October 23, 2007                                                                 

Orlando Launches Canadian Integrated Marketing Campaign Featuring Broadcast Television Advertising For the First Time           

ORLANDO, Fla. –  With the Canadian dollar recently reaching parity, mild (mid 70s F/25 C) Orlando winter temperatures approaching, and a continuous destination influx of new attractions and vacation activities, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (Orlando CVB) rolls out an integrated advertising and marketing campaign promoting travel to Orlando. The campaign, which is designed to reach nearly 7 million Canadian households, will feature broadcast television advertising for the first time in the history of the Orlando CVB. In another first, the campaign will also include online interactive ads placed on prominent search engines. With the primary target of Canadian families with children and couples without children residing in the Southern Ontario area, the campaign will feature the tagline “How do you get closer to those who mean the most?” With more than 690,000 Canadian visitors annually, Canada is Orlando's second largest international market, behind the United Kingdom.

The multi-faceted campaign begins October 22 and includes consumer television, print and online advertising; promotions; travel trade communications; a custom Web site; and publicity initiatives. The advertising portion of the campaign will feature an inaugural flight of television advertisements in addition to newspaper. The four-week flight will reach Southern Ontario’s 4.7 million households by running on prime time, fringe and early morning programming on CTV, Global TV, CHTV and SUN TV. Print advertising will reach more than 2 million Ontario households and feature a 16-page, full-color glossy insert set to run in five Ontario newspapers in early November.

The insert highlights five categories that encompass the diverse experiences found in an Orlando vacation including: magic, adventure, discovery, rejuvenation and metro excitement. Ads carrying the destination message will follow the distribution of the insert throughout the subsequent weeks of the campaign. The online interactive ads will be placed on well-known search engines such as Google, MSN, Canoe and Centro, a network that places ads within the online pages of newspaper. Additionally, a dedicated direct mail campaign will reach 100,000 Canadian households with messages about the destination.

Throughout the television, print, direct mail and online advertisements, consumers will be directed to orlandoinfo.com/Canada or to call toll free 800-551-2006 for additional information, special offers and a Vacation Planning Kit. The Web site features special packages and offers geared to Canadian visitors as well as in-depth destination information.

For more information about vacation experiences in Orlando, to order a complimentary vacation planning kit that includes a comprehensive Official Vacation Guide and Orlando Preferred Visitor Magicard™ or to purchase discount attraction tickets, visitors can log onto Orlando's official Web site at orlandoinfo.com/Canada or call an Official Travel Counselor at 1-800-551-2006. While in Orlando, visitors may stop by the Official Visitor Center located at 8723 International Drive, at the southeast corner of International Drive and Austrian Row (open 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day of the year except Dec. 25).