CTC's New Online Ads Virtually Transport Travelers Onto Canadian City Streets

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) and DDB Canada (the CTC's agency of record) today unveiled an innovative approach to online advertising:  the result of a collaboration with Google Maps and Street View that virtually transports travelers onto real Canadian city streets with the simple click of a mouse. This unique DoubleClick Rich Media ad highlights key places and experiences in Canada, and is part of a much larger, integrated campaign currently running in key European markets. To view an example of these ads, visit: http://awards11.tribalddb.ca/bin/CTC/Europe2/.

"With the vast majority of people researching their travel online, the objective of these online ads was to give people a real and authentic glimpse of Canada, bringing our city streets directly to interested travelers by harnessing the power of Google Maps and Street View," said Ernst Flach, Executive Director of Global Marketing for the CTC.

DDB Canada contacted Google with the idea of making Google Maps and Street View work directly within an online ad so that travelers could not only locate a destination on a map, but could also explore things to see and do at each location.

"What makes this execution so effective is that it utilizes a technology that the target audience already uses to research destinations, but it introduces this technology within a new context to offer inspiration in a whole new way," said Cosmo Campbell, Creative Director, DDB Canada.   "It was a great experience collaborating with Google – discovering new ways to adapt their technology to work in unexpected places."

Each online execution ends by directing travelers to additional location-specific information on the Keep Exploring campaign site where they can further explore what each destination has to offer, including special deals on partner sites. The campaign site also allows travelers to share information with their social networks, provide comments, and ask questions about each destination.

Broadcast, print, QR codes and social media cultivation also direct travelers to the Keep Exploring site and round out this highly integrated campaign.  

The campaign is currently running in Germany, France and the U.K., with OMD Vancouver in association with OMD International in London responsible for the media buy.

About the Canadian Tourism Commission

The CTC is Canada's national tourism marketing organization. Our vision is inspiring the world to explore Canada. With our partners in the tourism industry and the governments of Canada, the provinces and the territories, we advertise and market Canada in 11 countries around the world, conduct industry research and studies, and promote product and industry development. For daily updates on CTC initiatives, subscribe to CTC News, available through RSS feeds and by e-mail. Become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube channel or check out new photos on Flickr!

About DDB Canada

Named Strategy's 2010 Agency of the Year and Top Creative Agency in 2011, DDB Canada is the most creatively acclaimed, internationally recognized marketing communications agency in Canada. Known for advertising that generates significant results for clients, DDB Canada is a "total communications company" whose fundamental belief is that creativity is the most powerful force in business. DDB Canada has offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. The agency's integrated groups include: DDB Kid Think (youth marketing), DDB Public Relations, Tribal DDB (online and interactive), Karacters Design Group, Rapp Collins (direct), Radar DDB (social media marketing) and DDB Hodes Recruitment Communications (recruitment marketing).

SOURCE DDB Canada