To grow tourism sustainably, New Brunswick needed more people dreaming about visiting. The objective: grow the pool of dreamers and early planners across Ontario, Quebec, and New England. It wasn’t just about awareness; it was about creating desire. To do that, we needed people not just to see New Brunswick, but to experience it.
Enter Imaginature: a two-day immersive experience in downtown Montreal that brought our campaign idea, "Get a Sense of New Brunswick”, to life. Hosted inside Oasis Immersion, one of Canada’s most advanced sensory exhibit spaces, Imaginature invited guests to reconnect with nature and themselves.
Visitors journeyed through multi-sensory galleries filled with floor-to-ceiling projections, immersive soundscapes, the scent of salt air and pine, and textured surfaces inspired by the province’s forests, tides, and beaches. Stories were told by local artists, including Julie Aubé, Les Productions Fusion, and Chef Jesse Vergen. The experience extended into the Palais des Congrès, where 12 regional tourism partners brought their corners of the province to life with food demos, live music, and hands-on art. Some were moved to tears. Others started planning their first visit. And for nearly an hour, each visitor wasn’t scrolling, commuting, or rushing; they were present, immersed, and curious.
The campaign leading up to the event was to drive ticket signups, but also emotional resonance. Paid media led with mood-forward storytelling across Meta, YouTube, and out-of-home (OOH) advertising, reaching more than 9.2 million impressions. The event sold out in less than a week. Ultimately, over 18,500 people attended, exceeding our goal by more than 20%.
More than a tourism ad, Imaginature gave people what they needed in the moment: a pause. A sense of pride. A taste of something different. We didn’t just promote New Brunswick; we helped people feel it.
Our media strategy
Mass media
- Radio takeover: 100 gross rating points (GRP) across Montreal stations (French & English).
- YouTube takeover.
- 139 transit shelter screens in Montreal (OOH).
- Total reach: Over 9.2 million paid impressions.
Digital and social
- Meta reach and conversion campaigns.
- Google Performance Max with keyword targeting around events, travel, and nature.
Owned and earned
- Email and social amplification from Oasis Immersion and Tourism New Brunswick.
- Influencer VIP night: 20–25 creators invited for early access and authentic content.
- Earned coverage from Global Montreal and local media.
Results
- Attendance: 18,500 (vs. 15,000 goal).
- 2,000+ postal codes collected onsite.
- Over 9.2M paid impressions.
- Meta drove 904 registrations in just 7 days and saw positive engagement with over 1k post reactions, 45 comments and 416 shares.
- News coverage earned results over 1,497,800 views.
- Google Performance Max achieved a 1.86% click-through rate—nearly double the industry average—driven by a compelling event-based reason to click and the strong appeal of a “Free Ticket” callout.
