As Dionne Warwick once crooned, “a house is not a home when there’s no one there to hold you tight.” While Warwick sang about the wish for a lost love to return, the sentiment holds true for destination marketing as well when we talk about spaces versus places.

Destination marketing promotes a location – a city, an amusement park, even an entire country – with the goal of enticing people to visit that location. Now you might think trying to convince someone to go to Hawaii would be pretty easy. I mean, it’s almost assuredly better than wherever you are reading this (and it’s definitely better than where I am writing this!) But as is often the case, even marketing something popular can be complex and nuanced. 

That’s where people like Stefan Pettersson, co-founder of Stockholm-based destination marketing company Gameng, come in. Stefan knows that it takes much more than warm temperatures and sandy beaches to draw tourism.

“There are a lot of spaces to actually visit.” Pettersson says on the latest episode of Elasticity’s Stretching Boundaries podcast. “The big question is how can I create meaning to people to come there? Because if you have a space and you have the meaning – you have a place.” 

That meaning is often more important than the physical traits of a space itself. How much difference is there really between the beaches of Honolulu, San Juan, Miami or Jamaica? They all can boast crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches. They all have comfortable resorts of all sizes to choose from. So what makes you want to go to one over the others? As Stefan says, the meaning is the solution for a space. 

[These are photos of beaches in Honolulu, San Juan, Miami and Jamaica. Can you tell them apart? You can check your answers at the end.]

“For example, if you want to win the trophy with your friends to have the biggest fish ever, you help them to find that spot, that possibility.”

Meaning can be so many things, from a unique local dish to a deep cultural history to a fun activity. It’s not about the things your space can do, it’s about how your place can solve the needs of the consumer. 

And that idea should start to sound pretty familiar to anyone who works in marketing. Whether it’s a place, a product or a service, you don’t sell the features, you sell the benefits. You must imbue whatever you’re offering with meaning. 

Dionne was right – a house, on its own, is not a home. Only when it has that spark, that meaning, will it have true value. 

Learn more about destination marketing by listening to the full episode of the new Stretching Boundaries podcast right here. 

BEACH ANSWER KEY:

Top Left: Jamaica

Top Right: San Juan

Bottom Left: Honolulu

Bottom Right: Miami