What: Brand USA Is Collecting Partner-Donated Content to Amplify the Diversity of Local Communities
Brand USA, the official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for the U.S., recently unveiled a multipronged Multicultural Strategy that aims to amplify the diverse voices, itineraries and multicultural travel experiences that make the U.S. unique. The organization is calling on DMOs, travel advisors and others within the industry to donate partner-generated content — including images, videos, written content, sample itineraries and more — to be shared across Brand USA’s consumer and trade platforms as a part of its paid recovery campaign.
Why It Matters: Multicultural Marketing Provides Equitable Economic Opportunity for Local Stakeholders
Cultural and heritage travel is high on travelers’ priority list, and this initiative not only meets this demand, but also levels the playing field and develops equitable economic opportunity for tourism stakeholders who may not have formerly been involved in a destination’s tourism scene. Brand USA’s effort is specifically looking to amplify and promote Black voices and experiences, but the organization is also collecting assets from other underrepresented groups, including within the Hispanic, Latinx, Indigenous/Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Alaska Native, Arab and LGBTQ+ communities. The content will then be added to a dedicated content hub (to be revealed later this summer); on Brand USA’s consumer website; on the Go USA TV streaming channel; on paid media marketing; and across its Discovery Program (an educational channel for travel advisors), among other channels.
Fast Facts
- Brand USA has partnered with the National Blacks in Travel and Tourism Collaborative on this initiative to get insights and understanding on what needs to be done for the industry to be more diverse and inclusive.
- Industry partners should send assets via email to [email protected].
What They Are Saying: Multicultural Travel Marketing Creates an Opportunity for All Destinations in the U.S.
“Every city and community has varied stories and a cultural heritage that’s unique to its destination, and that creates a unique opportunity for every destination in the U.S., as well as [for] your local stakeholders,” said Stephanie Jones, founder of the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance and the National Blacks in Travel and Tourism Collaborative, during a May 25 Brand USA webinar announcing the partnership and Brand USA’s new strategy.
Every city and community has varied stories and a cultural heritage that’s unique to its destination, and that creates a unique opportunity for every destination in the U.S., as well as [for] your local stakeholders.
“We understand that ‘many voices’ includes all the communities located throughout the country that can tell unique stories about their culture, about their businesses and about their experiences,” said Tracy Lanza, senior vice president of integrated marketing for Brand USA. “What Brand USA has embraced is this idea that multicultural experiences are baked into everything that we do. Our commitment to amplify diverse voices has been underway for some time … What we’re kicking off is an opportunity for partners to contribute to this storytelling with their own content. This conversation will be amplified on our own platforms.”
“We will not house content on multicultural experiences in a walled garden,” she added. “This needs to be incorporated in everything we do, so we will be looking at experiences, businesses and how we are storytelling, so we can pull this into our paid and earned media as well as our digital platforms.”
The Details
Brand USA
