Make Friends with Vancouver

A new campaign from Destination Vancouver and creative agency WILL puts a friendly twist on traditional destination marketing. BC’s ski resorts are one of the most popular destinations in the world for Australian skiers and snowboarders, but they often skip over Vancouver, seeing it as a stop-over as opposed to a destination in its own right. Destination Vancouver set out to change this with a Sydney-focused campaign that shows Australians why Vancouver is worth the stay by encouraging them to make Vancouver one of Sydney’s official Friendship Cities.

Since 1998, Sydney has run a Friendship City program which aims to strengthen connections with cities that share its values and goals. Both Vancouver and Sydney share a focus on sustainability and diversity, as well as the more obvious coastal location, active lifestyle and welcoming culture. The more you look at the two cities, the more they complement each other — making Vancouver the perfect candidate to be their new best friend.

“Sydney and Vancouver share a lot of the same DNA,” said WILL Executive Creative Director Lisa Lebedovich. “When we learned about the Friendship City program, it felt like the perfect opportunity to leverage an existing initiative to build Vancouver’s reputation as a worthwhile destination for Australians seeking a refreshing escape.”

In place of the overly earnest and self-serious norms of tourism marketing, the campaign uses a cheeky tone, fast-paced edit, and emoji-inspired icons to position Vancouver as Sydney’s cool Canadian friend. Through videos, digital ads and outdoor placements, Vancouver invites Australians to be friends with benefits — whether that’s enjoying MICHELIN restaurants and amazing views or just grabbing a pint at one of the city’s craft breweries. All executions drive to a microsite (MakeFriendsWithVancouver.ca) where Australians can plan their Vancouver vacation and sign the petition to make Vancouver an official Friendship City for a chance to win a trip to visit.

“We love showcasing Vancouver’s unique ability to energize and rejuvenate travellers,” said Stefan Hawes, Vice President of Global Marketing at Destination Vancouver. “Building on Canada’s reputation for friendliness feels natural, but the way we’re doing it is fresh and unexpected. We challenged ourselves to break away from tourism marketing conventions and make some new friends in the process.”

The results from the petition, along with a friendly care package that includes a sampling of locally made Vancouver goods, will be sent to the Lord Mayor of Sydney in hopes of making the friendship with Vancouver official.