Tourism Nova Scotia is focusing on the possibilities that come with exploring its expansive coast as it shifts marketing efforts to key Ontario and New England markets.
“Your Ocean Playground” is a new campaign built around the story of a couple travelling all 13,000 kilometers of Nova Scotia’s coastline in response to a bet, taking them to beaches, camping, cave exploration, kayaking, vineyards and, of course, lighthouses.
Adam Sterling, CD at M5, the Atlantic Canada-based indie agency that won the Tourism Nova Scotia account in late 2019, says it’s an opportunity to focus on the ocean and its influence on Nova Scotia, as it is a fresh ways to connect visitors to the province’s history, people and landscape.
“It’s fun to watch these characters as they explore Nova Scotia and see everything we have to offer,” Sterling says. “This is a first for us, as a lot of previous work was taking gorgeous footage and stringing it together…but this is the first time we focused on two characters and their journey.”
Previous tourism marketing, like “Do More in Nova Scotia,” highlighted activities and attractions travellers might not expect to find in the province, going beyond the Bay of Fundy and whale watching to include its thriving wine and culinary scene, Halifax nightlife and the natural beauty linked to coastlines.
That is an element of the new campaign as well, but with more of a focus on exploration and things people may not be able to find in their own towns and cities. Sterling notes that is a particular draw for the target of the campaign: people in larger markets, such as Ontario and the northeast U.S.
Visitation to Nova Scotia recovered substantially in 2022, with Nova Scotia welcoming 1.9 million visitors, an increase of 1 million visitors compared with 2021. That was helped by campaigns where Nova Scotians welcomed visitors into their “bubble” after restrictions eased and allowed visitors from the four Atlantic provinces to travel freely in the region.
The goal now is to get people in larger, key markets to come back to the province – U.S. visitor numbers, for example, have dropped 41% from pre-pandemic levels.
The Province is also advertising in Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as maintaining spending in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, with a different campaign that is focused on more iconic Nova Scotia experiences it has focused on in past tourism campaigns, like seafood and whale watching.
The campaign includes television, billboard, social media, video and display ads. M5 also handled media buying and planning for the campaign, and Sterling says spending is on par with pre-pandemic levels.
