Chatting with Jeremy Maunder, Destination Toronto’s Director of Content & Communications, on our new winter marketing campaign: Longer Nights, Brighter Lights

Destination Toronto’s winter marketing campaign Longer Nights, Brighter Lights is designed to inspire and create a sense of urgency to visit the city this winter.

The campaign also leverages the power of cooperative marketing, partnering with hospitality and tourism businesses in Toronto, including Aga Khan Museum, Royal Ontario Museum, Illuminarium, Mirvish Productions, The Fairmont Royal York and the Chelsea Hotel.

In-market from January to March in Ontario and Quebec, Longer Nights, Brighter Lights showcases the unique experiences and attractions the city offers during the winter months. Because in Toronto when the nights get longer: We Don’t Hibernate—We Come Alive. 

We Don’t Hibernate, flips the script on the traditional stay-at-home-in-winter stereotype to demonstrate the seasonal vibrancy of the city.


Kathy Motton: What is the goal of Longer Nights, Brighter Lights and how does it address the winter need period?

Jeremy Maunder: We want to increase visitation to the city in winter. We know winter is traditionally a slower period for the city, and in particular the tourism community.

Torontonians know that winter offers many entertainment options, culinary delights, cocktail bars, theatre productions, unique attractions, professional sports, and more.

The Longer Nights, Brighter Lights campaign allows us to share that story with visitors. The new messaging for this year, We Don’t Hibernate, flips the script on the traditional stay-at-home-in-winter stereotype to demonstrate the seasonal vibrancy of the city.

Another new approach is a campaign structure that allows the tourism community to buy-in to the program through a cooperative marketing model. 


KM: How is this year’s campaign different from previous years?

JM: The Longer Nights, Brighter Lights winter brand positioning has been in place for a number of years. It’s a creative space Toronto can–and does–authentically own.

This year we’re interpreting ‘Longer Nights’ with We Don’t Hibernate messaging, however another new approach is a campaign structure that allows the tourism community to buy-in to the program through a cooperative marketing model.

By partnering with businesses and leveraging our collective marketing strength, we can create a larger presence in our regional markets. Cooperative marketing is a newer approach for us, so the team is very excited about launching this program with some great partners!


KM: For those who’ve never participated in a cooperative marketing campaign, what are the advantages and how does it work?

JM: Our collective efforts mean participating partners will see their marketing dollars go further. A larger marketing presence will drive stronger results.

While there are many models used in cooperative marketing, we like to keep it simple and efficient, matching partner investments dollar for dollar. For this campaign, our partners had the opportunity to buy-in at three levels: $7500, $15K or $50K.

So as an example, if a business invests $7500, they will receive $15K in paid media driving to their website or preferred call-to-action.

Partners who participated got to choose their target audience and a higher buy-in gave them deeper engagement strategies. We’ll augment all of this with a Longer Nights, Brighter Lights brand campaign encompassing video, social media and content creator partnerships, to further drive a sense of urgency to travel.

If you're interested in learning more about cooperative marketing for future opportunities, please reach out to Jeremy Maunder.