To woo tourists to Canada’s island province, Tourism PEI surprised 120 travellers on an Air Canada flight as part of a partnership with the air carrier.
Before boarding a Toronto-to-Montreal flight on May 30, passengers were entertained by fiddlers, an Anne of Green Gables look-alike, a chef, a father of Confederation and a golfer. Each traveller was also handed a 16-gigabyte iPod preloaded with images, videos and information on Prince Edward Island’s most popular attractions.
One passenger, selected at random, was awarded a seven-night trip for four to P.E.I.
“We have small very small [marketing] budgets, so it’s sometimes hard to compete,” said Brenda Gallant, director of marketing at Tourism PEI. “We try to be creative and look at ideas that will stand out.”
As the passengers were seated on the flight, the entertainers came aboard and played one last tune. “Everybody on the flight had their hands clapping, feet tapping, iPhones out,” said Gallant. “It really created an energy and excitement that you don’t usually feel when you’re on a plane. It brought everybody together and created a lot of chatter.”
Gallant credits Air Canada for being open to the idea, something the air carrier had never done before. “They participated fully and even created a video of the activities,” she said.
Even the pilots got in on the excitement, joking with passengers that they were heading to P.E.I.
The campaign was developed in partnership with Neo@Ogilvy; Spafax, Air Canada’s media, content, marketing and in-flight entertainment partner; and Toronto-based Hiero Marketing.
Tourism PEI is also currently holding a vacation giveaway on its Facebook page.
