Weather forecasts are notoriously inaccurate, but this one is really pushing the envelope.

I'm off to Newfoundland next week so I thought I'd check in at The Weather Network to get an updated forecast.  Apparently it will be around 4 degrees celcius this evening, dipping to a low of -48C tonite before warming up to a balmy -45C Sunday afternoon.

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Banff, Alberta, Canada has found a unique way to bring their destination and their destination brand to life: enlist the locals to tell their own stories of Banff.

A series of more than 30 videos have been created and distributed on social media sites including YouTube, Crackle and others. 

Using video to promote tourism isn't new, but what's innovative here is that most of the videos don't focus on travel experiences -- they simply give an insight into how the locals live and cover a wide range of topics tailor made to reach a wide range of folks before they even begin their travel planning.  Interested in tricked out bicycles or how to tie a fly for near-sighted fishermen?  If so, you might find yourself learning a bit about Banff while pursuing those interests.

Click here for the videos or click on the graphic below.




The initiative has started to garner attention for Banff in both traditional and non-travel social media spaces, including Serge the Concierge, rugbyfanz.com, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, and curlingrink.ca.

Full disclosure: this was a pilot project for my new venture with Radar DDB and Carousel Content Corp.

        

Knut, the German polar bear cub who took the world by storm has turned one year old!

To celebrate, the Berlin Zoo and the Canadian Tourism Commission are holding a contest to win a trip to Churchill, Manitoba to see polar bears in their natural habitat. 

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Jamaica will be the setting for the newest Beacon Street Girls book, owing to a unique partnership between the Jamaica Tourist Board and series publisher B*tween Productions.

Previous Beacon Street adventures have been set in Telluride, Boston, Montana, New Hampshire and New York.

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When you launch a new logo, it's almost inevitable that someone will step forward to point out similarities to an already existing logo.  Often, these "look-alike" logo's belong to an obscure business halfway around the globe or operate in entirely unrelated fields.  When we relied on complex images such as coats of arms or tartans to differentiate our brands, there was lots of room for tweaking a lion's claw here, adding a wheat sheaf there or stitching in an extra band of pink cotton and wammo - you could claim to have created a totally "new" graphic to symbolise your ...<< MORE >>

When Kentucky launched their "Unbridled Spirit" brand, I was impressed with both their positioning and their logo:

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In a direct competitive threat to North Pole tourism, Turkish tourism officials have announced plans to re-frame the world's image of Saint Nicholas.  Apparently the real Saint Nicholas lived in 4th century Turkey, where he would have had little use for a warm woolen jacket and would probably have had a tough time finding reindeer to pull his sleigh.  References to the real Saint Nicholas will be used in an upcoming tourism campaign.

Hmmm...

Saint Nicholas = Turkey
Turkey = Christmas
Christmas = Santa Claus
But Santa Claus does not equal Saint Nicholas.

Now you know.
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If you haven't seen the "Slog" campaign from Horizon Air, take a few minutes and click through the interactive map here.



Launched to promote its Seattle-Portland shuttle, the Slog offers<< MORE >>

Over the past few years, Kansas has accomplished what most places can only dream of: create a common state-wide brand used by tourism, local government, other state agencies and private businesses alike.  The brand is used in economic development initiatives, tourism campaigns, and to build pride among residents.

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Apparently Tourism Australia has ditched their (in)famous "Where the bloody hell are you" campaign in Japan, in the face of a 12% decline in Japanese visitation (the story broke in September, but I'm a slow reader).

The new campaign focuses on Australia's world heritage sites and natural beauty and the new tagline can be roughly translated as "Immerse yourself in Australia's World Heritage." 

In other news, Aussie bikini model Lara Bingle is reported to be "covering up these days in a bid to shake the past."
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