William Shatner Is Selling Montreal Tourism in New Facebook Ad Campaign
Skift Take
Montreal's use of targeted advertising on Facebook, however, and the use of William Shatner is a smart example of how to go after key markets.
Montreal is one of the top places to visit in 2017 according to nearly a dozen consumer travel publications. Combine its year-long 375th birthday celebrations with a favorable exchange rate for U.S. travelers -- Montreal's largest international market -- and conditions are ripe for travelers to start streaming in.
But if Americans still aren't inspired to make a trip north of the border, Tourisme Montreal, the city's destination marketing organization, believes William Shatner is the man to convince them.
Starting this week, travelers in the New York City and Toronto metro areas will see Facebook video ads starring a tongue-in-cheek Shatner saying he's "sorry" for the fun he and others will have in Montreal this year as part of the birthday festivities. The ads, each about 15 seconds long, feature Shatner apologizing for the variety of restaurants, festivals and nightlife, for example, that Montreal offers travelers.
Some 60 percent of Americans that visit Montreal come by car from New York City, Boston, or Vermont and Shatner mentions in the ads that Montreal is "just next door."
Facebook's programmatic video ads allow brands to target consumers based on interests and these ads will app
