Tourism Toronto is giving visitors a different kind of souvenir to mark their visit to Hogtown this summer as part of an effort to reach urban travelers under the Toronto Looks Good on You (TLGOY) campaign slogan.
The marketing organization is setting up video recording stations at a number of Toronto festivals and attractions such as Caribana, Nuit Blanche, the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Zoo. It is inviting residents and visitors to record messages explaining why they love the city.
Once the video has been recorded, a branded intro and extro is added to the compressed file, which can then be uploaded to the user’s Facebook, YouTube or Twitter accounts, or sent to them by e-mail.
In one video, a Florida resident named Derek gives the city’s food and Luminato Festival a glowing review: “I would definitely put this weekend on my calendar every year,” he says.
In a release, Joel Peters, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer for Tourism Toronto, said the testimonials are invaluable for marketing the city.
“These are genuine, enthusiastic endorsements that reach consumers who are increasingly relying on word of mouth and online networks when making travel decisions,” he said.
The unbranded and unshared videos are uploaded to TorontoLooksGoodOnYou.com. Some of the videos will be used as part of an online campaign that targets young travelers in key U.S. markets, and in future campaigns.
USDM.net developed the video technology, Gabzebo is providing the video booths, programming and online technology, while Smak manages the experiential side of the campaign.
