Travel Manitoba Unveils Boatload of New Marketing Efforts...
Travel Manitoba Unveils Boatload of New Marketing Efforts at Outdoors Shows in Minneapolis and Chicago
TV Promotions and Exhibit Materials Make `Monster'-Size Impressions at Hunting and Fishing Expos
WINNIPEG, Jan. 28, 2009 -- Travel Manitoba made the province's presence felt at this month's All-Canada Shows for hunters and anglers in key U.S. Midwest markets.
The organization unveiled a multi-faceted new marketing initiative, which included a breakthrough TV component, at the outdoors expos held January 2-4 in downtown Minneapolis and January 8-11 in suburban Chicago.
A new promotional theme, "Manitoba Monsters" - a reference to the abundance of trophy-sized northern pike and large game -- made its debut, underscored by an imposing 20-foot inflatable replica of a northern pike tethered beside the all-new Travel Manitoba booth.
Visitors swallowed the bait. "I saw young kids dragging their grandfathers to our booth so they could get a closer look at the giant fish," said Kevin Palmer, Travel Manitoba's strategy manager for hunting and fishing promotions. "The adults ended up spending time at our booth and walking away with Manitoba literature."
Inventive new marketing efforts involving members of the Manitoba Lodges & Outfitters Association included TV campaigns that served tantalizing images of freshly prepared shore lunches to viewers in both cities.
In Minneapolis, a trio of premium fly-in lodges competed in a "cook-off" that spotlighted their prized shore-lunch recipes of pan-fried walleye and side dishes in a live in-studio appearance during the popular Saturday morning news show on KARE-TV, the Twin Cities' NBC affiliate. The show boasts an audience of approximately 121,000 viewers 18 years of age and older.
The three lodge operators displayed their plated shore lunches on a kitchen-like stage set and were interviewed by the program's co-anchor. Then, outdoors broadcaster Ron Schara, who hosts a show on the station, made a guest appearance to judge the food. He narrowly chose the classic fried walleye prepared by Mark Mayert, head guide at Nueltin Fly-In Lodges, over the sweet-and-sour stir fried walleye prepared by Jason Dyck of Golden Eagle Lodge and the Cajun fried walleye by Rick Bohna of Big Sand Lake Lodge. Schara also spoke glowingly of Manitoba fishing and the province's leadership in wildlife conservation.
During the broadcast, Travel Manitoba, in cooperation with Courage Center, a Minneapolis rehabilitation and resource center, donated an all-expense-paid "dream trip" to a choice of Manitoba fishing lodges to Wyatt Johnson, a 14-year-old fishing enthusiast from St. Paul. A client of the center, he has a disability and uses a wheelchair. Travel Manitoba and the province's fishing and hunting industry are underwriting the cost of the teenager's trip.
In Chicago, viewers saw an unusual two-minute infomercial, which resembled a live report from the All-Canada Show, on CBS affiliate WBBM-TV. The station produced and recorded the commercial at Travel Manitoba's booth early on the show's opening day and broadcast it five times during the show.
All three lodge operators shared the work of preparing one classic shore lunch on camera, while they each spoke about the food and their facilities. Canadian outdoors personality Norm McCreight, an All-Canada Show spokesman and presenter, served as guest host. He interviewed the lodge operators about the food and raved about the Manitoba outdoors.
In both markets, the special TV exposure was part of larger broadcast ad campaigns that included a raft of "Manitoba Monster" commercials on TV and radio in the days leading up to the All-Canada Show.
"The net result is that Manitoba projected an out-sized presence in the local media and at the show that far exceeded the number of lodges and outfitters who exhibited -- and we didn't spend a fortune doing it," Palmer said.
"Spectators and exhibitors were overhead saying it looked like the `All-Manitoba Show,' Palmer said. "This is really a testament to Manitoba lodges and outfitters working in unison with our organization to promote the industry. It was certainly noticed by operators from competing provinces, who dropped by our booth and said they thought Manitoba's efforts boosted visitor turnout."
Twenty-two Manitoba exhibitors participated in the Minneapolis show and 35 in Chicago, according to data from the show organizers. By contrast, Ontario had a contingent of 59 exhibitors in Minneapolis and 126 in Chicago.
Jerry Dunlop, of Dunlop's Fly-In Fishing Lodge, credited the marketing program for helping bring traffic and sales to his Chicago show booth. "I've done the Chicago show for four years, and this was by far my best," he said. "There were new people who had never been to an All-Canada Show. Some mentioned the radio ads."
Shawn Gurke, whose family owns and operates Nueltin Fly-In Lodges in northern Manitoba, said, "For the first time, as long as I've been in this business, I'm encouraged by the efforts of Travel Manitoba. They are creating visibility for the best that Manitoba has to offer." He added, "One of my regular customers came by my booth and said he saw me on TV."
Bohna, of Big Sand Lake Lodge, said he received an e-mail from a sportsman in Chicago who caught his TV appearance. "Overall, it's just a good thing to put fresh ideas out there," he said.
Jennifer Young, president of the All-Canada Show, which is in its twenty-fifth year, said it was noteworthy how Travel Manitoba spotlighted its lodges and concentrated on attracting customers to their show booths, all within a broader effort to promote the province's overall outdoors assets. "What they did was really clever and creative. It brought excitement to the show," she said.
Travel Manitoba signed on to be a "major sponsor" of the All-Canada Show-- the only province to do so. This afforded prominent and exclusive exposure in the show's own print and broadcast advertising and promotional literature.
Winnipeg newspaper columnist and outdoors expert Don Lamont gave daily talks at the Minneapolis show about fishing for catfish on the Red River near Selkirk.
"Guerilla marketing" tactics included handing out leaflets and coupons to visitors before they entered the exhibit hall. Items included "Manitoba Monster" coupons for $300 discounts on trips booked at the show and pocket-size flyers with color-coded maps that showed the locations of Manitoba lodges on the show floor and on a map of the province.
"It was a clever way to greet people and get them thinking about Manitoba from the instant they walk into the show," said Young, of the All-Canada Show.
Promotional literature and signage on Travel Manitoba's 20-foot by 25-foot exhibit booth reflected feedback from in-depth market research interviews with U.S. anglers who have made repeated visits to Manitoba lodges, Palmer said. The booth precisely echoed what these visitors praised about their Manitoba hunting and fishing experiences: float planes, trophy fish, shore lunches, upscale yet rustic lakeside lodges, camaraderie, and vistas of vast, isolated, unspoiled, watery wildernesses.
Travel Manitoba's annual Manitoba fishing guide, a magazine-style brochure handed out to show visitors and mailed to participants in Travel Manitoba's Master Angler program, underwent a complete redesign, including the addition of informative articles by Lamont to add to its reference value. The articles address subjects mentioned by marketing survey participants. According to Palmer, the guide attracted significantly more advertising participation from the province's lodges and outfitters than in previous years. "They really rallied around this new marketing program of Travel Manitoba's, especially in a year where marketing dollars are so hard to come by. It's a big vote of confidence for this partnership-driven program," Palmer said.
A new, three-minute video, touching on the same themes, was shown continuously at the booth. The organization also launched local public relations campaigns that generated additional print and online news media coverage of its show activities.
Also new this year, Travel Manitoba introduced a new program to increase its lodges' share of corporate meeting and incentive travel business.
On the Net:
Travel Manitoba exhibit-booth video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCeCl9SAt1c
KARE-TV 11 News Saturday (Minneapolis-St. Paul):
http://www.kare11.com/news/local/mornings/saturday/saturday_article.aspx?storyid=534454
Triblocal.com (St. Charles, Ill.):
http://www.triblocal.com/St._Charles/view.php?action=detail&type=stories&sub_id=43339
Kane County (Ill.) Chronicle:
http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2009/01/10/news/local/doc496973b01f667782793682.prt