Sep 4, 2025
Keeping it Real
"With the pace of change in our industry, a strong destination brand is more important than ever. It serves as a beacon—attracting visitors by letting them know what you stand for—and it goes beyond a great logo and tagline."
Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit. Thomas Mooney, CEO + Executive Creative Director, and Monish Bhattacharyya, Partner + Creative Director, at FourthIdea, will share how a properly built brand and creative strategy is the cornerstone of all your marketing initiatives. Many destinations, big and small, have not been coached on how to unleash the potential of their destination through dynamic and vibrant brand building.
This session will provide you with a working model by which to evaluate your brand strategy and campaign creative — The R.E.A.L model will guide you through the elements that make up a brand that is uniquely yours — and attract visitation with style and authenticity.
Why You Should Attend This Session:
- Discover how the "REAL" brand model—Relevant, Emotional, Authentic, Logical—can transform your destination marketing for increased engagement and measurable results.
- Gain actionable insights into aligning market data, storytelling, and emotional resonance to build trust and drive visitation in the evolving travel landscape.
- Learn from real-world case studies and creative strategies that help brands embrace their uniqueness, connect deeply with travelers, and stand out from the competition.
Key Takeaways:
- Practical steps for developing strong brand positioning and segmentation strategies tailored to your destination’s strengths and visitor motivations.
- Ways to leverage the latest travel trends—experience-driven, authentic, multi-generational travel—and emotional drivers for more compelling campaigns.
- Tips for stakeholder buy-in, optimizing multi-channel media strategies, and building demand with authentic storytelling and AI-powered tools.
About Thomas:
Thomas Mooney is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of FourthIdea, a leading branding and destination marketing agency recognized for its innovative, results-driven approach. With more than two decades of industry experience, Thomas specializes in transformative brand strategy, guiding destinations and organizations to uncover their authentic voice and elevate their market impact. He is a champion for creativity that delivers tangible results, blending data-driven insights with human storytelling to foster genuine emotional connections between travelers and communities. Thomas’s leadership is defined by a passion for purposeful design, strategic thinking, and empowering teams and clients to fully realize their brand’s potential in an ever-evolving tourism landscape.
About Monish:
Monish Bhattacharyya is Partner and Creative Director at FourthIdea and he has one simple belief that has driven his passion for this business for more than 25 years: Every brand has a story to tell. From innovative technology to emerging media, there has never been a greater opportunity to engage consumers in a truly relevant and meaningful manner. During his lengthy sojourn through the ad world, Monish has made stops at agencies in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Ft. Lauderdale and New York City before finally making his way home to Buffalo. He’s had the opportunity to write for world-class companies and to collaborate with like-minded people to build compelling stories for brands across the spectrum.
FourthIdea specializes in branding, destination strategy, and integrated marketing solutions designed to elevate travel, tourism, and hospitality organizations in a crowded marketplace. By combining deep audience insights, creative storytelling, and bold activation strategies, FourthIdea helps destinations craft authentic brand identities and campaigns that drive measurable growth and emotional engagement. Partnering with FourthIdea ensures data-driven campaigns, compelling visitor experiences, and powerful stakeholder alignment that boost visitation, length of stay, and community impact.