Canadian Tourism Commission Issues Marketing RFP

The Canadian Tourism Commission, doing business as Destination Canada (“DC”),  Canada’s national tourism marketing organization has issued a marketing RFP. A federal Crown corporation, DC supports the Canadian tourism industry by marketing Canada as a premier four-season tourism destination, and supports the Canadian economy by generating tourism export revenues.

Through collaboration and partnerships with the private sector, the Government of Canada, plus the provinces and territories, DC works with the tourism sector to maintain our competitiveness and position Canada as a destination where travelers can create extraordinary personal experiences. DC’s approach focuses on those global markets where Canada’s tourism brand leads and yields the highest return on investment. DC is active in 12 key geographic markets: Brazil, China, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States and Canada.

Background

As a national tourism organization, DC promotes Canada as a desirable destination and supports the Canadian tourism sector. A federal Crown corporation of the Government of Canada, our mandate is to work with the Canadian tourism industry and provincial and territorial governments to promote Canada as a premier tourist destination, grow tourism export revenue for Canada, grow tax revenue, support the creation of jobs and increase the global competitiveness of Canada’s travel and tourism sector.

To do so, we promote Canada’s extraordinary experiences in 12 markets – Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the UK, the US and Canada. DC conducts primary research through a variety of means to gather market intelligence and provide insights for internal stakeholders as well as tourism industry partners.

Scope of Work

The Contractor(s) providing Quantitative Research services under this agreement have capabilities in providing quantitative research through survey methodologies, data analytics and access to proprietary data sources.

The Contractor(s) may be asked to conduct the following types of quantitative research projects:

• Consumer attitudinal and/or behavioral studies;
• Path to Purchase studies;
• Segmentation studies;
• Market potential assessments;
• Brand equity studies;
• Advertising tracking studies;
• Advertising creative concept testing studies;
• Syndicated studies;
• Omnibus studies;
• Digital ethnography studies;
• Social listening studies;
• Content, text and media analytics studies;
• Website intercept studies;
• In-person intercept studies;
• Access to and analysis of tourism related data; and
• Building of proprietary panels

Qualitative & Exploratory Research

Objective

DC’s objective is to conduct exploratory research related to consumer opinions, attitudes, behaviours, motivations and other tourism related topics, using a “Roster” of pre-qualified Contractors.

Scope of Work

The Contractor(s) providing Qualitative & Exploratory Research services under this agreement have capabilities in, providing qualitative research through both offline and online methodologies including focus groups, in-depth interviews, online focus groups, digital diaries and digital ethnography studies.

The Contractor(s) may be asked to conduct, the following types of qualitative research projects:

• As a preamble to the undertaking of qualitative studies;
• Advertising creative concept testing studies;
• Specialized travel trade studies (visa processes/imposition, air access, evaluation of trade shows/events, etc.);
• Deep dive studies to understand certain segments, product areas, markets;
• Digital diary studies;
• Digital ethnography studies;

Proposal due by February 24, 2017 to:

Destination Canada
800 – 1045 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6Z 2A9

Major PR firms in Canada include APCO Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller, and Shift Communications was purchased by a Canadian holding company.