When hosting an event at the Halifax Convention Centre, planners and delegates alike know that you don’t just get a convention centre—you get a city. This insight, paired with the convention centre’s ‘Bold. Simple. Fun.’ brand, and the overall strategic vision for the organization led to an impactful and unexpected creative concept for the new international awareness campaign.
The "Sorry!" campaign, launched in January 2025, embraces Canadians' friendly nature. By reframing the stereotype of our tendency to over-apologize, the concept, Sorry!, turns this trait into a strength—apologizing for being good at what the Halifax Convention Centre does as a way to highlight its competitive edge.
The Halifax Convention Centre is renowned across Canada as a top-tier host
With strong domestic awareness and a history of exceptional delivery, the convention centre aimed to expand its marketing and sales efforts to international audiences. Although Canada is a leading destination for global events, Halifax is often overlooked in favour of larger cities. The global events industry is vast, making this an important opportunity.
Gaining a deeper understanding of our audience
The perceptions and motivations of an international event planner are different than the domestic market, so an in-depth understanding of this audience was critical. One-on-one interviews with planners provided insights into their priorities and views on Canada and Halifax as event destinations. These insights were visualized through a values house to clarify the decision-making process. A robust competitive review also identified opportunities for the Halifax Convention Centre to differentiate itself.
Selling Halifax
With a deep understanding of the target audience and the competitive landscape, the insights required to develop an impactful international positioning for the Halifax Convention Centre were in place. Aligning with the convention centre’s "Bold. Simple. Fun." brand, and the overall strategic vision for the organization, the value proposition was simple: We Make it Easy to Say Wow. Halifax Convention Centre’s exceptional service and state-of-the-art facility in the heart of an innovative, welcoming city meant the Halifax Convention Centre was primed to deliver on this promise. In fact, when hosting an event in Halifax, you don’t just get a convention centre, you get a city.
The concise value proposition, supported by robust pillars and proof points, served as a strong foundation for the development of a campaign creative concept to sell Halifax and the convention centre to the world. The "Sorry!" campaign embraces Canadians' friendly nature. Reframing the stereotype of our tendency to over-apologize, the campaign turns this trait into a strength—apologizing for being good at what the Halifax Convention Centre does to highlight its competitive edge.
The campaign, developed by NATIONAL and Time & Space, was supported by a robust marketing and communications strategy, including paid and organic tactics. From LinkedIn and industry publications to web strategy to email marketing, the bold creative platform was woven into all touchpoints of the campaign.
This is the Halifax Convention Centre’s first integrated marketing campaign targeting international markets, but the centre has a long history of hosting large-scale conferences. In the 2024–25 year alone, the Halifax Convention Centre hosted 165 events, welcoming 85,000 guests from around the world, resulting in a projected $70M in direct expenditures. Recent national and international events include:
- OCEANS 2024, which welcomed 1,500 attendees and 100 exhibitors from 35+ countries
- International Symposium on Pediatric Pain, which attracted a global audience of 650 pediatricians, clinicians, and health professionals
- Canadian Women in Medicine Conference 2024, which welcomed 1,200+ attendees, bringing together women physicians from across North America.
With a sales cycle averaging 4–7 years, it’s too early to measure the campaign's impact on business objectives. However, the campaign has driven meaningful engagement, connecting Halifax with event planners worldwide—particularly the US audience. With the growing pride of place movement in Canada, the campaign’s insights and tone are more relevant than ever.