Locals Know Tourism Canada Advertising Campaign

As a Canadian who loves her country and all it has to offer us this new ad campaign for Locals Know is great and reminds us just how much Canada has for us to enjoy. The Locals Know campaign was created by DDB Vancouver, Canada. The website www.localsknow.ca allows visitors to upload images of their favorite and own discoveries.

Press release: Desert-like dunes in the middle of the country. Volcanoes on the verge of the Pacific. Tropic-like waters within hours of vibrant cities. Canada is full of surprises and secrets and, this summer, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is sharing locals’ unknown experiences with fellow Canadians - to inspire them to explore their country.

Today, the CTC, along with Canada’s tourism industry is launching LOCALS KNOW, a national integrated advertising campaign (print, magazine, TV and online) made possible by special stimulus funding from the Government of Canada. The CTC will be investing $10 million per year in the next two fiscal years to support the tourism industry and stimulate Canada’s economy.

“The visitor economy makes a valuable contribution to the economic, social and environmental well-being of Canadians across the country,” says the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism). “Now, more than ever, we want to entice and encourage visitors – including Canadians themselves – to explore our country. I applaud this campaign as it will give Canadians a reason to discover more about their own country and keep tourism dollars at home.”

The 8-week campaign launches today and will focus on the unexpected, encouraging Canadians to seek out new and exotic experiences in places they didn’t know existed. The source of this information? Canadians themselves… because LOCALS KNOW best.

Canadians will be encouraged to upload photos of their favorite Canadian travel spots and great unknown experiences on the CTC campaign website – www.localsknow.ca.

“The visuals used in this campaign won’t be typical,” says Michele McKenzie, CTC president and CEO. “People won’t just be seeing the traditional images of our country. They’ll discover a whole new Canada. The imagery, experiences, and deals offered by the industry will surprise Canadians, build pride, and create an urgency to book a trip and see Canada now!”

Almost all provinces and territories, as well as other industry partners both large and small, are participating in this national program.

“The domestic stimulus program is strategic, relevant, and timely for Canada’s tourism industry,” says Denny Kobayashi, Manager of Marketing Operations for Tourism Yukon. “What is particularly appealing about this program is the CTC designed a program for partners from every corner of the country to participate in and receive extraordinary value, national reach and exposure that will benefit tourism in our area”.

Air Canada is introducing a special travel offer for the duration of the campaign to stimulate travel within and across Canada. And one lucky Canadian resident will win 1 million Aeroplan® Miles to inspire them to see undiscovered areas of the country. That’s a lot of Canadian exploring.