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The new international campaign we’ve launched in six European markets is based on the communication concept of “The Islands of Extraordinary People” and features 14 elite sportspeople who are doing their physical training in the Canary Islands. Among them are the Italian swimming team, Olympic medal winner Marcell Jacobs, Olympic beach volleyball player Liliana Fernández, athletics world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and two-time Ironman world champion Patrick Lange.

The communication strategy for this segment targets people who make decisions about where to train, from individual sportspeople to heads of performance and coaches looking for suitable destinations for physical preparation and pre-season training. The campaign reminds them that they can do this in the Islands year round, thanks to the great weather, specialist facilities, modern accommodation and ranking competitions on international circuits, many of them sponsored by Turismo de Canarias.

The first stage of the Canary Islands campaign is aimed at professional sports tourism in the disciplines of swimming, trail running, cycling, triathlon and beach volleyball.

The first stage of the campaign focuses on athletics, swimming, trail running, cycling, triathlon and beach volleyball, and later stages will include wind and wave sports, such as sailing, windsurfing and surfing. The advocates have been training on the Islands for a while, so they’re familiar with the region’s virtues as a destination for professional sports training. The 14 brand advocates include Olympic medallists Marcell Jacobs and Thomas Ceccon, athletics world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, ultra trail champion Pau Capell, Olympic beach volleyball player Liliana Fernández, triathlete Saleta Castro, and two-time Ironman world champion Patrick Lange.

Professional sports tourism is part of our diversification strategy, because it’s a long-stay segment that makes the destination less dependent on air connectivity, uses resources more sustainably, and ensures higher spending at destination that’s more evenly spread across the economic fabric of the Islands.

As a long-stay segment, professional sports tourism is less dependent on air connectivity, enables more sustainable consumption of resources, and ensures higher spending at destination that’s more evenly spread across the Islands.

These visitors come to the Islands an average of five times a year and enjoy an average stay of 15 days. In 88% of cases they return to the same destination from one year to the next, and 84% make a return visit at least once a year, accompanied by their coaches, fitness trainers and sports managers.

Audiences and distribution

The strategy of this campaign was designed using a recent study we did of 1,300 sportspeople and coaches in four of the target markets in each discipline included in the segment communication strategy. The action is aimed at three audiences: professional athletes who travel to train, those who travel to compete, and decision makers, such as coaches and sports managers.

The strategy of the campaign “The Islands of Extraordinary People” was designed using a study of 1,300 sportspeople and coaches in four of the target markets in each discipline included in the segment communication strategy.

We spread the messages using channels associated with sports, also based on a recent study showing high consumption of digital media, mainly on the internet, social media, television, video-on-demand platforms and online video. The campaign uses inserts on platforms such as Eurosports, combining general pieces with others specific to each discipline. The sportspeople act as ambassadors of the Canary Islands brand by sharing content about the destination on their social media.

The main spot is hosted on the general sports training landing page and promoted as advertising on social media. The campaign also incorporates specific clips for each discipline in reel format, featuring elite sportspeople who train in the Canary Islands as destination advocates.

As well as inserts on sports platforms and the main spot, the campaign includes specific clips in reel format.

Each clip communicates target arguments, such as the chance to swim in an outdoor Olympic pool when the temperature’s more than 26 ºC, run trails that go from sea level to more than 1,500 m, or use a beach volleyball Sports Technification Centre. The campaign also incorporates static formats, such as stories and post links, to drive traffic to the website.

Formats associated with each discipline are included, with banners and graphics, to increase awareness of the Canary Islands brand. The pieces lead to the general landing page or to pages specifically developed for each discipline, depending on the objective.

The action has been launched in Germany, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and France with an investment of 800,000 euros from REACT-EU funds.