Larry sits down with Brittany Kenner, marketing director for Murray, Kentucky — the self-proclaimed friendliest small town in America, home to Murray State University and a tourism office of exactly two people running the whole show. Brittany's through-line is that a small budget and a small team aren't a handicap so much as a forcing function: when you can't buy your way into attention, you get very good at earning it. Her headline take is that social engagement isn't dying, it's relocating. The public likes and comments are down, but the real conversations have quietly slipped into DMs and shares — and chasing vanity metrics means missing where the actual interest now lives.

From there it's a clinic in scrappy, place-led marketing: treating Instagram and TikTok like the search engines they've quietly become, putting paid dollars where they actually convert (Spotify and Facebook, not TikTok), and being your own influencer when you can't afford to rent one. Brittany also digs into building a destination brand from the ground up with no marquee attraction to lean on, the genuine synergy she's built with the university, and a charmingly low-tech visitor-guide campaign she hand-addressed herself — Hallmark-movie energy with a real marketing brain behind it.

In this episode:

• 00:06 - Introduction to Aqua Talks
• 03:22 - Transitioning to Trends in Community Marketing
• 08:07 - The Charm of Small Town Connections
• 13:23 - Building a Tourism Strategy
• 16:42 - Partnerships in Tourism and Community Engagement
• 18:24 - Exploring Visitor Engagement Strategies

Key Takeaways:

• Engagement didn't die, it moved to the DMs: Public likes and comments are down, but conversations shifted to DMs and shares — so Brittany leans into shareable content and an Instagram broadcast channel.
• Social is the new search engine: People use TikTok and Instagram to plan trips now, not just scroll.
• Spend where it converts: Small paid budget goes to Spotify and Facebook, not TikTok.
• Be your own influencer: Brittany and her intern became the faces of the town — cheaper than paid influencers and a local-goodwill bonus.
• Building a brand with no marquee attraction: No festival fanbase or big-city draw to coast on — the work is finding people who genuinely love the place.
• The university is the ultimate partner: A board seat, joint rankings wins, and real content give-and-take.
• Find partners who get small-market tourism: Most agency pitches assume an attraction and audience that tiny towns don't have.
• Case study — the hand-addressed visitor guide: A simple social + Spotify push, guides addressed by hand, riding the Kindness Matters murals' Good Housekeeping feature.

About Our Guest:

Brittany Kenner (Murray CVB site)

Director of Marketing & Communications

Brittany moved to Murray in 2020 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Murray State University. She brings a fresh, energetic perspective to her role as Director of Marketing with the CVB. Her time as an Account Manager at Bauer Entertainment Marketing gave her a solid grounding in brand strategy, the hospitality world, and content creation — all of it central to putting the MKY on the map. Outside of work, you'll find Brittany spending time with her family or out enjoying a good music festival.