National has a long relationship with the Halifax Partnership and the investment attraction ecosystem in Nova Scotia (including Nova Scotia Business Inc., the Halifax Convention Centre, post-secondary schools and Discover Halifax). In 2016, the Partnership worked with NATIONAL to strengthen Halifax’s value proposition and position the city as the best mid-size location for global business and talent. This inspired the “Sell Halifax” initiative—one that we’ve continued for multiple years as their agency of record. In 2020, we set out to develop a refreshed look, feel, and messaging for Sell Halifax, building on years of momentum and the increased interest in the city given its competitive talent, location, cost and innovation value proposition and relative stability and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2020, National helped Halifax Partnership kick off a new digital marketing campaign to promote the city’s quality of life and business advantages with the “Halifax. It’s All Here
” creative platform focused on the duality of Halifax’s appeal. The campaign was bolstered by a suite of sales and marketing tools to help move prospective investors from awareness to conversion and ultimately convince them to grow their company in Halifax.
Over the past five years, the Sell Halifax initiative has elevated Halifax’s position on the world stage, enabling Halifax Partnership and its partners to consistently achieve their investment attraction targets and welcome new companies from priority U.S., European and Canadian markets. Before COVID-19 hit, Halifax experienced a banner year for economic and population growth, and the pandemic only propelled that growth. In 2020-21, Halifax Partnership and its partners welcomed 16 new companies to Halifax, and the city had the second-highest population growth rate in Canada, just behind Oshawa, Ontario.
Campaign visuals:
