The Canadian Tourism Commission is once again exposing Canada’s hidden gems, this time through a national integrated campaign that encourages Canadians to seek out new and little-known winter experiences, for the second leg of its Locals Know campaign.
The four-week effort from DDB Vancouver includes print, TV, social media and online, and comes on the heels of a highly successful summer campaign, said Andrew Clark, vice-president of marketing development, CTC.
The national tourism marketing organization first launched its Locals Know campaign and website in June with print, magazine, TV and a blog.
The effort was voted one of the top travel campaigns in the world by Forbes.com, said Clark. During the eight-week summer campaign, LocalsKnow.ca had three million page views and 55,000 unique visitors each week.
Based on conversion and tracking studies, Clark said the CTC believes the campaign resulted in 200,000 Canadians staying home for domestic vacations.
For this new push, the CTC hope to better leverage its partnerships with tourism partners to drive people to the site, he said.
The travel deals button is also better highlighted and the site now offers over 345 special travel offers including one from Air Canada that gives Canadian travelers up to 50% off of flights booked by the end of the week.
“The power of the whole program is that there are experiences in Canada which most Canadians may not know about that are as appealing as leaving the country for a vacation,” said Clark.
The creative for the winter installment was developed using professional images as well as user-generated content, said Clark.
Each execution asks “Where is this?” and drives viewers to LocalsKnow.ca, with the Canadian Tourism logo and “Keep exploring” tag line subtly inserted in the bottom corner of the ad.
National athletes have also been asked to share their favourite “hidden” winter activities and destinations at LocalsKnow.ca.
Canadians are encouraged to upload a photo of their favourite winter travel spot for the chance to win one of 10 prizes of 100,000 Aeroplan Miles. The first four winners will also receive a Canadian getaway.
