2022 ‘Cycle Simcoe’ Digital Marketing Campaign

In 2022, Tourism Simcoe County developed a digital advertising campaign, targeting cycling tourists through the Cycle Simcoe program, with the goal of stimulating the local economy as struggling operators recovered from the pandemic. The campaign consisted of a three target groups;

• Multi-day cycling tourist riding the Simcoe County Loop Trail
• Cycling events that encouraged overnight accommodation
• General cycling tourists looking for a ‘staycation’

The campaign ran for four months during the summer of 2022 and was an overwhelming success. Through the annual cycling tourism economic impact study, Tourism Simcoe County estimated $1.3 million in visitor spending, as a direct result of cycling tourism and the four-month digital campaign. This is not only an increase over 2021 but doubles the pre-pandemic results.

The organic portion of the digital campaign was also incredibly successful with 400 cyclists tagging @cyclesimcoe in a social media post while riding the Simcoe County Loop Trail, earning them a free ‘I rode the Simcoe County Loop Trail’ t-shirt!

The following outlines the campaign in specific detail, including highlights from the annual economic impact report.

a)   Marketing Objectives

1. Run a digital advertising campaign to increase overnight cycling visits in Simcoe County during 2022 season, using both pre-pandemic and pandemic visitor counts as a baseline
2. Increase Simcoe County Loop Trail trips in 2022 through a social media t-shirt contest
3. Partner with local cycling events and increase out of County spectators to their annual event through our digital advertising campaign
4. Produce a positive economic impact to the region through cycling tourism, growing our yearly cycling visitor spending by 10% over pre-pandemic result

b) Target Audience

1. Regions – GTA, SW Ontario, Ottawa
2. Cyclists – mountain bike, road, and gravel

c) Budget

Total Budget = $28,714.51

d) Marketing Mediums

• Google Search and Display
• Facebook/Instagram – paid
• Facebook/Instagram – organic

e) Timelines

The campaign ran consistently between June 3^rd and October 28^th, 2022.

f) Campaign Results

1. Cycle Simcoe Digital Campaign

Results include:

• 114,830 ad clicks
• 16,694 conversions (map download, map mail-requests or click-out to partner site)
• 400 ‘I rode the Simcoe County Loop Trail’ shirts distributed

See research report below for economic impact data.

2. Simcoe County Loop Trail – Instagram T-Shirt Contest

The result was over 400 t-shirts mailed to cyclists who completed the Loop and tagged @cyclesimcoe on social media. Simcoe County operators also identified the Simcoe County Loop Trail as the #1 reason cyclists visited the County.

3. Hardwood Ski and Bike – National Mountain Bike Championships

The event received 177 out-of-province participants, over 2,000 spectators and 700 total participants, with an estimated economic impact of for Simcoe County.

Videos can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6zJems2fOJMq-EhwoSggJvSdQojdpbUa.

2022 Results include:   

• $1.3 million spent by cycling tourists in Simcoe County, a significant increase over previous years ($848,292 in 2021 and $484,428 in 2018) 
• 4,297 rooms booked by cyclists (2,676 in 2021)
• 29% of cyclists were considered regional cyclists (40-100 kms away)
• 34% of cyclists were considered long haul (100 + kms away)
• 120,132 cycling trips were recorded through Strava Data (cycling App) in Simcoe County

More digital campaign detail provided in attached PDF.