360tourisme develops innovative and informative tools for its clients’ audience, such as for instance:
- Client : Destination Canada in France
- Objective: Make Canada stand out from the competition (USA) among French travel professionals with an innovative approach
- Target travel period: Summer 2022 / Campaign period: February-April 2022
- Challenge: In a context of advertising overload and increased competition in tourism, it was crucial to make Canada stand out by showcasing iconic Canadian experiences to travel professionals. The idea was to capture their attention outside of traditional channels, opting for informal moments like coffee breaks or commutes. We wanted to speak to them about the iconic experiences that embody the essence of Canada through an entertaining and informative format, different from typical professional training.
Our approach: A podcast showcasing Canada's icons
360tourisme launched “Tire-toi une bûche !”, a podcast series consisting of episodes around 20 minutes each to immerse listeners in iconic Canadian experiences.
The title comes from a Quebecois idiom meaning “Grab a chair and join us, let’s chat!“.
The podcast was produced in partnership with Studio Aller Retour and sound designer Bertrand Chaumeton.
Podcast Structure:
- Focus on iconic experiences: Each podcast episode takes listeners on a unique adventure. Crossing Canada by train, the cultural melting pot or Canadian cuisine, Whale watching or bear sightings, wide open spaces, the Northern Lights, summer in the forest by the lake, winter multi-activities, or the vibrant fall colors… The third and final season showcased the charm and unique identity of each Canadian city with direct air access from France —Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Quebec City.
- Highlighting local players: Co-hosted by Frenchwoman Cyrielle Bon (General Manager for Destination Canada in France) and Canadian Maryse Normandeau (Trade Partnerships Manager), the podcast showcases local experts (nature guides, oenologists, marine biologists…) and personalities like the Canadian Minister of Tourism—who is also Francophone—for the episode on multiculturalism. Each episode also features guest host Sébastien Desnoyers-Picard, a representative of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, who offers cultural insights through the lens of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives.
- Interactive radio show: Stories are woven together by a narrative structure to create a real radio show. Anecdotes about the Canadian icon of the day, fun quizzes, sounds associated with the topic, a grand tour (for example, of Canada’s most iconic parks for the wide open spaces episode), expert interviews, a typical day incorporating the featured icon, and each episode ends with an interview with the Indigenous Tourism representative.
- Distribution and engagement strategy: The podcast was distributed on all listening platforms (Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Deezer, Spotify, and YouTube). Each new episode was announced in professional press releases, as this project was a training tool for tourism professionals. The episode was then promoted via Destination Canada’s networks (trade & media newsletters, as well as the organization’s Facebook page) and its partners: 1,013 professionals, including journalists and influencers, airlines serving Canada, tour operators specializing in Canada, traditional and online travel agency networks, Canada Specialists travel agents who completed our e-learning program, Canadian destination management companies, the Canadian Francophone network RDEE, the Canadian Embassy in France, and Canada-related brands like Lululemon and Four Seasons.
Results: Enthusiasm for Canada's treasures from coast to coast
- +13,000 organic listens within a community of around 10,000 travel agents in France—an impressive result for the first season (9,648 via Acast statistics + 2,787 from Podcastics + 860 via YouTube).
- Spontaneous engagement: The podcast was reshared without prompting by several partners, including Salaün Holidays (30K unique visitors per month + 4K newsletter subscribers), Air Canada (6,300 contacts), and Le Figaro Voyage (50K copies), offering unexpected visibility to a project designed for professionals.
- International buzz: When the “Tire-toi une bûche” podcast launched in early 2022, it was one of the first tourism podcast by an official organization. The buzz generated by this launch prompted other destinations to create their own podcasts. Even Destination Canada’s international teams requested the full transcription of each episode to reuse the content for their respective markets (which was done thanks to API speech-to-text, then translated into English using AI, verified and corrected by our team)!
- Differentiated brand image: This project highlighted activities and seasons that French travelers cannot experience elsewhere, prompting tour operators to create distinct packaged itineraries (for example, exploring Western Canada in winter).
- Increase in summer bookings: French visitor arrivals to Canada between June and September 2022 increased by +526% (data incomparable due to COVID and closed borders in 2021). Source: StatCan
- Amplification: The podcast’s professional success inspired us to amplify it with a paid campaign targeting traveler-consumers. This campaign launched in December 2023 on partner platforms within the Acast audio network and via a push on social media. It garnered over 80,000 additional listens and over 8,000 new followers, with a particular buzz around the train episode!
Thanks to an original and immersive approach, the podcast “Tire-toi une bûche!” successfully captivated French tourism professionals, immersing them in iconic Canadian experiences. This innovative, engaging, and sustainable format not only made Canada stand out in a competitive market but also amplified the visibility of the country’s natural and cultural treasures.
With strong partner engagement and a successful amplification, this initiative helped strengthen Canada’s position in the French market. The project’s success creates an opportunity for new collaborations and demonstrates the effectiveness of innovative formats in promoting a destination.
