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Co-op Marketing

Canoeing in Raft Cove on Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island | Graeme Owsianski

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The Destination BC Open Pool Co-operative Marketing Partnerships Program (the Co-op Program) is an application-based program that provides co-operative, consumer-focused marketing and promotion support to Community Consortiums, Sector Organizations, or approved Individual or Paired Communities in British Columbia.

*Note: applications to the program’s 2023/24 funding cycle have now closed.

The Co-op Program supports the provincial tourism strategy to sustainably grow the visitor economy through innovative marketing and to increase tourism revenues which provide social and economic benefits for residents of British Columbia.

The Co-op Program was developed in 2015 based on recommendations from a cross-section of stakeholders and Destination BC’s Tourism Marketing Committee — an industry-based advisory committee with representatives from all regions across BC. Input for the program was also provided by participants from over 20 community consultation sessions across the province.

Destination BC continues to support the tourism industry through the Co-op Program to ensure the strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts that have been built over the last 7 years continue. After careful consideration, Destination BC will return to the annual application process for 2023/24 funding with regular program parameters in place.

The following program parameters will return for the 2023/24 funding cycle:

  • All applicants (new and returning) must submit an application. Completed applications were due by November 30, 2022 at 4:30pm PST. The application intake for the 2023/24 funding cycle has now closed. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions at the end of January 2023.
  • The matching funding requirement is returning to the program; applications must propose how matching funds will be provided by applicant(s) if funding is provided by Destination BC.  If providing matching funding poses a significant concern, please contact us at coop@destinationbc.ca to discuss.
  • Funding requests must be for a minimum of $20,000, to a maximum of $250,000, per year. (Pre-approved paired community and single community applications are eligible to apply for a lower amount. See the Program Guidelines for details.)
  • Applications will be collectively reviewed and evaluated based on merit. Evaluation criteria are listed in the Program Guidelines.
  • To learn more about this year’s intake guidelines and process, watch the Co-op Marketing Info Session Webinar here.

Co-op Program Goals

Drive consumer demand and increase tourism revenues by investing resources where and when capacity exists. The Co-op Program supports the provincial strategy to sustainably grow the visitor economy through innovative marketing and to increase tourism revenues which provide social and economic benefits for residents of British Columbia.
Leverage private and public funds to maximize the marketing impact.
Create deep collaboration to enhance our global competitiveness and support necessary capabilities such as a strong provincial tourism brand (Super, Natural British Columbia®), shared data and content, and industry digital readiness.

Purpose of the Co-op Program

  • To enable groups that share common interests and common marketing goals, that align with provincial tourism priorities, to leverage both private and public funds in order to achieve greater marketing impact in driving tourism revenue.
  • To drive industry collaboration, align industry marketing efforts to provincial and regional strategies, and to connect industry to the provincial destination brand, building brand equity through all province-funded marketing initiatives.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast | Andrew Strain

Funding Pools

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

  1.  Open Pool
    An Open Pool of funds is available to all qualified applicant groups on a competitive basis.
  2.  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 recipients. Reserved Pool guidelines are provided directly to eligible recipients.

OPEN POOL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

Eligible applicants to the program include:

  • Community consortiums (clusters) comprised 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, Indigenous community, or regional district.)
  • Tourism product/experience sectors that represent province-wide (where it exists) experiential, market-ready tourism product.
  • Two paired communities and/or a single community Destination Marketing Organization, where there is not the opportunity to form a consortium, may apply with pre-approval.
  • For further information, please see the Eligible Applicants section in the Program Guidelines

Sectors or community consortiums (made up of three or more communities) may apply for between $20,000 and $250,000 per year (see Program Guidelines for more information). Individual communities that meet requirements may apply for up to $7,500. Paired communities that meet requirements may apply for up to $15,000. Individual and Paired community applications require pre-approval.

  • Eligible activities may include digital readiness, 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.
  • 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-Aligned Content and a Content Commonwealth Approach
    • Strength of the Marketing Plan
    • Resources to Execute Program Effectively

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

View questions commonly asked about our Co-op Marketing Partnerships Program here.

Checklist icon

Download Our Program Guidelines

The current program guidelines are available here. The application intake for the 2023/24 year is now closed. The current intake closed on November 30, 2022, at 4:30 PST.
Download Guidelines

Download the Program Application Form

Download and complete the application form here. The application intake for the 2023/24 year is now closed. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions at the end of January 2023.
Download Form

View the Co-op Program FAQs

An extensive list of FAQs are available to view here.
Learn more
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Who received funding in 2022/2023?

The program’s budget of $4.2 million was allocated to 84 co-operative marketing initiatives in communities and sectors across British Columbia in fiscal 2022/23. Learn more about the recipients.
Learn more

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