CTC debuts edgy new broadcast spots, a key part of its 2009 global campaign.

Converting high-yield travellers is a main focus, says CTC CEO McKenzie at annual TIAC conference. CTC becomes first of its kind with user-generated videos in a commercial marketin

It’s official: Lonely Planet loves Canada, ranking us as one of the “Top 10 Places to Visit in the World” in its annual Best of Travel publication. And so do adventurous travellers from all around the world.

Despite some economic uncertainty, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s ‘Canada. Keep exploring’ brand is not only working, it’s about to get a big boost from a new 2009 global marketing campaign. Michele McKenzie, CTC President and CEO, announced the multifaceted campaign today, unveiling a series of edgy 15-second broadcast commercials targeting travellers in nine markets.

Speaking at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s (TIAC) annual conference in Gatineau, QC, McKenzie told the delegates “since the launch of the ‘Canada. Keep exploring’ in late 2005, we’ve successfully repositioned our great country into an exciting, exotic and unique vacation destination where visitors can create their own extraordinary stories. The ‘Keep exploring’ brand targets a very specific segment of customers who continue to make travel a priority, even in difficult economic times.”

With Canada on the hot lists for globetrotters everywhere, the next piece in the puzzle is converting intentions to action. That’s why CTC produced the user-generated video spots for global television and high-traffic, social media websites, such as Facebook and YouTube.

The videos are designed to “create a movie about Canada” in the viewers’ minds by highlighting the amazing personal travel experiences that can be found here, inspiring them to plan a trip to Canada today. CTC is the first national tourism organization to put user-generated content in a commercial broadcast marketing campaign. This also marks the first time CTC has developed a global marketing initiative.

“Our strategy of sticking with a unique brand identity is starting to pay off,” said McKenzie. “Targeting travellers who seek fulfillment through the kinds of enriching experiences that Canada offers is setting us apart from the crowd.”

The campaign links directly to CTC’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games strategy, a result of a $26 million federal investment for CTC to leverage the 2010 Winter Games. Interest in Canada will get a huge push when the Games broadcast begins in February, 2010. Images of Canadian adventures will be beamed around the world and motivate billions of viewers to make Canada their vacation of choice.

“We’ve created the buzz, now we’ve got to make the sale,” McKenzie said.

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