Latest CTC-Germany non-traditional partnership focuses on water

(Originally published in TOURISM)

After the success of its whale-themed non-traditional partnership, which ended in November 2007, CTC-Germany was looking for a novel way to tap into Canada's evocative power as a destination. According to the CTC's Jens Rosenthal, "sustainability is important for German consumers. It soon became apparent that one of the most suitable connections to sustainability was the whole issue of water."

This was a natural fit for Canada. "Almost everything we offer as travel product involves water-based activities; and the provinces and territories have many connections to water experiences. We decided to develop this concept."

"Kanadaria" is the Iroquois word for "shining water", Rosenthal explains, and is the name chosen for this new non-traditional partnership which started on March 3 with the launch web portal www.kanadaria.de.

"This is the communication centre for this project. It aims to attract a maximum of reporters specializing on the theme of water from Germany, Canada and the world, who actively write about their experiences with water. The objective is to create the largest water portal on the web; every tourism product related to water could be promoted -- everything that one can do with, under, above and with water could be advertised."

Until March 3, institutional water reporters could register on the site to write about their water projects. On March 3, the portal was opened to consumers who can write about their special experiences with water. A special section for kids and teens teaches the younger target audiences about water.

The promotion kicked off with the launch of a water photo competition sponsored by Ontario Tourism, German tour operator Canusa Touristik, Fotocommunity (a photo portal with more than 600,000 registered members), Globetrotter Ausrüstung (Europe's largest outfitter for outdoor clothing and equipment), British Airways and the CTC.

Three water packages offered by Canusa Touristik are promoted (FlyDrive, RV and lodge packages with focus on water destinations in Ontario). An association that cares for water will be honoured with donations collected throughout the co-operation.

The competition just launched is multifaceted: "Water photo runs from April to June; Water video, from July to September; Water stories and poems, from October to December; and Water music, from January to March. The competitions will result in other promotional products being sold, like Water calendars, Water DVDs, Water stories/poems books and Water CDs."

In August, a media and celebrity FAM to Ontario will take place, and in October the first two trips to Ontario for contest winners will follow. Rosenthal hopes the promotion will reach 2.5 million consumers per year and an average of 15,000 unique website users per month in 2008 and 2009, resulting in 5,000 new email addresses for database use with a growth rate of 10% every year, with sales to Canada growing accordingly.

"We also have ambassadors as we call them - people and celebrities who are well known for their work. Some might be explorers; swimmers; some might have written books about water. They will travel together with German media to Ontario and experience water destinations in Canada."

Stay tuned to find out how this latest non-traditional partnership from Germany unfolds.

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