A Word from Tiffany Russell

Dear CVB Team,

I am pleased to support the CVB and our tourism industry as your new VP Marketing Communications. This is an exciting time for all of us as we make several major transitions internally to support our growing marketing needs. I wanted to share the vision statement Brad prepared for person selected (which he also shared with the interview panel), as it will resonate with all of us regarding the future of this organization:

Vision for the new VP of Marketing & Communications

  • Someone to lead our restructuring who understands our vision and can move that vision to action.
  • Someone who can see the big picture while still able to evaluate the tactics and performance of the department.
  • Someone not afraid to challenge the status quo and not accept the past as a roadmap for our future.
  • Someone who will push the marketing and communications team to be creative and think beyond.
  • Someone committed to the organization’s success and has a passion for seeing Virginia Beach succeed.
  • Someone who will be well respected within our organization and with our stakeholders.

I ask for your support now more than ever as we internally undergo changes in process, procedures, communications, project management and even project assignment. Some things we’ve done before will not be the same moving forward. My 90-day plan is rather focused:

  • I will be looking to hire the new marketing director right away, as well as an assistant and my replacement as Director of Public Relations.
  • I will continue to work with Brad, my team and BCF to evolve our destination marketing message. “Three beaches, one vacation” will soon be replaced in order to improve top-of-mind awareness of our City as a vacation destination.
  • I will be working to develop the new look of VisitVirginiaBeach.com through our new vendor partner, Simpleview.
  • I will be involved with many of you in the DMAI DestinationNext workshop process.

I am setting up internal, scalable processes for this team to be able to serve you, as our internal “clients,” much like an in-house advertising agency. The new marketing director will be your account rep, so to speak, and will traffic projects requiring creative direction and brand oversight. We will work closely with you to ensure the strategy and product is meeting an end-goal, or encourage you to consider another avenue we think might work even better.

Additionally, I have appreciated your patience and understanding as I’ve worked to manage several roles and responsibilities since Chuck’s retirement in January. Thanks again for celebrating with me as I shape this new role under the vision presenting to me and grow my already awesome team!

— Tiffany

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