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A company's story is arguably its most powerful asset. Don't leave the way you share it up to chance.

For more than 15 years, Rooted's founder, JoAnna, has worked in travel-related marketing and communications capacities. Along the way, she's encountered outdated practices, countless tired clichés, and lots of room for improvement across the storytelling spectrum.

With this knowledge and experience, JoAnna established Rooted to provide tools, resources, and information so that tourism professionals can maximize positive impact while minimizing harm through strategic storytelling. 

But just like the company you work for or the destination you represent, your situation is unique.
She has just the solution to your problem.

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JoAnna provides consulting services for ethically focused organizations committed to
decolonizing travel experiences and supporting sustainability.

She can help your team with:

In-house training and workshops: Get your whole company on the same page with customized training based on your team’s needs related to mindful and strategic communications. Topics may include (but are not limited to) understanding the dominant narrative, enhancing sustainability in tourism offerings, language choices, working with content creators, connecting tourism and regenerative practices, ethical marketing practices, helping travelers tell a better story, developing inclusive communication, and using challenges as story starters.

Storytelling audit: From the images you publish on social media to the communication shared on tours, ensure the content you put out into the world doesn’t accelerate or perpetuate harm. Let’s take a deep dive into your current communications so you can walk away with suggestions to optimize your work.

Content ideation and brainstorming: Too many half-baked storytelling ideas and not sure what to do with them? Sometimes talking through them and getting feedback offers exactly the clarity you need to move forward. 

High-level content strategy: Make sure that what you intend to communicate is actually what people receive through your messaging. And, ensure that communication early in the buyer’s journey holds up throughout the traveler’s journey. You won’t necessarily walk away with a day-by-day content calendar, but you will be clear about your overarching content strategy.

Brand storytelling: Understanding what your company stands for — and being able to communicate this — is more important than ever. Let’s get clear about your brand messaging and make sure you can share it free of buzzwords and jargon.

Trip cohesion: Maximize your organization’s offerings by using a trip or destination to frame storytelling. Identify untapped opportunities to enhance storytelling on trips and in destinations.

Story discovery process: Are you taking full advantage of storytelling throughout all aspects of the customer and traveler journey? Together let's uncover unexpected and alternative storylines.

Storytelling grab bag: You know your company best, and you know what your pain points are. JoAnna has worked with many clients on communications projects that don’t fit neatly into a single offering. Let’s work together to figure out how strategic storytelling can help you!

Previous consultation work includes:

  • Offering best storytelling practices insight for travel media publications.
  • Developing content and thought leadership strategies for private companies and associations.
  • Educating on regenerative approaches for supporting community-led and -focused tourism to a government agency.
  • Advising on transparency and accountability opportunities for an international tour operator.
  • Serving as a soundboard for entrepreneurs and small business owners on how to structure and tell their stories.
  • Helping start-up travel businesses define and share their brand stories with the world.

Though the majority of JoAnna's experience is in the tourism and hospitality industries, she has worked with several spectacular companies committed to sustainability, conservation, and regenerative practices.

Storytelling is universal and can be used in powerful ways across every industry and sector.

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Intrepid Travel

JoAnna was instrumental in helping bring Intrepid’s Ethical Marketing Guidelines to life. She was incredibly methodical and tactical as a consultant, and helped us navigate the complexities of greenwashing and impact-washing. Despite a challenging brief, JoAnna was incredibly flexible and responsive to our needs and delivered beyond expectations. She has helped us be a more open and transparent business and I would absolutely recommend JoAnna for any consultation projects you may have.

Wanderful

We hired JoAnna to consult on the strategic direction of our editorial content. Her recommendations absolutely blew us away. She spent a lot of time diving into our platform in advance of our call, and she was spot-on with our key pain points while seamlessly identifying some of our major strengths and opportunities. She gave us very specific recommendations that were both realistic and attainable, which is hugely valuable when discussing strategy. JoAnna has an uncanny ability to cut through the noise, see unique angles and challenge others to be and do better. I couldn't recommend her more highly.

Beth Santos - Founder & CEO

Resonate.travel

It was a true pleasure to work with JoAnna during the last few months leading up to the launch of Resonate.travel, our storytelling platform. Her knowledge, experience, and passion for responsible travel writing was exactly what we needed. JoAnna got things done and played a huge part in organising the structure of Resonate, sourcing local writers, and mentoring them in the process of writing for us. JoAnna asked us the right questions and made sure we were on track following our mission and timeline. When her contract was finished, she made sure the onboarding process for our content manager went smoothly. I highly recommend JoAnna, and hope to work with her again another time!

AFAR Media

JoAnna was a great trainer with my team at AFAR Magazine. She prepared thoroughly, making sure that the stories she selected for the training were relevant to AFAR’s mission and vision, and tailored the training to the audience. Since the training, there has been increased interest in taking a solutions-oriented approach to several of our stories and franchises, including the AFAR Travel Vanguard.

Sarika Bansal - Editorial Director

Solutions Journalism Network

JoAnna Haugen is an expert teacher and practitioner of journalism that focuses on more sustainable, equitable, and socially-conscious travel. In her work with the Solutions Journalism Network, she has been nominated to mentor and lead newsroom-wide training that helps other journalists integrate rigor, evidence, and limitations into their travel-focused solutions reporting -- a genre she has helped to create. I highly recommend her for any training, and guarantee that she will bring her characteristic professionalism, creativity, and charisma!

Julia Hotz - Communities Manager

Travel Media Lab

JoAnna is a passionate and knowledgeable advocate for a more responsible and thoughtful approach to travel writing. Her workshop was very well put together and it helped our members think more critically about their choices in writing their travel stories. I highly recommend working with JoAnna to any partner in the travel industry that wants to be a more responsible global citizen and traveler.

Yulia Denisyuk - Founder

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Biweekly newsletter highlights:

  • Latest Rooted articles and favorites from the archives.
  • Creative solutions addressing tourism's challenges.
  • Actionable storytelling and sustainable travel tips.
  • First-to-know details on learning opportunities.
  • Updates and discounts on relevant products, services, and resources.
  • Opportunities for highlighting your stories.