Marketing Campaign of the Year

A one-of-a-kind experience that anyone with a sense of earth’s history would dig, the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre’s Dig Tour Experience invites participants to take part in real life paleontology! The tour combines an introduction to the Fossil Discovery Centre along with a site visit to its Field & Research Station, where paleontologists are currently unearthing a 83-million-year-old mosasaur! As any Cretaceous enthusiast will tell you, this region was once completely covered by an inland sea teeming with giant aquatic lizards like the mosasaur –– the apex predator of its time –– as some of you have seen in recent blockbuster shows on Apple and Netflix. By showcasing the experience using behind-the-scenes videos that racked up tens of thousands of views, news releases that resulted in coverage on CBC’s The National, and a new agreement with German Company GetyourGuide, the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre attracted new local, national and international participants to help take part in the dig. Who knows, maybe mosasaurs will do for Morden what T-Rex and Albertosaurus have done for Drumheller, Alberta.

Before unveiling its key exhibition for 2025, the CMHR had one major obstacle: Most people had never heard of the Canadian government’s LGBT Purge. To educate the public, the museum created a 30-second ad that ran in cinemas and social media, along with print, billboard, radio and connected tv ads. The results were outstanding, as the campaign helped drive 260,000 website sessions, with more than 4,000 of those hits going on to the purchase ticket page. The CMHR also partnered with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Pride Winnipeg for additional grassroots-style marketing for the local audience. Altogether, the powerful "Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge" exhibition ended up achieving the museum’s central goals of honouring the survivors, educating visitors and prompting younger generations to awareness and action.

If you thought Schitt’s Creek’s Rosebud Motel had plenty of character, wait until you check in at the Pinawa Motel! Last year, recognizing that what the motel needed wasn’t more social posts, but rather more personality, owner Julia Leontieva revamped the motel’s social media presence to charming effect. By using real-time data, along with “charm, personality and community connection,” Loentieva focused on increasing visibility and engagement, while also establishing the Pinawa Motel and Ice Cream & Coffee Shop as a regional hub. Online, she created the AI-video Bear-ista mascot for the ice cream shop, along with putting a focus on Pinawa’s natural beauty and wildlife to showcase not only the motel and ice cream shop, but the entire region. It all resulted in more visits to the ice cream shop and more stays at the motel culminating in so many new 5-star Google reviews.

New brand, same ridiculously tranquil spa experience. In 2025, Thermea unified its three national locations under one cohesive identity: the Spa Village. To do so, the company had to create a new logo along with an overall theme that focused on togetherness and shared rituals, which was presented in new television and online ads. On-site, new signage, staff uniforms and environmental details were made to align with the “village” atmosphere, with an overall vibe that promotes leaving everyday worries behind and stepping into a shared journey of well being.