Destination Canada is using Spotify’s music recommendation capabilities to target ads and attract European tourists to Canada.

The campaign allows listeners in the U.K., France and Germany to learn more about Canada on Spotify through two digital experiences.

“Turn It Up” is a series of playlists tailored to a different Canadian city, with music journalist Karen Bliss popping in between songs to explore what the music scene looked like throughout history in each city.

“Take A Breath” is more focused on the podcast side of Spotify’s business, pairing users with Canadian landscapes and wilderness and featuring Canadian health and wellness influencers providing guided meditation sessions, including, Stevin Tuchiwsky (Calgary), Jeanne Rodneau-Ducharme (Quebec), Hayley Gendron (Vancouver) and Zehra Allibhai (Toronto).

Both experiences are targeting users on Spotify’s ad-supported tier, matching them to a different city or landscape based on their tastes in content. Users will be directed to the playlists with ads in the Spotify app and across the company’s audience network.

“Leaning into connecting our target audience with a timely message about taking the time to breathe and experience Canada’s outdoors through guided audio meditative walks, and contrasting that with turning it up in our cities through Spotify playlists, we feel is a great way to showcase Canada in a unique way and inspire the Spotify audience to dig deeper and book a 2023 trip to Canada,” says Gloria Loree, SVP marketing strategy and CMO, Destination Canada.

Rak Patel, head of enterprise sales, EMEA at Spotify, says the campaign sets a strong example for the innovative ways brands can tap into digital audio. “With a focus on personalization, education and engagement, this campaign demonstrates how audio can engage and transport listeners to another destination.”

 The project project was developed by Initiative London and Initiative Canada’s global planning team.