If advertising really boils down to storytelling- and I believe it does- then campaigning for travel and tourism destinations may just be its purest form in today’s ad-cynical culture.

Let’s face it, telling a moving and convincing story about deodorant or dog food or ice cream or cars or other consumables is a stretch. Sure, we can tell a story…but, more times than not, the consumer has already made up their mind about the product we’re selling. They’ve already experienced it, or some version of it, and have formed an opinion. So, the success of our story then becomes all about how close our story is to their experience. As marketers, we can only control so much of that. Best advice- tell an honest story. But I digress…

However, if we’re talking about a place- a vacation spot, a shopping district, a beach resort, a bar or nightclub, etc., then it becomes a story about more than just a product. It becomes a story about a human experience. And human experience is always relative.

For instance, when viewing an ad for the Florida Keys, two men might see a totally different experience. One might see an opportunity to take his family on a getaway. The other might see an opportunity to get away from his family. Each experience may be enough to inspire both men to pony up the dollars and make the trip. So, either outcome is ok. It’s just relative. We see an opportunity in the visuals to experience what we desire.

Perfect examples of this are the “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” and the “Virginia is for Lovers” campaigns. Both were highly successful. Both focused on abstract experiences rather than specific people, places, or things. Both campaigns gave a hint of possibility and left the rest to the viewer’s imagination. Excellent storytelling. Other good examples are the “It’s bigger in Texas” campaign and the “Come share a dream” campaign executed by Disney World.

So, back to the point. In dealing with destinations, you often have the opportunity to convey a story/experience to viewers who’ve never been there. That means that they don’t have any misperceptions, bad experiences, or skewed expectations. You get to set the stage. When you think about it, that’s a huge responsibility. And it’s our job as marketers to address it as such.

If given the opportunity to engage in this pure form of storytelling, speak to an experience that has broad appeal. Make it relative. Make it interesting. And don’t hog the idea…leave something to the viewer’s imagination.

If you can do that, then you’ve mastered the first hurdle. Next, you just have to tell that story to as many people as possible.