketing professional in tourism, hospitality, and events. Her advice: Don’t change your campaign messaging too frequently. When you take on any marketing initiative, make sure it has longevity and purpose—and not just a good idea. A good idea is just the beginning. Make sure there’s a strategy behind it. There are ways to avoid ad fatigue without throwing out an effective message that supports your brand and speaks to your audience. 

9. Not Leaning on Industry Expertise

While it’s important for travel & tourism organizations’ marketing & sales teams to work together, it’s also important to nurture agency relationships. Don’t treat your agency partners like an item on your to-do list or give them a to-do list. Collaborate more and lean on their expertise. You should also lean on the expertise of industry leaders, like Destinations International, which provides tools, research, and certification programs. 

Need a hand implementing the right business events marketing strategies for your travel & tourism organization? Get in touch with one of our trusty humans at Go Fish Tourism + Business Events.