2013 South Dakota Governor's Conference on Tourism

SPEAKERS

Maxine Shapiro

Maxine is a dynamic speaker and performer with an international demand for her keynote and training sessions. Her keynote address will kick off our conference on Wednesday afternoon. Attendees will experience the foundational components for collaboration, communication, and creativity. During Maxine’s breakout sessions, attendees will roll up their sleeves and get to work learning ways to create, communicate, engage, market, and drive enthusiasm in the business place. Maxine motivates, entertains, and transforms groups through highly interactive, spontaneous, and powerful exercises.

Stuart “Twitchy” Ellis-Myers

Stuart is a dramatic model of self-inspiration and determination. When he speaks of improving lives, he speaks from personal experience. He will be presenting the second keynote address on Thursday in addition to two breakout sessions. Learn how collaborating to cross-sell South Dakota and industry partnerships can pay off for your business, even on a limited budget. Stuart will give real-life visitor industry examples to learn from and immediate tools for success. During his breakout sessions he’ll cover how to get visitors off the beaten path, development tips for rural areas, and will share his A.N.C.H.O.R. philosophy.

Twitchy's YouTube Channel

Robert Patterson

Robert has more than 10 years of online marketing communications experience and leads MMGY’s practices in social and influencers media channels. He has spearheaded social and digital strategy for MMGY’s many clients. We all know that travelers are relying more than ever on insights and reviews from friends, family and even strangers when making trusted travel decisions. Robert’s session will review how consumers are being influenced and provide recommendations on how to tap into the power of social media to turn consumers into visitors.

Shaun Aukland

Shaun is a DMO Marketing lead for Google who works one-on-one with destination marketers to understand the changing online landscape and develop integrated, measurable marketing strategies. Shaun’s expertise in managing and optimizing campaigns ranges from search engine marketing, to display networks, to video, social and Google TV Ads. Travelers have used the Internet for years to plan their trips, but with the increasing complexity of social sharing and device proliferation, reaching consumers can be overwhelming. Leveraging unique research from the Google Travel team, Shaun reveals how to influence travelers from dreaming to booking. This session will have content suited for anyone from CEO to social media manager.

Kelly McDonald

Kelly is an expert on marketing and business trends specializing in multicultural marketing and generational insight. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative to understand the changing demographics around us. How can you best serve your industry or your community if you don’t know what they look like today? The new Census numbers and findings are startling and profound. Changes in demographics take many forms: racial, ethnic, gender, generational, and even life stage and level of affluence, to name a few. Diversity of thought helps destination marketers stay proactive and on the leading-edge. Learning about differences in values among different groups is the key to maximizing relationships, marketing efforts, and business opportunities.

Kelly’s “Changing Demographics” presentation (PDF)

Ted Sullivan

Ted has nearly 20 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry with extensive knowledge and experience in both marketing and understanding the travel distribution system. In his breakout sessions, attendees will learn how to avoid marketing mistakes. If no two tourism properties, attractions or destinations are alike, why do they all look and sound the same? Marketing isn’t easy – and the worst mistake you can make is trying to be all things to all people. Ted will help businesses understand how their marketing can cut through the clutter and focus on the experiences that differentiate their travel business.