Over the past decade, Travel Manitoba’s provincial tourism brand has done a remarkable job establishing our province as a destination for locals, Canadians and international travellers. However, the way we discover and choose travel has changed. And Manitoba’s tourism offerings have evolved too.
The province’s tourism strategy identified a need to take a fresh look at the brand to support post-pandemic recovery and make Manitoba stand out in an incredibly competitive global tourism market. The portrayal of Manitoba's iconic experiences needed an emotional connection—something that moved travellers to feel part of the place they are visiting and to carry a piece of that place with them long after they leave.
UpHouse was asked to lead a brand refresh project with four objectives:
The refreshed brand needed to resonate with four traveller groups: folks from overseas travelling a long way for a bucket-list adventure, folks taking a short flight or long drive to find an authentic experience, hunters and anglers looking to test their skill against and the most influential brand ambassadors of all – Manitobans.
We extensively researched on how tourism marketing has changed and how travellers discover new experiences. We looked at beloved tourism brands from around the world and studied industry trend reports. We also consulted with leaders across Manitoba’s tourism sector, representing major festivals, attractions and operators, Indigenous and Francophone communities and rural destinations.
By the end of the process, we had completed two brand workshops with the Travel Manitoba team, seven Q + A meetings, eight interviews with partners, 80+ hours of travel marketing research, reviewed six terabytes of video footage and collected feedback from the government, operators and consumers.
Through the research and consultation, we uncovered something core to all travellers: No matter where you’re from, your age or ability, your heart needs to travel. And while every heart needs something a little different, the power in every new experience, reaction, connection or understanding calls us to venture forward.
So whatever a traveller needs right now, they can follow their heart to Manitoba. There are countless stories and experiences that get our hearts beating. They will make visitors’ hearts beat too.
We crafted an evolved brand tagline: “Canada’s Heart is Calling” and "Le coeur du Canada vous appelle”. It built on the legacy of the previous brand while offering an open call to visit the province. The tagline complemented a new messaging system that paired Manitoba’s many tourism experiences with the innermost desires of travellers:
We refreshed Travel Manitoba’s logo to feature wide, uppercase letters that feel bold and confident, contrasted by rounded corners that add warmth and approachability. Since Manitoba is known to be home to the polar bear capital of the world, the logo’s negative space features a polar bear with its nose pointed north.
We built an extensive bilingual visual identity with new logos, avatars, fonts, colours, patterns, icons, social media templates, a sonic brand and a motion graphics package for video assets. We developed a system to label featured destinations with GPS coordinates, demonstrating that Manitoba’s attractions are easy to find and access.
To give their merchandise a local touch, we partnered with Grape Labs and Direct Focus to launch a fresh line of merchandise — toques, tote bags, Manitoba’s iconic garbage mitts and more. They also collaborated with local makers to develop a bespoke line of limited edition goods: Patent 5 Distillery created Manitoba wild boreal gin, Lot Ceramics created hand-thrown Manitoba mugs, and Wilder Goods created a stamped leather keychain.
On January 9, 2023, we unveiled the refreshed brand and merchandise at a launch event attended by political leaders, travel influencers and more than 200 members of Manitoba’s tourism industry. It was met with resounding positivity, and attendees took to social media to share their pride in the province’s tourism brand. Attendees also demonstrated their support by purchasing $3,000 worth of new merchandise and maker goods at the 90-minute event.
All local news media attended the event, and Canadian and U.S. publications picked up the story. Media efforts yeilded the following results:
We collaborated with the Travel Manitoba team and media partner to develop paid advertising assets featuring the new brand materials alongside winter tourism attractions. The three-month-long campaign generated 26.8 million impressions, 40,000 digital ad clicks, 1.8 million video videos and 512,000 visits to travelmanitoba.com.
Today, the brand continues to inspire travellers and unite Manitoba’s tourism experiences through compelling campaigns and engaging social content. Travel to Manitoba is on the rise, noted Cody Chomiak, with domestic visitor spending and visitation numbers exceeding those of 2019 levels.
