DULUTH — A great gray owl lands amid frosted trees. The sun sets over a snow-encrusted shore. Fireworks explode in the sky at the Lake Superior Ice Festival.
Those are just a few of the most recent images shared by Destination Duluth on Instagram.
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"Social media can be a pretty dark place," said Jerry Thoreson, managing director of Destination Duluth. "We view ourself as that shining light."
Over the past dozen years, the nonprofit organization has shone its light into tens of millions of Instagram, Facebook and TikTok feeds highlighting the Northland's natural beauty and unique culture. Thoreson believes that has helped to reshape the city's image.
"We've been a part of the phenomenon that Duluth is now a cool place to talk about," Thoreson said when we spoke by phone on Monday, "rather than the butt of a joke."
Branden Robinson, who grew up in Duluth and is currently general manager at South Pier Inn, aimed to change perceptions of his hometown when he took the first step toward making Destination Duluth a reality, reserving the project's web domain in 2006.
"In high school, Branden was tired of his classmates saying, 'I can't wait to get out of Duluth,'" explained Thoreson. "He always had an appreciation for what Duluth was."
Destination Duluth officially launched in 2013, without much by way of revenue. "I did what I'm doing for a number of years as a volunteer because I believed in what we were doing," said Thoreson.
Thoreson is now a full-time contractor, but the organization's annual budget is still under $100,000. It's entirely privately funded, largely through partnerships with local attractions and businesses like Essentia Health.
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The organization works alongside other entities promoting the city, for example, the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Duluth. When Bellmont Partners held the city's tourism marketing contract, Destination Duluth shared content with Visit Duluth at least weekly.
"We ... are chatting with the people at Madden, (hoping) to work out a partnership with them," said Thoreson about the Arizona firm that now holds the contract.
The secret of Destination Duluth's success was apparent at a Jan. 13 event celebrating the project's new branding. Photographers turned out to don newly printed "Life Up North" hoodies and connect over their shared love of the photogenic city.
"They do what they do, going out at 23 below to capture the sea smoke, because they love what they're doing and they have a passion for others to experience that in a small way," said Thoreson. The photographers and videographers who contribute to Destination Duluth share their work without monetary compensation.
"Last year, we featured 148 photographers, 104 of which had over 50,000 views of their photos or videos," said Thoreson. "We recognize, we award them, we appreciate them."
According to the organization, its images and videos garnered over 67 million views last year, with over 715 million total views since the launch of Destination Duluth. Averaged out, that's at least two views of Duluth for every person living in the United States.
"Our purpose is to grow Duluth," said Thoreson. "We want to see Duluth grow in population, connectivity and vibrance."
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While the organization's website connects potential transplants with job listings and real estate agents, Thoreson admits it's beyond the purview of Destination Duluth to address thorny issues like the cost of housing.
"As far as dealing with the obstacles, we leave that to smarter minds than ourselves," he said. "The three values that we have (are) to be intentional, to be positive, positive, positive, positive, positive, positive — I love that word — and to be genuine."
Those positive vibes also extend into original articles about local artists, the food scene and small businesses. "We've got funding from the Duluth Superior (Area) Community Foundation to build a community directory, which we're excited about," Thoreson added.
There are still a few kinks to work out — the homepage, for example, doesn't yet link to a page for every neighborhood — but Thoreson is pleased with Destination Duluth's fresh look and regional emphasis.
"We're really excited about the 'life up north' branding launching because that has the potential of reaching beyond the scope of Duluth," said Thoreson. "Destination Duluth is pretty exclusive in its sound and name, but we've always promoted all the way from Grand Portage to Bayfield."
Amid recent years' transitions in the city's tourism marketing contract, the independent Destination Duluth has remained stable: a constant stream of stunning images showing people what they're missing if they're not here.
The organization doesn't advertise, meaning all those millions of views come about just because people want to look at pretty pictures of Duluth.
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Thoreson alluded to people who have perceived Destination Duluth to be a competitor for the area's limited marketing resources, but the organization's managing director said he'd prefer to focus on opportunities for collaboration: "We believe we're all rowing the boat in the same direction."
Having grown up in Superior as a "child of the '60s" and worked at the News Tribune as a graphic designer from 1996 to 2012, Thoreson well remembers the days when the Twin Ports seemed to be emptying out.
While Duluth still occasionally gets ribbed for being podunk, today it's much more likely to be referenced as a mountain biking hub, a sauna hot spot or even a "north woods Napa Valley for the beer tourist."
If people now associate our city with stunning sunrises rather than foundering factories, all those gorgeous pictures certainly haven't hurt. "I believe," said Thoreson, "that social media has had a huge part in the change of perception that Duluth now has."
This story was updated at 4:02 p.m. Jan. 30 to correct the state in which Madden Media is based. It was originally posted at 6 a.m. Jan. 30. The News Tribune regrets the error.
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