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Perhaps the notion of “living your brand” is easier than ever now that we have social media tools like Twitter.  Recently, some tourism organizations have been creating nice exposure for themselves by advertising new job opportunities to work at their destination – all in the name of branding.  Apparently, the newest way to tell your destination’s story is to hire someone whose job description embodies the brand.  I love it.  The most widely talked about success story has been Queensland, Australia, who recently won the coveted Grand Prize at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival with an ad campaign seeking to hire for “The Best Job in the World”. The advertising called for applicants to fill the role as Caretaker of Hamilton Island in Queensland, Australia. They received over 34,000 applications from over 200 countries. I guess that means it worked.

First of all, great idea - I am a wee bit envious that it was not mine.

Secondly, why not transfer this idea into a brand’s social media marketing efforts? For instance, Santa Claus, IN could promote their destination on Twitter by using tweets from the jolly ole guy himself.  Who wouldn’t prefer to receive their local tourism updates for Santa Claus, IN from “Santa” as opposed to a marketing intern stuck in the local news station’s mailroom?

Let’s talk it out. What other interesting destinations could hire a person to be the ambassadors and official Tweeters for their brand?  Here are a few ideas that would be fun to execute:

Chief Leprechaun – Dublin, OH. Their tourism tagline touts “Where Irish Is An Attitude.”  You can’t tell me that daily tweets from a leprechaun wouldn’t make you feel lucky.

Duckmaster – Memphis, TN. The famed Peabody Hotel is world renown for their ducks. Since 1940, there has been a designated Duckmaster on their full-time staff that tends to the famed ducks daily - even marching them from their rooftop perches though the hotel lobby at 11 a.m. on the dot every morning for them to showcase their swimming skills in the hotel fountain. I’d follow that Duckmaster’s quacks.

Purveyor of Flavor - Mesquite, TX. Their local Convention & Visitor’s Bureau uses the tagline - Real. Texas. Flavor. I’d sign up to see what the Purveyor’s Flavor of the Day would be.

Maestro of Music – Nashville, TN. The Maestro now officially uses Music City as its brand theme. This may just be too easy. To start, the Maestro could tweet on all things music in and around Nashville. Um duh.

Storymaster – Jonesboro, TN. Jonesboro is home of the world’s international storytelling festival. If it isn’t obvious, the Storymaster could tweet the moral of a story each day. The end.

Master Tailor - Augusta, GA. Their tourism organization inspires everyone to “Play Augusta” and make each of their experiences a green jacket moment.

The Candyman - Hersey, PA. It would be cool if the promotion of Hersey was done through a person that only saw the world through candy eyes.  Like Willy Wonka…but in a way that wouldn’t scare the children.

Head Witch Hunter - Salem, MA. I would love to follow tweets from someone who thought everyone was a witch.  Could be funny. Unless of course you are the hunted.

Dr. Love – Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love). Yes, I’m thinking Barry White in disguise. 

The Wizard - Liberal, KS.  The Liberal touts being the Land of Oz.  They could create an entire Twitter cast that tweets about local happenings and events.

Okay. I think you get the picture.  If every community took this approach to branding, not only would it bring their brand to life in a unique voice, but it would also create new career paths and significantly add to the interesting activity already abound on Twitter.

Do you have any ideas for destination jobs and Twitter profiles? Hit me with your best shot.

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