CTC keeps exploring

Canada as a travel destination was losing market share to a competitive international tourism industry where more exotic locations are investing in more marketing than ever. The Canadian Tourism Commission wanted to reclaim and capture Canada's fair share of international tourism growth.

The agency focused on the insight that's always at the heart of the brand, "Canada. Keep Exploring." The plan was to develop a new global creative platform to provide more context to Canadian experiences, giving travellers a better understanding of what exploring in Canada could look like.

The approach took people on a journey of exploration through the eyes of trusted fellow travellers. DDB created and documented a number of complete trip itineraries from different regions across Canada with each photo geo-tagged and time-coded.

Broadcast spots highlighted a real trip, and print ads showcased the multiple experiences of a full trip. All campaign elements direct the viewer to the website Keepexploring.ca, where they can scroll through and see exactly where each photo was taken, what day and time, and explore rich information about the experiences of the journey. A Facebook contest challenged players to match campaign photos with Canadian locations for the chance to win a dream vacation.

The "Keep Exploring" global platform has propelled Canada to the most powerful country brand in the world two years in a row as rated by the Country Brand Index by FutureBrand. In March, CTC's key overseas markets registered a 20% growth in overnight arrivals versus a year ago according to the latest Global Tourism Watch report.