Co-op Marketing

Funding Pools

The Co-op Program is designed around two funding pools:

1.  Open Pool
   An Open Pool of funds is available to all qualified applicant groups on a competitive basis.
2.  Closed Pool
   A Closed Pool of funds specifically earmarked for strategic marketing priorities that are fundamental to the provincial destination brand. This pool is available to a limited number of eligible recipients. Closed Pool guidelines are provided directly to eligible recipients.

OPEN POOL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

Eligible applicants to the program include:

• Community consortiums (clusters) comprised of three or more eligible communities. (A community is defined as a geographic area with a DMO, or where a DMO does not exist, a municipal or village council, Indigenous community, or regional district.)
• Tourism product/experience sectors that represent province-wide (where it exists) experiential, market-ready tourism product.
• Two paired communities and/or a single community Destination Management Organization, where there is not the opportunity to form a consortium, may apply with pre-approval.
• For further information, please see the Eligible Applicants section in the Program Guidelines

Sectors or community consortiums (made up of three or more communities) may apply for between $20,000 and $250,000 per year (see Program Guidelines for more information). Individual communities that meet requirements may apply for up to $7,500. Paired communities that meet requirements may apply for up to $15,000. Individual and Paired community applications require pre-approval.

• Eligible activities may include digital readiness, online marketing, paid advertising, print/online collateral, branding of collaborative efforts as part of a campaign, consumer-focused asset development, market research, consumer shows, and marketing tactic coordination.
• All applications will be collectively reviewed and evaluated based on merit, based on the following four criteria categories:
  • Increased Tourism Revenue in BC
  • Building Brand-Aligned Content and a Content Commonwealth Approach
  • Strength of the Marketing Plan
  • Resources to Execute Program Effectively

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

View questions commonly asked about our Co-op Marketing Partnerships Program here.