Q4 Marketing Highlights - RTO 9

Q4 Marketing Highlights

We are excited to share the collective accomplishments we have made for Q4 (January 1st – March 31st, 2021).

Campaigns

Earned & Paid Media

Rail + Roam

RTO 9, in partnership with VIA Rail and Landsby.ca, launched a winter Campaign – Rail + Roam. The goal of this campaign is to drive interest in winter getaway travel to South Eastern Ontario city destinations such as Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, and Belleville. This campaign promoted unique hub and spoke winter experiences and stays through packaging created by Landsby.ca. The campaign promoted safe, local travel by train from key Canadian markets and provided a VIA fare discount when experiences were booked through Landsby.ca.

Rail + Roam Results

The Rail + Roam campaign ended on March 15, 2022. Within the reporting period, the campaign generated 1,004,614 Impressions and 13,282 clicks in total. On social, Facebook/Instagram generated 732,971 Impressions with 12,760 clicks at a CTR of 1.74%, which is well above the industry benchmark of 0.9%. On the programmatic end, our campaign generated 271,643 impressions and 522 clicks at a CTR of 0.19%, which is above the platform benchmark of 0.08%.

Media

Here’s a look at just some of the media our operators and destinations in South Eastern Ontario gained in Q4.

Article: The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, Two Days at a Time

Outlet: Ontario By Bike

Date: February 28, 2022

About the Article:  A cyclist shares their cycling adventure throughout Ontario and highlights their trip to Kingston and Frontenac. They recommend making a stop at Canada’s oldest and most notorious prison called Gord Downie Pier, taking some time to see some public art and exploring Kingston’s patio scene with good food and drinks.

Reach: 4,038 UVM (Unique Visitors per Month)

Article: Nine unique places to stay during March Break within three hours of Ottawa

Outlet: CTV News Ottawa

Date: February 27, 2022

About: Journalist, Josh Pringle, listed nine unique places to stay during March Break and highlights The Elmbrook Yurt located in Prince Edward County. This Yurt is nestled in a rural property where guests can enjoy four seasons of glamping.

Reach:  2,319,590 UVM (Unique Visitors per Month) Note: Syndicated in iHeartRadio Total syndicated reach = 1,686,778

Article: 7 Truly Spectacular Canadian Road Trips To Take Your BFF On In 2022

Outlet: Narcity

Date: February 28, 2022

About: This piece lists seven places in Canada for travellers to visit while on a road trip. Prince Edward County is featured in this list and the writer highlights a winery called the Rosehall Run Winery.

Reach: 4,054,908 UVM (Unique Visitors per Month)

Article: 7 Adorable Small Towns To Visit Along Canada’s Rideau Canal

Outlet: World Atlas

Date: Feb 16, 2022

About: This article lists small towns that sit along the Rideau Canal. The author highlights each destination with experiences for tourists who are looking to explore parts of Ottawa.

Reach: 3,847,655 UMV (Unique Visitors per Month)


Earned Media Snapshot

Total Stories: 91
Print: 1
TV Segments: 1
Online: 90
Newsletter: 0
Radio: 0

Total Media Impressions for March 2022: 43,349,424
Total Cumulative Impressions Since the Beginning of the Campaign in 2022: 118,722,620

Owned & Paid Media for South Eastern Ontario

Total Reach: 1,840,490 (+124% YoY)
Total Engagement: 155,464 (+67% YoY)

Total User Visits: 62,436 (-33% YoY)
Total Page Views: 92,683 (-37% YoY)

Total Events (direct links to tourism operators’ websites): 32,296

Top Website Content
Bucket List: 25 Restaurants You Need To Try In Prince Edward County (4,562 Page Views)

Bucket List: 24 Restaurants You Need To Try In Kingston (4,433 Page Views)
6 Things To Do On A Winter Weekend In Prince Edward County (4,010 Page Views)
A Guide to Ice Fishing in the Bay of Quinte (3,380 Page Views)
25 Unique Places To Stay In South Eastern Ontario (2,839 Page Views)

View our Fiscal Year Report

2021 -2022 Fiscal Year Report for owned & paid media for South Eastern Ontario

Future Initiatives

RTO 9 is collaborating with Destination Ontario in our spring/summer-themed spotlight campaign; 2022 Cruise Campaign. This co-marketing system leverages aligned partner planning content/storytelling to inspire travel and direct-to-operator tactics to connect the consumer with buyable experiences in our region. This will be accomplished via a $50,000 media buy, funded through a $20,000 partner investment from RTO 9 + a $30,000 Destination Ontario investment.

Additionally, RTO 9 has been approved for 2 additional campaigns in partnership with Destination Ontario. We will be developing and implementing a Theatre Campaign in late summer as well as a Winter Packages campaign featuring bookable overnight packages in South Eastern Ontario through Landsby.ca.

RTO 9 will be working with their tourism partners/ Digital Marketing committee members on developing a content calendar for the consumer brand, South Eastern Ontario. This includes Blogs, Campaigns & Giveaways.

RTO 9 provides regional leadership and coordination for tourism in South Eastern Ontario. We are fiercely working on your behalf to grow all aspects of tourism to attract more visitors, increase revenues, and generate economic activity such as investment and job creation. Connect with a team member who can assist you in your tourism initiatives.