Speaking & live appearances

Book the show, live.

Stuart and Adam on stage together — the argument IS the show. Three formats, ten ready-to-pitch talks, built for destination industry audiences.

When Stuart and Adam get invited to speak together at an industry event — ESTO, SC GovCon, state conferences, DMO board retreats, agency summits — it's a distinct offering from either host solo. The two of them on stage is the format the live version should protect: a real argument, with the audience as the third voice.

Format options

Three formats. Pick one.

All three need the room set up for two hosts on stage, comfortable seating, handhelds or lavs (not lecterns), and ideally house audio piping into a recording feed so the event becomes a bonus episode.

Signature — most requested

Destination Discourse LIVE

45–60 min

The show itself, on stage, with the audience as the third voice. One provocative question. Hosts debate. Audience pushes back live. Works for main-stage keynotes at industry conferences, association conferences, DMO member meetings. The format we used at ESTO 2025 and SC GovCon 2026.

Two-voice keynote

30–45 min

Hosts co-present a single thesis — but with structured disagreement built in. Heavier on argumentation, lighter on live audience interaction. Works for opening/closing keynotes, executive retreats, board strategy sessions.

Fireside / moderated Q&A

45–60 min

Audience submits questions in advance (or live); hosts answer in the show's format. Lowest production overhead; highest audience-directed content. Works for smaller membership events, virtual summits, sponsor-led panels.

Topic taxonomy

Ten ready-to-pitch talks.

Organized by messaging pillar. Each talk maps back to a body of work in the show, so we walk on stage with real conviction and real examples.

I. The existential question

Most in-demand. Highest-stakes provocations.

Is this the beginning of the end for DMOs?

The industry's survival question, staged honestly. Not fearmongering — a real look at what the job becomes if the transaction, the funding model, and the audience all shift simultaneously.

Anchor episodes: Ep 1, 19, 26, 27, 44, 56, 73

The Most Honest Conversation in Destination Marketing: why the industry's biggest risk is agreeing with itself.

The show's manifesto, as a keynote. Case for productive disagreement; why the industry's current feedback loops produce consensus without progress; how to reintroduce honest dissent into your organization.

Anchor episodes: Ep 1, 27, 46, 50, 54, 69, 75

Before the industry writes its own obituary.

The wake-up-call talk. What professional complacency actually looks like from the inside; three-to-five-year signal-of-decline indicators any destination leader can audit; what to change in the next 90 days.

Anchor episodes: Ep 14, 26, 44, 56, 62, 64

II. AI — the co-worker frame

AI is not Google. Stop treating it like one.

The signature Destination Discourse AI take. Why the search-engine mental model is sabotaging DMOs' AI adoption; what 'AI as co-worker' actually means operationally; specific workflows that work and don't work.

Anchor episodes: Ep 7, 48, 76

The brand in the prompt era.

What happens to brand, attribution, and discovery when AI becomes the dominant travel-planning interface. Implications for paid, owned, SEO, and content strategy.

Anchor episodes: Ep 17, 31, 44, 55, 56, 67

III. The structural / economics arguments

The broken economics of destination marketing.

RFPs, funding models, agency relationships, and why every incentive in the business points the wrong direction. What individual DMOs can change unilaterally vs. what requires the industry to move together.

Anchor episodes: Ep 21, 34, 42, 43, 54, 68

Measurement honesty: zombie metrics, data hangovers, and the discipline of admitting you don't know.

Causation vs. correlation; why most DMO dashboards are measuring activity instead of impact; a framework for what actually matters.

Anchor episodes: Ep 8, 20, 40, 61, 67

IV. The DMO's real job

When the transaction disappears, what's the job?

Residents, stewardship, community, the full visitor journey. Reframing the DMO's purpose for a post-click world.

Anchor episodes: Ep 6, 24, 28, 39, 58, 66

Two sides of the table: how DMOs and agencies actually make each other better.

Stuart-and-Adam as the living case study. What the vendor side wishes DMOs understood; what the DMO side wishes vendors understood; the contracting patterns that produce great work.

Anchor episodes: Ep 34, 42, 43, 54, 70, 71

V. The meta / format talk

Destination Discourse LIVE: a working demo.

The show format itself as the content. Good for conferences that want something interactive and recordable. The 'talk' is really a live episode — pick the question with the host of the event in advance, audience participates.

Anchor episodes: Ep 46, 69

What to know before pitching

Before you pitch us.

Preferred length: 45–60 min. Below 30 is too short for real disagreement. Above 75 and the audience needs breaks.
Audience: works best 50–500. Larger rooms can work but require mic runners and tight moderation.
Travel logistics: both hosts based in the continental US. For events requiring travel, expect standard travel cost recovery.
Recording rights: hosts retain the right to release audio as a Destination Discourse episode. Event gets the episode featured with their branding and full credit.
No sponsored content / paid takes. Hosts don't take positions for the event or sponsors. The editorial independence is the product.

Ready to book?

Bring the argument to your event.

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