Travel Manitoba is showing that the “heart of Canada” contains the kinds of experience travelers near and far will remember for a lifetime.

The new campaign – which also serves as a launch for a refreshed Travel Manitoba brand – includes new television commercials that will begin airing this month, along with ads in social and out-of-home

“Canada’s Heart is Calling” is meant to be “really active and centred on emotions,” says Cody Chomiak, Travel Manitoba’s VP of marketing, as it reaches for a target that includes locals, American hunters and long-haul travelers from Europe.

For rural Americans, including an increasing number of diverse travelers, fishing is a big draw. For those from large urban centres and outside of Canada, places like Churchill offer glimpses of wildlife, like seeing polar bears up close.

“It’s polar bears, Beluga whales and Northern Lights,” Chomiak says.

The tourism board’s previous campaign, “Canada’s Heart…Beats” launched in 2014, built around the idea that Manitoba offered “quintessentially Canadian” experiences for travelers that they could actually participate in, instead of just watch from the sidelines. The new campaign builds on the idea – especially when it comes to placing Manitoba on the map, which is especially important for an international audience – but with more of a focus on the emotions these experiences create.

Part of the reason for the update is competition, with more tourism marketing focusing on activities and experiences over the last decade. But Chomiak also says evolving ideas of sustainability and diversity had to be incorporated into the campaign, such as showing the conservation aspects of hunting and fishing.

In 2019, the tourism industry generated $1.6 billion in Manitoba, a number that dropped during the pandemic, as it did for many destinations. Travel Manitoba’s goal is to get back to that mark by next year, and anticipates that revenue could reach $2.5 billion by 2030.

The marketing is highly focused on digital and social media, though it is also incorporating print and out-of-home to reach Canadian travelers, especially those already in the province, as well as Alberta, Saskatchewan, northwestern Ontario and Quebec. Travel Manitoba is also deploying a “vast network” of content creators to be share love of the province through their networks.

The brand and its launch campaign were conceived by Winnipeg advertising agency UpHouse, Travel Manitoba’s AOR, which won the organization’s business through an April RFP. Chomiak tells strategy its agency terms are typically one-two years, and it was important to go local with its agency, one that had the requisite expertise, but also had DEI and sustainability top of mind (UpHouse is B-Corp certified). It’s also worked with Calgary-based Stormy Lake Consulting, which worked on the new brand identity.

Typically, Travel Manitoba does its campaigns ahead of the spring and winter travel seasons. This brand launch, however, is being done outside of those windows to “start the season off with a bang.” The ad spend is $150,000.