60: Will This Announcement Shake Up the DMO Media World? (Zeek Coleman)

Stuart and Adam open with Stu’s News on Australia’s move to restrict social media accounts for users under 16 on certain platforms, sparking a quick sidebar on parenting, addiction-by-design, and whether similar policy could ever happen in the U.S. Then the episode pivots hard into the main topic: a true “red pill” conversation about paid media transparency in the destination industry. Zeek Coleman returns with a surprise announcement: he’s leaving Tourism Economics to become President of Ad+genuity. From there, the three unpack the uncomfortable realities of programmatic buying, including incentives, margins, fraud, waste, premium inventory, and why DMOs can’t afford to hide behind vanity metrics if they want to defend funding and prove real impact. ⸻ Stu’s News (not the main topic)  • Australia restricts social media accounts for certain platforms for users under 16, shifting enforcement burden to the platforms.  • Stuart and Adam talk candidly about parenting in a social media era and how hard it is to manage phones and social pressure.  • A broader debate emerges on government’s role in protecting kids versus leaving it solely to parents. ⸻ Main topic The surprise announcement  • Zeek announces he’s leaving Tourism Economics and stepping into the President role at Ad+genuity.  • He frames the move as mission-driven: raising the bar for transparency, defensibility, and integrity in destination media. The red pill conversation  • The group digs into how digital buying can create the appearance of success while hiding waste, fraud, and low-quality placements.  • They discuss how the industry’s reliance on impressions and surface-level reporting can reinforce the “illusion of relevance.”  • Stuart emphasizes the ecosystem problem: publishers, exchanges, buyers, and DMOs themselves can all play a role when hard questions aren’t asked. ⸻ Questions DMOs should ask their agency/media partners  • Are you willing to share your margins and explain how you make money on my buy?  • What fraud mitigation/verification are you paying for (and can you prove it’s used on our campaigns)?  • How are you auditing and reducing waste in programmatic (middlemen fees, inefficient pathways, junk inventory)?  • Can you provide a site list and show that you’re prioritizing premium, brand-safe environments?  • How do you prevent obvious issues like stacked ads, repeated exposures, and in-market leakage?

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