Discover Erin Reels Campaign: Telling Local Stories to Inspire Travel
The Discover Erin Reels Campaign was developed by the Town or Erin’s Economic Development department to increase awareness of the Town as a rural destination and to support local tourism as the community navigates through the challenges of construction related to wastewater servicing. The campaign aims to creatively showcase the Town of Erin’s natural beauty, businesses and local events through a series of authentic, short-form videos optimized for social media Reels. It targets urban and suburban travelers aged 25–55, focusing on four key visitor types: Adventure Seekers, Foodie Fanatics, Family Fun Seekers, and Art Lovers. Each video is tailored to specific interests and promoted through targeted ads to reach potential visitors. The goal is to increase awareness, strengthen digital presence, and position Erin as a vibrant place to visit, shop and explore.
With 40 videos featuring 35 local businesses, the campaign showcases the diverse faces and stories that make Erin unique. Each video is creatively tailored to highlight what makes the business special, while maintaining a consistent brand style. The campaign reflects a strong sense of community pride with enthusiastic participation from business owners and cross-promotion across their networks. This level of collaboration not only amplifies the campaign’s reach but also fosters a shared sense of ownership and local celebration.
The Discover Erin Reels Campaign maintains strong visual and thematic consistency, with each video starting with a business owner’s photo framed against a background colour drawn from our branded palette. Consistent style, music and pacing create a cohesive and recognizable aesthetic, while timely releases aligned with business events maximize impact. Sustainability was built into the campaign by equipping staff to repurpose content across platforms and encouraging cross-promotion, creating a self-reinforcing loop of engagement.
An initial challenge was limited video production capacity. In response, the Town secured professional videography support, funded in part by Central Counties Tourism, to ensure high-quality, consistent and authentic visuals. A structured, paid promotion strategy was also implemented to strengthen distribution.
This campaign exceeded expectations. Within the first year, the number of followers on Instagram grew from 286 to over 2,200 (an increase of over 700%). Engagement rates rose across all metrics and businesses reported increases in foot traffic, inquiries and sales after being featured. Over the past 90 days, content generated more than 156,000 views and reached over 57,800 unique accounts. Engagement exceeded 3,700 content interactions (up significantly from under 100 in the first quarter), with activity split evenly between organic and paid sources, highlighting strong resonance beyond advertising. Additionally, cities targeted in our 2023 campaign, have newly emerged in our top visitor data, a shift from 2023 when they were absent, indicating successful geographic reach.
Beyond its immediate success, the campaign has laid the foundation for long-term tourism growth. Participants gain reusable marketing assets, and the campaign continues to generate awareness and economic activity with every view, share, and visit it inspires. It’s a simple, yet powerful model for how a small town can punch above its weight in tourism marketing.
Sample reels:
- https://vimeo.com/1101532093
- https://vimeo.com/1101531785
- https://vimeo.com/1101531990
- https://vimeo.com/1101530110
