Hi, I'm Catherine Warrilow.

I write and advise on brand strategy and proposition for visitor attractions and experiences, destinations, DMOs, tourist associations and travel tech brands.

I founded The Plot in 2023 to help brands in the visitor attraction sector to sort out the messy middle between what they do and what their customers actually want.

I've worked for brands from VRBO and Hard Rock to TripAdvisor and Imperial War Museum.

Because I've worked in all corners of the industry - visitor attractions, distributors of their tickets, the tourism associations and DMOs promoting them, and the travel tech brands connecting them, I have the unique opportunity to give a totally rounded and conclusive review of what's happening in a business. That allows me to figure out exactly where the gaps and opportunities are within a brand strategy.

My story and perspective on brand strategy

At school I was disciplined for being disruptive and having too many ideas.

I was like Matilda but slightly less polite and a bit more fiery.

My get up and go comes from telling extraordinary stories and creating remarkable moments from the every day.

I started The Plot after I was made redundant by an OTA who said 'let's tell people you're off to do something really exciting'. So like a red rag to a bull, that's what I did. Well, I am a taurus.

I had spent two years pouring my everything into building a brand that was future proofed, crazy-creative, build for the consumer and ready for anything. The feedback and early signs were insane. But the runway was way too short.

But leaving there and crying my tears publicly on LinkedIn revealed and unexpected opportunity and a ready made queue of customers who wanted to know how I did what I did. And The Plot was born.

With 2024 growth amongst visitor attractions down 25% on 2023 due to myriad factors from the cost of living crisis to global economic unrest (that b*tch), it continues to be hard work for marketers competing for consumer attention, spend and loyalty.

On top of that, stats show that immersive experiences and tours are the fastest growing visitor attraction category - and, people are switching from traditional Google searches to finding inspiration for a day out on TikTok - the sands are literally shifting every other day right under our feet.

And that's not even with over tourism and growing concerns about sustainable and ethical travel in the mix. We all have a duty to think about the impact of travel on destinations and communities which creates a new set of considerations within our brand strategy.

Which all means that keeping your brand strategy up to date, agile and adaptable is so ridiculously important, it's literally the most important activity your business could invest in. Just saying.

So it's no wonder that 54% of destination marketing organisations (DMOs) struggle to demonstrate clear ROI on their brand campaigns, and 37% cite tracking and attribution as key challenges.

Plus the pressure to justify marketing budgets just keeps on growing. 85% of DMOs are maintaining or increasing digital ad spend, so there is intense pressure to show measurable results and justify marketing investments.

Then you've got AI innovation - LLMs, AI assistants, GEO, AEO and the rest. Of marketing teams, not using AI tools, 26% say that they're overwhelmed by choice and 25% say they haven't got time to learn how to use them.

I digress. My story is one of lifelong questions 'what if we....' and 'why can't we' - I've always seen the art of the possible and been unstoppably curious.

I definitely have a book in me. I always have a side hustle bubbling and one day you'll see me on Dragon's Den, I'm confident of that.

I also have many flaws - full disclosure, I speak my mind. If I think there's something you need to the hear for your own good or the good of your business or team - I'll say it.

I also think out loud and sometimes my ideas are half-formed, naked and nowhere near ready for the public eye. But my clients enjoy being part of that process and ultimately it results in some pretty epic outcomes. Honest.