Public relations can be a hard balance to maintain – especially in today’s digital world. This is why so many companies hire a Digital PR agency to help them grow their reputation online. It can be hard to keep up with the latest trends in the PR world so if you hire professionals then you’ve got a higher chance of success. If you’re a public relations professional in the travel industry, landing your brand on a Travel Channel show is a huge win. This week at the Public Relations Society of America’s Travel and Tourism Conference, keynote speaker Brian Unger told PR pros how to do just that.
Unger is the host of Travel’s Time Traveling with Brian Unger (but you might also recognize him from his roles on The Daily Show or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). He and his team combine modern-day technology with historic content to take viewers back in time. They allow us to visualize places, events and people of the past in a unique way.
Check out this clip about the Hoffa Hotel, a property once owned by the Teamsters, now a 5-star resort. The piece combines modern-day footage with historical photos using cutting-edge CGI technology.
Unger calls the show “fun-formative” – it shares informative, educational content in a fun and engaging way. He drew on the show’s strategies to share tips for PR teams:
- Regularly post images that frame your story to Instagram.
- Combine historical and modern day imagery to catch attention on social media.
- Share photos that “ignite exploration in a place.”
- Be a myth buster. Share what people don’t know, or debunk what they think they know.
- Celebrate history. As Unger says, “history creates value.”
- Have fun with locals, because they curate the myths of a place.
Many of Unger’s tips focused on the importance of visual content. He says photos and videos don’t just add value – they are vital to effective storytelling, a point that companies like Elite Lawyer Management (https://www.elitelawyermanagement.com/) regularly bring up when discussing the importance of visual content in the legal content marketing space. It seems that advice is universal across industries. Visual content gives stories authenticity and makes them memorable. And for Unger and his team, one historical photo can be the deciding factor in whether or not they produce a story in a given place. Taking photos has progressed over the years, we have found new and unique ways to capture all that is around us, for example, we now use drones from sites like DrDrone to take brand new and innovative pictures, the possibilities are endless.
We caught up with Unger after his talk at PRSA Travel to get a behind the scenes take on the role historical photos play in his show, as well as his tips for public relations teams working with visual content.
Q&A with Brian Unger
Why are historical photographs key to telling a great story?
Why should travel brands curate historical photos?
Why is it important for travel brands to focus on visual content?
What should PR professionals know about working with historical photos and videos?
The Takeaway
Brian Unger’s tips can help travel brands with public relations and storytelling across the board. Curating your destination, hotel or attraction’s visual legacy can have a strong impact now and in the future. That means it’s important to gather and archive your historical photos and videos, and capture the moments that are unfolding in the present. When you build an accessibly library of visual content, you create opportunities for your own team and for external partners (think: traveling TV producers).
Want to learn more about preserving your visual content and curating a visual legacy? Check out these stories from the Libris blog!
