2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Whale watching is one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most iconic tourism experiences. But it had become a category defined by sameness. Competing destinations could offer the same basic promise: get on a boat, and you might see a whale. Even as a global leader, Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism risked blending into a commodified experience built around fleeting moments.

The opportunity wasn’t to replace that experience, but to deepen it, and give every story more meaning.

Hello Humpback did this by putting data at the centre of the experience. Travellers were invited to upload photos of whale tails, which were then matched using image recognition to a global database of known humpbacks. In seconds, a simple photo became something more meaningful: the identification of the exact whale they’d encountered.

From there, each whale’s scientific data (migration routes, sighting history, behaviours) was translated into a narrative, turning complex information into a story people could understand and connect with.

The results were significant. The platform drove a 221% increase in registered humpback encounters, helped identify 63 previously undocumented whales, and generated 105 million earned media impressions.

Newfoundland and Labrador is widely regarded as one of the best places in the world to see humpback whales. Every summer, tens of thousands of travellers arrive with the same goal: to witness these animals in the wild.

But whale watching had become a commodity. Competing destinations like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick could offer the same basic promise: come here, and you might see a whale. Even as a global leader, Newfoundland and Labrador risked blending into a category defined by passive observation, with little meaningful differentiation.

At the same time, traveller expectations were changing. People weren’t just looking to see things. They wanted to participate, contribute, and feel a personal connection to the places they visited. The opportunity was to take a moment that disappears as quickly as it arrives and turn it into something deeper, more personal, and more memorable.

The most valuable whale data in the world was sitting in tourists’ camera rolls.

Every humpback whale has a unique fluke, which scientists use to identify and track individuals across oceans. Over time, this has created a rich global dataset, but one that is largely invisible to the public.

At the same time, travellers were already taking thousands of photos of whale tails every season. They simply saw them as souvenirs.

“Hello Humpback” transformed travellers into citizen scientists by turning their photos into usable data, and that data into something people could actually connect with.

Travellers were invited to upload a photo of a whale’s tail. The system matched it against a global database of known humpbacks, identifying the individual whale they’d encountered. From there, each whale’s scientific data, including migration routes, sighting history, and behaviours, was translated into a narrative that felt personal and human.
The strategy was to build a system where data flowed in both directions. Travellers would contribute data, and in return, receive something meaningful back.

Each image uploaded to the platform was analyzed using a machine learning model trained to recognize the unique patterns of humpback flukes. Matches were made against an existing global database, while unmatched images helped expand it.

Once a whale was identified, the system compiled its known data and translated it into an easy-to-understand, engaging story. The goal wasn’t to present raw data, but to make it meaningful.

The experience was designed to fit naturally across the travel journey. Before arriving, it introduced the idea that you could do more than just see whales. During the trip, it encouraged participation. After returning home, it extended the experience by allowing users to follow their whale over time through ongoing updates.

Strategy defined that connection as a system. Traveller photos became inputs. Scientific databases became the foundation. Technology became the bridge. And storytelling became the output.

In doing so, strategy turned data from an asset into an experience.

The platform drove a 221% increase in registered humpback encounters on Happywhale, significantly expanding the dataset available to researchers.

It also led to the identification of 63 previously undocumented whales, a tenfold increase over the previous year, demonstrating how travellers could contribute to scientific discovery at scale.

The experience created deeper engagement than traditional tourism content. Whale stories achieved an average dwell time of approximately 2.5 minutes, while roughly 23,000 users signed up to receive ongoing updates about the whales they had encountered.

The campaign generated 105 million earned media impressions and $9.5 million in media value, helping position Newfoundland and Labrador as an innovative, experience-led destination.

More importantly, it changed how the brand thinks about the role of data. Instead of using it to support marketing, “Hello Humpback” used it to shape the product itself. It demonstrated that data can create connection, not just efficiency.

In doing so, it established a new model for how Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism can differentiate, not just by what you can see, but by what you can discover.

Credits

Creative Director, TJ Arch
Associate Creative Director, Jennifer Szilagyi, Julia Forrester
Art Director, Jennifer Szilagyi
Copywriter, Julia Forrester
Senior Developer, Tim Carew
Web Developer, Sarah Stone
Production Artist / Digital Imaging Artist, Dejan Vucicevic
Junior Graphic Artist: Amy Brenton
President, Catherine Kelly
Strategic Planner, Noel O'Dea
Account Director, Ernie Brake
Senior Account Manager, Alaina Collins, Allison Daley
Agency Production Manager, Vivian Tulk
Agency Producer, Matt Tucker
Director of Communications and Media Planning, Jef Combdon
Digital Media Planner, Ryan Locke
Paid Social Media Specialist, Sophia Munden