At Travel South International Showcase 2025 in Kansas City, Karryon sat down with new Travel South USA Chair and marketing legend Mark Ezell to discuss why branding the South is key to conversion, along with having the perfect tourism product.
Ahead of our chat, Travel South USA Chair and Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Mark Ezell and I agreed on interview themes and focus. “Sounds perfect,” I say.
“Sounds perfect,” he echoes. I’ve inadvertently repeated Tennessee’s tagline to the very person who coined the catchall phrase that captures the unifying essence of the state’s myriad experiences.
“It describes when people think something’s just right and also the music legacy of Tennessee,” he explains, referencing the state’s rich musical heritage spanning seven core genres: blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock’n’roll, and cities such as Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville.
“Two or three words is what we need to convey a message and still have that ode to music, so that’s how we got to ‘Tennessee Sounds Perfect’.”
Bringing marketing nous to the South
Ezell is no stranger to branding campaigns that capture the attention and imagination.
The self-described “milkman” of 40 years worked his way from entry-level to senior positions within his family-owned business, Purity Dairies, and privately owned Dean Foods, creating memorable campaigns that set the stage for his tourism role.
The ‘Milk Moustache – Got Milk?’ campaign, featuring ‘90s supermodels such as Christie Brinkley and Naomi Campbell, is one of the iconic initiatives he has led.
“We created that campaign – I was the chair for the first six years, and it stayed for 19 years. We had no idea that it would be so big and last so long, but it was special and really helped our industry,” he says.
A seventh-generation Nashvillian, Ezell was the natural choice to lead tourism for the state, bringing his business nous and philanthropic expertise to the role since 2019.
“I was pretty nervous, because I didn’t know a lot about the tourism business except for the places that bought our ice-cream or chocolate milk,” he says.
“But we’ve got a great industry – I’ve got a super team, and we know how to listen; it’s really about helping businesses be successful.”
Tennessee increased visitor spending by 36.6 per cent over the past six years, becoming the second-fastest-growing state in expenditure and achieving well above the national average of 17.4 per cent.
“When I started, I said, ‘How do we become the best non-beach, non-casino tourism state in America?'” Ezell recalls thinking about his landlocked home state.
“Well, turns out, with our music, our outdoors, our culinary scene, our family fun, with our history and culture, we’ve literally got as many tourism assets as anybody in the nation after [beaches and casinos]. So, we focused on those.
“My grandfather used to say: ‘First, have a great product. If you have a quality product, tell more people.’ Well, we have the product, and we’ve had a really good run,” he says.
All y’all are welcome in the South
As the new Travel South USA Chair, Ezell will help parlay Tennessee’s success on the global stage into positive outcomes for the 12-state tourism collective.
“Our focus now is rebounding. What’s fun about the South is we are still under-utilised in a lot of those international market shares,” Ezell says.
“People have made those first trips to the East or West Coast, and when they visit the South, we find they want to come back. And the secret’s getting out about how much fun you can have when you travel in those 12 states.
“We want to continue to promote those pillars of food, music, history, landscapes and road trips, showcasing that diversity.
“To me, what’s fun is the uniqueness and the diversity that we all get to be a part of with Travel South USA, collectively saying there’s something for everybody,” he says.
With a sparkle in his eyes and the most charming Tennessee accent you’ll encounter, Ezell is an energetic force of nature with an eye for innovation and engagement and an obvious zeal that Travel South USA will benefit from during his year-long tenure as chair.
“I’m a longtime brander and marketer. The funnest things to brand and market are those that deliver more than the expectations of the consumer,” he tells me.
“When [travellers] come to one of our 12 states with preconceived ideas, we hear them go, ‘Wow, we didn’t know our experience could be so wonderful’.
“So, as a brander and a marketer, it kind of pumps us all up, because we’re going, ‘Yeah, so how about telling some more people?’
“We’re pretty bullish in our ability because we’ve got a warmth that is natural and authentic – we got a home feel in the South, and we like that we can own it pretty good.”
For more info, head to travelsouthusa.com
The writer travelled for Karryon to Travel South USA.
