Germany Trade Mission Promotional Materials
In November 2024, representatives from the City of Barrie and the local business community undertook a significant trade mission to Germany, visiting the renowned Black Forest region in Baden-Württemberg and the City’s sister city, Zweibrücken, in Rhineland-Palatinate. The mission demonstrated Barrie’s commitment to building international economic partnerships, expanding market opportunities, and deepening cultural ties.
With a focus on high-growth industries such as automotive and advanced manufacturing, the mission inspired innovation, fostered collaboration and attracted investment, solidifying Barrie’s appeal as a leading destination for global investors.
A series of promotional materials aimed at global investors were created to support the trip and provide participants with hard copy leave-behind promotional packages or digital follow-up packages. The materials included:
- A two-page Why Canada/Meet Barrie fact sheet that provided relevant Canadian statistics around FDI investments, GDP, business costs, the public health system and diversity. The publication also highlighted statistics, location, skilled talent, competitive costs, and key sectors.
- A four-page Meet Barrie overview that provided growth statistics, key sectors, location, infrastructure and transportation, along with education and labour information, and lifestyle highlights specific to Barrie.
- A two-page Advanced Manufacturing Sector fact sheet that summarized Barrie’s advanced manufacturing sector including sales, exports, jobs and wages. It also listed transportation, education and key manufacturing subsectors.
- A one-page Automotive Manufacturing summary sheet that visually summarized the businesses in Barrie’s automotive supply-chain, including parts and service manufacturing.
In March 2025, Invest Barrie returned to Germany to partner with the County of Simcoe on a booth at Hannover Messe—the world’s largest industrial trade fair and conference. The City’s promotional materials were once again used at this event.
With exhibitors from 150 countries and over 130,000 visitors annually, it was essential to have promotional materials to support the five-day trade show. Together, the four publications created an attractive and informational leave behind package for delegation meeting participants and for display at the Hanover Messe booth.
The promotional materials developed for the trade mission served a vital communication role, offering key insights into Barrie’s economic landscape and advanced manufacturing strengths—particularly within the automotive sector.
At the 2024 trade mission, approximately 150 promotional packages were distributed, either in print or digitally. The materials were also picked up by attendees exploring the show floor at Hannover Messe in March 2025.
Developing the promotional materials was relatively straightforward, with the only significant challenge being how to condense a substantial amount of information into a limited space.
The promotional materials offered additional details and directed recipients to online resources for further information. They served as a post-mission reminder, encouraging continued exploration of what Barrie has to offer. Having all materials available in digital format makes them sustainable and several of these materials also have ongoing value beyond the trade mission, functioning as everyday tools to promote Barrie’s strengths to a broader audience.
