I don’t live in Surrey. I’m from the North Shore. So what I have to say about the “Surrey, not sorry” tourism campaign, now paused after community push back, may not land well with residents there.
I liked it.
The “Surrey, not sorry” campaign unapologetically challenged old assumptions about the city, illustrating Surrey’s beautiful ocean front south shore, its densely forested parks, vibrant city center, and ethnically diverse cultural food scene.
Saying sorry, gave the campaign a distinctly Canadian flavour to international audiences. That cheeky non apology, was a great way to own the present, and appeal to a younger 20-45yr old, pop culture aware TikTok generation of international visitors coming for the FIFA World Cup. Understanding a campaigns target audience is key, when conceiving creative, and executing a media buy.
Standing out
Surrey, forecasted to be the largest city in BC by 2029, was looking to take advantage of global attention that the World Cup offers. Like other cities in the Vancouver region, as a tier two destination, Surrey was trying to cut through the clutter for attention.
In tourism advertising, being vanilla blends in. Doing something cheeky stands out.
And that is what caught the eye of community locals when the campaign launched on April 16. A number of residents, including the mayor, became fixated on the tagline – taking issue with drawing attention to the less than stellar reputation Surrey has had in the past. Although Destination Surrey is a completely different organization that the City of Surrey, the DMO respectfully paused the campaign as of April 17, to address concerns. They are now focused on how to move forward with grace and relaunch the campaign to shine a positive light on Surrey.
During the World Cup this summer, three Surrey Soccer Fan Zones (Surrey Civic Plaza, Cloverdale Agriplex, and Softball City at South Surrey Athletic Park) will broadcast all 104 matches on big screens – for free. Discover Surrey is positioning the city as a smart basecamp for World Cup visitors looking to experience Metro Vancouver, with a more accessible and affordable alternative to staying downtown.
I work within the travel industry as a marketing consultant, and also as a travel writer for outside media, and at carryonqueen.com – sometimes coordinating with DMO’s. And I have been a lead judge the last three years for US Travel’s ESTO Awards, celebrating creative excellence in tourism marketing for destination and state awards. So I’ve seen my fair share of Tourism campaigns. I can tell you, the winners stood out because of a well targeted audience, creative message excellence that took chances or was a little cheeky, and they had a clever approach to their media buy and message distribution.
The attributes above are the reasons I liked the “Surrey, not sorry” campaign. But the targeting appears to have struggled a bit initially because it was seen first by locals. Ange Chew from Discover Surrey has said the campaign, now paused, was set to engage international media, beyond digital and social media execution. Her DMO in house team, coordinating with an agency for distribution execution will now work towards launching phase two of the campaign.
Let’s hope Surrey doesn’t lose its edge. Sorry, not sorry.
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What others said about the campaign
Surrey, not sorry tourism slogan quickly axed due to complaints, Surrey Now Leader
Incredibly clever or a bit of a dud? Surrey, not sorry tourism campaign scrapped after outcry, Vancouver Sun
Although the campaign site has been taken down, you can view the original video here:
