DESTINATION DISCOURSE
Episode 75 April 2, 2026 · 58 min · with Matt Stiker and Katy Livingston

Has Destination Marketing Been Gentrified?

Madden Media's Matt Stiker and Katy Livingston on why every destination is starting to look, sound, and market itself the same way.

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#broken economics#future of the dmo
The question we're arguing about this week

Has Destination Marketing Been Gentrified?

Matt and Katy from Madden Media press on a take you don't hear enough: destination marketing has a sameness problem, and committee-friendly work is how it got here. The episode examines what "destination gentrification" looks like in practice — a homogenized visual language, a homogenized tone, a homogenized audience definition — and why the safest creative choice is usually the most forgettable one.

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The guests

  • Matt Stiker

    Madden Media

  • Katy Livingston

    Madden Media
Keep arguing

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Stuart and Adam only 53:52
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with C.A. Clark 56:10
EP 074 · MAR 26, 2026

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with Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe 52:24
Three ways to be a Destie

Don't miss the next one.

Every episode, we stage a conversation your industry is quietly having — and wasn't brave enough to have out loud.

If this episode got you thinking, the next one will too. Become a Destie — three ways in.

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