Schedule



ESTO delivers bold content, dynamic learning formats and opportunities to connect and equip destination marketing leaders with insights they can immediately put into action.

Explore the full schedule to start planning your experience at ESTO.

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Wednesday, August 26
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9:00am - 9:30am

Concurrent Session: Take Off Talk

  • Six Degrees of Separation: Leveraging Celebrity Connections to Drive Tourism
    Franklin 5-7
    Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
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    Every destination, no matter the size, likely has some connection to a celebrity, whether a famous author was born there, or a movie star calls the city home. During this Take-Off Talk, Sarah Townes, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer for Experience Columbus, will share how Ohio’s capital city leveraged being the hometown of legendary horror author R.L. Stine of “Goosebumps” to create a PR-led moment that had huge results and drove visitation. Attendees will gain insights into how Experience Columbus’ “Get Goosebumps in Columbus” campaign came about, the incredible results and tips for how attendees can identify their own possible celebrity connections and generate creative campaigns to drive tourism. 

    Takeaways: 

    • Learn how to research and brainstorm what celebrity connections your destination has and create a compelling event or campaign around them. 
    • Discover what goes into partnering with a celebrity, from contracts to event planning.
    • Learn marketing and communications strategies for maximizing the impact of your campaign and how to work with national media to pitch your story idea and help facilitate coverage.
  • The Agile DMO: Transitioning from Traditional Agency to High-Velocity Tech Culture
    Franklin 9-10
    Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
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    Stop acting like a rigid DMO and start operating like an elite tech company. This "Take-Off Talk" explores how to restructure for speed using a "Move Fast and Break Things" mindset. We’ll share how we audited every task, eliminated legacy operations like traditional event services, and adopted an "Agile Tech Stack"—from Google Gemini AI to Scrum principles. Learn to remove blockers, automate the mundane, and lead a high-output team that prioritizes progress over perfection.

     

    Takeaways

    • The "Stop-Doing" Audit: How to identify and courageously eliminate legacy operations that no longer serve your mission (and how to rebuild them for modern impact).
    • Implementing an AI-First Workflow: Practical ways to use tools like Google Gemini to build "Gems" (repeatable prompts) for internal HR, sales prospecting, and automated reporting.
    • The Agile Meeting Rhythm: A blueprint for running daily Scrums, quarterly retrospectives, and blocker-removal sessions that replace "status updates" with actual momentum.