What You Will Learn:
The third annual P.U.R.E. Travel Collaborative" Green Travel Road Show will focus on the power of storytelling in marketing sustainable travel. This annual conference offers an opportunity to connect with tourism organizations offering sustainable and unique experiences in the Pacific Northwest/Cascadia region.

The conference will include panels and workshops to help tourism businesses craft and tell their story in ways that resonate with travelers and the travel media. Compelling and strategic stories will help drive more travelers to your business. Media experts, writers, bloggers and destination marketers will share their insights and offer ideas about effective storytelling and marketing.

Click here for complete conference agenda

Keynote Speakers:  
 Gifford Pinchot III:
Sustainability Through Ecopreneuring: Profiting from the Green Revolution   
Author, speaker and sustainable business consultant Gifford Pinchot III will discuss how to use the desire to serve the planet and its people to inspire profitable innovation, and how business can serve the environment & social equity, including:

• Why ecopreneuring gets more action than talking about sustainability.
• Examples of ecopreneuring.
• The principles of successful ecopreneuring.
• How to engage and direct ecopreneurial energy in your employees to create profitable sustainability in your company.
• How to succeed as an ecopreneur. 

Over the past five years American value sets have shifted to elevate experiences over material goods, to crave authentic immersion, to expect uber customization, to embrace technology as a critical travel tool – but to also view genuine human connections as the real gift of travel. Don’t miss this dynamic look at what consumers want now, how Oregon plans to “bring it” in an uncompromising, unprecedented way, and a look ahead at how Travel Oregon intends to deliver on the promise to our guests.

Achievements of the Oregon Tourism Commission under Davidson include: 

• The establishment of a dedicated, stable funding source for the Commission, the launch of niche-oriented publications and advertising - with a particular emphasis on family destination travel.
• Leadership in securing increased cooperative advertising partnerships.
• Development of the Regional Cooperative Marketing Program and strengthening the base of international markets, air service and partnerships

Presenters:

Chef Roy Breiman, Culinary Director, Cedarbrook Lodge
Creating a Sustainable Hospitality Model
Chef Breiman’s most recent endeavors include serving as culinary director of Cedarbrook Lodge – a fully sustainable 18-acre urban property in Seattle – and its Copperleaf Restaurant. He is also owner of The West Coast Kitchen LLC, where he is providing counsel to a variety of groups on sustainable food concepts. Breiman also serves on the board of the Puget Sound Regional Food Council, helping to strengthen the sustainable food system and policies for the Puget Sound area.

Mark Campbell, Solaia Consulting  
Creating a Compelling Brand Story and Why You Must Have One
A quick Internet search of companies reveals that many organizations view their Brand Story as a version of their company histories. Interesting as these histories may be—and often they are very compelling—they fail in their primary purpose, which is to emotionally connect people to the brand.

At its very best and most powerful, your Brand Story transcends time, culture, and location because it speaks to those ageless and unchanging truths about the human experience—birth, death, growing up, growing old, kinship, struggling against all odds, etc. That’s the story that needs to be told through everything you do.

Great brand stories start with great research. It is essential to identify the core themes that resonate with your customers at the deepest level of emotion, and then define one BIG IDEA that encapsulates your company’s personality and brand promise.

This presentation will cover not only why it is essential to have a compelling brand story but also the specific steps to not only discovering and communicating your unique brand story but also why it is essential to integrate your brand story into every your organization does.

Jeff Ericson, Owner, Camano Island Coffee Roasters
Using Sustainability as a Strategic Marketing Plan
Jeff will explain the importance of responsible consumerism and how Camano Island Coffee Roasters works with their customers to help them on their journey from consumerism to prosumerism (pro-active consumers). Jeff has found that coffee is a great carrier of this conversation, as while it is a "fashonable" drink in the U.S., but traces its roots back to some of the most disadvantaged people on earth. Camano Island Coffee Roasters show how all the steps in the cycle must be sustainable and how "charity" can sometimes do more harm then good.  

Molly Phillips , Manager of Global Responsibility, Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle
Pan Pacific Hotel's "PanEarth" Program and Tour
Molly was a founding member of the “Green Team” for the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. She accepted the position of Senior Sales Manager for Kimpton Hotels in Seattle in 2007. After completing a sustainability degree, Molly was named Manager of Sustainable Partnerships for all three Seattle Kimpton hotels. Molly joined Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle in early 2010 and is currently expanding their "PanEarth Program" to improve upon all aspects of their environmental and social sustainability.

 Colleen Wright , Internet Marketing Consultant and Trainer
Optimizing your Travel Blog or Website
Do you know which keywords are the most effective to draw your target audience? Do visitors stay on your website or blog for more than a minute? These are important questions that need to be answered. If you want to be sure that you are getting not only lots of traffic, but traffic from the audience you want to reach, this is 30-minutes you don’t want to miss. Colleen Wright, an Internet Marketing Strategist and trainer for Search Engine Academy Northwest, will give you some simple tips and strategies to help make sure your website is humming on all eight cylinders. In addition, Colleen will be accepting 15 minute appointments throughout the conference to take a look at your website or blog and give you specific actions items to work on that will take your online marketing efforts to the next level.

Media Panel:
Moderated by Allen Cox, Freelance Travel & Lifestyle Journalist and Editor of Harbors Magazine
Annika Hipple, Travel & Sustainability Writer
Andy Hayes, Travel Writer
Beth Whitman, Travel Writer
Sherrye Wyatt,  Whidbey & Camano Island Tourism

You will also have the opportunity to create a compelling tourism itinerary for your region and get helpful feedback from our panel of experts. This exercise will lay a foundation of the building blocks that destination and tourism managers should consider when planning a media pitch.

Early Registration Pricing:
P.U.R.E. Members: $100
Non-members: $140
Friday only: $95
Additional registrants from the same company, only $100 each!
Students are invited to attend the Friday sessions at the special rate of $35.

Register Now!