RTO7’s offer of the Partnership Program for 2025/26 is contingent upon the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Gaming's approval of RTO7’s 2025/26 Business Plan.
If you are unfamiliar with the Partnership Program and applications, I highly recommend calling (Alex 705-441-2931 (ahogan@rto7.ca) to first talk through your proposed project and/or completing the application, as the process is greatly simplified with some direct explanation prior to completion of the application. RTO7 reserves the right to limit the number of programs/funds that one stakeholder may receive per year.
Please download the Partnership Program Guidelines for important background information before completing this application - once opened in Downloads, the links within the Guidelines should open in a new window in your browser when clicked on.
We highly recommend that you log into a Google account (directions in link) to access this form and know that your progress is automatically saved as a draft for 30 days so you can return to it. Please see our blog on why you should create a Google Account for your Business.
If you choose not to do this or to work offline, you will need to complete and submit the form all in one sitting and be sure to save a copy of your submitted application. If you choose not to log into a Google account, contact us to discuss how best to submit your application.
Note: We want to encourage stakeholders starting on a journey towards economic, social and environmental sustainability. Sustainability isn’t a requirement to get funding for 2025/26. However, projects that show they’re working to include or improve sustainable practices—using clear and measurable plans—may be prioritized in the application review process. The Partnership Program application process is competitive, and many people apply for the available funds. We welcome applications from all eligible businesses and organizations. No matter where you are in your sustainability efforts, we’re here to guide you through the process.
Digital Advertising Collaboration Details
● For our purposes, digital advertising refers to conducting a digital advertising campaign which might include platforms such as Google Search and Google Display, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
● Note that this form of advertising is particularly effective for consumers in the 'dreaming' phase of their travel journey. During this stage, potential travellers are exploring ideas and gathering inspiration for future trips. As a result, you can expect to see increased traffic to your website from this campaign; however, immediate conversions or bookings may not occur right away
● Through RTO7, you will work with the Aber Group (RTO7's advertising agency) who will develop a media plan and ad copy that suits your audience, messaging, etc. You will have final say on ad copy approval. Note however that the ad copy developed by the agency is often fairly straightforward - while it may seem counterintuitive, experience has repeatedly shown that this copy tends to perform better than clever, sizzling ad copy. If you have very specific branding/tone requirements, in some instances it may be easiest for you to contribute to the copywriting under the agency's direction. Once the copy is approved, the agency will then execute the media buy and optimize the campaign over the duration of the project. Please note that while the Aber Group will be planning, placing and measuring/optimizing the results of your campaign (the media side), you will be responsible for:
designing your campaign i.e. you will already know the purpose or goal of your campaign, the graphic theme and messaging, etc. before applying for this partnership (this can be as simple as having a selection of good images and messages in mind through to having full blown ‘ads’ developed by a creative agency that you are wanting to distribute through a mix of media platforms)
supplying the campaign creative - a selection of 5-10 current, high resolution images (min 1 MB) and/or at least one video, ideally in multiple formats/orientations (30 sec. max) - note that Meta will optimize to the strongest performing creative.
Creative may be video/imagery developed through RTO7's Video/Image Development Program or partner's own (approved) video/images
If using your own video/imagery:
Must be approved by RTO7 prior to application acceptance (see criteria for approval below)
Video(s) must have the BruceGreySimcoe and Ontario logos added to the video (at partner’s expense)
Partner must be willing to sign off that all models featured in the video have signed releases
● Once the project is approved, all communications regarding the project MUST be conducted in Basecamp (provided by RTO7)
● It is assumed that you have a fully functional website already (since you will be driving traffic to it with a digital advertising campaign) that:
is up to date, easy to navigate and reflects current offerings, hours and contact information
displays properly on desktop and mobile devices (this is critical as over 80% of our target markets are using mobile devices to access your campaign)
is under your control for the purposes of updating content in a timely manner
Partners will need to have or develop a landing page consistent with what is portrayed in the video/imagery (e.g. an ice fishing video should direct traffic to an ice fishing landing page or at minimum a page outlining a variety of winter activities, of which ice fishing is one)
● $1 partner funds are matched by $1 partnership funds, e.g. if you contribute $10,000, you'll end up with a project of $20,000
● Partner minimum contribution is $7,500, to a maximum partner contribution of $25,000 (this includes agency fees* and taxes) and can be a single tourism entity or a tourism group/DMO/tourism organization
*Please note that the agency fee structure has been updated and may affect approved projects with several sub-campaigns launching simultaneously. Any potential additional management fees will be discussed and confirmed during the kick-off call with The Aber Group. That said, this change is not expected to impact most campaigns, and based on our experience, these fees are unlikely to exceed $1,000. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Alex before submitting your application.
● You will have a call with The Aber Group at the outset of your project to discuss your desired objectives, target markets, campaign messaging, platforms, etc.
● Partners will be responsible for responding to comments generated as a result of the campaign every day
● It is possible to be funded for both a video/image development and social media advertising project (using the video/images developed) in one Partnership year; however, this requires SIGNIFICANT lead time to ensure the collateral is edited and ready in time for the campaign
● Note that program preparation will require at least five weeks lead time from your scheduled kick-off call with the agency to the launch of your campaign. Note that we will be setting firm partner deliverable deadlines with associated consequences (monetary or launch delay) for partners' missing deadlines
● There will be limited availability for campaigns during June through August, so if you're interested in this timeframe, get your application in as soon as possible to increase chances of booking your desired campaign timing
● The media buy may be flighted or taken all at once depending on size (e.g. three consecutive months or on/off throughout the year according to your product offer)
● To ensure timely and constructive execution of the planning and actioning of the campaign the individual named as Project Rep below will act as the decision maker and liaison with RTO7 and The Aber Group
● Since improved understanding and capability with respect to digital advertising is one objective of this program, the partner is encouraged to ask questions of The Aber Group during the kick-off call, and (depending on campaign size) will participate in a debrief provided by The Aber Group and RTO7.
The red asterisks below indicate required fields.
This should be 1/2 of the total project cost (including tax)
You will need to send RTO7 this amount in the form of EFT, e-transfer or cheque
The minimum partner contribution for this program is $7500; the maximum is $25,000 (including tax and agency fees)
Please use the exact address as it appears on Facebook
To launch the campaign, you will need to allow The Aber Group to act as an advertiser on your page. In Facebook, only individuals with “full control” (not partial) will be able to accept or assign task access.
To prevent delays in the campaign setup stage, please provide the name of the individual who has full control of the Facebook Page. Have an individual with Facebook access to the Page follow these steps:
Log into Facebook, then click your profile photo in the top right
Click see all profiles, then select the page you would like to switch into
Click your Page profile photo on the top left side to go onto your Facebook Page
On the left bar that now appears, click settings
From there, click Page Set up and Page Access
Under People with Facebook Access, click your profile to see your access levels.
Page Owners will have profiles that say they have full control and will be able to accept access invitations.
Please take the time to check on this - If it turns out you do not have full control of the Facebook Page, it will greatly delay the campaign (until Meta sorts it out) or it will need to run through the BruceGreySimcoe platforms and you will be required to pay a $200 administrative fee.
This could be an event, an attraction, an asset, a season, a destination, an activity, etc. And you could be promoting it to couples, families, young professionals, grandparents, age, gender, interests, etc.
Please keep in mind that although this is an awareness campaign, revenue generation by tourism operators is of key importance and should therefore be considered in what you are promoting to your target audience e.g. we are more likely to approve/promote activities that are associated with businesses that stand to benefit e.g. a tour guide, an outfitter, etc. than simply beautiful vistas or free hiking trails.
What is the specific message(s) that will be communicated through the digital campaign?
We also want to know what your expectations are of the campaign this year (in equivalent units to the baseline data if provided above).
Please be sure to include your rationale for what you hope to achieve e.g. if you expect to increase a metric by X, what is that based on? (e.g. a significant budget increase, a modest annual increase based on prior project learnings and efficiencies, etc.)
In addition to the metric identified above, if you would like to also measure conversions (i.e. downloads, bookings, sales, signups, etc.), then please provide:
a) The Metric You Will Measure (in what units)
b) Last Year Baseline Data for that Metric
c) Anticipated This Year
Keep in mind that conversions i.e. tickets sold, overnight bookings etc. can only be attributed to the campaign if you are selling tickets/rooms online. Note that (as depicted in the graphic below), this form of advertising is particularly effective for consumers in the 'dreaming' phase of their travel journey. During this stage, potential travellers are exploring ideas and gathering inspiration for future trips. As a result, you can expect to see increased traffic to your website from this campaign; however, immediate conversions or bookings may not occur right away