Travel Alberta uses Tumblr to inspire “winterlust”

Sponsored posts and targeted online ads tell travelers "Remember to breathe"

Screen shot 2015-01-26 at 10.47.18 AM
Travel Alberta has taken to Tumblr to show off the province as a winter destination.

In a series of digital ads appearing on Tumblr and across the Yahoo network, Travel Alberta is sharing content culled from its travel planner and guides for accommodations, parks and campgrounds.

The ads, by Critical Mass and C&B, focus on winter activities like dogsledding and ice walking. Using Yahoo’s targeting, Travel Alberta is serving the ads to adults across North America with a “high propensity for travel,” meaning they’ve recently searched for information about travel destinations on Yahoo/Bing or have consumed travel-related content on Yahoo sites. (PHD handled the media buy for the campaign.)

On Tumblr, the ads are appearing as sponsored posts, which have been available in Canada for about a year. The Tumblr posts include both campaign creative and content such as YouTube videos profiling tourist destinations like the Willow Stream Spa, the subject of a recent sponsored post.

The strength of using Tumblr and Yahoo simultaneously, according to Claude Galipeau, country manager for Yahoo Canada, is that brands get a mix of organic and paid media. Travel Alberta’s spend on Tumblr, for example, aims to increase its followers, creating a greater audience for it to tap into in the future. To date, the brand has mainly used Tumblr to re-share photos of Alberta destinations consumers have posted on Instagram.

Recent posts include landscape shots of the Rocky Mountains, a woman skating on an outdoor rink and a moose walking through a forest. Like the ads, the posts are meant to be aspirational and increase consumers’ desire to travel to cold weather destinations; a concept Travel Alberta is calling “Winterlust.”

“We wanted to inspire ‘Winterlust’ with beautiful photos and videos that capture the essence of Alberta, while offering helpful resources for people to plan their next travel adventure this winter,” Jasmine Thompson, director consumer marketing USA at Travel Alberta, told Marketing in a statement.

Media Articles

30 Under 30 is back with a new name, new outlook

No more age limit! The New Establishment brings 30 Under 30 in a new direction, starting with media professionals.

As Prime Minister, Kellie Leitch would scrap CBC

Tory leadership hopefuls are outlining their views on national broadcaster's future

‘Your Morning’ embarks on first travel partnership

Sponsored giveaway supported by social posts directed at female-skewing audience

KitchenAid embraces social for breast cancer campaign

Annual charitable campaign taps influencers and the social web for the first time

Netflix debates contributions with Canadian Heritage

Netflix remains wary of regulation as some tout 'Anne' and 'Alias Grace' partnerships

Canadians warm up to social commerce

PayPal and Ipsos research shows "Shop Now" buttons are gaining traction

Online ad exchange AppNexus cuts off Breitbart

Popular online ad exchange bans site for violating hate speech policy

Robert Jenkyn is back at Media Experts

Former Microsoft and Globe and Mail exec returns to the agency world

2016 Media Innovation Awards: The complete winners list

All the winning agencies from media's biggest night out!