Discover Halifax is going after urbanites and leaning into the idea of R&R and its unique geography in its latest, national campaign.
Three spots are salt, about the ocean the province is known for, rocks, about how they crafted an iconic shoreline, and then fog coming out next week.
“We know that people in Ontario and Alberta, who are our primary fly markets, are particularly interested in getting that big gulp of sea air, so we are making sure we feature that extensively in all our materials,” says Clare Tidby, VP of marketing and visitor experience.
Tidby says research reveals that a bustling, dense urban core is not a reason someone from target areas would come to Halifax, when they are coming from, or live nearby, other big cities (the exception being smaller nearby cities, like Charlottetown).
Hence, it is leaning into Halifax’s natural surrounding beauty, which is a stone’s throw away from the region. “We have access to rural fishing communities, really tiny little inlets, great hiking, great beaches,” Tidby says. “[That’s] what visitors are really looking for, dropping their shoulders and relaxing.”
Tidby says while there are five-star attractions downtown, attractive scenescapes are minutes away, rather than hours away as they are in places like Toronto.
The media buy is focused on programmatic, video and social. Discover Halifax is being intentional with its spend, targeting places with direct flights to Halifax. It is also doing a buy on Air Canada screens, as well as a large OOH buy at Toronto’s Distillery District.
Discover Halifax also works with Destination Canada to target the Boston and New York markets, where there is a deficit of understanding.
“We’ve done a lot of research…we don’t have adequate budget to change minds, but can double down about what people already believe about Halifax,” Tidby says, adding that it’s a region known for being quaint, charming, small, friendly and historic, great draws for people that it is aiming to emphasize.
People more predisposed to travel the the Halifax region are families with kinds under the age of 18, but also the 55 plus set.
The campaign was created in partnership with Trampoline Branding, which won Discover Halifax’s business last year and also did the media buy. Ad spend has increased for the campaign.
