Differentiating Deliberately to Leverage Mindshare

Two Communities Working as One

Although often confused as one in the same, Langley is comprised of two distinct entities: a Township (pop. 100,000) and a City (pop 25,000). Located in southwestern British Columbia, it is just a short drive from Vancouver. Many know Langley for its historic Fort, built in 1827—a key link in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trading system.

As a result of the fertile lands and close proximity with water, Langley became home to many farms. Today, the area is a pastiche of varied settings, experiences, and lifestyles. Langley is notable for its diversity, vast green spaces, wine and food, agritourism, and heritage.

With the help of Tourism B.C.’s Community Tourism Foundations program, The City and Township initiated a joint tourism planning initiative in 2006. Representatives from the communities, municipalities, accommodations, attractions, and local businesses all worked together to form a cohesive plan for this. Then they called upon smashLAB to help their destination market itself online.

The Mixed-Blessing of a Famous Sibling

Langley’s obstacles were largely awareness related. Most Vancouver residents were unaware of the attractions to be found in Langley; it also seemed that some locals didn’t even know what awaited them in their own backyards. The close proximity to a metropolitan center presented another challenge: while many visitors are drawn to Vancouver, it’s surprisingly difficult to pull these travellers away from the city.

We also believed they were being stymied by a desire to be all things to all people—not an uncommon affliction. It seemed that in order to gain the visibility they desired, we’d need them to break away from the vague messages that most destinations employ. With an organization accountable to so many stakeholders, this promised to be a tall feat in itself.

Focusing on What The Others Don’t Have

Differentiation is nothing new in marketing, in fact, it’s a rather obvious tactic. In a crowded marketplace, or in contrast to a stronger competitor, it just makes sense to change the game and occupy a defensible position. We asked Tourism Langley to break from common destination marketing promises and instead focus on what it has that’s different from its more famous neighbor.

In order to do this, any references to big-city amenities would be downplayed, with smaller, distinctive, and local, experiences and merchants taking the spotlight. Given the area’s broad offering (and the short attention span of most web users), we focused on a few key experiences: wine and food, heritage and culture, and family oriented agritourism. All of this was contained under the overall concept of “Market Variety,” in which we proposed to present the area as a delightful respite from the hectic city.

To achieve the right tone, we planned to utilize country market-style treatments such as hand-painted type and a rural, aesthetic reminiscent of ‘50s ‘Americana.’ We wished to focus the messaging around friendly propositions of quality and variety, using diverse photographs to document the experience. All of this was supported by textures and details that evoke a sense of old-world craft and refinement.

Good Value Propositions Must Be Accurate

Our strategy for the web property (and subsequent marketing) was straightforward. Instead of regurgitating another stale, “me too” promise, we would convey one simple idea: a short trip to Langley allows you to escape the city and find a scenic rural destination filled with flavors and experiences. The approach works because it’s accurate and memorable, allowing the area to occupy a distinct position in the audience’s mind.

The completed web property is updated regularly by Tourism Langley staff, using smashLAB’s content management system (shiftCMS). This allows them to augment content, add upcoming events to an online calendar, and maintain operator listings. The site also integrates a Flickr photo feed, encouraging contributions from Langley’s own community, and a WordPress powered blog.

Tourism Langley continuously receives praise from locals and travelers alike on its lively website, and local businesses have benefited from the extra push they receive from the website. Additionally, Tourism Langley continues experienced increased traffic, while climbing to higher rankings in ever-competitive Google search engine results.