Between rising operational costs, rampant wildfires, and low visitation numbers, 2023 was a tough year for Canadian businesses. We needed to combat the negative PR and kickstart tourism to Canada, fast.

Problem was, Americans weren’t all that interested in visiting their neighbor to the north. Because of its close proximity and apparent familiarity, Canada’s often overlooked as a must-visit destination. We knew these travelers were selling Canada—and themselves—short. If they bothered to look, they’d see all that’s on offer.

We needed a big idea that would pique American travelers’ curiosity and get them booking trips up north. With Expedia's ability to power travel through its packages, itineraries and activities, and Destination Canada's access to local businesses and experiences, we’d show Americans what Canadians have always known: Canada is underrated.

To get people to look north at all the amazing things Canada offers, we decided to invite Americans to come name real life, iconic things in Canada. For example, people could name a real life Moose in the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. A tournament pond hockey team. A specially brewed ale served on tap in Vancouver. A potato field on Prince Edward Island. And many more by visiting YesYouCanada.com. When people came to the site to name something, they’d see all the amazing things to see and do for that location. Come to name a moose, be introduced to the natural rugged beauty of the Yukon, for example.

Our target for this campaign: high value US travelers.

Through our new segmentation research, we know that our traveller audience is passionate—they're frequent travellers who are always looking for their next adventure, they want experiences to broaden their horizons, and they crave authentic and enriching cultural experiences.

With these insights in hand, our strategy became clear: create an invitation for American travellers to experience first-hand the wonders of Canada. An invitation that would:

Grab attention through a buzz worthy moment that cemented Canada as a must-visit destination

Showcase the vast diversity of experiences that exist within Canada

Create an authentic, engaging way for Americans to immerse themselves in Canadian culture

To get there, we’d leverage the social cache of a quintessential Canadian ambassador to activate audiences across social platforms through standout, shareable content.

We secured things travelers could name across all of Canada, from Vancouver, to Prince Edward island. Then we enlisted famed Canadian chef, actor, and producer Matty Matheson to play the Head of Tourism in a video inviting travelers to come and name Canadian things, driving them to a bookable page hosted by Expedia at YesYouCanada.com where they could secure naming rights and see the incredible experiences offered in each place where something can be named. In doing so we Americans to see Canada in a much deeper, more meaningful way, creating a of urgency to come and visit.

All 13 pieces of Canadiana were named within hours of the campaign’s launch. We garnered 330 published articles and press mentions surrounding the activation, resulting in 170 million impressions. Most importantly, we overcame Canada’s recent negative PR and drove renewed interest in Canada as a travel destination: YoY, we saw a 15% increase in search for trips to Canada, and an astounding 29% YoY increase in bookings to Canada.