WHITBY – Durham is Home campaign earns $30,000 in sales and MarCom Award

Twenty-two icons of Durham Region emblazoned on everything from keychains and water bottles to t-shirts and hats make up the core of the award-winning Durham is Home collection, a marketing promotion from Durham Tourism aimed at tapping into the “extraordinary pride of place” that exists in the region’s local communities.

In early 2020, The Regional Municipality of Durham’s Durham Tourism team saw an opportunity to develop the project, with the goal of advancing economic development and tourism objectives while at the same time enabling residents to share their love for their communities. The project formed part of a recovery and build-back-better plan during the pandemic that fostered interest in Durham’s communities through a new form of promotion.

It also earned a Gold at the MarCom Awards (an American-based global marketing organization that rewards innovation in marketing), one of more than a dozen marketing awards the Region won last year.

To develop the Durham is Home Collection, a diverse group of representatives from Durham’s communities and tourism industries were invited to a series of brainstorming sessions. Over the course of these sessions, 139 concepts were proposed and the most popular 22 icons were selected for the launch of the collection, and accessory and apparel items were selected to offer a range in types and prices.

To ensure sustainability, many of the products in the collection are made in Canada, and for most products, the designs are being printed onto the items by a local business in Durham Region. The graphic design of the icons was completed entirely in-house by staff.

To launch the collection, a grassroots groundswell of support on social media was built. Staff sent apparel items and a hand signed, branded thank-you card to 97 of Durham’s community champions leading up to launch day as a ‘thank you’ for their continuing optimism and community spirit. This was followed by a digital campaign through blog posts, emails, social media posts and paid advertising.

The widespread adoption of this collection also supported awareness of the Durham Tourism brand, as each item bears the Durham Tourism logo.

Proceeds from the sales were invested in the recovery and restoration of the local tourism industry and promoting the businesses, destinations, and events of Durham Region.

Sales to date are nearly $30,000.

For more information of the Durham is Home collection, go to https://shopdurhamtourism.ca/collections/accessories.

Other Durham Region MarCom Award Gold winners include the Invest Durham History of Innovation Ad Series (many of which were featured in the pages of indurham), the Durham Tourism rebrand and the Durham is Home campaign. The Invest Durham Brand Guidelines earned a Platinum Award.