We created a partnership with Trip Advisor that allowed us to reach consumers who had initially rejected Montreal. In the final buying phase, when a consumer showed interest for a 4 star hotel in a competitive city, a dynamic banner was pushed. It triggered his attention by mentioning his location ('hey NYC') and then suggested a 4-star hotel in Montreal. This tactic required Trip Advisor to share its data with us, a first for the website.

As online travel agencies are crucial influencers during the last stages of the planning cycle, we created content integration partnerships with all major players of this category.

Finally, to position Montreal against major North American destinations, we created a partnership with the prestigious National Geographic magazine: 24 pages of exclusive content called Taste of Montreal. The content was featured on the cover page of the magazine. Taste of Montreal was also distributed through an iPad application heavily promoted by National Geographic.

Results were exceptional:

• Hotel rooms booked in Montreal increased by 27% on online travel agencies.

• 55% of all online sales were influenced by the Trip Advisor partnership.

• The Taste of Montreal app made it to the top of the iTunes ranking at its launch.

• The campaign reached over 50 million unique travelers at a cost per click significantly below benchmarks.

Thanks to a strong insight that led us to target the right phase of the travel planning cycle, many thousands of travelers who had initially rejected Montreal came to visit our joyful city in the summer of 2012!