Episode #38 of the Event Manager Podcast focuses on the exciting world of destination marketing and features Stephanie Cheung, Director of Strategy & Insights at MarketID.
Cheung is passionate about the event industry, particularly how destinations can impact people’s lives. The cultural exchange inherent to business events creates truly enriching and worthwhile experiences. She believes that destinations are essential in how events drive change and that events are the business of inspiration.
While all destinations can help events drive change, Cheung sees managing the expectations of destination clients as an essential part of the role of a destination marketing agency. She believes that agencies are uniquely capable of offering a
As a professional with experience across various sectors, Cheung is quick to point out the large number of acronyms embedded in the event industry’s lexicon are a hurdle for anyone looking at it from an outside perspective. So, she sees agencies, particularly those not commission-based, as uniquely positioned to advise destinations on their marketing strategy and help them connect with qualified buyers in the right way.
Hosting creative and informative in-person event experiences is the preferred activity to connect buyers with destinations. However, throughout the Covid pandemic, virtual event experiences were the next best thing, and Cheung shares her experience and her advice on how best to get participants engaged in what the destinations have to offer, albeit in a virtual way.
Cheung advocates for investment in technological capabilities at the destinations and is confident of the added value for event planners considering any destination. She is also bullish on destinations investing in the metaverse, web 3.0, and NFTs, although she admits these are long-term investments.
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