Doug Traub Explained
Douglas Childs Traub is an American marketing executive who specialized in managing destination marketing organizations in several communities across the U.S. He is best known for his campaign that secured registration of the Surf City USA trademark for Huntington Beach, CA,[1] and his plan which restored an historic railway station in North Carolina,[2] now home of the Fayetteville History Museum. He is also credited with pioneering numerous destination enhancements in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.[3]
Early life and education
Traub was born on May 3, 1958, in New York City,[4] the son of Mary Catherine (née Childs) and Ellis Traub Jr. He grew up in Nissequogue, New York. His parents moved to Miami, divorced and remarried in 1968. With encouragement from his stepfather, Gene LaNier, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1971.[4] He attended Miami Killian Senior High School, where he wrote for the student newspaper, The Cougar's Roar, graduating in 1975.
Traub earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979,[5] the university where his stepfather graduated. During his undergraduate years, he was a disc jockey for Bacchae Disco on Franklin Street and the campus radio station, WXYC. Traub earned an M.B.A. in International Business/Marketing from Mercer University/Atlanta in 1990.[6]
Traub was accredited (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America in 1984.[7] He was named a Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) by the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, now Destinations International, in 2004.[6]
Professional marketing career
During the first five years in his profession, Traub worked in advertising agency executive positions in New York City[8] and Atlanta. He entered corporate marketing in 1984 and spent the next seven years working for companies including Georgia-Pacific[9] and NYNEX.[8] In 1991, he joined Zoo Atlanta as marketing director.[10]
Traub's destination marketing career began as Director of Marketing for the Jekyll Island Authority.[11] [10] In 1995, he moved to Fayetteville, NC to become President & CEO of the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (now DistiNCtly Fayetteville), where he championed restoration of a historic railway station (now home of the Fayetteville History Museum),[12] a project recognized as his "brainchild."[13] [14] He was also responsible for writing grants to create most of the exhibits in the museum and build the first segment of the scenic Cape Fear River Trail in Fayetteville.[15]
In 2001, Traub was selected as President & CEO of the Huntington Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau (now Visit Huntington Beach).[16] He established the city's first integrated professional marketing program, including an information kiosk at the foot of the Huntington Beach Pier, and the Surf City USA brand supported by several trademark applications.[17] Publicity generated during the launch of the brand created the equivalent of several million dollars in free advertising support, with thousands of stories and news reports appearing across the globe.[18] In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal called the branding campaign Traub's "brainchild".[1] [19]
Traub was named President/CEO of the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau (now Go Lake Havasu) in 2010.[20] During his tenure, he pioneered numerous destination enhancements including a wayfinding signage system,[21] the city's distinctive logo and the “Play Like You Mean It” brand.[3] On June 16, 2014, a British tabloid, The Sun, published a false story claiming the London Bridge was being torn down to build an attraction for selling marijuana and drug paraphernalia to tourists. Traub demanded a retraction.[22] [23] The news was picked up by publications around the globe.[24] Within a matter of weeks, the story was removed from circulation and The Sun printed a correction.[25]
After nearly seven years in Arizona, Traub resigned.[26] He moved to the Tampa Bay Area in 2016 as Pasco County’s first Director of Tourism,[27] but resigned after only three months for unknown reasons.[28]
Personal life
Traub married Elisa Larsen (born in 1961) on March 8, 1986; they had a daughter, Catherine, and divorced in 2007.[4] On October 13, 2020, Traub married his college sweetheart, Carol Vipperman (born 1959) on the 40th anniversary of the day they once intended to marry. He now serves as a consumer advocate on the Pasco County Construction Board.[29]
External links
Notes and References
- News: Guth . Robert . Goin' to Surf City? Two Coastal Towns Claim the Title . February 11, 2024 . The Wall Street Journal . April 12, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240116000731/https://www.grsm.com/Templates/media/files/pdf/ARTICLE%20-%20Surf%20City%20WSJ%20Apr%2007.pdf . January 16, 2024 . 1.
- News: Kinsler . Laura . Depot project gains steam . Fayetteville Observer-Times . August 24, 1999.
- News: Messick . Brandon . Havasu CVB extends president's contract . February 11, 2024 . Today's News Herald . December 18, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107173714/https://www.havasunews.com/search/?l=25&sort=relevance&f=html&t=article,video,youtube,collection&app=editorial&nsa=eedition&q=Traub+contract . January 7, 2024.
- News: Ashley . Pam . 5 minutes with Doug Traub . Today's News-Herald . March 10, 2013.
- Web site: Annual Commencement 1979 . The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . 7 January 2024.
- News: Bruttell . Nathan . CVB picks new leader . Today's News-Herald . March 5, 2010.
- Traub . Douglas . Getting Online - and Out of the Dust . Public Relations Journal . May 1986 . 42 . 7 . 7 January 2024.
- News: Falkenhagen . Chris . Fayetteville CVB Names CEO . USAE, Weekly News of Associations, CVBs and Hotels . September 26, 1995.
- News: Renner-Smith . Susan . New Products For Your Home . 8 January 2024 . Popular Science . April 1986 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107164433/https://books.google.com/books?id=96DnlrVhzDsC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=Doug+Traub . 7 January 2024.
- News: Pritchard . Catherine . Visitors' bureau gets new head . Fayetteville Observer-Times . September 9, 1995.
- News: Douglas Traub New Director of Marketing . Jekyll's Golden Islander . 21 . January 27, 1994. 21 .
- News: Fayetteville Looks At Train Depot to Help Revitalize Downtown . 8 January 2024 . WRAL-TV NEWS . 2 December 1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107154822/https://www.wral.com/story/142162/ . 7 January 2024.
- News: Kinsler . Laura . Depot project gains steam . Fayetteville Observer-Times . 24 August 1999.
- News: Burton . Janice . Traub's Trolley Moves Forward . March 1–14, 2000 . Up & Coming Magazine.
- News: Stoddard . Missy . 2 city projects backed . 25 August 2000 . The Fayetteville Observer.
- News: Cain . Sandi . Huntington Beach Visitors Bureau Gets New Head . 8 January 2024 . Orange County Business Journal . 6 January 2002 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107161419/https://www.ocbj.com/news/huntington-beach-visitor-bureau-gets-new-head/ . 7 January 2024.
- Book: Epting . Chris . Huntington Beach Chronicles: The Heart of Surf City . 27 May 2014 . History Press . 978-1-62584-948-9 . 8 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107164133/https://books.google.com/books?id=QwJ3CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT26&lpg=PT26&dq=doug+traub . 7 January 2024.
- News: Surf City USA legal battle is over . February 12, 2024 . SurferToday.com . January 23, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240112230317/https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/surf-city-usa-legal-battle-is-over . January 12, 2024.
- News: SURF CITY USA: Total Rad Trademark Suit, Dude! . February 11, 2024 . The Wall Street Journal . April 12, 2007 . April 12, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117111845/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-LB-3638 . January 17, 2024.
- News: Bruttell . Nathan . Making a masterpiece, New visitors bureau president and CEO has big plans for Lake Havasu City . 8 January 2024 . Todays News-Herald . 11 April 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107171831/https://www.havasunews.com/news/making-a-masterpiece/article_5cf52e3c-43ce-567b-bcaa-5fd61060f2dd.html . 7 January 2024.
- News: Baird . Kevin . Havasu's way finding program funding OK'd . 8 January 2024 . Today's News-Herald . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107172913/https://www.havasunews.com/news/havasus-wayfinding-program-funding-ok-d/article_8c984aa0-e0a7-11e3-a935-001a4bcf887a.html . 7 January 2024.
- News: Arizona's London Bridge not falling down, no drugs around, cries dared city . 10 January 2024 . The Guardian . 2 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240109050157/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/02/london-bridge-falling-down-arizona-sun-drugs . 9 January 2024.
- News: Fonseca . Felicia . Arizona's London Bridge not falling down . 9 January 2024 . Las Vegas Review-Journal/Associated Press . 2 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240108221153/https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/arizonas-london-bridge-not-falling-down/ . 8 January 2024.
- News: London Bridge is NOT falling down, Arizona tourism chiefs insist . 9 January 2024 . London SE1 News . 21 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240108223338/https://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/7737 . 8 January 2024.
- News: Forgione . Mary . Arizona: London Bridge isn't falling down! Tabloid retracts story . 9 January 2024 . The Los Angeles Times . 22 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240109052115/https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trb-california-london-bridge-lake-havasu-20140721-story.html . 9 January 2024.
- News: Messick . Brandon . Havasu CVB boss Doug Traub resigns; gets undisclosed six-figure settlement . 8 January 2024 . Today's News-Herald . 7 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107175054/https://www.havasunews.com/news/havasu-cvb-boss-doug-traub-resigns-gets-undisclosed-six-figure-settlement/article_ee1271c6-01d8-11e6-bb46-cf71d8587c0a.html . 7 January 2024.
- News: Bowen . C.T. . Pasco taps new tourism chief . 8 January 2024 . Tampa Bay Times . 18 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107175526/https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/tourism/pasco-taps-new-tourism-chief/2309419/ . 7 January 2024.
- News: Orth . Carl . Abrupt departure of Pasco Tourism director leaves void . 8 January 2024 . Suncoast News . 20 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107180612/https://www.suncoastnews.com/business/abrupt-departure-of-pasco-tourism-director-leaves-void/article_4a901ea6-25cf-11e7-b5ea-e766324e5b2a.html . 7 January 2024.
- News: Manion . B.C. . Pasco plans to designate ecological corridor on 1,500 acres . 8 January 2024 . The Laker/Lutz News . 15 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107181331/https://lakerlutznews.com/2023/08/116241/ . 7 January 2024.