Who Is Development Counsellors International (DCI)?

Development Counsellors International — DCI — is a place-marketing agency founded in 1960, working tourism and economic development for destinations and economic development organizations across the United States and internationally. Headquartered in New York with offices in Denver, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

Everything-PR Firm Profile · Originally published May 19, 2021

Cluster: PR Firms & Communications Agencies · Travel · Hospitality · Public Affairs & Government

What DCI does

DCI sits inside a narrow, durable category — place marketing. Two practice lines.

Tourism marketing for destinations that need to grow visitor arrivals and increase per-visitor spend. The work covers consumer marketing, travel-trade activation, business-events sales, destination branding and strategy, digital and social media, public relations, and tourism research. The agency operates in the bracket between national tourism boards, state and regional tourism offices, and city-level convention and visitors bureaus.

Economic development marketing for cities, states, and regions trying to attract corporate investment, recruit talent, and improve site-selection competitiveness. The work covers community brand strategy, investor outreach, lead generation, perception studies, brand audits, and site-selector engagement.

Why DCI matters in the category

Place marketing is a small, technical PR and marketing specialty with a defined buyer set — economic development organizations, destination marketing organizations, and state and city tourism offices. DCI has held position in the category for six decades, which makes the firm one of the longest-running specialty agencies in either PR or marketing services.

Three things that explain the staying power.

First, deep client relationships in a niche where references and reputation matter more than pitch theatrics. Most place-marketing buyers know each other through industry associations like Destinations International, Site Selectors Guild, and the International Economic Development Council. DCI works inside that small network.

Second, integrated capability. The agency runs tourism and economic development under one roof, which matches how destinations actually operate — most places sell both visitors and investment from the same brand.

Third, research as a service line. DCI's destination brand audits, perception studies, and product gap analysis give clients an analytic layer most place-marketing agencies do not offer.

Service lines

Tourism marketing

• Consumer marketing and travel-trade activation
• Destination branding and strategy
• Digital and social media marketing
• Tourism public relations and media tours
• Tourism research, perception studies, and brand audits
• Virtual events, conferences, and trade missions

Economic development marketing

• Community brand and identity strategy
• Lead generation and investor outreach
• Site-selector engagement and trade-show representation
• Talent recruitment marketing
• Workforce and quality-of-place messaging

Representative work

DCI's published client list includes Barbados, Barcelona, the state of California, Visit Florida, North Lake Tahoe, and Site Selectors Guild. The mix is characteristic — international destinations, US state tourism offices, regional destination marketing organizations, and industry associations representing the corporate site-selection profession.

Where DCI sits in the PR firm landscape

DCI is a specialty firm, not a generalist consumer or B2B agency. It sits closer to the travel and hospitality PR specialty brackets than to general-market consumer PR or corporate communications. The closest comparables are other place-marketing specialists and the travel-and-hospitality practices inside large generalist PR firms. Place marketing is a buy-from-specialists category, which keeps DCI on shortlists that generalists do not see.

A place-marketing agency founded in 1960, working tourism marketing and economic development marketing for destinations and economic development organizations across the US and internationally. Headquartered in New York with offices in Denver, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

What does DCI specialize in?

Two practice lines — tourism marketing and economic development marketing. Both serve a specialty client base: destination marketing organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, state and regional tourism offices, and economic development organizations.

Where is DCI located?

Headquartered in New York City, with additional offices in Denver, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

Who are some of DCI's clients?

Published representative clients include Barbados, Barcelona, the state of California, Visit Florida, North Lake Tahoe, and Site Selectors Guild.

When was DCI founded?

1960. DCI is one of the longest-running specialty agencies in the PR and marketing-services industry.

How is place marketing different from general PR?

Place marketing sells destinations and locations rather than products or services. Tourism marketing aims to drive visitor arrivals and visitor spend. Economic development marketing aims to attract corporate investment, talent, and site-selection interest. The buyer set, the campaign mechanics, and the success metrics are all distinct from consumer or B2B PR.