Making Your Marketing Feel Like an Invitation, Not an Ad | Ashley Johnson of Visit Newport Beach

<p>In this episode, we sit down with Ashley Johnson, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Newport Beach, who has spent twenty years building some of California&#39;s most beloved destination brands, including sixteen years at Visit Laguna Beach, where she became President and CEO at just thirty three years old and won an Emmy for a children&#39;s educational campaign that used storytelling to change visitor behavior. Ashley brings a perspective that translates far beyond the tourism industry: she breaks down what it actually means to sell a feeling rather than a product, why the best marketing feels like an invitation rather than an advertisement, how her in-house team of seven executed over twenty two campaigns in a single fiscal year, and what she has learned about imposter syndrome, leadership, and hiring in two decades of leading teams.</p><p><strong>Key Takeaways:</strong></p><p>// Sell the feeling, not the feature. Nobody books a vacation because of a beach photo. They book because they can picture themselves there. The strongest marketing makes the consumer the main character of the story, not the product.</p><p>// Great marketing feels like an invitation. Give people enough information to feel comfortable, enough inspiration to get excited, and then get out of the way and let them have their own experience. Overly prescriptive marketing removes the magic.</p><p>// Market with your community, not around them. The biggest mistake a brand can make is building a strategy that ignores or inconveniences the people closest to it. When locals see your marketing and think &quot;yes, that is exactly us,&quot; you have done it right.</p><p>// Storytelling can change behavior<strong>.</strong> Ashley&#39;s Emmy came from a seven-minute educational video for school groups that made kids want to protect tide pools before they ever visited. Great storytelling does not just inspire — it influences what people actually do.</p><p>Connect with Visit Newport Beach: @visitnewportbeach</p><p>Connect with Ashley Johnson: @missashleytaylor</p><p>____</p><p><strong>Join the MHH Collective!</strong> The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&amp;As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective</p><p>Say hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can&#39;t wait to hear from you! <strong>Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review</strong>, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you.<strong> ⁠</strong></p><p><strong>Join the MHH Collective:</strong><a href="https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective"><strong> </strong><u>⁠</u><strong>Join now</strong><u>⁠</u></a></p><p><strong>Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠</strong>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠<a href="https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63e9635c8e06d4dae9493eab"><u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u><strong>Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠</strong><u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u></a>⁠⁠⁠</p><p>Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠<a href="https://www.instagram.com/marketinghappyhr/"><u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u></a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-happy-hour"><u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u></a> |<a href="https://www.threads.net/@marketinghappyhr"><u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u></a><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mhhpodcast"> <u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u></a> |<a href="https://www.facebook.com/marketinghappyhr"> <u>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</u></a><br></p>