www.eddreistadt.com

I've been lucky enough to get in a fair amount of travel this year, including both Washingtons...State back in August and DC just last week.

Both were a tremendous amount of fun and both were as different as they could be.

The visit to Washington State was all about the outdoors, with a stay at the Sol Duc Hot Springs resort in the Olympic National Forest.

The visit included mountain hikes followed by soaking in the famous hot sulphur springs, which were considered a cure-all back in the early 1900s. Funny thing, though, the hot springs brought to mind the smell emanating from the steel mills in Pittsburgh back when I was a kid. Aside from my odd association, a nice combination of experiences.

We also spent time in Tacoma and Seattle as well as two days on a lake with relatives. An amazing and wonderful trip.

The other Washington was incredible also, but in a much different way.

I hadn't been to Washington DC in quite a while and this visit gave me a chance to re-visit some old favorites, plus see some things that weren't there the last time I was there. We took a cab to the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial just after dusk and walked from there to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, Korean War Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. All amazing and dramatic at night.

Notice that I'm not talking about the hotel (the Helix Hotel on Rhode Island, which was a fun boutique property) or restaurants (Queen of Sheeba on 14th was my favorite) or stops for coffee and danish in the morning or shopping.

The motivators for the trips were mountains, vistas and a national park experience for Washington State and then monuments, museums and history for Washington DC. Everything else was a pleasant surprise discovered after arriving at our destination.

When developing a campaign to promote your area, you need to figure out what that core experience is, express it simply, brand it and provide an easy means to experience it.

Don't talk about what you are not. Don't sell by geography or location. Don't sell the fact that you have a lot of hotels. Sell the core experience you offer. Figure out why people come and what interest drives them.

I've helped communities do that, from Revolutionary Fun (the only place with both rich history and great theme parks) in Williamsburg, Virginia to Pit Pass Cabarras (NASCAR heritage) plus several others in-between.

And, yes, I'm available to help if you'd like to develop an experiential brand for your destination. edd@eddreistadt.com

In the meantime, back to planning the next trip.

-Ed