Co-op Marketing

Funding Pools

The Co-op Program is designed around two funding pools:


a.  Open Pool
 

An Open Pool of funds available to all qualified applicant groups on a competitive basis.


b.  Reserved Pool
 

A Reserved Pool of funds specifically earmarked for strategic marketing priorities that are fundamental to the provincial destination brand. This pool is available to a limited number of eligible applicants. Reserved Pool guidelines are provided directly to eligible applicants.

Open pool program highlights:

• Eligible applicants to the program include community consortiums (clusters) of three or more eligible communities. (A community is defined as a geographic area with a DMO, or where a DMO does not exist, a municipal or village council, or First Nations, or regional district.)
• Tourism product/experience sectors that represent province-wide (where it exists) experiential, market-ready tourism product are also eligible to apply.
• Individual communities or two paired communities and/or community Destination Marketing Organizations, where there is not the opportunity to for a consortium, may apply with pre-approval.
• For further information, please see eligible applicants section (4.1) in the program guidelines

Sectors or community consortiums (of three or more communities) may apply for amounts ranging from $20,000 to a potential maximum of $250,000, based on available funds and program uptake. Individual or paired communities that meet requirements may apply for up to $7,500 for each community.

• Eligible activities include: online marketing, paid advertising, print/online collateral, branding of collaborative efforts as part of a campaign, consumer-focused asset development, market research, consumer shows, and marketing tactic coordination up to 15%.
• All applications will be collectively reviewed and evaluated based on merit, based on the following four criteria categories:
  • Increased Tourism Revenue in BC
  • Building Brand Equity for the British Columbia Brand
  • Strength of the Marketing Plan
  • Resources to Execute Program Effectively