To get some added interest in its latest campaign – and help correct a lack of Indigenous visibility in Canadian media – Explore Edmonton and Indigenous Tourism Alberta turned to the Globe Content Studio for a first in Canada’s publishing industry.
“A Song Comes to Life” is a campaign featuring Cree musician, composer and sound designer Matthew Cardinal who wrote a new song called “three visits,” inspired by his visits to Indigenous tourism destinations in and around Edmonton.
Globe Content Studio supported the campaign with a digital article about Cardinal’s experiences visiting the locations. But in print, the story was also published in Cree syllabics, the first time the Indigenous language has been used for a story in The Globe and Mail, translated by Language Keeper Les Skinner. In addition to Explore Edmonton and Indigenous Tourism Alberta, the story was made possible in part by support from the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada.
Jessica Robinson, content lead at the Globe Content Studio, says when creating the campaign, it was really important to leverage local indigenous talents such as Bruce Many Fingers/Singer who produced the custom illustrations for the program.
“We wanted the page design, the immersive layouts that we were putting together, to give you that feeling as though you were walking alongside Matthew with these experiences that you were being brought through and introduced to the different characters,” Robinson says. The digital version of the campaign runs until April 21.
Explore Edmonton and Indigenous Tourism Alberta works with Initiative as its media agency. Chris Gairdner, head of content, says working with Globe Content Studio helped generate national awareness and interest in some of these Indigenous tourism experiences through a compelling, storytelling-focused content partnership.
“We saw a big opportunity to try to generate some interest in these experiences by also helping build relevance for Indigenous culture at large,” Gairdner said. “Indigenous culture has been so often under the threat of erasure and assimilation. You don’t often hear Indigenous music or see Indigenous language in our national media. We felt we could work with The Globe and Mail to create a program that that would attract a lot of attention and earn some relevance – and punch above our weight on a relatively small budget.”
The Globe article shines a spotlight on three locations: Whiskeyjack Art House, where Cardinal explored the Mistatim exhibit and savoured dishes from the in-gallery restaurant Pei Pei Chei Ow; Métis Crossing, a cultural interpretive centre and hotel, where he participated in workshops and reflected on community, land and animals; and River Cree Resort and Casino with Enoch Cree Nation, where Cardinal took part in a Traditional Foods and Teachings experience.
