Dominic Wong - Creating Magic: From Harry Potter to the Bournemouth Writing Festival

Success on the South Coast is all about showcasing interesting people doing amazing things in the local community.

My guest for episode #4 is Dominic Wong, an award-winning marketeer in the theme park and visitor attractions industry. He was the first marketing director (and employee #001!) at ‘Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter’ before his journey took him to Hollywood and beyond…

Since relocating to the South Coast, Dominic has created the Bournemouth Writing Festival, with a mission to “inspire writers to write”. 

However, Dominic’s ambitions go much further as he believes culture can be a huge benefit to the community having seen the festival “change peoples lives”.

This is not just about bringing in visitors to boost business and regenerate the town centre. It means bringing people together through shared passions, building communities and creating ‘safe spaces’ for people to meet, all helping to address mental health issues and tackle loneliness.

The Bournemouth Writing Festival, having proven the concept, is just the start.

Dominic has a vision: to harness the talent produced by local institutions (such as the Arts University) and the “undercurrent of creatives” to establish a range of festivals (making music, film, food etc!) and re-brand Bournemouth as a cultural destination for the UK and beyond…

Dominic is a rare type of entrepreneur, one who (in his own words) is not obsessed with ‘exit strategies’ or ‘how to achieve 10x’. Instead, he is motivated by a desire to create a positive impact in the community.

We are lucky to have him.

- - - KEY TOPICS OF THE CONVERSATION - - -

In this episode we discuss:

• Dominic’s back-story & first entrepreneurial venture (the ‘BoRo Beach Bike Experience’ on the Isle of Wight)
• Dominic’s advice for people considering a career in Theme Parks/tourism, including the importance of gaining experience through voluntary work experience
• Dominic’s career marketing iconic Theme Parks & Tourist Attractions around the globe (including being employee #001 at ‘Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter’)
• The Bournemouth Writing Festival - origin, mission & goals
• Where Dominic got his love of writing & the benefits
• Dorset’s literary heritage, including famous authors who have been inspired by the area
• Why “Culture is the key to helping society”
• Dominic’s vision for a cultural re-brand, how it can help address mental health issues and loneliness, plus the importance of collaboration
• The importance of Creativity to the UK economy & why it’s not valued (with reference to Ken Robinson’s ‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’ TED Talk)
• Why Dominic takes issue with the word ‘happy’ & prefers fulfilled or contented
• Why staying true to your values is the true measure of success
• Dominic's ‘superpower’, his ability to “Just do stuff!”
• Life by Misadventure - why failure is NOT a bad word!

- - - CHAPTERS - - -

0:00:00 - Intro ("A sunny new podcast...")
0:00:26 - Guest Intro
0:01:45 - Back-story & BoRo Beach Bike 
0:05:31 - How to get into the Theme Parks industry
0:07:20 - What entrepreneurship means to Dominic
0:08:00 - Iconic Tourist Attractions 
0:08:00 - Being employee #001 at the Harry Potter Studio Tour
0:10:18 - Marketing Consultancy for Theme Parks/Tourist Attractions
0:10:35 - Schools to You ( School/Education Programmes)
0:11:45 - The meaning of success at the start of Dominic’s career
0:14:41 - The Bournemouth Writing Festival
0:20:10 - The benefits of writing
0:22:08 - Advice for struggling writers - just start!
0:23:56 - Goals for the Bournemouth Writing Festival
0:27:51 - Dorset’s literary heritage
0:29:04 - Mary Shelley Celebration  (227th Birthday) event
0:30:19 - Bournemouth Writing Festival building on literary heritage
0:31:48 - Dominic’s vision for culture in Bournemouth
0:39:08 - The importance of collaboration
0:40:09 - “Culture is the key to helping society”
0:41:16 - Creativity, the UK economy and why it’s not valued
0:45:38 - Ken Robinson & ‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’ TED Talk
0:47:56 - What is happiness? Happy vs Fulfilled/Contented
0:50:22 - What is success? External validation v Internal joy & fulfilment
0:54:13 - Key skill for success: Dominic's ‘superpower’, his ability to “Just do stuff!”
0:56:49 - Life by Misadventure - Failure is not a bad word
01:00:02 - Thank you, guest links & wrap-up

GUEST Links:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicwongmarketing
• Visitor Attraction Marketing: https://www.dominicwongmarketing.co.uk
• Bournemouth Writing Festival: https://www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk
• Schools to You: https://www.schoolstoyou.com
• Buy Dominic’s books at https://bit.ly/3LhyHgV

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#bournemouthwritingfestival
#creativewriting
#warnerbrothers
#harrypotterstudiotour
#culture
#southcoast

INTRO MUSIC: 'Generator' by CALL ME ANIMAL. 

If you like the sound of it, check out 'Arron Sans' (the singer/songwriter) at https://www.arronsans.com or https://www.instagram.com/arronsans.