Executive Council
Tourism, Culture and Recreation
September 8, 2007
Province�s
Tourism Marketing Campaign Wins Top Atlantic Award
Newfoundland and Labrador�s tourism marketing campaign
has received top honours at the annual Innovation, Creativity and
Enterprise (ICE) advertising awards held Friday, September 7, in
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Each year, Progress Magazine honours top marketers in the
Atlantic region through its Marketer of the Year competition. Marketing
and communications campaigns generated in Atlantic Canada, from both the
private and public sector, are eligible and the winner is announced at
the ICE Awards.
�We
take great pride as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in welcoming
visitors to our wonderful province, and we also recognize the related
economic potential,� said the Honourable
Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. �That is
precisely why, four years ago, we committed to increasing our tourism
marketing funding and have nearly doubled our spending to $11 million.
This prestigious award reflects the benefits of this investment.�
The Provincial Government worked with Target Marketing
and Communications Inc., headquartered in St. John�s, to bring the
province�s marketing vision to life through an innovative, multi-faceted
advertising campaign which highlights the unique experiences available
to visitors to this province.
�Our tourism partners
throughout the province have embraced our new approach, and we are
reaping the rewards of marketing this place with confidence, ingenuity
and passion,� Premier Williams said. �I could not be more proud of this
great accomplishment and I thank our agency partners for their
tremendous contribution, and for helping the province realize our vision
for marketing the spirit of Newfoundland and Labrador. Our ever-growing
tourism industry is in large part due to this successful and compelling
campaign.�
The Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Tourism,
Culture and Recreation, also congratulated Target and acknowledged the
company�s creative contribution to the Provincial Government�s efforts
to grow the tourism industry.
�We know that travellers are seeking compelling,
authentic experiences to unique destinations, and we feel Newfoundland
and Labrador offers those experiences,� the minister said. �The
advertising campaign showcases who we really are � a natural, yet
surprisingly exotic destination that goes far beyond the packaged,
run-of-the-mill kind of tourism other destinations offer.�
Minister Hedderson said tourism advertising has become
remarkably similar in message, content, attitude, look and feel.
�It was the Provincial Government�s intention that its
marketing campaign stand out and the recognition received at the ICE
Awards indicates this goal has been achieved.�
Some of the unique aspects of the campaign included a
two-minute television spot to launch the campaign � which is very
unusual in the advertising industry � as well as a giant billboard
placed on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto this summer which featured
white sheets hanging from an actual clothesline strung above the busy
highway.
Early indications are that the campaign has generated
increased interest in Newfoundland and Labrador as a travel destination.
Tourism inquiries were up more than 24 per cent to the end of July 2007
and visits to the province�s tourism Web site have more than doubled
over last year.
�We will have a clearer picture over the next month or
two concerning how the 2007 tourism season is unfolding, but we are
encouraged by the early indicators and, with a sustained marketing
effort, we expect to see industry growth continue in the years to come,�
Minister Hedderson said.
The
Newfoundland and Labrador tourism marketing campaign will be featured in
the October issue of Progress Magazine, along with the other four
finalists for the Marketer of the Year Award. Elements of the winning
advertising campaign can be viewed at
www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/SightsAndSounds.
Further information on the ICE Awards can be viewed at:
www.iceawards.com.
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Media contacts:
Elizabeth Matthews
Director of Communications
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960, 351-1227
elizabethmatthews@gov.nl.ca |
Heather May
Director of Communications
Department of Tourism, Culture
and Recreation
709-729-0928, 697-5061
heathermay@gov.nl.ca
|
2007 09
08 9:45 a.m. |