Destination Cape Breton Association (DCBA) has retained Halifax-based agency Extreme Group to develop its 2011 tourism campaign, which is expected to launch in late April.
The campaign will include print and social media executions and will focus primarily on the Maritime consumer market, said Coffin, citing that 56% of people who visited Nova Scotia last year were from the Maritime Provinces.
However, the DCBA will also piggyback with the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism on its Ontario-based marketing efforts.
The budget for the campaign has been slated at $600,000-$750,000.
“The partnership with Cape Breton Island is huge for us in many ways,” said Paul LeBlanc, CEO of Extreme Group, in a release. “Not only is it a great creative opportunity to showcase one the world’s most beautiful islands, but an opportunity to play a role in profiling the tourism industry in Atlantic Canada,” he said.
The destination marketing association kicked off an agency search in early December when it issued an RFP that was put together by an eight-member marketing advisory committee.
The DCBA received nine proposals that were then narrowed down to a shortlist of four agencies, said Dan Coffin, director of marketing, DCBA. The remaining shops were asked to make a detailed presentation on which they were scored. The DCBA also followed up on agency references.
The marketing advisory committee scored each agency and then provided the DCBA’s board of directors with its recommendations, said Coffin.
“[Extreme Group] doesn’t necessarily take the safest approach with everything they do,” said Coffin. “They do think outside the box a little bit and try to get that little added creative element that’s going to push your brand a little further than some of the competition.”
