Invest Durham at Hannover Messe: A Collaborative Global Investment Attraction Initiative

Canada served as the official partner country for Hannover Messe 2025—the world’s largest industrial trade show, attracting 130,000 attendees and featuring 4,000 exhibitors annually. An unprecedented opportunity, Invest Durham led a landmark partnership to showcase Durham Region’s economic potential on the global stage. The collaborative effort brought together the Region of Durham, all 8 area municipalities, three post-secondary institutions, the region’s innovation hub, and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) under the Invest Durham brand, exhibiting in the Canadian Pavilion alongside provincial and federal partners.

With a shared vision, partners promoted Durham Region’s investment readiness, innovation ecosystem, and global problem-solving capabilities, with goals of generating qualified investment leads and increasing international awareness of the region.

The campaign’s anchor was a visually compelling exhibition booth that reflected Durham’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, R&D, and post-secondary-industry partnerships. Durham’s presence was enhanced by a robust global campaign, reinforcing the booth experience and driving multi-channel engagement.

This collaborative effort exceeded all targets:

• Ministerial engagement at the booth: Target 5 | Actual 8 (160% of target)
• Digital marketing impressions: Target 350,000 | Actual 2,843,566 (824% of target)
• Deeper web content engagement (landing page, whitepaper): Target 4,000 | Actual 10,296 (257% of target)
• Major media mentions: Target 5 | Actual 17 (340% of target)
• Leads generated: Target 50 | Actual 54 (108% of target)
• Site tours or follow-up meetings: Target 5 | Actual 6 (120% of target)
• Partner Group Overall Satisfaction: Target 90% | Actual 100%

Media exposure included prominent international and national outlets such as CBC The National, CGTN Europe, SatRegional German News, Manufacturing Automation Magazine, and The Cool Down. These stories helped amplify Durham’s value proposition to a global audience.

This project presented several challenges. Coordinating across the partners required exceptional communication and consensus-building. The German location added complexity in planning, shipping, and cultural alignment.

Midway through planning, geopolitical tensions emerged: proposed U.S. tariffs affecting Canadian automotive threatened to overshadow the campaign’s centerpiece—Project Arrow, Canada’s first all-electric concept vehicle. Durham and its partners adapted, shifting the narrative from vehicle manufacturing to research, innovation, and post-secondary collaboration, drawing attention to the project’s deeper symbolic value. This pivot reflects the strength of the collaboration—each partner brought expertise to reposition messaging effectively.

The campaign targeted global business decision-makers, post-secondary institutions, elected officials, and investment attraction professionals. To reach these audiences a comprehensive digital and in-person strategy was implemented:

• Custom promotional video
• Geotargeted advertising/programmatic display ads
• Landing page with whitepaper download
• Paid search and social media (organic + paid)
• PR, media relations, and event press coverage
• E-newsletter deployment
• Event hall banner and physical materials
• On-site partner announcements and lead capture

The project was designed with sustainability in mind. Giveaways were compact, reusable, and travel-friendly; printed materials produced on recycled paper; partners used low-emission transportation while in Germany, including e-scooters.

This collaboration successfully brought together municipal, academic, regional, and national partners under a shared vision—positioning Durham Region on the world stage as an innovation-driven, investment-ready destination. With measurable outcomes, international exposure, and enduring partnerships, this project reflects the transformative power of community collaboration.