GroupExpression was requested by Tourisme Montréal to launch a PR campaign promoting the celebrations for the 375th anniversary of Montréal, aiming to generate over 4 million Canadian dollars in coverage in 2017 and 2018 and attract more French travelers to the festivities. According to the client’s briefing, the main objectives of the campaign were to increase brand awareness and drive bookings.
The ideation for this project stemmed from the desire to leverage the unique cultural and historical significance of Montréal’s 375th anniversary as a catalyst to boost tourism and enhance the city’s global brand presence. By collaborating with Tourisme Montréal, GroupExpression aimed to craft a campaign that would resonate with French travelers and the wider European audience. Their approach focused on highlighting Montréal’s vibrant cultural scene, rich history, and innovative spirit through engaging content and strategic media partnerships. By creating immersive experiences and leveraging the influence of key media and digital platforms, GroupExpression sought to generate substantial coverage and attract visitors to partake in the city’s celebratory festivities. The project’s success relied on a comprehensive understanding of the target audience, creative storytelling, and building strong relationships with media influencers and stakeholders.
GroupExpression launched the year of celebrations with a week of PR activation in Paris in January 2017, presenting the richness of Montréal’s tourism offerings through various formats. This included a wide range of story ideas for different media outlets, from offline and online platforms to radio and TV. They organized a birthday breakfast party in our offices with a “pancake chef” from Montréal and shared birthday presents with the journalists.
GroupExpression also arranged happy hour meetings with influencers and one-on-one meetings for Tourisme Montréal representatives with key TV production houses. At the same time, we supported the campaign with fun thematic press office actions and developed editorial content related to the 375th anniversary. They worked to build strong relationships with media, bloggers, and influencers.
The campaign was a real success, highlighted by:
