2023 Travel Manitoba Northern Marketing Plan
Northern Tourism Northern Manitoba is defined, for tourism purposes, to be the region of Manitoba north of the 53rd parallel. It is a vast territory comprising almost 60% of the land area of Manitoba. The natural assets of the region includes thousands of lakes, vast boreal forest, major tracts of Laurentian Shield, and an Arctic region bordering the Hudson Bay.
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Marketing the north TARGET MARKETS Primary
Secondary
• Cultural Explorers
• Free Spirits
• Authentic Experiencers GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS Primary
Secondary
• Manitoba
• Germany
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• United States (short-haul)
• Australia
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Northern market initiatives PUBLICATIONS Inspiration Guide • Travel Manitoba’s annual inspiration guide features several sections dedicated to northern experiences. Over 250,000 are produced. Northern Lure • Two northern lure pieces will be created to promote iconic seasonal experiences in the North and distributed to targeted audiences.
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Northern market initiatives DIGITAL MARKETING Website • Travel Manitoba will continue to populate content on its websites – North of 53, everything Churchill, and the northern sections of travelmanitoba.com and huntfishmanitoba.com. These websites also act as a hub for larger digital and advertising campaigns.
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Northern market initiatives DIGITAL MARKETING Bandwango • Leveraging the Bandwango platform, Travel Manitoba will continue to create northern pass experiences to drive traffic through the doors of local businesses and be a hub for e-commerce.
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Northern market initiatives DIGITAL MARKETING Manitoba Explorer App • Launched in fall 2022, the Manitoba Explorer app features two dedicated northern trails and already has over 5,500 subscribers to the app.
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Northern market initiatives DIGITAL MARKETING Social Media • Travel Manitoba continues to promote the north throughout the year on its various social media channels and blog
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Northern market initiatives ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
ADVERTISING
Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter Campaigns
Prairie Angling Campaign
• Travel Manitoba features the North as a pillar
• In partnership with Destination Canada and
in both campaigns. Tactics include a dedicated
Tourism Saskatchewan, Travel Manitoba will be
landing page, digital and social media ads, and
featuring northern fishing experiences as part
select content media buys.
of its overall campaign. Summer and winter experiences will be showcased.
Northern Lights Campaign • In partnership with Destination Canada, Travel Manitoba will be featured as a
WestJet LAX – YWG Route • In partnership with Destination Canada and
destination for northern lights to five key
Westjet, a campaign to promote the new direct
U.S. markets in fall 2023.
flight route is running in the California market, with Churchill being the main destination and content featured.
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Northern market initiatives TRAVEL TRADE LA Trade Sales Trip • Travel Manitoba will be hosting a trade sales mission in Los Angeles in spring 2023 to promote the direct Westjet route and Churchill experiences. Sales & Marketing Activities
Target markets include Canada, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia.
• Travel Manitoba continues to promote the north in its international trade efforts through business development, FAM trips, and co-op marketing.
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Northern market initiatives TRAVEL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER RELATIONS Travel Manitoba’s travel media and influencer relations activities include prospecting, in-person meetings, relationship building, familiarization (FAM) tours, and GSA sales and media efforts. Travel Manitoba will continue to partner with Destination Canada to expand reach and leverage resources. Business Development • Travel Manitoba will identify key media marketplaces and events to promote Manitoba to travel journalists, bloggers, tv shows, travel influencers and content creators. FAM Trips/Media Trips • Travel Manitoba will continue to host travel media and influencers from its target markets on curated customized itineraries to encourage and create earned media articles and content.
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