everyone was talking about it!

Transcription

Everyone was talking
about it!
Pierre-Luc Dufour
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341
EVERYONE WAS
TALKING ABOUT IT!
Thanks to the promotion and communication efforts of Société
du 400e (the Corporation), Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations enjoyed worldwide media coverage. We can be proud
of the results, which show our success in surmounting the many
communications challenges we faced:
The challenge of promoting a major historic celebration featuring hundreds of events throughout an entire year
The challenge of selling an event several years in advance
The challenge of publicly promoting activities still in the works
The challenge of reaching local, regional, and tourist clienteles
with diverse interests using a broad range of communications tools
The challenge of maintaining ties with journalists always on
the lookout for stories that sell
The challenge of informing the public about program details
at just the right time
And so many more!
Starting in 2000, all our communications were geared to getting
people looking forward to the festivities in 2008. While not all of
our initiatives were received as well as we would have liked, and
some adjustments had to be made along the way, today, with the
results in hand, we can safely say “Mission accomplished!”
The 400th anniversary celebrations achieved outstanding awareness among target clienteles.
The 400th anniversary celebrations boasted extremely high
attendance levels.
The 400th anniversary celebrations helped boost tourism in
Québec City in 2008.
In the following pages we examine these challenges and observations with regard to our communications activities. This chapter
looks at the communications tools that helped us promote the
celebrations here and abroad, and the various stages involved
in the communications strategies and actions required for an
event of this magnitude.
Communications priorities used to draw up the communications plan and objectives, and the means to achieve them
Use of various public relations strategies
Numerous media relations activities
COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
The Corporation was well aware of the communications challenges
it faced. It therefore set objectives, targeted its audiences, and
defined positioning and strategies. It was important to have
tools that would guide the rhythm of communications and help
assess and sequence operations. The communications activities
would have an important role to play in achieving the objectives
set out in 2004.
The Corporation wanted to assume a strong leadership role
with local and regional partners.
Tireless tourism promotion efforts
Advertising through campaigns and agreements with media
partners
Management of public information and the communications
methods used to convey it
Choices with regard to promotional bunting and banners
around the city to show how big an event this was
Choice of promotional materials
COMMUNICATIONS
PRIORITIES
To tackle its communications strategies, the Corporation called
on a team of professionals to draw up a draft communications
plan, define its brand image, and present an integrated strategic communications plan set out in annual stages. It drew on
this plan and its various partnerships to develop an action plan.
The Corporation stuck to its goals and its mission to “create
a festive 400th anniversary event that was national and international in scope, unifying and inspiring, and that contributed to
the development, identity, and reputation of Québec City and
Québec as a whole.” The results and spinoffs of the 400th anniversary celebrations are telling testament to its success in
this regard.
The 400th anniversary celebrations helped promote Québec
City across the country and around the world.
The 400th anniversary celebrations generated a sense of pride
among Québec City residents.
The Corporation wanted to promote the celebrations among
local, national, and international audiences in order to spur
participation and make Québec City a prime destination for
people from outside the region.
The Corporation wanted to enhance Québec City’s visibility
on the national and international scene.
The communications plan called for creating a brand image for
Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations that would revolve
around three main missions: inform, persuade, and engage.
The Corporation also wanted to reflect its values by creating an
atmosphere of openness, trust, transparency, and accessibility,
and was prepared to defend its ideas and positions in the public
arena. By keeping the public up-to-date on progress, it ulti
mately hoped to foster positive feelings toward the event and
a desire on the part of the public to take part. Communications
announcing the program of activities were rolled out gradually
to create momentum in the lead-up to 2008.
A full range of event communications tools was used to promote the festivities: public opinion polls, studies on potential
clienteles and attendance estimates, public and media relations, tourism promotion, media placement, the Internet, an
info hotline, promotional bunting and banners, and promotional
material and objects.
The targeting strategy was aimed first and foremost at inhabi
tants of the Greater Québec City Area, then at the rest of Québec,
the other Canadian provinces (especially French speakers), and
potential visitors from France, the U.K., Ireland, and New England,
as well as people with roots in Québec.
COMMUNICATIONS ROLLOUT
The Corporation laid the groundwork for its communications
plan by first defining its mission, concept, and priorities, which
it released to the public in a first position paper in early 2002.
It planned to focus its initial awareness efforts on schools and
the arts and literature community, before turning its attention
to potential partners.
In 2004 the Corporation hired the firm Côté Fleuve to define its
brand image and positioning, identify its communications clients
and partners, and determine the priority initiatives, sectors,
and objectives that would guide its communications choices
in its public and media relations, promotions and advertising,
e-communications, and in-house communications. That same
year it printed and released a document entitled Québec se
prepare, which is described in detail in the chapter bearing the
same name (Québec City Gets Ready). The 2003–2008 strategic
communications plan set out its communications role, challenges, and guidelines and suggested conveying one key idea
per year.
During this transition year, the Corporation sought to establish
its credibility by promoting its mission and positioning itself with
regional political authorities, potential allies, and opinion makers.
The year 2005 was pivotal for the Corporation, which demonstrated its leadership by promoting its programming and vision
of the celebrations while conveying its desire to work together
with interested partners.
In 2006, another crucial year, the Corporation unveiled the
program to the public, worked to secure partnership and sponsorship agreements (see following chapter), and undertook
construction on the Espace 400e venue. It began spreading
the word overseas and hired the advertising agency Cossette
Communication-Marketing to design, create, and produce communication tools, notably for the advertising and promotional
campaigns set out in the integrated strategic communications
plan released in October of the same year. The plan noted how
important it was that the public have a sense of ownership of
the festivities and that getting the community truly involved and
engaged would multiply the impact of communications efforts.
A countdown was begun in fall 2006 with the announcement of
400 days to Québec City’s 400th that would pick up even more
steam in 2007, and continue throughout 2008.
Société du 400e
Presentation of the Communications Plan by Jo-Anne Jean, Director of
Communications, in fall 2007
David Cannon
Luci Tremblay, Director of Communications, in 2008
Société du 400e
Where Will You Be in 2008? poster
What a Celebration! / Everyone Was Talking About It!
Communications Priorities
September 2007
“Québec City is preparing feverishly for its 400th anniversary celebrations. I invite locals themselves to become
ambassadors for the festivities.” – Philippe Couillard, government minister
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The year 2007 served as a springboard before the countdown
ended. In May Cossette released the 2007–2008 Action Plan.
The goal was to pique curiosity by unveiling more of the program
so people in and outside Québec would make plans to attend
the festivities. The communication theme Le cœur à la fête was
backed by a calendar of important announcements, and the
website platform was enhanced to include a blog, among other
new features. Special occasions were marked, including July 3,
2007, 100 days to Québec City’s 400th, and announcements were
made leading up to The Kickoff. Promotional contests were announced, video shorts featuring the event creators were broadcast,
numerous advertising operations were launched in the media,
and promotional material was distributed far and wide.
QUESTIONNAIRES
A number of polls and studies were conducted to better direct
our communications efforts during the event preparations.
In December 2004 a study was carried out on media coverage
of the 400th anniversary celebrations and how the news was
presented in over 500 articles over the course of the year. A press
review was conducted in the subsequent years.
In 2005 after a flyer was sent to households in the Québec City
area, a study showed that it was time to shift from the stage
of public awareness to public intent to participate. One year
later, event awareness among Québec City area residents had
jumped from 68% in November 2005 to 95% in September 2006,
and three out of every four people planned to attend the festivities.
Across the province, the rate rose from only 20% in 2005 to 38%
in 2006. The rates outside Québec were lower. A 2006 study conducted by Léger Marketing found that while Québec City was
a premier destination for summer vacationers, more had to be
done to expand the event’s national and international reach.
Two other surveys conducted in 2006 among 1,001 respondents
in the Greater Québec City Area and 700 from elsewhere around
the province revealed the following findings:
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
RELAYERS
PR played a very active role in promoting Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations, be it as part of the numerous public
consultations, the many speeches and presentations to information relayers, or the Corporation’s use of various media,
contests, and ambassadors to reach out to the public.
PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS
Between 2004 and 2008, hundreds of speeches and presentations were made to varied audiences keen to learn more about
how preparations were going and find out how they could become
involved. The Corporation was invited to forums, conventions, and
meetings held by government, economic, cultural, and tourism
stakeholders. It also met over 100 promoters and potential
partners as part of efforts to develop its associated programming. Among others, the Corporation met with the following:
The Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference
The Corporation began its PR efforts by consulting over 300 organizations and individuals in Québec City to gauge their reaction
to the event and their vision of it. Starting in 2001 the Corporation met with representatives from a broad spectrum of fields:
tourism, culture, education & leisure, signature events, sports,
business, media, the First Nations, and government. Further
consultations were held in 2002 and 2003 to validate the programming framework and to implement the Québec se prépare
document in 2004. In September 2005 the concept for the
Espace 400e area was unveiled at a public information session.
Further meetings with the public, especially those living in Old
Québec, were also an opportunity to sound out local residents.
Canadian Capital Cities Organization
Federal coordination committee for Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
Royal Canadian Mint executives
Québec government’s interministerial committee for Québec
City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
Québec government offices abroad
Various City of Québec committees
Université Laval
Québec City Tourism
Société des relationnistes du Québec
Québec City Chamber of Commerce
Association des restaurateurs du Québec
61% of Greater Québec City Area residents age 18 and over
had seen or heard one of the ads, and 81% of them were able
to remember exactly what it was about.
Founding family associations
37% of respondents in the Greater Québec City Area said they
were fairly or very well informed about the celebrations.
65% of people were reassured by the fact that the pace of event
preparations appeared to be on track or even ahead of schedule.
The only indicator that showed a drop was the degree of confidence in the success of the festivities (65% in 2006, 73% in
2005, and 72% in 2004).
In 2008 the lead-up gave way to the event itself. Promotions
revolved around the many program components. The goal was
to keep the 400th anniversary celebrations in the national and
international tourism spotlight to generate enthusiasm and
participation by promoting the entire event program while continuing to nurture relations with the media and other information
outlets. Despite the years of planning leading up to 2008, some
last-minute communications adjustments were necessary in order
to keep pace with the frenzied rhythm of the big year. Bonne
fête Québec marked the celebrations, inaugurations, surprises,
the arrival of thousands of visitors, and the special reports and
other communications tasks that kept the communications team
and partners working tirelessly day in and day out.
In July 2007, 300 respondents in the Greater Québec City Area
answered a questionnaire on the event program mailing they
received: 51% said they had seen the leaflet, and of them, 77%
reacted positively to it.
Société du 400e
A September 2007 presentation by Jacques Dupuis, Director of Associated
Programming
Today we welcome these statistics with a sense of real accomplishment!
Société du 400e
Notice of borough information meetings in fall 2007
And when it was all over, 2009 was a year for taking stock, acknowledging our countless contributors, and enjoying an immense
sense of pride in a job well done.
Communications Priorities – Public Relations
May 17, 2005
Numerous information relayers were used to convey our message to the public. Local, regional, and international media,
tourism officials and travel agents, communications chiefs for
associated events, government partners, and various others
became multiplying agents. For instance, the provincial government’s commissioner for Québec City’s 400th anniversary
celebrations issued a leaflet on several occasions entitled
Le commissaire vous informe, outlining projects put forward
by various government partners. At the federal level, the federal
government’s website was the place to find out all about the
400th anniversary celebrations.
“Having decided in 1998 to commemorate Québec City’s 400th anniversary, Mayor L’Allier and the City of Québec gave
plenty of time for the project to take shape.” – Raymond Garneau
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ACTIVITIES AND VEHICLES
Various PR vehicles and activities were used over the years
depending on the goal pursued at the time. Sometimes the objective was to inform the public, other times to urge people to
attend the celebrations or to educate people about the significance of the 2008 anniversary year.
In 2001 and 2002, at the anniversary celebrations of Québec
City’s founding on July 3, a number of festive activities were
added to the usual official ceremonies to engage and entertain
the public. In 2003 and 2004, community meals were organized
on historical themes in all eight city boroughs. And the public
was invited to further local meetings in fall 2007 to learn more
about the festivities.
Among the myriad publications, television productions, exhibi
tions, websites, and guided tours proposed, some did come to be,
such as the two special editions of Québec history magazine
Cap-aux-Diamants published in conjunction with the Corporation:
Québec œuvre du temps, œuvre des gens in 2004 and Québec de
génération en génération in 2005. Already in 2002, a special edition
was used to promote and raise awareness of the city’s history.
In order to reach a broader audience, the Corporation worked
with Observatoire de la Capitale and the Battlefields Park
Interpretation Center for Les Journées de la culture, manning
information booths in 2004 and organizing an improvisation
match on the theme of the 400th anniversary in 2005. It also
took part in Les Journées découvertes organized by Québec
City Tourism in October 2007, bringing together Associated
Programming partners in the lobby of Musée de la civilisation,
which had been decorated for the occasion.
In summer 2007 a multimedia trailer—an original idea by Olivier
Dufour—criss-crossed Québec to provide a sneak peak of all that
2008 had in store. The UMIF (Unité mobile d’immersion festive)
made forty-odd outings, mainly to festivals across the province.
Led by two fun, timeless characters—Gaspard and Théo—the
team went to meet potential visitors to Québec City in 2008. The
metallic trailer was over 10 meters long and decked out in the
colors of the 400th anniversary celebrations, reminiscent of a
traveling circus. In its padded red and black interior, visitors
were caught up in the excitement of the preparations through
entertaining presentations. The UMIF was on the road for the
summer of 2007, calling at the following:
Sorel-Tracy (Festival de la gibelotte)
Société du 400e
Saint-Victor-de-Beauce (Festival western)
The UMIF (Unité mobile d’immersion festive)
Saint-Jean-Chrysostome (Festivent) and Saint-Hyacinthe
(agricultural fair)
Jonquière and Chicoutimi (Festival Jonquière en musique
and the Old Port in Chicoutimi)
Montréal (Just for Laughs and Les FrancoFolies)
Québec City (Masked Halloween Ball, New France Festival,
and the Québec City International Festival of Military Bands)
And many other cities and festivals!
City of Québec
Community meal on July 3, 2003
From its very inception, the Corporation saw the need to make
the public aware of the importance of the anniversary and to
educate people about the city’s history in general. Tools developed for young people included the following:
Société du 400e
Jacques Lacoursière and Jack Robitaille at Les Journées de la culture in 2004
In 2007 and 2008, the Corporation also joined forces with
a number of high profile organizations and activities to get
the public talking about the event. These included Noël des
enfants, Operation Red Nose, La Grande collecte de sang du
400e anniversaire de Québec in partnership with Coopérative
des techniciens ambulanciers du Québec, and a calendar for
the Québec Breakfast Club.
Société du 400e
Gaspard and Théo bring the UMIF to life!
Les 400 coups de Québec, a game featuring Québec City’s
400th anniversary, was created in 2002 in conjunction with
Sarbakan and made available on the Corporation website
and Radio-Canada’s website for kids.
Du Wampum au Webqueb – un voyage à travers le temps, au
Québec, de 1500 à 2008, a CD-ROM aiming to make Québec
history fun, was produced with the help of Studios ArtMedia
in Québec City and distributed in the province’s elementary
schools in 2002.
Contes et histoires de Québec, three youth productions in partnership with Québec City libraries and Institut Canadien de
Québec, were performed in theaters and schools in 2003.
Société du 400e
Interview with Olivier Dufour
Denis Lemelin
Improvisation match at Les Journées de la culture in 2005
Société du 400e
Patrick Piché, Lise Pilote, Mario Demers, and Pierre Boulanger at Noël
des enfants in 2007
L’Amérique française, history capsules broadcast by TéléQuébec, TV5, and French travel channel Voyage, were accompanied by a website and educational CD-ROM.
A promotional video produced in French, English, and Spanish
in conjunction with Québec City Tourism was also distributed
and presented to various audiences.
Société du 400e
The UMIF at the Masked Halloween Ball in Loretteville in 2007
Denis Lemelin
Les Journées découvertes at Musée de la civilisation de Québec in 2007
Public Relations
July 12, 2007
“I hope that, like the rest of us, everyone who visits the UMIF will have caught festival fever and be looking forward to the
celebrations in Québec City in 2008.” – Josée Laurence
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Many other events were used to promote the city’s 400th anniversary celebrations. For instance, at the 2007 Québec Winter
Carnival, one of the first public promotional activities—La
Tyrolienne du temps « En route vers le 400e »—had visitors soar
over a 150 meter span marking the years from 1608 to 2008. In the
neighboring tent, Université Laval PR students urged carnivalgoers to enter a contest to win a VIP package to the 2008 Québec
Winter Carnival. And at the 2008 night parade, pennants deco
rated with the new signature for the celebrations were handed
out to spectators along the route.
CONTESTS
A number of contests were held by the Corporation and its
partners (financial backers, Associated Programming events,
sponsors, and the media), including
Ligne du temps Québec 2008, organized in conjunction with the
Québec government and various partners to make Québec
students more aware of Québec City’s heritage, history, and
culture
In winter 2007 and 2008, the Corporation took part in the
Montréal High Lights Festival to invite people from the Greater
Montréal Area to come celebrate Québec City’s 400th anniversary. In 2007 a contest entitled Vivez Québec 2008 allowed the
lucky winners to attend the first show of 2008. And in 2008 the
Corporation went to Jean-Talon Market, where over 3,000 leaflets and countless balloons, flags, buttons, pens, and stickers
sporting the 400th anniversary logo were handed out on the
weekend of February 23.
Bonne fête Québec, a drawing competition launched in partnership with Canadian Heritage for children age 15 and under
Destination éducative 2008, a quiz organized by Regroupement
des institutions muséales de Québec giving young people
and their families the chance to win VIP packages
Québec 1608-2008, ville du patrimoine mondial, organized by
Association québécoise pour l’enseignement en univers social
The official song for Québec City’s 400th anniversary was unveiled in August 2007 as a result of a Canada-wide competition
launched by Radio-Canada’s Espace musique in collaboration
with Société du 400e anniversaire de Québec. The theme was
Québec, je te chante! The winning entry by singer/songwriter
Danny Boudreau from Petit-Rocher in New Brunswick was
set to the words of Louis Mathieu from Saint-Basile-le-Grand,
Québec. Tant d’histoires took first place in the public vote from
the three songs chosen by a jury that made it to the final from
among 300 entries.
The winning song was recorded in the studios of Radio-Canada
in French, instrumental, and English versions (as Light of My
Soul). It was then played on the Espace musique and Corporation websites. The official song was used by the Corporation in
television ads and by Associated Programming partners such
as Alliance des chorales du Québec at its Et si Québec m’était
chantée... show and Troupe V’là l’Bon Vent, and opened every night
of the 2008 Loto-Québec International Fireworks Competition.
The Corporation sponsored the 13th annual writing and drawing
competition by daily Le Soleil under the theme, Québec, ça va
être TA fête ! The competition attracted entries from thousands
of secondary school students across eastern Québec. The
drawings that made the final were exhibited at Espace 400e.
The Amène ta gang contest was broadcast by radio stations
throughout the province. The 40 winners were given VIP treatment at the kickoff festivities on December 31, 2007. In anticipation of the event, the general public was also invited to send in
video capsules to wish Québec City a happy birthday as part of
the 400 Wishes, 400 Cities challenge.
Other similar contests were organized in conjunction with the
media, particularly the Soyez aux premières loges online contest, which gave people the chance to win VIP passes to other
400th anniversary events.
Conseil municipal des enfants de Québec, which held five
meetings in 2007 and 2008 in concert with the City of Québec
letting participants become ambassadors for the city and its
400th anniversary celebrations
Société du 400e
The 400 Wishes, 400 Cities challenge
Société du 400e
A participant at La Tyrolienne du temps « En route vers le 400 » in 2007
e
Société du 400e
Soyez aux premières loges contest
Société du 400e
Voyez Céline Dion à Québec pour le 400e contest
Le Soleil
Société du 400e
Start and finish line panels for La Tyrolienne du temps
Québec, ça va être TA fête! writing and drawing competition
October 23, 2007
Public Relations
“There couldn’t be a more promising symbol than a group of 400 young people to promote the 400th anniversary
and Québec City’s storied past and bright future.” – Pierre L’Heureux, Collège Mérici
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AMBASSADORS
Over the years the Corporation has been fortunate to have
many ambassadors—representatives of its financial backers and
sponsors; management, employees, and volunteers; chairs and
members of the board, and some of its over 200 Associated
Programming partners. Thanks to ties forged at home and
abroad, news of the 400th anniversary celebrations spread
around the world, even to Asia and Africa. For example, board
member David F. Blair used a trip to Burundi to publicize the
festivities. And two Quebecers on the Canada World Youth program spread the word about Québec City and its 400 years of
history while on a trip to Indonesia.
In 2009 Société québécoise des professionnels en relations
publiques awarded the Corporation’s public relations team
gold in the “Event” category for its strategic prowess.
In October 2007 a group of 400 students from École de tourisme, d’hôtellerie et de restauration at Collège Mérici became
ambassadors for the festivities. In addition to putting together
a special project for school groups, this dynamic brigade—its
members wore orange bracelets—made it their mission to
spread the word about the festivities and encourage the public
to take part.
Christian Desjardins
Pierre Boulanger with winter sports ambassadors
Gilles Fréchette
Denis Lemelin
Luci Tremblay, Director of Communications, at the opening of the Passagers/
Passengers exhibition in June 2008
Denys Légaré, Senior Communications and Marketing Director, at the
ambassador nomination ceremony held at Collège Mérici on October 23, 2007
Gilles Fréchette
Société du 400e
Summer sports ambassadors
Société du 400e
Young ambassadors at the Santa Clause Parade in November 2007
Daniel Gélinas at a press conference on the Encounters show
David F. Blair
David F. Blair, secretary of the board, with children in Burundi
Société du 400e
Collège Mérici ambassadors
Céline Côté and Sébastien Michaud
Along with its partners Le Soleil, Radio Énergie, and Lavery, de
Billy, the Corporation also handpicked eight leading amateur
athletes to act as sports ambassadors and wear the festivities
logo whenever they competed in international competitions.
Mountain climber François-Guy Thivierge flew the official flag
of Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations from the summit of Everest in spring 2008, mere weeks after the festivities
enjoyed sky-high exposure during Thivierge’s climb of Mount
Kilimanjaro. But the 400th anniversary emblem didn’t stop until
it went into space on August 8, 2007, where it spent 11 days as
part of the STS-118 mission. The space shuttle Endeavour with
Canadian astronaut Dave Williams on board carried a pennant
from the celebrations in its hold.
Dean Bergeron (wheelchair racing)
Jean-Philippe Le Guellec (biathlon)
Dominique Maltais (snowboarding)
Élise Marcotte (synchronized swimming)
Sébastien Michaud (taekwondo)
Gilles Fréchette
Jean Leclerc at Québec’s National Assembly on March 26, 2008
Marie-Hélène Prémont (mountain biking)
François-Olivier Roberge (long track speed skating)
Kalyna Roberge (short track speed skating)
Société du 400e
Birthday wishes from Dumbaya Bulan, Indonesia
François-Guy Thivierge
François-Guy Thivierge atop Mount Everest with the official flag of Québec
City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
Public Relations
August 25, 2008
“The 400th anniversary pennant on board the space shuttle Endeavour travelled no less than 8.53 million kilometers
in its 201 orbits of the Earth.” – David R. Williams, astronaut
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Last but not least, one outstanding ambassador was also associated with the festivities. Samuel de Champlain, played by
actor Stéphan Parent from Les Productions Épisode, took part
in 75 Corporation events to help with public and press relations
and raise awareness of the festivities among students. A tour
was organized in conjunction with Commission scolaire de la
Capitale, and Samuel de Champlain’s character met with local
students to invite them to the celebrations. Close to forty stops
were made on the tour between March and June 2008, which
was also an opportunity to distribute special youth event programs to the students.
Champlain was a terrific master of ceremonies: a good-looking
young man who was warm and friendly and boasted an impressive reputation. He played a key role in the celebrations. Children flocked to him, the media couldn’t get enough of him, he
was born to be a cohost, and everyone wanted to have their
picture taken with him! Indeed he became so popular that the
Québec government and Québec government offices abroad
(mainly in the United States) clamored to have him host their
official and promotional activities for the 400th anniversary.
With his inspirational rallying cry and polished texts that were
always to the point, Champlain left his mark on every PR event
he took part in. His presence quickly came to embody the
event’s credibility and reputation.
MEDIA
RELATIONS
PRESS CONFERENCES
The Corporation sought to build media relationships in order to
draw attention to Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations,
stir interest and support, and build enthusiasm among local
residents and other clienteles.
Relations with information providers, including print (newspapers, magazines) and electronic (radio, television, Internet)
media, kept a small PR team busy. The same team canvassed
local, regional, and national media, leading travel and tourism
websites, as well as journalists and media specializing in travel,
tourism, entertainment, history, and culture. Tourism promotion
is dealt with later in the document.
On March 17, 2000, a first press conference was held to announce
the Corporation’s creation. Nearly 200 more were to follow! In the
early years, the Corporation’s press conferences aimed to provide
updates on how preparations were going, mark milestones, and
announce special projects. The annual festivities on July 3,
confirmation of federal, provincial, and municipal funding in 2005,
calls for proposals for Associated Programming, and the presentation of selected projects were all cause for press conferences.
Press conferences came and went in their hundreds, each requiring media invitations, bilingual press releases and technical
descriptions, and visual content. Such get-togethers also required
no small amount of logistical planning with regard to venue,
technical equipment, scripts, masters of ceremonies, signage,
and more. Followup requests for interviews and clarifications
also came in droves, not to mention the challenge of hosting
over 1,000 journalists.
Starting fall 2006 the PR team gradually came together as the
Corporation began unveiling its lineup of events. Annual meetings
were held with Québec City’s main media. At a press conference on November 27, 2006, the Corporation presented five
productions and the people behind them: The Kickoff, directed
by Denis Bouchard; the Passagers/Passengers exhibition by
Patrice Sauvé; the Urban Opera by Danielle Roy (which never
came to fruition); The Walking Road, an idea by Olivier Dufour;
and the Cirque du Soleil show, represented by circus president
and CEO Daniel Lamarre. Josée Hallé, board chair at the Québec
City Summer Festival, used the opportunity to confirm that the
festival would be involved in activities on and around the anniversary of the city’s founding on July 3, 2008. The Corporation was
also involved in press events held by Associated Programming partners.
Société du 400e
Raymond Garneau at the June 29, 2005 open house
David Cannon
Daniel Lamarre, Denis Bouchard, Olivier Dufour, Patrice Sauvé, Danielle Roy,
and Danny Pelchat at the 400 days to Québec City’s 400th press conference
Société du 400e
Summer 2007 interview with Josée Laurence
David Cannon
Pierre Boulanger at the release of the 2008 prend forme leaflet in November 2005
Gilles Fréchette
Samuel de Champlain played by Stéphan Parent
Denis Lemelin
Denis Bouchard at The Kickoff press conference on December 3, 2007
Pierre Boulanger at the sports ambassadors announcement in July 2007
Gilles Fréchette
Samuel de Champlain and Maîtrise des Petits chanteurs de Québec
Public Relations – Media Relations
Pierre Boulanger at the announcement of special Associated Programming
events on March 13, 2006
November 2005
“The efforts of the past few years are beginning to take concrete form as shown by the two projects we are announcing
today with Québec City’s two biggest museums.” – Pierre Boulanger
352
353
In 2007, given the column inches devoted to taxpayer-funded
events, bad memories from Québec ‘84, and obstacles encountered on the way to putting on the Urban Opera, local media
were very skeptical that the 400th anniversary celebrations
would ever amount to anything. This in spite of the fact that
by December 2007 the Corporation already announced the
six major shows it was working on, general programming for
Espace 400e, and 80% of the projects chosen for Associated
Programming.
A change of direction was sorely needed! Starting January 30,
2008, the Corporation changed its media approach, initiating
biweekly Les Rendez-vous du 400e meetings with the press. For
the first few weeks, a newsletter was produced for the media.
Its purpose was to streamline Corporation communications
by summarizing all information to be released at the same
time. As the events got closer and the amount of information
increased, these meetings became weekly and were even occasionally held two or three times a week. Given this, it made
sense to have the Corporation’s CEO be its sole spokesperson.
As far as possible, our strategy was to limit each press conference
to a single topic or event. Press conferences were run by the
CEO, accompanied by the board chair and the events’ initiators,
often in venues related to the events. For instance, when the
Encounters show was announced, the press conference was
held in the lobby of Québec’s National Assembly since the show
was to take place in the square in front of the Parliament Building.
Director Pierre Boileau explained his artistic decisions and introduced some of the artists involved.
At the same time a tour of the regions was organized to share
information with the rest of the province and, in particular, to
invite all Quebecers to come celebrate the founding of the first
permanent French settlement in North America. In spring 2008,
visits to Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, and Saguenay
were organized with the minister responsible for the CapitaleNationale region and the mayor of Québec City. Meetings were
held in May with the Montréal dailies (Le Devoir, La Presse,
Le Journal de Montréal, and The Gazette), and a press conference
was held in the city with various designers, artists, and directors. This brought results—for example, following these discussions, Le Journal de Montréal decided to devote two pages
of its weekend edition to Québec City’s 400th anniversary all
summer long.
Gilles Fréchette
Pierre Boileau at the March 26, 2008 press conference on the Encounters show
David Cannon
The press conference for The Walking Road, on the other hand,
was held at Baie de Beauport with producer Olivier Dufour.
Journalists were shown pictures of the stage, set, and costumes. And for Québec plein la rue, partner representatives
attended from the Québec City Summer Festival, the Québec
Winter Carnival, and the Loto-Québec International Fireworks
Competition. The presence of artists and producers at the press
conferences coupled with the release of certain details concerning the big events piqued curiosity and made people want
to find out more and take part.
Josée Laurence at the September 12, 2007 press conference announcing
The 400 Year Journey
From the moment Espace 400e opened in June, full use was
made of the onsite facilities, i.e., La Grande Place and, more
often than not, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge on the third
floor of the main building. Practical, festive, and well equipped,
these facilities were just steps from the summer press room
and proved a big help to the media, providing them with a
pleasant work environment.
Denis Lemelin
October 15, 2007 press conference on the headline events to be held at
Espace 400e
Will Prosper
Martin Deschamps, Yvon Deschamps, Champlain, Philippe Couillard, and
Yves Jacques at the May 15, 2008 press conference in Montréal
Things were obviously at their most hectic in 2008 with the Corporation organizing 76 press conferences, issuing 119 press
releases, and distributing some 10,000 press kits to local and
international media.
Gilles Fréchette
Lise Bertrand explains the concept of the interactive suitcases at the
Passagers/Passengers exhibition at the May 12, 2008 press conference.
Will Prosper
Preparations for the May 15, 2008 press conference in Montréal
Denis Lemelin
Jean Beauchesne (Québec City Summer Festival), Jean Leclerc, Daniel
Gélinas, Jean Pelletier (Québec Winter Carnival), and Marcel Dallaire (LotoQuébec International Fireworks Competition) at the Québec plein la rue
press conference on January 18, 2008
Gilles Fréchette
Daniel Gélinas, Luc Plamondon, and Grégoire Legendre at the April 30,
2008 press conference announcing the opera version of Starmania
Denis Lemelin
Jean Leclerc and Daniel Gélinas at Rendez-vous du 400e on February 13, 2008
Media Relations
August 20, 2008
“As the mayor of Montréal and an enthusiastic ambassador for the event, you never failed to promote the
400th anniversary celebrations in Montréal and even abroad.” – Jean Leclerc
354
355
Before each major event, press conferences on the logistics
involved and special measures being implemented were held
in conjunction with the City of Québec, city police, and the RTC
(Réseau de transport de la Capitale) public transit system to
inform the public of the impact the event would have on traffic
and crowd control, i.e., closed roads, parking, bus routes, access to the venue, safety, etc. These conferences proved both
useful and necessary since the media publicized all key information (such as maps and diagrams), meaning that traffic jams
and similar problems were avoided. As part of its La fête nous
transporte project, RTC spared no effort in easing traffic flow in
the city to support the festivities during this memorable year.
It made special leaflets and road signs, issued press releases,
held information meetings and advertising campaigns, and
operated a mobile information center, in addition to publishing
information on its website and in the municipal newsletter and
sending employees to event sites to direct the public.
Société du 400e
RTC bus
DATE
2006
Denis Lemelin
Jean Leclerc and Daniel Gélinas at the February 27, 2008 press conference
presenting Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand
From the first press conference on March 16, 2000, announcing
the Corporation’s creation to the end of the celebrations and
the Salut 400e! show on December 31, 2008, announcements
followed one after another, in steady succession at first during
the preparatory stage, then reaching a crescendo in 2008.
Between 2000 and 2004 these announcements kept the public
informed of the Corporation’s mission and goals in addition to
programming developments and the publication of the Québec
se prépare document. Later came announcements about obtaining funding, involvement from various partners, national and
international exposure, and upcoming events. The table below
summarizes the announcements made from 2004 onward and
illustrates the diversity of the press releases as they developed
over time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE
BETWEEN 2004 AND 2008
(IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
DATE
ANNOUNCEMENT
2004
September 22, 2004
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Corporation’s involvement in Les Journées de la culture 2004
2005
March 13, 2006
Unveiling of the eight special Associated Programming events
April 28, 2006
Unveiling of the first 16 accredited Associated Programming activities
June 15, 2006
Unveiling of the Espace 400e programming concept and presentation of The Image Mill by Robert
Lepage and Ex Machina
November 2, 2006
232 projects received during the second phase of the call for Associated Programming projects
November 27, 2006
400 days to Québec City’s 400th countdown launch introducing Productions du 400e and
Espace 400e designers
2007
January 19, 2007
Call to the public for personal stories for the Passagers/Passengers exhibition
March 21, 2007
Unveiling of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand (March 15, 2008)
April 12, 2007
Launch of the Québec, je te chante! contest in partnership with Espace musique
May 24, 2007
Unveiling of the Ephemeral Gardens (June 10 to September 28)
June 20, 2007
Distribution of 350,000 preliminary event calendars in homes across the city
June 26, 2007
Presentation of programming highlights: The Kickoff show (December 31, 2007), July 3 to 6,
2008 events, The Image Mill, Passagers/Passengers exhibition, The Walking Road (August 15, 2008),
Cirque du Soleil show (October 19, 2008)
July 12, 2007
Unveiling of the UMIF (Unité mobile d’immersion festive)
September 5, 2007
Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations ranked No. 1 in the “Top 100 Events in North
America” for 2008
September 12, 2007
Presentation of The 400 Year Journey (January 5/6, 2008)
September 23, 2007
100 days to Québec City’s 400th countdown launch with the Rouge et Or football team and its fans
September 27, 2007
2008 edition of Operalia to be held in Québec City (September 2008)
October 15, 2007
Presentation of Espace 400e highlights for 2008
October 17, 2007
Invitation to Québec City residents to attend local information meetings
March 29, 2005
Speech by Raymond Garneau to Société des relationnistes du Québec
April 7, 2005
Québec City’s 400th anniversary, a key priority for the capital’s business community at the
economic forum organized by the Québec City Chamber of Commerce
October 19, 2007
Unveiling of First Nations programming
June 29, 2005
Two calls for projects launched to add to the event program
October 23, 2007
400 students from École de tourisme, d’hôtellerie et de restauration at Collège Mérici made
ambassadors for Québec City’s 400th anniversary
September 26, 2005
Presentation of the Espace 400e concept at Bassin Louise by the Corporation and Parks Canada
November 12, 2007
November 29, 2005
Agreements inked with Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and Musée de la civilisation
de Québec
Confirmation of Céline Dion’s participation in Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
(August 22, 2008)
November 28, 2007
November 29, 2005
Distribution of the 2008 prend forme brochures in homes throughout Québec City and Lévis
Unveiling of The Louvre in Québec City. The Arts and Life in conjunction with Musée national des
beaux-arts du Québec (June 5 to October 26, 2008)
December 3, 2007
Unveiling of The Kickoff program (December 31, 2007)
December 19, 2007
Launch and distribution of the first official program for Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
December 31, 2007
3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Québec City Celebrates Its 400th Anniversary!
Media Relations
September 23, 2007
“With barely 100 days to the start of 2008, the countdown has begun. We look forward to a thrilling year ahead
and all the hard work it will bring with it.” – Josée Verner, federal government minister
356
357
JOURNALISTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE
BETWEEN 2004 AND 2008 (CONT’D)
(IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
DATE
ANNOUNCEMENT
2008
January 18, 2008
Unveiling of the July 3 to 6, 2008 celebrations
January 31, 2008
Unveiling of the official Visionaries Garden event (June 6 to October 13, 2008) in association with
Musée de la civilisation de Québec
March 20, 2008
Francoforce tour to 14 cities across Canada to celebrate the French language in Canada and
spread the word about Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
April 3, 2008
Viens chanter ton histoire, a new show hosted by Yvon Deschamps (July 15, 2008)
May 12, 2008
22 days from the big day, an overview of the Espace 400e program, particularly the
Passagers/Passengers exhibition
May 20, 2008
The successful World Hockey Championship
May 29, 2008
Let’s Ring Out Together! (July 3, 2008, at 11 a.m.)
June 6, 2008
Espace 400e opening ceremony
June 17, 2008
La Grande rencontre familiale: an historical picnic (July 6, 2008)
June 20, 2008
The Image Mill world premiere
June 24, 2008
Arrival of the Grande Traversée de l’Atlantique in Québec City
June 30, 2008
Presentation by artists from Québec plein la rue (July 4/5, 2008)
June 30, 2008
Paul McCartney concert in Québec City (July 20, 2008) for the city’s 400th anniversary celebrations
July 1, 2008
Arrival of the Belem and Bluenose II in Québec City (July 2)
July 8, 2008
Unveiling of The Walking Road show (August 15, 2008)
July 25, 2008
Pleins feux sur l’OSQ concert on the Plains of Abraham (August 25, 2008)
August 5, 2008
Acadian tintamarre in Québec City (August 15, 2008)
August 6, 2008
Paris/Québec – À travers la chanson (August 24, 2008)
September 7, 2008
Over 600,000 spectators at 79 showings of The Image Mill
September 24, 2008
Over 1 million visitors to Espace 400e in 120 jam-packed days
October 29, 2008
Positive financial results for Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations
November 17, 2008
Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations ranked No. 7 in terms of Québec media coverage in 2008
December 31, 2008
The curtain falls on Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations with the Salut 400e! show
Media Relations
Meetings and solicitation efforts with journalists were intended
to make the media more aware of the festivities surrounding
Québec City’s 400th anniversary and lead to more articles being
published. Journalists were continually kept in the loop concerning program updates (press releases, e-newsletters, event
participation, etc.).
In 2006 the Corporation met with journalists who were on Québec
City Tourism fam tours or in town to cover the likes of the Québec
Winter Carnival, the Québec City Summer Festival, the New
France Festival, or Red Bull Crashed Ice. The Corporation met
29 groups as part of press tours and 57 journalists individually.
Initial figures put the number of journalists who officially came
to Québec at over 200 in 2007 alone. From 2004 onward Québec
City Tourism welcomed over 600 journalists per year. It is estimated that over 2,500 journalists were briefed on Québec City’s
400th anniversary celebrations through their efforts.
Interview with Andrée P. Boucher at a press conference on March 13, 2006
Société du 400e
Interview with Pierre Boulanger at a press conference on March 13, 2006
Face-to-face interviews on The 400 Year Journey, December 20, 2007
Obviously the Corporation welcomed the greatest number
of journalists in summer 2008, particularly at official events,
The Image Mill, the July 3 celebrations (which attracted over
500 foreign journalists), and the New France Festival, not to
mention a group of journalists from abroad at The Kickoff on
December 31, 2007.
At every 400th anniversary event, a fully equipped press room
including an Internet connection was set aside for journalists
and photographers in a nearby room or tent so they could cover
the event and interview organizers immediately after shows.
Before every show, the Corporation would meet with television
station technical directors to help them plan their coverage of
the event, meet any technical needs, and ensure they had access to the sites. For accreditation, media had simply to visit the
virtual press room on the Corporation website. Accreditations
were issued according to the number of places available to the
media at each event. The Corporation worked with the media
to ensure that they felt welcome, appreciated, and part of the
celebrations, without ever becoming involved in their coverage
of the event.
February 22, 2008
Société du 400e
Interview with Jean Leclerc at the unveiling of various charity and community events on November 22, 2007
Conn Jackson of NBC Atlanta visited Québec City during the Winter Carnival and filed a fabulous report on the
400th anniversary festivities for the Atlanta & Company morning show.
358
359
PRESS COVERAGE
From June 2008 onward, the Corporation ran a press room at
Espace 400e for meeting with journalists who had traveled to
Québec for the celebrations. Press events were regularly held
at Espace 400e or at venues associated with the events being
promoted. The press relations team worked closely with researchers on various TV and radio programs produced over the
summer at Espace 400e and also took part in and instigated all
kinds of talks and presentations. Gardening journalists were
given a special tour of the Ephemeral Gardens at Espace 400e
in July, along with all the landscaping work undertaken by the
City of Québec for the city’s 400th anniversary celebrations.
Société du 400e
TVA and CFOM 102.9 at the Viens chanter ton histoire concert
Gilles Fréchette
Daniel Gélinas at a press conference on May 12, 2008
The Corporation was always as open with the media as possible.
It sought to build a good working relationship to earn the trust
of the public and keep people informed. But skepticism was
very much present in early 2008, and the Corporation had no
choice but to change tack. Changes in how the media covered
the event clearly reflect the shift from skepticism to enthusiasm.
It’s interesting to note that 73% of reports on the 400th anniversary celebrations came from newspapers, 22% from radio,
and 5% from television.
The event was well covered, both at home and abroad—as the
size of the press review shows! (A selection of press clippings
is included at the end of this chapter.) Québec media outside
of Québec City began to really show interest after June 20, the
premiere of The Image Mill. And after July 3, media coverage
simply exploded. The July 3 commemorations and the Paul
McCartney and Céline Dion concerts attracted the greatest
media interest.
The local press was prolific in 2006, 2007, and of course 2008, and
generous in its treatment of the celebrations. On December 31,
2007, Le Soleil published a very popular special 68 page 400th an
niversary pullout celebrating Québec City’s history. The souvenir pullout, entitled Il était une fois Québec, was joined by a
second entitled Québec, le roman-fleuve (24 pages on Québec
City’s ties to the St. Lawrence) on July 3, 2008. And last but
not least, L’Album du 400e was published on November 2, 2008,
a 56 page look back at the highlights of the celebrations.
Le Soleil
Il était une fois Québec, Le Soleil commemorative pullout, December 31, 2007
Between December 31, 2007, and January 14, 2008, some
49 articles appeared in English Canada, along with 62 mentions
on radio and television outside the province, and 59 articles in
the foreign press. After The Kickoff, France, Germany, Austria,
and the United States showed greatest interest, with articles
appearing in Le Figaro, Berliner Zeitung, and The Boston Globe.
Over the same period, Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations were also making a name for themselves in England,
Spain, and Vietnam. In English Canada, most articles appeared
in Ontario and Alberta, along with the odd appearance in the
National Post and The Globe and Mail. We take a closer look at
foreign publications in the next section, which deals with tourism promotion.
Le Soleil
L’Album du 400e, Le Soleil commemorative pullout, November 2, 2008
Denis Lemelin
Interview with Robert Lepage at the Espace 400e press room
Le Soleil
Québec, le roman-fleuve, Le Soleil commemorative pullout, July 3, 2008
Media Relations
April 2007
“Big names, big top to celebrate Quebec’s 400th birthday bash.” – The Globe and Mail
360
Local Press Coverage
361
November 2008
“All eyes in the international media have been trained on Québec City this year, overshadowing other parts of the
province. Journalists have spoken about Québec City three times more than in the past.” – Le Journal de Québec
362
TOURISM
PROMOTION
Tourism promotion efforts were aimed at potential clienteles
outside of Québec. Consequently they were closely tied to the
Corporation’s promotional activities elsewhere in Canada and
around the world. Methods varied from meetings and associations with key players on the tourism scene in Québec, the rest
of Canada, the United States, and France to specialized trade
fairs as well as promotional activities on missions outside
the province.
From early January 2006 to late 2008, all efforts were concentrated on a three-year tourism plan, which sought to prospect and
host tourism industry representatives (hotels, travel agencies,
wholesalers, media, etc.) and consumers.
MULTIPLIERS
The Corporation linked up with organizations active in the
tourism and meeting & convention industries, which boosted
the benefits to Québec City not only in 2008, but also over the
longer term. In January 2006 the Corporation began a strong
push to meet with all key industry players in the Québec City
area and urge them to get involved. Meetings were held with
the likes of the following:
Tourisme Québec
Canadian Tourism Commission
Association des restaurateurs du Québec
Association des hôteliers du Québec
Annual event organizers
363
By way of example, in April 2008 the 15th annual pan-American
convention of Les Clefs d’Or was held in Vancouver, bringing
together almost 400 hotel concierges from Canada, the United
States, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and France. Two concierges who were members of Les Clefs d’Or Canada proudly
represented Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations,
handing out buttons, bookmarks, and festival programs to
each participant.
What’s more, in conjunction with Québec City Tourism, the Corporation met with many journalists from outside the Québec
City area, as well as wholesalers and travel agencies, on four
fam tours.
From early 2006 to late 2007, regular work sessions were held
with Québec City Tourism and Tourisme Québec. In 2007 a major
partnership agreement was signed with Québec City Tourism,
Tourisme Québec, and the Canadian Tourism Commission. It
resulted in a joint action plan and increased visibility for the
400th anniversary celebrations in tourism offices and brochures, on banners and bunting, and at international tourism
events. For example, in late 2007 the Corporation joined forces
with Québec City Tourism to take part in a massive advertising
campaign aimed at consumers in Ontario, the Maritimes, New
England, California, France, and England. Advertising inserts
contained information on programming, as well as offers from
participating local hotels and attractions that had agreed to
share the cost.
Thanks to the agreement, Québec City Tourism included advertisements in its various publications—namely the Destination
Planners’ Guide, Tourist Guide, and Accommodation Guide—as well
as on its website, in promotional leaflets, and on advertising
inserts in a variety of magazines. Two videos were also made,
in English, French, and Spanish, along with an e-newsletter,
interactive CD, and various ad campaigns, all to the theme of
Meet You in Québec City in 2008!
The partnership with Tourisme Québec meant that starting in
2006 the 400th anniversary celebrations featured for three years
on displays and leaflets in Infotouriste centers—including the
one in Montréal—as well as five borders posts in Québec and
the 17 roadside rest areas that provide tourism information. In
addition to visibility from articles on the festivities, promotional
tools, and a link on bonjourquebec.com, this agreement enabled
other relayers like VIA Rail Canada and Société des casinos du
Québec to spread the word about the celebrations.
The Corporation supported Québec City Tourism and Cercle
des ambassadeurs de Québec, who worked together on the
business market to ensure that as many conferences as possible would be held in Québec City in 2008. The Corporation
provided organizers of conferences in Québec City in 2008 with
discounted 400th anniversary merchandise (pens, buttons,
folders, and lanyards). Conference organizers were invited
to go through Québec City Tourism, the Québec City Convention Centre, or the Corporation to register their event on the
Corporation website, add 400th anniversary graphics to their
documents, obtain bags bearing the 400th anniversary logo for
conference attendees, and even call on the services of local
entertainment companies accredited with the Corporation for
their conferences.
Tourists loved the fact that Québec City’s 400th anniversary
events were free, but this made it hard to put together package
deals (trips and show tickets) for hotels, for instance. More had
to be done to provide encouragement to travel agencies and
wholesalers. To raise awareness about the festivities, in 2006
the Corporation began sponsoring events and activities, speaking
with the community, holding promotional meetings, handing
out promotional items, and taking part in many specialized trade
shows with Québec City Tourism and Tourisme Québec:
5 trade shows for travel wholesalers and agencies worldwide
6 trade shows, to encourage consumers to vacation in Québec City
The Corporation also attended a number of specialized trade
shows, including
Société du 400e
Où serez-vous en 2008? banners in the window of the Infotouriste center
in Montréal
New York Times Travel Show in New York City, 2008
AAA Travel Marketplace in Boston, 2008
Ottawa Travel and Leisure Show, 2008
Toronto Travel and Leisure Show, 2008
Rendez-vous Canada, bringing together over 500 wholesalers
and coach operators, in Toronto, 2006, and Québec City in
2007, where the 400th anniversary celebrations featured
prominently
In addition, in order to have a solid network of information relayers and gain buy-in for the celebrations, the Corporation held
50-odd briefings on the festivities with the likes of the following:
GoMedia Canada Marketplace, exclusively for Canadian and
international journalists, in Huntsville, Ontario, 2006; Banff,
2007; and Québec City, 2008; with some 100 journalists in
attendance
Tourist information office agents
Sales teams for large hotels
Travel agencies
Schools with tourism programs
Bus owners
SPECIALIZED TRADE FAIRS
15 trade shows for trade journalists, to spur coverage
Tourist attraction managers
The association of Québec City tour guides
Société du 400e
Conference services advertisement
Société du 400e
Gilles Fréchette
Tourist information office
Pierre Labrie (Québec City Tourism) at Rendez-vous du 400e on April 23, 2008
Canada Media Marketplace, with 100-odd American travel
writers, in New York City, 2007, with the Corporation represented
by Québec City Tourism in Los Angeles in 2006 and in 2008
Bienvenue Québec marketplace for North American wholesalers, attracting some fifty journalists in 2007, with the closing
night showcasing the 400th anniversary celebrations
Taxi drivers
Québec City hotel concierges and valets
Luc-Antoine Couturier
Tourisme Québec bookmark
Tourism Promotion
January 17, 2008
“Our involvement in these trade fairs will bolster ad campaigns launched last November in Ontario and the
northeastern United States.” – Pierre Labrie, Director, Québec City Tourism
364
365
The Corporation took part in other similar events of note in 2006,
including Québec City Day in Toronto and a Media Reception in
New York City, plus the 2007 Travel Media Association of Canada
conference in London (Ontario) and Halifax, and the 2008 Society
of American Travel Writers conference in Québec City.
Québec City Tourism representatives also promoted the 400th an
niversary celebrations in 2007 to other multipliers at trade fairs like
OUT-OF-PROVINCE
MISSIONS
World Travel Market (London, England)
Top Resa (France)
Student and Youth Travel Association (Whistler, B.C.)
Travel Media Showcase (Palm Springs, California)
Society of American Travel Writers annual conference
(Manchester, England)
In 2007 the festivities were also presented at Les Journées
annuelles de l’accueil touristique, which brought together all
the province’s tourist information office managers for a conference. And in 2008 the Corporation took part in the Montréal RV
Show and the Fête de l’été show in Québec City.
Société du 400e
Paule Riverin, Senior Marketing and Communications Director, together
with Siegfried Gagnon, Denis Gosselin, and Claire Verreault from Québec
City Tourism, at Rendez-vous Canada in April 2006
This hard work paid off in spades: the 400th anniversary celebrations were named “Top 2008 Event” in Canada by North
America’s biggest coach operator association, the American
Bus Association, whose magazine has a print run of 6,000. The
award garnered a great deal of visibility for the celebrations,
as well as putting Québec City in the minds of a host of travel
companies.
The tourism potential for the 400th anniversary celebrations was assessed in 2006. A list was made of every major
event slated for 2008, i.e., the Olympic Games, the American
presidential elections, and other anniversaries such as the
100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables—to get a feel for
what the festivities were up against and identify any events that
might have an impact on people coming to the festivities from
wherever they may be. This was also when it was decided which
markets to target—not only close-by markets, but also priority
markets for Québec City Tourism, i.e., the rest of Canada, New
England, France, and England. As outlined above, a number of
tourism promotion activities were held out of province, including at
Société du 400e
Presentation to the Canadian Club of Toronto in June 2008
The Calgary Stampede
Lunch with 100 travel journalists in Toronto, which led to
a flood of articles in the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, National
Post, etc.
Société du 400e
A visit to the Toronto Stock Exchange
The Canadian Club of Toronto and the annual conference of
the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Toronto
Société du 400e
Jessica Légaré at a promotional booth in New York City in 2008
Paul-Christian Nolin and Annie Brassard from the City of Québec with
Radio-Canada’s Claude Bernatchez at the 2008 Calgary Stampede
Orchestre symphonique de Québec concerts in Toronto and
Ottawa to which the media were invited
The Corporation also took part in activities organized by Frenchspeaking and Acadian communities across Canada, including
in Charlottetown, Moncton, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Regina.
Société du 400e
400th anniversary booth at the 2008 Montréal RV Show
Société du 400e
Société du 400e
Régis Labeaume speaking at the Calgary Stampede in July 2008
Presentation by Andrée P. Boucher in Ottawa, May 2007
American Bus Association
Article in the American Bus Association’s 2008 Top 100 Events
Société du 400e
400th anniversary booth at the 2008 Fête de l’été de Québec
Tourism Promotion
April 2007
“The year 2008 is the ideal opportunity for Québec City to make a name for itself and blow its own horn. The city will have
the chance to put the cameras of the world under its spell.” – L’Express newspaper, Toronto
366
367
MEDIA COVERAGE
The Corporation also made the most of 14 missions abroad
between 2006 and 2008 to combine business with tourism
promotion. Press tours were organized, often with the help
of tourism partners and Québec and Canada representatives
abroad. For example, the 400th anniversary celebrations earned
exposure in
Awareness of Québec City rose considerably around the world,
as shown by the national and international media coverage.
The tourists who thronged to Québec City in 2008 are also testament to all the hard work.
The six New England states, along with the Québec City
Summer Festival
Chicago, Washington, New York City, and Boston as part
of a networking activity with Tourisme Québec that lead to
articles in the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The New
York Times, and The Boston Globe, among others. (An Associated Press news item in 2008 by a journalist at one of these
events was picked up by CNN, which ran it for a whole day on
its homepage.)
Société du 400e
Talk by Pierre Boulanger at the Francophonie Summit in Bucharest, 2006
Jamestown, Virginia, at America’s 400th Anniversary, in 2007
Boston, at two press luncheons with 60 journalists, and New
York City, with 150 journalists
Feature reports on Québec City in The New York Times, including a 2007 article entitled “400 Candles, and a Yearlong
Blowout” that was picked up by the International Herald Tribune,
which has a print run of 300,000 in over 180 countries
Paris, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Brouage, on four separate
occasions
Bucharest in 2006, as part of the 11th Francophonie Summit
PR initiatives abroad sought to raise the profile of Québec City’s
400th anniversary celebrations and attract coverage likely to
have a big media impact. For the 2007 event starring Québec
City at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., media
like National Geographic and USA Today were approached in advance, as we knew it would take several months to convince
them to cover the celebrations. These efforts paid off—5 million
U.S. and Canadian subscribers to National Geographic received
an invitation to the festivities with their May 2007 issue of
the magazine.
Among other things, the festivities’ renown can be put down to
abundant media coverage, the result of many efforts to spread
the word about the events planned for the 400th anniversary
celebrations and get people talking about them. According to
the annual report by media watcher Influence Communication,
the celebrations were the seventh most-covered event in Québec
in 2008. The celebrations were on lips all across Canada, especially in Ontario and the Maritimes. Internationally Québec City’s
400th anniversary celebrations were mentioned in 32 countries
in 2007 and 2008, and out of province in over 1,000 articles and
reports, including the following:
An article on Québec City and its festivities in a special issue
of New England Travel by Boston Magazine, which has a print
run of 200,000
A report by American journalist Hilary Nangle in AmericanStyle
magazine aimed at fans of art and cultural trips, in spring 2008
Société du 400e
Suzanne Pidgeon at the Corporation booth in Jamestown, 2007
An article on the 400th anniversary celebrations in the May
2007 issue of prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler
Promotion of Québec City’s 400th anniversary in the February
2008 issue of Continental magazine, available on all Continental Airlines flights, with a monthly readership of over
2.4 million worldwide
Several pages devoted to Québec City and its 400th anniversary in Points North, a monthly with a print run of close to
90,000 in the Atlanta area
Ten pages devoted to Québec in the July 2, 2008 issue of
French daily Le Monde
Société du 400
e
Corporation booth in La Rochelle, 2008
A feature on some of the 400th anniversary activities in the
French magazine for young people JE MAG in spring 2008
Thirty-two pages on “400 ans du Québec” [the 400 years of
Québec] in Belgian magazine L’Éventail in September 2008
A report in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers,
read by 1.2 million Australians
An article in Travel Journal, a Japanese magazine
And even an article in Azerbaijan!
As early as 2007, news of Québec City’s 400th celebrations had
reached Travel Weekly in the United Kingdom, American magazine
Snow East!, Norwegian daily Stavanger Aftenblad, and Fairmont
Magazine, which is available in all the chain’s hotel rooms in
over 50 countries. The 55 Fairmont hotels around the world
also used the official 400th anniversary graphics to promote
the festivities to their guests. National Public Radio (NPR)—
America’s leading public radio network—and France-Amérique,
the main French newspaper in the United States—also waxed
lyrical about the celebrations.
In Canada, other publications publicized the festivities, including
News biweekly L’actualité, which in December 2007 treated
readers to a commemorative issue on Québec City’s 400th anniversary that examined the city’s impact today
Canadian Geographic Travel magazine, which published a
20 page article entitled “Four-Century City” in its November
2007 edition
An article in the international edition of Le Figaro in January 2007,
following the promotional event at the Smithsonian Institution
The Beaver magazine, which published a special 100 page
souvenir edition in English and, for the first time in its history,
published an issue in French
Five reports by TF1 on Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations, which were broadcast from February 24 to 29, 2008
VIA Rail Canada’s VIA destinations magazine, which featured
Québec City in 2008
A special edition of French weekly Pèlerin, with a print run
of over 280,000, on Québec City’s 400th anniversary on February 23, 2008
Countless articles were also published on events associated
with the anniversary, such as The Louvre in Québec City exhibition
and the Men’s World Ice Hockey Championship. Many more
articles were no doubt published in other countries.
AmericanStyle
AmericanStyle magazine published a report on the
400th anniversary celebrations in its June 2008 issue.
Tourism Promotion
January 10, 2007
“This strategic alliance between Jamestown, Québec City, and Santa Fe is extremely significant because together we
will promote each of our celebrations and showcase our shared cultural heritage.” – Pierre Boulanger
368
National and International Media Coverage
369
February 7, 2008
“The phone has been ringing off the hook, and all over Canada people have been snapping up the special edition of
The Beaver!” – Deborah Morrison, Canada’s National History Society
370
National and International Media Coverage
371
September 26, 2007
The Corporation was pleased to see “400 Candles, and a Yearlong Blowout,” an article on the 400th anniversary
by American journalist Marialisa Calta, appear in the travel section of the New York Times in August.
372
373
ADVERTISING
While public relations, press, and tourism promotion efforts
focused on drumming up awareness of and interest in Québec
City’s 400th anniversary celebrations, the advertising side of
things sought more to get precise messages across to people
planning to come to 400th anniversary events.
The Corporation posted ads in the event program of the 2005
World Police and Fire Games, which were held in Québec City.
It then used tourism brochures to convey information. Other
advertisements were placed in general interest magazines as
well as special 400th anniversary issues.
For example, Canadian history magazine The Beaver devoted
a 100 page issue to the anniversary in 2008 (its biggest issue
ever), with a print run of 78,000 in English, and published its
first-ever French-language issue, with a print run of 12,000. As
part of the project managed by the magazine editor together
with historian Jacques Lacoursière, the magazine was distributed to libraries in every Canadian school. A 400th anniversary
leaflet and a full-page ad appeared in both publications, a few
months after a one-page ad had invited readers to enter a contest to win a trip to Québec City in early 2008.
Beginning in fall 2005, and increasingly as 2008 wore on, the
Corporation placed advertisements with the following media:
Newspapers
Magazines
Tourism brochures
Radio
Television
Internet
Outdoor, including highway billboards
In order to keep advertising costs to a minimum, agreements
were signed with media partners. Many thus contributed to
the festivities’ success, with numerous media partners putting
heart and soul into the project.
AD CAMPAIGNS
In November 2005 the Corporation began its first intensive
campaign by distributing 375,000 copies of the 2008 prend forme
leaflet to households in Québec City and Lévis. The campaign
was tied to local media placements and promotion of the Corpo
ration website, and came hot on the heels of a press conference
and a succession of interviews.
Société du 400e
2008 prend forme leaflet
Another campaign of note rolled out the week of November 27,
2006, to mark a major milestone: 400 days before Québec City’s
400th. The people behind certain official events and the Passagers/
Passengers exhibition, as well as the agreement signed with
the Huron-Wendat Nation and the new Corporation website
were all presented to the media at a press conference, with
Mayor Andrée P. Boucher and ministers Michel Després and
Josée Verner in attendance. Television, radio, and the written
press were all used, including Radio-Canada, which broadcast
a TV and radio spot throughout eastern Québec.
Denis Lemelin
Jean Leclerc presents the special French-language issue of The Beaver at
a press conference on February 13, 2008.
At busy times in the festivities, advertising played a key role
in the Corporation’s communications strategy. The Corporation
distributed activity calendars and programs across the Québec
City area. One of its communication challenges was to inform
all kinds of different people about a broad spectrum of activities. With people getting their news today from many different
sources, the Corporation couldn’t limit its efforts to just one
media outlet and used many instead. However, the Corporation
website did remain the most up-to-date information source.
Société du 400e
Newspaper advertisement from December 2005
Société du 400e
In 2006 the Corporation continued its 2008 prend forme communication platform in a multiphase rollout. All press releases
began with this theme phrase. The Bonne fête Québec 398 ans –
3 juillet campaign—part of the same communication platform—
included inserts in a Québec City daily and oversize birthday
cards (33 cm × 24 cm) sent to all local homes and distributed at
neighborhood parties.
2008 prend forme signage
David Cannon
Government representatives, artisans, and employees at the November 27,
2006 press conference
David Cannon
Pierre Boulanger, Claire Simard, and John R. Porter present the 2008 prend
forme leaflet in November 2005.
Advertising
March 2006
“Every event on the program has a part to play in the 2008 celebrations. That will become even clearer as 2008 begins to
take shape.” – Pierre Boulanger
374
375
Promotional postcards were distributed in tourism channels, and
a 400th anniversary squad made up of volunteers and Corpo
ration and Cossette employees handed out Québec City dailies
and 2007 calendars at the city’s main intersections, inviting
everyone they spoke to to visit the MyQuebec2008.com website.
The countdown event was even mentioned in the House of
Commons in Ottawa. Over 20 articles appeared in leading dailies,
and there were over 150 mentions in the electronic media. A
survey showed that 60% of respondents in the Québec City area
had seen the campaign and that 85% of all respondents had a
favorable impression of it.
Invitations were sent to the public in June 2007 in the form of a
31 page preliminary event calendar entitled Come Celebrate!
The calendar—which was also available in English—had a press
run of 350,000 and was distributed across the Québec City area
in the hope that locals would learn more about the programming and become ambassadors for it. The initiative was backed
by the media.
In December and January, people living in Montréal and the
Eastern Townships could get a copy of the program at 950 Réseau
Affiche 2000 distribution points, a network largely made up of
businesses, restaurants, and grocery stores.
In December 2007 the Corporation distributed 865,000 copies of the
first official anniversary program, also entitled Come Celebrate!
The 68 page document in French and English listed all official
events set to take place in and around Québec City for the first
five months of 2008. A first wave covered the greater Québec
City area. Over the week of December 17, 326,000 copies were
delivered by Canada Post to homes in nearly 20 municipalities,
i.e., the eight city boroughs, the towns of L’Ancienne-Lorette
and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, neighboring municipalities
on the north and south shores, and Lévis.
From mid-January to mid-May, programs were also available
from all 400 SAQ outlets across Québec. People could also get
copies through Corporation partners, tourist information offices,
Tourisme Québec, Québec City hotels, taxi companies, and Cana
dian embassies and Québec government offices abroad.
Then 2008 finally arrived. Intensive media promotions invited
the public to the first two events of the year, The Kickoff and
The 400 Year Journey. Posters specially created for the events
appeared in a number of forms, notably in a leaflet entitled
En 2008, Québec fête ses 400 ans, which contained public transit
information, and alongside a map of The 400 Year Journey.
Société du 400e
The 400th anniversary squad in November 2006
Société du 400e
The 100 days to Québec City’s 400th countdown is launched.
Société du 400e
Come Celebrate! event calendar published in June 2007
Société du 400e
Promotional material is handed out by employees at a Rouge et Or football
game on September 23, 2007.
Société du 400e
Come Celebrate!, the first official program
Advertising
June 20, 2007
“Keep your copy of the official program safe. Show it to family and friends who come to visit over the summer and start
planning 2008 together!” – Pierre Boulanger
376
377
In order to reach certain target audiences, bilingual documents
were released in spring 2008: an official programming leaflet
for summer and fall 2008 entitled Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!,
with a print run of 1,100,000 in French and 200,000 in English, a
youth programming leaflet outlining activities for young people,
and a third leaflet on international activities.
2008 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN OUTLINE
BY MEDIA TYPE
MEDIA TYPE
In summer 2008 as official events got underway, including
at Espace 400e, intensive advertising campaigns were run in
newspapers and on television and radio to spotlight the year’s
main events. Québec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations were
advertised on big billboards in Montréal, both inside and outside the metro, and throughout the province on TV and radio
and in the newspapers. Programming was also available daily
in Le Soleil and once a week in other Québec dailies. All summer long, weekly programming for Espace 400e was printed up
and given to visitors by volunteers as they strolled along the
wharves beside Bassin Louise.
Each campaign brought a whole series of actions into play that
did much to spark interest and build anticipation for the events.
The table opposite provides a glimpse of just how big the 2008
advertising campaign was. There were three types of ads: ge
neric, scheduling, and one-off or sporadic advertising for each
of the headline events.
PARTNER
Société du 400e
DATE, DURATION,
OR FREQUENCY
GENERIC
Announcing the festivities and main program events: Encounters, Québec plein la rue, The Image Mill, The Walking Road, Céline on
the Plains, Paris/Québec – À travers la chanson, Pleins feux sur l’OSQ, and Cirque du Soleil
Newspapers
La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal, Le Devoir, and The Gazette
May 24
Official program
Desjardins credit unions, McDonald’s restaurants, SAQ
outlets, and Ultramar service stations
Variable
Magazines (in conjunction with
Québec City Tourism)
L’Actualité, Carnet voyages, Voilà Québec, etc.
Variable
Montréal
8 weeks
Montréal, Berri-UQAM metro station
4 weeks
More or less provincewide
Variable
Radio
Astral network
Variable
Television
SRC, RDI, and ARTV
Mid-May to late August
Outdoor
SCHEDULING
Announcing Espace 400e programming and Associated Programming events
Société du 400e
Le Soleil
Daily
Other Gesca Group newspapers (La Presse, Le Droit, Le
Nouvelliste, La Tribune, Le Quotidien, and La Voix de l’Est),
Le Journal de Québec, MédiaMatinQuébec, Le Journal de
Montréal, Le Devoir, and The Gazette
Weekly
Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, Québec Hebdo, Le Peuple
Lotbinière, Plein Jour sur Charlevoix, Hebdo régional
de Beauce, Courrier de Portneuf, La Voix du Sud, and
Drummondville’s L’Express
Bimonthly
Magazines
Québec Scope
June, July, and August
Radio
Québec Tourism Radio
Variable
Newspapers
Société du 400e
Summer and fall 2008 official program
Advertising
2008
Every year the International Club for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Owners publishes a high-end guide that is sent out to members all
around the world. The 2008 edition contains six pages on Québec City and its 400th anniversary.
378
379
MEDIA TYPE
2008 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN OUTLINE
BY MEDIA TYPE (CONT’D)
MEDIA TYPE
PARTNER
PARTNER
ONE-OFF (CONT’D)
DATE, DURATION,
OR FREQUENCY
Announcing each of the headline events
Viens chanter ton histoire
Le Soleil
July 12
Newspapers
Le Peuple Lotbinière, Plein Jour sur Charlevoix, Hebdo
régional de Beauce, Courrier de Portneuf, La Voix du Sud,
and Drummondville’s L’Express
July 6
Radio
CFOM
June 28–29, July 5–6
and 12–13
Television
TVA
Variable
Zoom Media display
Québec City and Montréal
July 20 to August 15
Newspapers
Voir (network)
August 7 and 14
Magazines
Québec Scope
August
Television
SRC, RDI, and ARTV
July 27 to August 15
Promotion
McDonald’s restaurants
Variable
ONE-OFF
Announcing each of the headline events
Espace 400e
Newspapers
Gesca Group newspapers, Le Journal de Québec, MédiaMatinQuébec, Le Journal de Montréal, and Le Devoir
May 31 and June 5
Radio
Astral network
Variable
Television
SRC, RDI, and ARTV
May 25 to June 21
Passagers/Passengers Exhibition
The Walking Road
Gesca Group newspapers, Le Journal de Québec,
MédiaMatinQuébec, Le Journal de Montréal, and Le Devoir
May 31 and June 5
Special promotion by Le Soleil, an exhibition partner
15 ads
Radio
Astral network
Variable
Television
SRC, RDI, and ARTV
May 25 to August 16
Newspapers
MédiaMatinQuébec, Le Journal de Montréal, and Le Devoir
June 20
Television
SRC, RDI, and ARTV
June 15 to July 5
Gesca Group newspapers
June 28
La Presse and Le Soleil
Variable
Salut 400e!
MédiaMatinQuébec, Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, Le Journal
de Montréal, Le Devoir, and 24 heures
July 2
Newspapers
Voir (network)
June 26 to July 3
ONE-OFF ADVERTISING (a few examples)
Québec Hebdo, Le Peuple Lotbinière, Plein Jour sur Charlevoix,
Hebdo régional de Beauce, Courrier de Portneuf, La Voix du
Sud, and Drummondville’s L’Express
June 22
Astral network, FM93, CFOM, Rythme FM, and Québec
Tourism Radio
Variable
SRC, RDI, and ARTV
June 15 to July 5
TVA and TQS
June 30 to July 5
Newspapers
The Image Mill
Céline on the Plains, Paris/Québec, and Pleins feux sur l’OSQ
Bonne fête Québec – July 3 to 6 Festivities
Newspapers
Radio
Television
La Grande rencontre familiale (additional advertising)
Newspapers
Television
Le Soleil
July 6
TQS
Advertising campaign with
promotion and vignettes
Advertising
DATE, DURATION,
OR FREQUENCY
Newspapers
Le Soleil, Le Journal de Québec, La Presse, and Le Devoir
August 16
Paris/Québec – À travers la
chanson (by SRC)
Le Soleil
August 23
Pleins feux sur l’OSQ
Le Soleil
August 24 and 25
Le Journal de Québec and Gesca Group newspapers
December 20
Le Journal de Québec and Le Soleil
December 27
EVENT
MESSAGE
DATE
Grande Traversée and the
arrival of the Belem
To thank the public for the welcome they gave to boaters
from the Grande Traversée as they arrived in the Port of
Québec and invite them to welcome the arrival of the Belem
June 27
Paul McCartney concert
To ask people to wear the flashing Québec City Summer
Festival pass to the Paul McCartney concert
July 17 and 19
Cirque du Soleil show
To remind Cirque du Soleil ticketholders to bring a photo
October 11 and 16
Gilles Vigneault
at Palais Montcalm
To announce the Gilles Vigneault concert at
Palais Montcalm
September 17 to October 25
July 14, 2008
“The 400th anniversary will explode in Paris: Bursts of the 2008 celebrations will light up the sky over Paris on July 14
as a huge blue and white 400 will be seen by one million French men and women.” – Le Soleil
380
381
CBC/RADIO-CANADA PARTNERSHIP COVERAGE
Radio-Canada was also able to raise the profile of the 400th anniversary celebrations on other occasions:
Five-part documentary series Rodolphe en Amérique from
June 23 to July 26 with Rodolphe Martinez from Bordeaux
Coverage of the Grande Traversée de l’Atlantique on May 8
and 10 in La Rochelle on France 3
MEDIA PARTNERS
51 reports in 1,486 worldwide broadcasts of 400 fois Québec
on TV5
CBC/Radio-Canada was associated with the Corporation from
2006 and officially became lead media partner to the event in
November 2007. This valuable partnership proved an outstanding showcase for the festivities nationally and internationally
through regular and special programming, reports, interviews,
special programs, and the recording of shows and main events
on radio, television, and the Internet, where a site was set up
especially for the 400th anniversary celebrations. CBC/RadioCanada also broadcast the Corporation’s main TV campaign
and counted down the days to July 3, 2008, from July 2007 on
Le Téléjournal/Québec.
Pleins feux sur Québec in Europe in June with OSQ and the
OSQ choir, broadcast in Belgium, Switzerland, and France
Radio Canada International, which devoted special programs
to Québec City’s 400th anniversary in French, English, Chinese,
Portuguese, Arabic, Ukrainian, Russian, and Spanish that
could be heard online and on satellite radio
All in all the partnership resulted in the coverage the event deserved, as shown in the table opposite.
Some 400th anniversary preparations and productions, as well
as the July 3 ceremonies and Associated Programming events
were broadcast by Radio-Canada, ARTV, and RDI. Radio-Canada
also presented an eight-part documentary series, Québec depuis
1608. Programs could be watched or listened to again on the
Internet, where it was also possible to learn more about Québec
City’s history and enter contests.
The 400th anniversary celebrations served as a backdrop to a
number of network-wide contests, including La grande tournée
du 400e, a contest in early 2008 in which members of the public
could win a week in Québec City and a passport for five to a host
of 400th anniversary activities, and Les Proverbes de chez nous,
which offered the chance to win one of 13 trips to Québec City
to catch the Cirque du Soleil show. A radio quiz program, Québec
en questions, was broadcast as part of Ça me dit de prendre le
temps featuring 18 teams of three high school students.
Advertising
1 radio studio for the French network
1 radio studio for the English network
1 outdoor television set
1 indoor television set
225 hours of regional radio programming, including Première heure, Retour sur le monde, Ça me dit de prendre le temps
17 hours of provincewide radio programming, including La Semaine verte and Breakaway
38.5 hours of provincewide television programming
42 live daily programs of 400 fois Québec from June 23 to August 21
BROADCASTING OF 400th ANNIVERSARY SHOWS AND ASSOCIATED PROGRAMMING
The Kickoff on December 31, 2007
49th Eucharistic Congress
Official 400th anniversary ceremony on July 3
Encounters: The Commemorative Show
La belle rencontre Acadie-Québec concert
Paris/Québec – À travers la chanson concert
Operalia
The New World Symphony during the Francophonie Summit
Gilles Vigneault’s Grand-messe
CBC/Radio-Canada was also very active at Espace 400e throughout
summer 2008 and set up production facilities onsite, including
two television sets and two radio studios. Its presence helped
add life to the site and raised the profile of the venue and the
events held there.
In addition to television programming, radio programs were
produced for regional and national networks in French and
English, while international programs went out in eight languages. A special daily program, 400 fois Québec, was broadcast
live from a permanent set on the wharf, and four weekly shows
of Bons baisers de France were recorded in front of a live audience from the IGA Ephemeral Gardens Stage in July. Les Années
lumière and many other weekend radio programs normally recorded in Montréal were produced in Québec City.
Espace 400e
December 31, 2008 fireworks
OTHER EVENTS COVERED BY RADIO/TELEVISION
Denis Lemelin
Radio-Canada’s Louise Cordeau at a La Fureur press conference in November 2007
NETWORK RADIO AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS
RECORDED FROM QUÉBEC CITY IN 2008
The Louvre in Québec City
Les Années lumière, June 4
Rendez-vous naval de Québec
Plaisirs d’été, June 30 to July 4
Grande Traversée de l’Atlantique
Sans Détour, July 3 and 4
Transat Québec–Saint-Malo
L’été du monde, July 3
Macadam Tribu, June 18
Céline on the Plains concert
De remarquables oubliés, June 28 to August 2
12th Francophonie Summit
Les chemins de travers, July 6
RDI en direct, June 30 to July 2
Le Téléjournal/Le Point, mainly in June and July
Bons baisers de France, July 7 to 10
CBC News at Six
CBC News : The National
OTHER PROGRAMMING
Société du 400e
Radio-Canada set at Espace 400e
400 fois Québec, network society and culture magazine, with highlights repeated on December 29 and 30, 2008, and
January 1 and 2, 2009
La Fureur du 400e, La Fureur’s last program, December 31, 2007, featuring 13 winners from all across Canada who won a trip to
Québec City as part of a contest in early December
Québec depuis 1608, an eight-part docudrama series starting June 15
À la recherche de Champlain, CBC documentary in partnership with Radio-Canada broadcast as part of the Les Grands
Reportages series
Au cœur d’une fontaine, documentary on Fontaine de Tourny broadcast on December 20 and 28, 2008. A contest in November
gave 150 listeners the chance to attend the documentary preview.
2008... je me souviens, memorable 400th anniversary moments broadcast on December 27 and 31, 2008
Les 400 coups de Québec, 400th anniversary highlights presented by Yves Jacques on January 4, 2009
November 13, 2007
“Radio-Canada will bring the 400th anniversary celebrations to households across the country. Moncton,
Victoria, Sudbury—every town and village will have front-row seats for the festivities!” – Pierre Boulanger
382
383
2008 MAIN MEDIA
PLACEMENT PARTNERS
In March 2008 the Corporation negotiated partnership agreements
with other media groups to meet its advertising requirements
and obtain preferential rates. Discontent with the Corporation
was running very high among the media, with many having
tried to negotiate agreements or put forward various cooperation plans in vain. Negotiations were not plain sailing, but the
wind changed and our partners joined in the festivities.
Le Soleil, which was also a media partner for Québec City’s
400th anniversary celebrations, stepped up the number of
articles and columns it published and put the 400th anniversary
on the front page on numerous occasions. All the province’s
newspapers were used, from Le Devoir to the Quebec ChronicleTelegraph, as well as the newspaper published by locked-out
employees at Le Journal de Québec, MédiaMatinQuébec. Advertisements were placed in all newspapers in the Gesca Group—
La Presse, La Tribune, Le Nouvelliste, Le Quotidien, Le Droit, and
La Voix de l’Est—and in all Quebecor newspapers, including
Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal. The Corporation
also advertised in cultural weekly Voir and the pages of Québec
Scope, a monthly, and hired the Zoom Media network to promote The Walking Road show to the younger audience it was
aimed at.
Other media companies also got involved in event presentation.
The TVA network broadcast the Paul McCartney and Céline Dion
shows and presented the Viens chanter ton histoire concert, while
TQS presented La Grande rencontre familiale. For its part, TéléQuébec broadcast The Walking Road and produced and broadcast
the 15th edition of La Dictée des Amériques in March 2008. The
grand finale of this international spelling contest had a special
400th anniversary flavor, bringing together 150 French-language
champions from 60 countries at Québec’s National Assembly.
Astral Media with its Énergie and Rock Détente networks became the main radio partner, but spots were also broadcast on
Radio-Classique for the OSQ concert, on CFOM 102.9 for the
Viens chanter ton histoire and Salut 400e! shows, and on FM93
for Paris/Québec – À travers la chanson. The Corporation also
reserved air time on Québec Tourism Radio.
The Corporation worked with all print and electronic media,
according to target audience and type of event. Québec media
treated the public to a healthy dose of quality information on
the event, leaving no one in any doubt that a 400th anniversary
party was in full swing in Québec City!
Dailies
Le Soleil
Le Journal de Québec
MédiaMatinQuébec
La Presse
Le Journal de Montréal
The Gazette
Le Devoir
La Tribune
Le Nouvelliste
Le Quotidien
Le Droit
La Voix de l’Est
Société du 400e
The Image Mill advertisement in Le Soleil
Société du 400e
En 2008, Québec fête ses 400 ans advertisement in Québec dailies
Weeklies and Monthlies
Voir
Le Peuple Lotbinière
Plein Jour sur Charlevoix
Hebdo régional de Beauce
Courrier de Portneuf
La Voix du Sud
L’Express
Québec Hebdo
Québec Scope
L’actualité
Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph
Television
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (SRC, RDI, ARTV, and CBC)
TVA (CFCM)
TQS
Société du 400e
MédiaMatinQuébec advertisement from July 2, 2008
Radio
Rock Détente
Énergie
CFOM
Québec Tourism Radio
Indoor/Outdoor
CBS Outdoor Canada
Métromédia Plus
Zoom Media
Enseignes André
Société du 400e
2008 Carnet voyages advertisement
Société du 400e
Advertisement appearing in Le Journal de Québec for the July 3 to 6, 2008
celebrations
Advertising
January 25, 2003
“Celebrations for and by the whole world.” – Le Soleil
384
385
INFORMING
THE PUBLIC
Promotional efforts initially stressed Québec City’s history and
anniversary, and were used to introduce the Corporation. Later
the 400th anniversary became synonymous with hundreds of
events put on by the Corporation and a multitude of partners.
Each event was unique and enjoyed the promotional backing
of the Corporation. The methods used to announce the events
ranged from posting written information on the Corporation
website to the Info 400e line. Information included activity summaries, event times and venues, the availability of public transit,
and site access for people with reduced mobility.
Société du 400e
En 2008, Québec fête ses 400 ans bookmark
Société du 400e
2008 prend forme letterhead
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announcements and graphic platforms evolved and developed
as 2008 took shape. While the Corporation initially sought to
publicize its existence and mission, it went on to encourage potential visitors to visit the event in 2008, call attention to Québec
City’s history, drum up interest from tourists and the general
public, encourage tourists and the general public to visit the
event website, and convey a festive atmosphere, all while promoting a rich and diversified lineup of events. To this end, various
slogans were used:
Société du 400e
Join the Celebrations! poster
Québec, a Gift to the World (2002)
Société du 400e
Fêtons 400 ans! poster
In 2008, Québec City Celebrates Its 400th Anniversary (2004)
On the Road to 2008! (2004)
2008 Is Taking Shape (2005)
Where Will You Be in 2008? (2006)
Join the Celebrations! (2007)
400 Years, Let’s Celebrate! (2007)
Let’s Celebrate 400 Years! (2008)
Société du 400e
Where Will You Be in 2008? poster
Société du 400e
400 Years, Let’s Celebrate! poster
Informing the Public
January 17, 2008
“We are delighted by Canadian and foreign media interest in the 400th anniversary. All the work with journalists
behind the scenes is paying dividends.” – Denys Légaré
386
387
PRINT MATERIALS
From 2001 posters, leaflets, folders, and official event calendars
and programs were produced and distributed in the Québec City
area, in tourism circles in Québec and Canada, and abroad.
Various print and electronic versions of the calendar were released
to keep the public informed and reflect programming changes,
especially beginning in December 2006 with the release of the
Events Calendar Québec City 1608–2008.
Société du 400e
Japanese Espace 400 leaflet
e
Société du 400e
Join the Celebrations! leaflet
Société du 400e
Coup d’envoi (The Kickoff) poster
Société du 400e
Le Parcours 400 ans chrono (The 400 Year Journey) poster
The following table summarizes the print materials produced
by the Corporation, whether for a specific purpose (e.g., Québec’s
History at a Glance) or to promote specific events such as those
at Espace 400e, Let’s Ring Out Together!, or the program of activities for July 3, 2008. These materials raised the profile of
the festivities and helped spread the word. They were sent to
partners locally, across Canada and even abroad to announce
and promote the celebrations. In all, close to one hundred
print items were produced in a number of languages, some for
specific clienteles, such as the 150,000 copies of the Youth Programming 2008, a leaflet aimed at France and describing the
international activities being held, as well as a leaflet produced
in Japanese outlining the activities to be held at Espace 400e.
Société du 400e
International program, May to October 2008
Société du 400e
Programming poster
Société du 400e
Société du 400e
Programme Jeunesse 2008 (Youth Programming 2008)
Société du 400e
Passagers/Passengers exhibition poster
Espace 400 —Heart of the Festivities leaflet
e
December 2007
“Quebec City is the place to be in 2008!” – Canadian Technology & Business magazine
388
389
MAIN PROMOTIONAL DOCUMENTS
PRODUCED BY THE CORPORATION
BY YEAR OF PUBLICATION
DATE
TITLE/SUBJECT
FORM
FORMAT
LANGUAGE
2001
and 2002
Le Quatre-centième
400th anniversary newsletter, Vol. 1 and 2, No. 1
Newsletter
28 cm ×
21.5 cm
French
2001-2002
Du Wampum au Webqueb – Un voyage à travers le temps,
au Québec, de 1500 à 2008
Educational document on Québec City’s history
2001-2002
2001-2002
2002
2002
and 2003
CD-ROM
Du Wampum au Webqueb
Educational document accompanying the CD-ROM on
Québec City’s history
Booklet
(12 pages)
Du Wampum au Webqueb
Advertisement for the CD-ROM on Québec City’s history
Poster
Québec pour le monde
Québec A Gift to the World
Québec Abierto Al Mundo
Toute une histoire à raconter 3 juillet Fête de Québec
Program for July 3, 2002, and July 3, 2003
Leaflet
Card
Standard
Standard
43 cm × 28 cm
Standard
French
DATE
TITLE/SUBJECT
FORM
FORMAT
LANGUAGE
2006
Où serez-vous en 2008 ?
Where Will You Be in 2008 ?
Postcard
16.5 cm ×
12 cm
French and English
2006
398 ans et…
Large greeting card printed for Québec City’s 398th
anniversary
Card
33 cm × 24 cm
French
2006
La rencontre
Presentation of the 2008 celebrations theme
Folder
Standard
French
2006
Calendrier des événements Québec 1608-2008
Events Calendar Quebec City 1608-2008
Program outline
Leaflet
Standard
French and English
2006
400e Québec 2008
Seven folder inserts on programming, partnerships,
400th anniversary productions, the First Nations, and more
Folder
23.5 cm ×
23.5 cm
French and English
2006
Québec : un brin d’histoire
Québec’s History at a Glance
4 centuries of Québec City history
Booklet
(8 pages)
20.3 cm ×
20.3 cm
French and English
2006
MonQuebec2008.com
Québec 1608-2008
With ribbon logo
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French
2006
MonQuebec2008.com
2007 Calendar
Calendar
CD-ROM box
French
French
French
French, English,
and Spanish
26.5 cm ×
10 cm
and 22.9 cm ×
10 cm
French
French, English,
and Spanish
En 2008, Québec fête ses 400 ans
In 2008, Québec City celebrates its 400th anniversary
En 2008, la Ciudad de Québec celebra sus 400 años
Program outline
Booklet
(4 pages)
Standard
2004
Espace 400e au bassin Louise
Espace 400e presentation
Booklet
(14 pages)
21.5 cm ×
28 cm
French
2004
En route vers 2008 !
On the Road to 2008!
Information on the Corporation
Leaflet
Standard
French and English
2007
MonQuebec2008.com
Website promotional tool
Bookmark
16 cm ×
3.2 cm
French
2004
400e Québec 2008
Presentation of festival theme, programming, graphic
signature, etc.
Folder
(6 inserts)
18.5 cm ×
18.5 cm
French
2007
Soyez de la fête !
Come Celebrate!
Québec City’s 400th Anniversary Event Calendar
Brochure
(31 pages)
22.8 cm ×
10.1 cm
French and English
2005
Québec 1608-2008
Promotional video
CD-ROM
Standard
French, English,
and Spanish
2007
Booklet
(68 pages)
20.2 cm ×
13.5 cm
French and English
2005
2008 prend forme
Tentative calendar for 2008 activities
Leaflet
14.5 cm ×
17.2 cm
400e anniversaire de Québec : Soyez de la fête !
Québec City’s 400th Anniversary: Come Celebrate!
Official program: January–May, 2008
French
2007
Leaflet
Standard
French
16 cm ×
3.2 cm
French
En 2008, Québec fête ses 400 ans
Announcement of The Kickoff, The 400 Year Journey,
and RTC special services
2007
Espace 400e – Le cœur des festivités
Espace 400e—Heart of the Festivities
Programming information
Leaflet
16.5 cm ×
16.5 cm
French and English
2007
Prenez part à la fête !
Join the Celebrations!
Programming overview
Leaflet
Standard
French and English
2007
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French and English
2004
2005
2005
Quebec400.qc.ca
Website promotional tool
Ensemble, préparons la fête de Québec ! – Quebec400.qc.ca
To mark the publication of special edition No. 1 of
Cap-aux-Diamants magazine
Bookmark
Bookmark
16 cm ×
3.2 cm
French
Where Will You Be in 2008?
¿ Donde estaran en 2008 ?
Invitation to the 400th anniversary celebrations
Leaflet
2006
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French and English
2007
Postcard
15.2 cm ×
11 cm
French and English
2006
Flyer
28 cm ×
21.5 cm
French and English
2007
Prenez part à la fête, devenez bénévoles.
Volunteer drive
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French
2007
Volunteer drive
Card
10.2 cm ×
17.8 cm
French
2006
Standard
French, English,
and Spanish
March 2006
“In 2008 the whole city will come together to join in exciting projects for all ages and tastes and get the whole province
involved in the celebrations.” – Pierre Boulanger
390
391
WEBSITE
MAIN PROMOTIONAL DOCUMENTS
PRODUCED BY THE CORPORATION
BY YEAR OF PUBLICATION (CONT’D)
Internet knows no bounds, and online content can be changed
at the click of a mouse. It is therefore an attractive tool in terms
of flexibility and cost.
DATE
TITLE/SUBJECT
FORM
FORMAT
LANGUAGE
2007
Prenez part à la fête. Devenez bénévoles.
Volunteer drive
Card
10.2 cm ×
17.8 cm
French
2007
Bénévoles recherchés !
Volunteer drive
Card
10.2 cm ×
17.8 cm
French
2007
Résonnons à l’unisson !
Inset
Standard
French
2007
Let’s Ring Out Together!
Inset
Standard
French and English
2007
Poster
60.5 cm ×
45.5 cm
French and English
2007
Card
10.4 cm ×
5 cm
French and English
2007
Leaflet
Standard
French and English
2007
Coup d’envoi
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French
2007
Le Parcours 400 ans chrono
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French
2007
Le Parcours 400 ans chrono
The 400 Year Journey site map
Leaflet
Standard
French
2007
Célébrons 400 ans !
400 Years, Let’s Celebrate!
Poster
61 cm ×
91.5 cm
French and English
2008
En 2008, prenez part à la fête !
Join the Celebrations in 2008!
The OSQ’s musical agenda
Bookmark
20.4 cm ×
5 cm
French and English
2008
Fêtons 400 ans !
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French
2008
Fêtons 400 ans !
Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!
Official Program – Summer and Fall 2008
Leaflet
Standard
French and English
2008
Fêtons 400 ans !
Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!
Programming – May to October, 2008 –
International Version
Leaflet
Standard
French and English
2008
Fêtons nos 400 ans ! – Programme Jeunesse 2008
Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!: Youth Programming 2008
Leaflet
21.5 cm ×
9 cm
French and English
2008
Fêtons 400 ans ! – Programme 3 juillet 2008
Brochure
(8 pages)
28 cm ×
10.7 cm
French and English
2008
Exposition Passagers/Passengers
Poster
91.5 cm ×
61 cm
French
2008
Passeport Vol 400 pour Québec
Fun activity for the Passagers/Passengers exhibition
for children age 6 to 12
Booklet
12.5 cm ×
9 cm
French
2008
Espace 400e : Salon Feuille d’érable Air Canada
Rental information
Leaflet
(4 pages)
27.9 cm ×
10.8 cm
French
2008
Photos of various 2008 activities produced for the
Postcards (8)
10 cm ×
15.2 cm
French
From the very first years of the Corporation’s existence, a website
allowed all interested parties to follow preparations online. The
site became more and more festive as time wore on, offering
up-to-the-minute information on events in both English and
French. A complementary e-newsletter called L’Inédit was published beginning in 2005, mostly before the festivities reached their
high point in summer 2008. Visitor traffic on quebec400.qc.ca
fluctuated, starting slowly but building to over 60,000 hits and
200,000 page views in just two months in late 2006!
The MyQuebec2008.com website was already online for a number
of months before its official launch as part of the 400 days to
Québec City’s 400th campaign. The interactive website included
information on the lineup of activities organized by the Corporation as well as Associated Programming. The most visited
sections were on Espace 400e, the events calendar, and the blog,
while the most popular events were the free shows by Céline
Dion and Cirque du Soleil, along with The Image Mill. Volunteers
also enjoyed special, private access to the website. Links to the
RTC and Québec City Tourism websites were also popular. The
website was also a great way to spread the brand image of the
400th anniversary celebrations (ribbons and Let’s Celebrate
400 Years! logo, which could be downloaded free of charge di
rectly from the graphic standards page).
Société du 400e
Website homepage
The comprehensive site provided detailed information on all
programming organized by the Corporation and its partners. A
section for younger visitors was a mine of information divided
between the Kids’ Corner, the Curious Minds’ Corner, and the
Teachers’ Corner, home to teaching plans, virtual exhibitions,
and educational outings.
However, visitors to the website sometimes had trouble finding
exactly what they were looking for, and so the homepage was
updated daily to highlight recent changes to content. A huge
amount of work by the webmaster ensured the public was kept
up-to-date with scheduling changes and other adjustments.
Société du 400e
Kids’ Corner page
July 2008
“Even at the age of 400, Quebec’s still young at heart. Celebrated as an olde worlde outpost of France, this city is far more
modern than it seems at first glance.” – The Independent, Americas Travel
392
393
Société du 400e
Nevertheless, the number of visitors to the website shows the
extent to which it was a useful and necessary communications
tool. In 2008 close to 1.5 million people visited the site for a total
of 2,351,116 visits between November 1, 2007, and January 8,
2009. Over 550,000 of these visits came in July 2008, and the
number of visitors on a single day peaked at 44,000 on July 3,
2008, as shown in the following tables. These tables show the
total number of unique visitors to be 1,425,034 for the whole
site (each visitor being counted just once per information category, even if he or she consulted the same category more than
once) as well as the total number of visits, i.e., the total number of
visits for those who visited the website more than once. For instance, the 1,425,034 unique visitors to the site consulted event
information a total of 1,821,910 times, all sections combined.
Although mainly from North America, website visitors came
from all around the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and
Oceania. In all, they hailed from close to 200 countries and
territories (88% from Canada, followed by the United States,
France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom) and 15,561 towns
and cities, Montréal finishing second to Québec City for the
greatest number of visits. On average, each visitor looked at
3.87 pages for 3:51 minutes.
Société du 400e
In early 2009 an abridged version of the site used during the
celebrations was hosted by the City of Québec.
MYQUEBEC2008.COM VISITOR TRAFFIC
BY EVENT AND SECTION
NOVEMBER 1, 2007, TO JANUARY 8, 2009
INFORMATION BY PAGE
TOTAL NO. OF VISITS
46,026
The 400 Year Journey
35,913
24,452
Formal events on July 3
24,642
17,940
Encounters: The Commemorative Show
45,031
38,664
5,740
4,961
Québec plein la rue
38,894
33,938
La Grande rencontre familiale
26,609
23,783
19,178
16,544
66,018
57,322
The Walking Road
51,973
46,701
206,505
180,826
Paris/Québec – À travers la chanson
20,636
18,483
Pleins feux sur l’OSQ
13,713
12,504
153,083
132,834
23,598
21,140
792,771
NOT CUMULATIVE
PRODUCTIONS DU 400e SUBTOTAL
Homepage and postmortem
512,545
379,637
The Image Mill
197,180
164,881
Passagers/Passengers exhibition
71,285
56,360
Ephemeral Gardens
69,481
43,632
Shows at La Grande Place
93,985
83,039
June and July: 110
August and Sept.: 5,964
TOTAL: 6,074
June and July: 100
TOTAL: 5,636
June: 8,487
July: 9,685
August: 4,349
September: 989
TOTAL: 23,510
June: 7,611
July: 8,836
August: 3,919
September: 907
TOTAL: 21,273
June: 6,709
July: 8,961
August: 9,889
September: 1,497
TOTAL: 27,056
June: 5,871
July: 7,976
August: 8,834
September: 1,329
TOTAL: 24,010
June and July: 296
TOTAL: 6,828
June and July: 270
TOTAL: 6,300
First Nations encounters
12,297
11,325
Visual arts and curiosities
8,898
8,153
ESPACE 400e SUBTOTAL
1,029,139
NOT CUMULATIVE
TOTAL BY EVENT
1,821,910
NOT CUMULATIVE
Events Calendar
1,091,569
760,371
97,917
78,667
224,377
178,113
Graphics Standards
38,653
32,620
Contact Us
84,107
68,539
Our Partners
23,674
19,779
1,560,297
NOT CUMULATIVE
ESPACE 400e EVENTS
Meetings That Matter series at La Grande Place
Family activities at La Petite Place IGA and onstage
at the Ephemeral Gardens
Street entertainment
61,238
Salut 400e!
NO. OF UNIQUE
VISITORS
NO. OF UNIQUE
VISITORS
The Kickoff
Céline on the Plains
TOTAL NO. OF VISITS
INFORMATION BY PAGE
Community shows onstage at the Ephemeral Gardens
MAIN EVENTS, PRODUCTIONS DU 400e
Other programming activities, including Infiniment Québec
BY EVENT AND SECTION
NOVEMBER 1, 2007, TO JANUARY 8, 2009 (CONT’D)
Press Room
Blog
TOTAL BY SECTION
January 2008
“A melange of music, art and merrymaking marks a 400th anniversary. Quebecois invite everyone to their
worldly fete.” – Boston Sunday Globe
394
395
BY MONTH AND VISITOR PEAKS
NOVEMBER 1, 2007, TO JANUARY 8, 2009
MONTH
TOTAL NO. OF VISITS
NO. OF UNIQUE VISITORS
November 2007
58,869
45,034
December 2007
103,385
Peak, December 31, 2007: 21,437
83,487
Peak, December 31, 2007: 18,889
January 2008
154,157
119,177
February 2008
85,404
69,787
March 2008
91,600
75,318
April 2008
92,897
73,514
May 2008
174,545
132,212
June 2008
315,321
218,666
550,493
Peak, July 3: 44,507
Peak, July 20: 24,337
355,907
Peak, July 3: 36,841
Peak, July 20: 21,521
413,197
Peak, August 22: 31,271
273,727
Peak, August 22: 27,521
177,383
Peak, September 20: 21,804
125,090
Peak, September 20: 17,316
October 2008
55,444
43,559
November 2008
30,466
24,182
December 2008
42,437
34,158
5,518
4,645
TOTAL
2,351,116
Not cumulative
GRAND TOTAL
MyQuebec2008.com
2,351,116
1,425,034
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
January 2009 (1 to 8)
INFO 400 LINE
e
In 2007 the number of calls and email inquiries received by the
Corporation was such that handling them inhouse became difficult. Receptionists sometimes answered over 500 calls a day,
not to mention the constant stream of visitors and couriers. This
led to the Corporation reaching an agreement with Tourisme
Québec to use its call center. The telephone service was provided from November 1, 2007, to October 31, 2008, seven days
a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The service was extended to meet
demand on the evenings of big events.
Québec City Tourism staff were outstanding. They were briefed
on the event program and were able to contact a resource person
at the Corporation to find out more when needed. Québec City
Tourism handled 24,638 calls and 15,280 emails. It received the
highest ever number of travel inquiries since 2002, up 21.1%
on 2007.
INFO 400 LINE VISITOR NUMBERS
NOVEMBER 1, 2007, TO OCTOBER 31, 2008
e
MONTH
CALLS
EMAILS
TOTAL
November 2007
11
17
28
December 2007
607
639
1,246
January 2008
866
1,181
2,047
February 2008
331
1,040
1,371
March 2008
482
1,085
1,567
April 2008
661
1,073
1,734
May 2008
1,390
1,359
2,749
June 2008
3,378
2,198
5,576
July 2008
7,379
2,910
10,289
August 2008
6,840
1,645
8,485
September 2008
2,252
1,570
3,822
441
563
1,004
24,638
15,280
39,918
October 2008
TOTAL
Informing the Public – Promotional Bunting and Banners
PROMOTIONAL
BUNTING
AND BANNERS
Our promotional bunting and banners in four festive colors—
pink, orange, blue, and green—decorated the city’s streets and
highways, event venues, buildings, and vehicles and were a daily
reminder of the celebrations. They attracted attention, raised
interest, and spurred people to take part. In addition to boosting
event visibility and awareness, the bunting and banners acted
as visual guides for spectators and visitors. Following are some
of the promotional bunting and banners the Corporation used:
Window stickers (three sizes)
Posters
Banners (fence covers and beach flags)
Flags
Will Prosper
Samuel de Champlain poses beside a Fêtons nos 400 ans! banner at a press
conference in Montréal.
Pennants featuring the ribbon theme and MonQuebec2008.com
Freestanding banners
Jumbo signs
An inventory was made of all the city’s possible strategic banner
and bunting sites and applicable municipal and provincial bylaws and regulations, and steps were taken to obtain all the
necessary display permits.
Already in 2006 the Corporation, in collaboration with its financial partners, began gradually installing its 400th anniversary
promotional bunting and banners. The federal and provincial
governments and the City of Québec helped put together a
bunting and banner strategy to display the 400th anniversary
logo and colors on their buildings, vehicle fleets, and signage.
For example, the first materials went up at Québec City’s tourist
information offices and post offices, as well as on certain government buildings, on 350 RTC buses and bus stops, at the
Port of Québec, and on ferries.
Next in line were City of Québec buildings (city hall, borough
offices, recreation centers, libraries, etc.) and, with the help
and assistance of Ministère des Transports du Québec, highway signs at the city limits, including on Highway 20 (east and
west), Highway 40 (east and west), and Highway 73 (north and
south). A celebratory note was also added to Commission de la
capitale nationale du Québec signs welcoming visitors to the
city. In addition, some twenty signs were posted at strategic
intersections.
Spring 2008
Société du 400e
Banner on the façade of Théâtre Petit Champlain
Société du 400e
Célébrons 400 ans! roadsign
The 400th anniversary is putting on quite the show! The city is coming alive with color. From Autoroute
Dufferin-Montmorency, people can admire a huge banner alongside the former Saint-Vincent-de-Paul church.
396
397
In cooperation with the City of Québec, nearly 1,000 pennants
were hung wherever possible throughout the city, including
nearly 100 around ExpoCité. A giant screen was installed at the
Place D’Youville bus terminal in partnership with Réseau de
transport de la Capitale to inform passersby and transit users
of the upcoming program and events.
Société du 400e
Société des alcools du Québec
Société du 400e
Québec City Tourism office in Old Québec
Société du 400e
Banner over Autoroute Laurentienne
Autobus Laval
Société du 400e
Autobus Laval vehicle decked out in 400th anniversary colors
Bus stop festooned with 400th anniversary ribbon stickers
Société du 400e
Head office of CAA-Québec
Société du 400e
Banners and bunting at the Cruise Terminal
Société du 400e
400th anniversary pennants
Many of the Corporation’s partners acquired promotional material to decorate their windows and building façades, including
its business partners, Associated Programming organizations,
Québec City attractions and major events, shopping malls,
hotels and restaurants, the Québec City Airport, Gare du Palais
train/bus station, Sainte-Foy train station, and Observatoire
de la Capitale. Autobus Laval even painted its buses with the
400th anniversary colors and logo.
Société du 400e
Banner on the façade of the Bell building
A number of buildings in highly visible locations—some of which
belonged to major event partners—were decorated with jumbo
banners at the Corporation’s expense. Locations included the
offices of Desjardins, CAA-Québec, Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, Bell, Société des alcools du Québec, SSQ/
Hydro-Québec, Radio-Canada, and Le Soleil daily as well as the
Québec City Convention Centre.
Société du 400e
Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec
Société du 400e
Gray Line kiosk
Promotional Bunting and Banners
June 2005
“We are also appealing for projects from outside the Corporation that will expand our range of activities and project the
image of a city that knows how to celebrate.” – Raymond Garneau
398
399
The Delta Québec and Loews Le Concorde hotels, and the nine
show windows of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac were deco
rated, as were Place-Royale, Le Capitole, Palais Montcalm, and
the Laurier Québec shopping mall. Mont-Sainte-Anne and
Stoneham ski resorts also did their part.
In early 2008 the 400th anniversary logo was updated to reinforce
public ownership of the celebrations. The message Fêtons nos
400 ans! (Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!) began appearing on enormous road signs in the Québec City area. In spring 2008 a wide
array of promotional items bearing the new slogan were made
available to the public and proved to be hugely popular.
Société du 400e
Illuminated “400” sign above Rue Saint-Jean
In addition to all this material, the Corporation produced bunting
and banners that it installed and relocated as needed for press
conferences, public presentations, and Corporation and Associated Programming events: beach flags and freestanding banners, fence covers, banners, flags, etc. There was even a hot air
balloon bearing the slogan Fêtons nos 400 ans! that made its
maiden flight on May 30, 2008.
The bunting and banners at Espace 400e were on permanent
display, and roadsigns along the city’s highways and main roads
indicated how to get to the venue.
Société du 400e
Desjardins
Société du 400e
Delta Québec
Société du 400e
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
On December 31, 2007, a huge “400” sign was lit up on the
Marie-Guyart Building. A few months later, other “400” signs
in lights appeared overlooking six of the city’s main streets:
Saint-Joseph, Grande Allée, Cartier, Saint-Jean, Maguire, and
Petit-Champlain. Smaller “400” signs in lights were hung from
streetlamps in Old Québec, on 3e Avenue in Limoilou, and along
Rue Saint-Vallier in the Saint-Roch and Saint-Sauveur districts. About 170 parasols bearing the event logo and colors
were offered to restaurants with outdoor patios along main
streets, notably on Grande Allée, Cartier, Saint-Jean, SaintJoseph, Myrand, and Maguire, as well as in the Old Port and
Petit-Champlain districts.
Société du 400e
400th anniversary flags on the façade of L’entrecôte Saint-Jean
Gilles Fréchette
Fêtons nos 400 ans! hot air balloon
Société du 400e
Place-Royale
Société du 400e
“400” sign on the Marie-Guyart Building
Société du 400e
Banner in the Petit-Champlain district
June 12, 2008
“It’s an original way to spread the word about the anniversary, and we invite people to look to the skies, where they’ll see
a 400th anniversary hot air balloon at many activities.” – Daniel Gélinas
400
401
The city quickly took on a very festive and colorful air, which
helped foster a sense of pride among residents and raise
awareness among tourists of how big the event was.
Société du 400e
Québec 1608-2008 poster
Denis Lemelin
The 400 Year Journey sign
Société du 400e
MonQuebec2008.com beach flags
Denis Lemelin
Freestanding banners at The Image Mill press conference
Société du 400e
400e Québec 2008 freestanding banner
Société du 400e
Freestanding banner for official Associated Programming events
Société du 400e
Freestanding banners the night of The Kickoff
Société du 400e
Fêtons nos 400 ans! sign
Société du 400e
Let’s Celebrate 400 Years banner
Denis Lemelin
The 400 Year Journey bunting
Société du 400e
Québec 1608-2008 freestanding banner
November 18, 2008
Denis Lemelin
Fêtons nos 400 ans! freestanding banner
“We would like to thank Hôtel Château Laurier Québec, which as it did for the Paul McCartney concert, allowed
us to hang a giant banner on the hotel façade for unrivalled visibility!” – Daniel Gélinas
402
403
PROMOTIONAL
MATERIAL
Since the Corporation’s mission was to create a festive event
everyone could enjoy, it was important that the image conveyed
by the promotional material promote the same values. The
promotional materials and official merchandise had to have a
shared look and feel. A wide range of material was designed,
created, and distributed or presented to back the communications strategy and get the public to join in on the celebrations:
The promotional materials described here, whether associated
with institutional, promotional, or advertising activities, or whether
banners, bunting, or official merchandise, all reflect the Corporation’s brand image and mission.
General materials, including stationery, invitation cards,
business cards, and accreditations
In 2000 the Corporation adopted four graphic signatures to meet
its progressively changing institutional, festive, and banner/
bunting needs. Since its goal was to create an event that would
bring together people from all walks of life, it came up with
four signatures free of any ideological bias, inspired simply by
Québec City’s 400th anniversary and a spirit of celebration.
The first logo introduced in 2001 was a reminder that Québec
City is the only fortified city north of Mexico. The four flames
evoked the anniversary, and the colors were those of the City.
The second, more modern logo, which was introduced in 2004,
made use of the number “400,” with chevrons alluding to the
past, present, and future leading to 2008. The colored ribbons and
balls didn’t appear until 2006, on the occasion marking 400 days
to the start of the festivities. The Fêtons 400 ans! (Let’s Celebrate
400 Years!) slogan introduced in 2008 was designed as a direct
invitation to join in the celebrations.
Bilingual informative material, including flyers, brochures,
calendars, programs, bookmarks, videos, and convention kits
Material for media relations and tourism promotion, including booths, presentations, press folders, buttons, pennants,
lanyards, pins, ribbons, stickers, postcards, pencils, mugs,
glasses, and posters
Société du 400e
Québec City 1608–2008 ribbon signature
Société du 400e
400e Québec 2008 lanyard
Ads for radio, TV, print media, and the Internet
Banners and bunting, including stickers, posters, banners,
flags, pennants, freestanding banners and beach flags, and
signs for booths, main streets, buildings and storefronts,
homes, and vehicles
Promotional vehicles: RV (UMIF), commercial vehicles used
by employees, hot air balloon
Corporation website
Graphic standards guide for Associated Programming partners and sponsors, to ensure their visibility
Promotional clothing for employees, volunteers, and sports
ambassadors
Société du 400e
Québec City 1608–2008 ribbon ball signature
Société du 400e
400e Québec 2008 balloons
Clothing for sale: caps, t-shirts, sweaters, coats, and other
garments (discussed in the Merchandising section of the upcoming chapter)
Société du 400e
First logo of the Corporation
Société du 400e
400e Québec 2008 bag
Société du 400e
Let’s Celebrate 400 Years! signature
Société du 400e
Société du 400
e
400e Québec 2008 press folder
Second logo of the Corporation
Promotional Material
May 21, 2005
“A festival atmosphere: Québec City’s 400th anniversary gets underway.” – Les Affaires newspaper
404
405
COMMUNICATIONS HIGHLIGHTS
COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
Drafting of the 2003–2008 Communications Plan
2003
Côté Fleuve Inc. hired to define communications choices
2004
Surveys, studies, and research reports
2004–2007
Cossette Communication-Marketing hired, presentation of an integrated strategic communications plan
2006
Presentation of the 2007–2008 Action Plan
2007
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Société du 400e
Québec 1608-2008 pins, ribbons, and bookmarks
Société du 400e
Soyez de la fête! promo card
Société du 400e
Québec 1608-2008 pens
Société du 400e
Québec 1608-2008 car sticker
Société du 400e
Québec 1608-2008 buttons
The communications actions listed opposite were of critical importance for a number of years, helping promote Québec City’s
400th anniversary celebrations and providing the communications
support the Corporation needed. The communications teams
used every tool at their disposal—public and media relations,
tourism promotion, advertising, public announcements, promotional bunting and banners, and promotional materials—to
give this milestone anniversary all the reach and exposure the
Corporation wanted for it.
Even in the final sprint of 2008, the teams had to step up their
efforts to give new impetus to the communications strategy. They
introduced a new signature and a more impactful advertising
campaign to get everyone talking about the 400th anniversary
celebrations.
Société du 400e
Bells for the Let’s Ring Out Together! event
Promotional Material – Communications Highlights
Public consultations with over 300 organizations and individuals
2001
Promotion of the festivities at the City of Québec’s July 3 celebrations
2001–2002
Creation of an online game called Les 400 coups de Québec; a CD-ROM on the history of Québec City, Du Wampum
au Webqueb, distributed in elementary schools around Québec; and Contes et histoires de Québec, in cooperation
with Québec City’s libraries
2001–2008
Validation of the programming framework
2002–2003
Event promotion at Les Grandes tablées [community meals] in the boroughs
2003–2004
Participation in Les Journées de la culture [Culture days]
2004–2005
Publication of two special edition issues of Cap-aux-Diamants journal
2004–2005
Over one hundred speeches and presentations to various audiences
2004 à 2008
Public presentation on the Espace 400e concept
2005
Some 75 outings by the Samuel de Champlain figure/actor
2006–2008
Participation in Les Journées découvertes [Discovery days] and information sessions in the boroughs
2007
Some forty outings by the event RV (Unité mobile d’immersion festive)
2007
Appointment of 400 students from Collège Mérici’s École de tourisme, d’hôtellerie et de restauration as ambassadors
2007
Naming of eight top amateur athletes as sports ambassadors
2007
Assessment of 300 proposals for Québec City’s 400th anniversary official song contest organized by
Radio-Canada’s Espace musique
2007
Organization of various contests, including Amène ta gang and Soyez aux premières loges, and sponsorship of the
13th edition of the writing and drawing competition, Ça va être TA fête! run by Québec City daily Le Soleil
2007–2008
Promotion of the 400th anniversary celebrations at various events, including the Québec Winter Carnival, Noël
des enfants, and the Montréal High Lights Festival
2007–2008
Gold award in the Event category from Société québécoise des professionnels en relations publiques
2009
media RELATIONS
Nearly 200 press conferences since the first one on March 17, 2000
2000–2008
Polling of over 2,500 journalists familiar with the 400th anniversary events
2004–2008
Unveiling of the event program
2006–2008
Announcement of six major shows, the main thrusts of Espace 400e programming, and 80% of the Associated
Programming events
2006
Media events by Associated Programming organizations
2006–2008
Contact with over 1,000 journalists on media tours with Québec City Tourism or one-on-one at 400th anniversary
events (including 500 foreign journalists on July 3)
2006–2008
Publication of three special inserts in Québec City daily Le Soleil
2007–2008
Press briefings (Les Rendez-vous du 400 ) and press conferences on logistics and safety measures
2008
Tours of Montréal, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, and Saguenay with the minister responsible for the
Capitale-Nationale region and the mayor of Québec City
2008
Publication of 119 press releases and distribution of 10,000 media kits
2008
Media coverage of the 400th anniversary (73% newspapers, 22% radio, and 5% TV)
2008
e
October 5, 2007
“It’s a real privilege to promote the beautiful Québec City area, where winter activities have been so popular for the
past 400 years.” – Kalyna Roberge, speed skater
406
407
COMMUNICATIONS HIGHLIGHTS (CONT’D)
TOURISM PROMOTION
Some fifty presentations to the Québec tourism industry, including Association des restaurateurs, Association
des hôteliers, and others
2006–2008
Communication of information on the festivities to employees at tourism information offices, hotels, tour
agencies, bus and taxi companies, and tour guide companies
2006–2008
Nearly 100 press tours and meetings with journalists, wholesalers, and travel agencies during fam tours
2006–2008
2001–2008
Attendance at 15 shows for travel journalists, 5 shows for worldwide travel wholesalers and travel agencies, and
6 for the general public
Production and distribution of thousands of flyers, brochures, calendars, and official programs in Québec,
Canada, and overseas
2006–2008
Creation of a corporate website (quebec400.qc.ca) and an e-newsletter
2005
About 10 missions across Canada, including to Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto, Ottawa, and Moncton
2006–2008
Creation of the site MyQuebec2008.com featuring the event calendar, a blog, pressroom, and links to the sites of
Réseau de transport de la Capitale and Québec City Tourism
2006
Fourteen overseas missions, including to Bucharest, Chicago, Washington, New York City, Boston, Jamestown,
Paris, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Brouage
2006–2008
Regular updates on hundreds of events organized by the Corporation as well as updates on hundreds of products
offered by its many partners
2006–2008
Signing of a partnership agreement with Québec City Tourism, Tourisme Québec, and the Canadian
Tourism Commission
2007
Launch of the Info 400e line, in association with Tourisme Québec (24,638 phone calls and 15,280 emails received)
2007–2008
Cooperation with Québec City Tourism for a vast advertising campaign aimed at markets in Ontario, the
Maritimes, New England, California, France, and England
2007
Nearly a million and a half unique visitors to the website, for a total of 2,351,116 hits, including 550,000 in July
and a record 44,000 on July 3 alone
2008
Services provided to organizers of conventions in Québec City
2008
Creation of the abridged version of the website hosted by the City of Québec
2009
Naming as Top 2008 Event (number one event in Canada) by the American Bus Association
2008
BUNTING AND BANNERS
The 400th anniversary ranked 7th in terms of media coverage of events in Québec
2008
2006–2008
Coverage of the event in all Canadian provinces, especially Ontario and the Maritimes
2008
Promotional tools such as stickers, posters, banners, flags, fence covers, beach flags, pennants, freestanding
banners, and jumbo signs with the event logo and graphics
Over 1,000 articles published worldwide
2008
Collaboration with financial partners to install promotional bunting and banners on buildings and vehicles, and
along highways
2006–2008
Installation of a huge illuminated “400” sign on the Marie-Guyart Building, as well as illuminated “400” signs on
six main city streets
2007–2008
Installation of a giant screen at the Place D’Youville bus terminal announcing the program and upcoming events
2007–2008
Installation of promotional bunting and banners on buildings and storefronts by business partners, Associated
Programming organizations, Québec City attractions and major events, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants,
the airport, and train and bus stations
2008
Logo update: Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!
2008
Installation of nearly 1,000 pennants around the city
2008
Distribution of 400th anniversary parasols to restaurants with outdoor patios on certain main streets
2008
2008
ADVERTISING
INFORMING THE PUBLIC
Placement of ads in various media
2005–2008
First massive campaign, which included the distribution of 375,000 copies of the 2008 prend forme leaflet to every
household in Québec City and Lévis
2005
Happy Birthday Québec City 398 Years – July 3 campaign with an insert in a Québec City daily and a giant birthday
card presented to residents
2006
400 days to Québec City’s 400th countdown launch presenting certain event creators and the Corporation’s
new website
2006
Distribution of 350,000 copies of the preliminary event calendar in the Québec City area
2007
100 days to Québec City’s 400th countdown launch at a Rouge et Or football game
2007
Distribution of 865,000 copies of the first official event program throughout Québec
2007
Installation of specific bunting and banners at various Corporation and Associated Programming events, as well
as at Espace 400e
Intense promotion of The Kickoff and The 400 Year Journey in the media
2007
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL
Radio-Canada announced as major partner of the 400th anniversary celebrations
2007–2008
Production and promotion of four logos
2000–2008
Publication of 1,300,000 copies of the program leaflet Let’s Celebrate 400 Years!
2008
Design, creation, promotion and distribution of various promotional items: buttons, pennants, pins, etc.
2006–2008
Publication of a youth programming leaflet and a brochure on international theme activities
2008
Manufacturing of promotional wear for employees, volunteers, and sports ambassadors
2007–2008
Massive ad campaigns throughout the summer (newspapers, radio, TV) to highlight key events
2008
Development of graphics standards for Associated Programming partners and sponsors
2007–2008
Daily publication of the event program in Le Soleil and weekly publication in other dailies across Québec
2008
Ads on giant outdoor signs and in the Montréal metro; TV, radio, and newspaper ads across Québec
2008
Partnership agreements signed with other media groups, including Le Soleil
2008
Astral Media and its networks Énergie and Rock Détente named main radio partners
2008
TVA broadcast of the Paul McCartney and Céline Dion shows. The broadcaster is also named presenter of
2008
TQS named presenter of La Grande rencontre familiale
2008
Télé-Québec broadcast of The Walking Road, as well as production and broadcast of the 15th edition of Dictée
des Amériques
2008
Communications Highlights
2008
The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers published a Traveller supplement that included a report on the
400th anniversary. The publication was read by 1.2 million Australians.

everyone was talking about it!

Transcription

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