The most forward-thinking developers and operators are using content, community, and distribution to build destinations that don't need to be discovered—because they're already known.
The most interesting shift happening in forward-thinking CRE marketing right now is the adoption of a media company mindset by destination operators and developers. Not literally. They're not launching publications or hiring editorial teams. But strategically, they're beginning to think and operate like media companies: publishing consistently, building owned audiences, developing content that creates value independent of any single transaction, and positioning themselves as the authoritative voice on the topics their audiences care about most.
The destinations embracing this approach are building something that traditional marketing cannot: an audience that actively seeks them out rather than having to be found.
The best marketing a destination can do is become the most trusted, most interesting, most relevant voice in its community's life. That is what a media company mindset creates, and it is a competitive moat that advertising budget cannot replicate.
— Leslie Himley, Founder & Fractional CMOWhat the Media Company Mindset Actually Means for CRE
A media company creates content that its audience finds genuinely valuable—not content that promotes the company's products, but content that serves the audience's interests, answers their questions, and gives them something worth coming back for. Applied to a destination brand, this means publishing content with genuine editorial value rather than promotional intent.
Community Content
Publishing content that reflects the destination's neighborhood and cultural context: local stories, maker profiles, neighborhood guides, community event coverage. Content that serves the community rather than the development.
Programming Content
Documenting activations, curating experiences, and giving people a reason to follow the destination's story even when they're not physically present. Content that extends the destination beyond its physical walls.
Authority Content
Establishing the destination's voice on topics that matter to its audience—sustainability, local business, community design, food and beverage culture. Content that positions the destination as a curator of ideas, not just of tenants.
Email Content
Delivering genuine value rather than promotional announcements. Information that subscribers forward to friends because it is actually useful. The email that earns its place in the inbox rather than occupying it.
The LHSA Destination Media Model
The LHSA Destination Media Model is the framework I use to help mixed-use operators build content programs that function like media operations. It is built on three pillars that together create the compounding audience asset that traditional marketing cannot.
Authority
The destination publishes consistent, high-quality content that establishes it as the definitive voice on topics its audience cares about. Authority is earned through consistency and specificity, not volume.
Community
The content creates genuine community: shared reference points, conversations, and relationships that extend beyond physical visits. Community is what converts an audience into advocates.
Distribution
The content reaches audiences through owned channels—email, social, digital—creating compounding reach that does not depend on paid amplification. Owned distribution is the difference between renting attention and owning it.
The SEO and AI Citability Advantage
There is a specific, measurable competitive advantage that the media company mindset creates in the current search and AI environment: topical authority. Destinations that consistently publish high-quality, specific, audience-relevant content build the kind of search authority that drives organic discovery—and the kind of AI citability that positions the brand as the go-to source when people ask AI systems for recommendations.
In my digital strategy work, I've seen destinations that publish consistently and strategically accumulate organic search authority that generates a reliable stream of new visitors without ongoing paid media investment. This is the compounding advantage of the media company mindset: the content investment made today continues to generate returns for years.
Traditional marketing rents attention. The media company mindset builds owned audience. Rented attention stops the moment you stop paying. Owned audience compounds year over year.
The Practical Starting Point
The media company mindset doesn't require a large content team or an editorial budget. It requires a decision: to publish consistently, to write for the audience rather than the property, and to measure success in audience growth and engagement rather than impressions and reach.
Most destinations can begin with one high-quality piece of content per month and a disciplined email program. The compounding starts from the first piece, not from the hundredth.
If you're thinking about how to build a content and distribution strategy for your destination, we would be glad to help.
Connect →