2010 Spring/Summer Consumer Marketing Campaign

After hosting one of the largest and most successful Winter Games, British Columbia is enjoying the “afterglow” that comes with receiving international acclaim. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts has launched the 2010 Spring/Summer campaign, timed to build on momentum from the Games and capitalize on the key vacation planning period for spring and summer travel.

The 2010 Spring/Summer campaign is an integrated North American consumer marketing campaign incorporating a variety of strategies including online advertising, social media and search marketing to access potential visitors. The campaign also reaches out to consumers in the Ministry’s database who have already expressed interest in travel to B.C., and present customized communication based on their interests. Focusing on a diverse range of experiences, the campaign features golf, food and wine, driving vacations and outdoor adventure, to create a greater depth of understanding of B.C.’s tourism products.

Online strategies began in March and will run through September in key markets across the U.S. and Canada including British Columbia, Washington State, Toronto, Calgary, San Francisco, New York and Chicago. Online ads will appear on a variety of national travel sites such as Orbitz Travel, Canada.com and Travel and Leisure. Social Media aspects of the campaign include the use of Facebook, Twitter, HelloBC.com blogs and field reporter videos on various parts of the province.

Additional online components include a promotion with Travelocity and Expedia running in Canada and the U.S. Online banners will be featured on both sites highlighting special B.C. vacation packages and encouraging immediate bookings. Potential visitors can also enter a contest to win a trip to B.C. by visiting www.winabctrip.com.

As part of the campaign, an in-market promotion took place in San Francisco bringing B.C. experiences to potential visitors from this market. From April 8 to 18, a 600 foot zip-line from Whistler based Ziptrek Ecotours was set-up in Embarcadero Square as part of a B.C. Experience showcase. Over the ten days, more than 5,000 people crossed the zipline and engaged with many exciting components of the showcase.

Also featured were public dance performances by the Le-La-La Dancers—the world-renowned Aboriginal dance group, an interactive video display with videos and images of travelling through B.C., and a 3-D chalk art installation. Additional subway stations throughout the city were branded with an updated version of the You Gotta Be Here advertising campaign.

A kickoff media event was held to introduce the B.C. Experience showcase in San Francisco and provided more than 40 key travel media with an exclusive preview to the zipline and other exciting features in Embarcadero Square. Special guests at the event included gold-medal winning Olympians, Canadian ski cross racer Ashleigh McIvor and U.S. speed skater Shani Davis who were among the first to try the zipline and participated in a public autograph signing.

“San Francisco represents a key market for British Columbia’s tourism industry and we have implemented similar in-market strategies before that have allowed us to engage directly with potential visitors and gain valuable insight about our tourism products in those markets,” said Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Kevin Krueger. “The British Columbia Experience was a great success, there were more than 400 broadcast and print stories covering the event and currently more than 24,000 people in North America have entered the contest to win a trip to B.C., with 25% of entries from the San Francisco area."

View the B.C. Field Reporter video on ziplining in San Francisco