A unique and immersive tourism campaign is bringing the sights, sounds, and scents of New Brunswick to Ontario and Quebec showcasing the natural beauty of Canada’s East Coast.
In an era of highly polished marketing campaigns, distinguishing oneself in the tourism industry presents a notable challenge. New Brunswick, with its simple, beautiful, and authentic nature, offers a refreshing contrast. The challenge was to create a campaign that could effectively showcase the natural beauty of New Brunswick to potential travelers in Ontario and Quebec, encouraging them to explore the East Coast of Canada.
Shawn King, NATIONAL Atlantic’s Executive Creative Director, emphasized the importance of these small moments that offer people an escape to reconnect with nature and each other. The goal was to highlight these moments and make New Brunswick a top-of-mind destination for domestic travelers.
A multi-sensory experience
To address this challenge, NATIONAL Public Relations, Time & Space Media, and Explore NB collaborated to create the "Get a Sense of New Brunswick" campaign. This unique and immersive campaign was inspired by a walk on the floor of the Bay of Fundy at low tide and aimed to delight Ontarians and Quebecers with key activations that bring the sights, sounds, and scents of New Brunswick to life.
Key activations include:
- Bloor Station Takeover (May 5): Toronto’s bustling Bloor-Yonge station will be transformed to highlight New Brunswick's raw beauty through hundreds of printed and digital placements.
- Interactive Montreal Transit Shelter (April 7): We’re bringing a taste of Acadian joie-de-vivre to downtown Montreal, where visitors can experience the sights, sounds, and even scents of the Acadian Coast. This unique transit shelter installation will be topped with a lighthouse replica from Grand-Anse, New Brunswick. Visitors will have a chance to interact with a digital screen that activates the full sensory experience.
- Imaginature Event in Montreal (April 11–12): Hosted at Oasis Immersion in Montreal, Imaginature is a free event that promises to take attendees on an enchanting sensory journey into the heart of New Brunswick. From the Bay of Fundy to the Acadian Peninsula, attendees will get to walk through room after room of digital projections and tactile details, each space sharing a different part of New Brunswick’s natural beauty and rich culture. The experience will extend out into the Palais de congrès where visitors can meet the locals and learn more about all that New Brunswick has to offer.
- Travelling Toronto Viewfinder (April 22): We’re bringing genuine East Coast views to downtown Toronto. A custom-built viewfinder will allow Torontonians to view real-time video streams from the iconic Parlee Beach, one of the warmest saltwater beaches in Canada
Additionally, the campaign introduced Explora, an AI-powered chatbot by GuideGeek, to help create tailored travel experiences for planners seeking custom itineraries or answers about their next trip.
Visit the dynamic website that was created for this campaign here.
Inspiring dreams and domestic travel
The "Get a Sense of New Brunswick" campaign successfully captured the attention of potential travelers in Ontario and Quebec. By dominating spaces with engaging experiences, the campaign made people stop and take a breath, inspiring them to dream about their next travel destination.
John Wearing, Director of Client Strategy at Time & Space Media, highlighted the campaign's focus on media for entertainment and enjoyment, rather than just reach:
This is a grab-your-attention kind of moment for New Brunswick at a time that feels right for them to shine. A focus was made on dominating spaces with experiences that would make someone stop and take a breath. This is media for the sake of entertainment and enjoyment, not just reach for reach’s sake. We want to inspire someone to dream.
This approach exemplified how a single creative idea could scale effectively, making a significant impact.
Kristie Forbes, NATIONAL’s Vice President of Marketing, expressed pride in the campaign, noting that it was their first as Explore NB’s Agency of Record. With Canadians eager to explore parts unknown within their own country, the campaign encouraged them to head east and explore New Brunswick.
