The 6ix has a new neighbour: The Seven

About the Client

Northeastern Ontario is a large, mostly rural area that stretches from the Quebec border to Manitoulin Island, from North Bay to James Bay. For outdoor adventurers, it’s about as good as it gets: backcountry camping, world-class fishing, incredible hiking vistas, and powersports trails that draw devoted regulars year after year. 

The Problem

Northeastern Ontario's core visitors were passionate and reliable. But, to keep accommodations booked across more of the calendar and give tourism operators a broader base of visitors, the region needed to connect with new markets. That meant a refreshed brand, a new story, and a strategy built around reaching people who had never considered making the trip north.

The Insight

The strongest untapped market was millennial and Gen-Z travellers based in Southern Ontario, and Toronto in particular. These are audiences who grew up online, feel the weight of city life, and are actively looking for reasons to get out. Toronto's famous Drake-coined nickname, "The 6ix," opened a door. What if the vast, adventure-packed region just a few hours north positioned itself as the next great place to explore? Northeastern Ontario became The Seven.

The Process

Market and audience behaviour research revealed a key finding: this audience has a deep connection to nostalgia. The visual identity we developed leaned into it, with family photos from the 1990s, vintage memorabilia, and cassette tapes woven throughout. Campaign messaging evoked campfires, time spent with loved ones, and  "city quitting," the very real and very relatable desire to trade urban chaos for slower days.

The campaign involved print, OOH, and digital ads, but social media was the focus for this campaign. We built a platform-first content strategy for Instagram, with an influencer program developed from scratch. Creator selection was deliberate: we looked for personalities whose authenticity and perspectives would resonate with the target demographic, ranging from well-established voices with promising newcomers to stretch the budget without sacrificing quality. 

Results

The rebrand earned media attention, with major outlets covering the campaign and the bold new identity, and billboard placements at Sankofa Square (former Yonge-Dundas) and across GTA highways bringing The Seven to audiences where they live. On social media, the campaign doubled its Instagram engagement targets, with an 88% increase in engagement year over year and 51% growth in followers. The influencer program delivered not just reach, but quality: authentic, shareable stories that continued to perform long after the initial push. The Seven gave Northeastern Ontario a brand built for the audience it needed to reach. At the 2024 TIAO Annual Summit, the campaign won the Ontario Tourism Award of Excellence for a Marketing Campaign over $50,000.