Tourism Calgary

Destination Marketing in Full Colour

Painting a picture of the adventure awaiting visitors in Calgary.

The Opportunity

a new story for calgary

In the spring of 2025, amid U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty, Canadians began looking closer to home for travel. As Calgary’s official destination marketing organization, Tourism Calgary saw an opportunity to position the city as a compelling choice in a competitive domestic market.

The challenge went beyond awareness. Research showed Torontonians held outdated perceptions of Calgary as an oil-and-gas commuter city, with little understanding of its evolution into a multicultural, metropolitan destination. Assets like 333 days of sunshine, a vibrant culinary and arts scene, unique events, and proximity to UNESCO World Heritage sites were largely unknown. The campaign aimed to shift perceptions, repositioning Calgary as Canada’s Blue Sky City—where urban sophistication, natural beauty, and warm local culture converge.

The Insight

What if tourism was more tangible? By sparking curiosity before showing stunning scenery, we invited people to engage first—then discover Calgary in unexpected ways.

The concept

explore calgary’s palette

Inspired by the tactile experience of selecting paint swatches, we transformed the sterile walls of Toronto's Dundas subway station into a vibrant gallery featuring colours named after unique Calgary experiences, such as “Fresh Powder Blue,” “Craft Brewery-Hopping Blonde,” and “World’s Largest Dinosaur Green.”

The Concept - Made Tangible

We coupled this takeover with a full-scale paint swatch stand activation in the station, encouraging transit goers to select the colours for their ideal trip to Calgary. The stand contained 60 unique paint swatches, each with an experience or activity in Calgary and area. Each swatch featured descriptions on the reverse, driving curious Torontonians to CalgaryColour.com where they could explore a variety of colours representing the full spectrum of Calgary experiences and enter for their chance to win a trip to Calgary.

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The Concept — Built to Scale

The campaign also ran across multiple paid media touchpoints, including:

Out-of-home billboards in Dundas Square
Complete station takeover at Dundas Subway Station
Geofenced digital advertising targeting Torontonians

The result was an innovative campaign across physical and digital touchpoints that encouraged exploration and engagement. It also created a creative platform that had endless possibilities and versions – something Tourism Calgary’s partners were eager to adopt themselves. This systematic approach transformed what could’ve been a one-time campaign tactic into a sustainable marketing framework.

The Approach

connecting through colour

The “Add More Colour to Your Life” campaign cleverly blended physical and digital experiences to create an immersive engagement strategy. The key elements included:

Tactile Engagement: The use of colour swatches not only sparked curiosity but allowed participants to take home a tangible reminder of Calgary's experiences, extending the life of the campaign beyond initial exposure.
Digital Integration: QR codes on the colour swatches led to CalgaryColour.com, offering a personalized, exploratory journey through Calgary’s experiences, blending digital engagement with real-world interaction.
Station Takeover: The complete transformation of Dundas Station into a colourful Calgary experience was a bold move that created an environment where marketing felt like discovery rather than interruption.