N.L. tourism campaign wins national advertising award

The Newfoundland and Labrador government's tourism marketing campaign, Find Yourself, has won a top national advertising award.

The award — a Grand Prix CASSIES (Canadian Advertising Success Stories) — was presented Monday night by the Institute of Communications Agency. The 2012 CASSIES award show was held in Toronto.

The tourism campaign also took home one gold CASSIES in the sustained success category.

"In the world of Canadian advertising, it does not get any bigger than this," Tourism Minister Derrick Dalley said in a release.

"Many awards programs recognize the creative design, production, and content of the advertising campaign. The CASSIES take it a step further and focus on the tangible results of the advertising campaign."

The Find Yourself campaign and other provincial marketing efforts are developed in partnership with Target, a St. John's-based marketing and advertising firm. The government says so far the campaign has won 137 awards.

Since 2003, the provincial government has more than doubled its tourism marketing budget, to $13 million from $6 million.

According to the tourism department, the number of non-resident visitors to the province increased 7.3 per cent in 2010 compared to the previous year — up to 518,500 people.