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The Carry-On Collectible
There’s something poetic about packing a piece of your fandom. Whether it’s a first-edition comic book sealed in a case, a holographic Charizard card, or in the most delightfully absurd form a piece of Heinz ketchup luggage.
The new Heinz x Herschel Supply collaboration is more than a novelty drop. It’s a marker of how collectibles culture is bleeding into every corner of lifestyle and travel turning objects once meant to be used into objects meant to be kept, displayed, and photographed.
How To Win Travelers in 2026: Placemaking and City Branding
How DMOs Can Win Travelers in 2026
Destination marketing organizations are facing a new era in travel: empowered by technology, influenced by AI, and shaped by fast-evolving consumer expectations. On this episode of Field Notes, Eric Hultgren hosts Ben Knapp of Saffron Consultants to dissect the latest City Brand Barometer and share what DMOs should prioritize to rise above the competition and attract more visitors in 2026.
TikTok Travel Ads Powered by Smart+: What DMOs Need to Know
TikTok has become the world’s digital departure lounge a place where curiosity turns into booked trips. Now, the platform is making it even easier for travel brands and DMOs to reach high-intent travelers through its newest innovation: Travel Ads powered by Smart+.
The new solution launched at the end of September lets advertisers automatically promote destinations, hotels, and experiences at scale, using AI-driven personalization and catalog-based creatives. For DMOs competing for attention in an oversaturated marketplace, it’s a chance to connect inspiration directly to conversion.
Web Traffic is the New Vanity Metric: What Travel Marketers Should Track Now
An empty calorie is defined as a calorie with little to no nutritional value, in food this is usually found in things that are high in fat, sugar, or processed. In marketing, we call these “vanity metrics.” Like many things in marketing, what was once a rare mineral for your team or brand becomes an Oscar Meyer Cheese Hot Dog overnight.