When Ford Motor Company of Canada tasked The Globe with developing a fresh way to cut through the proverbial clutter, MSG was more than up to the challenge.

In addition to wanting to a unique presence in the paper, Ford had a number of objectives. Among them were:

• To build awareness of and excitement about a number of Ford models.

• To reach affluent individuals across Canada who were planning activities for the busy summer driving season.

• To ensure that the Ford brand was top-of-mind with this select audience.

MSG team members immediately recognized that bringing Ford together with another Globe advertiser--in this case, the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership (OTMP)--could result in a win/win for both parties.

Currently published three times a year, Explore Ontario has served as a guide for Ontario residents planning to travel within the province for more than 25 years. While Ford wanted to reach a national audience in a new way, Explore Ontario was looking for a way to reach a national audience for the first time without having to raise line rates for its traditional advertisers.

Sure enough, bringing Ford onboard proved an effective way to expand distribution for the supplement. Thanks to Ford's involvement with the project, MSG was able to keep the line rate for long-time Explore Ontario advertisers, like smaller inns and B&Bs, low enough so that they could now reach national audience. At the same time, Ford was able to have some input into each issue's theme to ensure it corresponded with their overall strategic and branding initiatives.

The Globe distributed 350,000 copies of each Explore Ontario supplement in The Globe and Mail as well as at Ontario Tourism information kiosks. Each issue showcased a Ford model that appeared on the outside front cover, as a part of full-page Ford ad on the outside back cover and "product-placed" among the content inside. Explore Ontario's first theme was Outdoor Adventure and featured the Ford Escape and the Escape Hybrid. The second theme, Family Fun, highlighted the Ford Freestyle. The last issue, Urban Experiences, focused on the Ford Fusion.

MSG also designed a series of on-line contests to increase interest and involvement with the program. Timed to coincide with the publication of each issue, three Explore Ontario microsites invited visitors to contribute their own stories and pictures about trips that corresponded to the supplement's three themes.

The contest was widely promoted in the paper and on-line, and got an outstanding response that allowed MSG to build an opt-in database of prospects for Ford and other contest sponsors to use for their own marketing programs. Each issue of Explore Ontario was seen by approximately 4,000,000 Canadians. In fact, when all the metrics were tallied, both Ford and Tourism Ontario felt they'd got tremendous mileage out of their respective investments.