Does size really matter? When it comes to winning awards, apparently it does.

Travel Manitoba’s promotional piece for the province’s spectacular fishing recently won for best Direct Mail piece in the annual Signature Awards, a celebration of the best in advertising, marketing and design produced in Manitoba. The brochure, with the provocative headline: “Does size really matter?” folds out to reveal a trophy-size, 43-inch northern pike, and of course, the answer to the question: “You bet it does!”

The “lure” piece (pun intended) was designed to attract potential visitors to experience the province’s world class fishing and hunting. It directs readers to Travel Manitoba’s website for more information and to locate a lodge or outfitter of their choice. Distributed in the spring in some of the province’s key fishing markets in the U.S., such as Texas and California, website traffic increased significantly immediately afterwards.

The brochure also won a Silver Creative Award in the prestigious Summit Awards, an international competition that recognizes creative, marketing effectiveness and emerging media.

“We’re extremely pleased to have our efforts and the work of our creative agency recognized with these awards”, said Colin Ferguson, President and CEO of Travel Manitoba. “The fishing and hunting sector is an important part of Manitoba’s tourism industry, and effective creative helps us attract the attention of anglers in all our key markets”.

The piece was produced by Traffic Advertising of Winnipeg.

Fishing Ad Award Release