How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are a boost worth more than $28M for Canada

Canadians may not yet know justwho will paythe bills for keeping theDuke and Duchessof Sussex safe while in Canada, but a marketing expert says the famous couple is generating the kind of positive attention that public relations and tourism bureaus dream of.

So whether you love the royals, loathe them or feel indifferent, Harry and Meghan are boosting Canada's brand value just by being here.

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Not by a little. By a lot.

The equivalent of more than$28 million worth of "brand value," according to calculations completed for CBC Radio'sThe Cost of Living.

The 'Sussex effect' on the Canadian economy

The coverage of Meghan and Harry choosing Canada as a home has drawn attention from news organizations, social media influencers and fans around the world.

It's the kind of attention tourism dollars can't buy. But to tryputtinga dollar figure on it anyway, The Cost of Livingturned toEric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group in St. Clair, MI.

"We evaluated the value for Canada, as a brand, in association and attributed to stories that were run either on TV news, radio, digital andprint news,as well as Facebook and Twitter," said Smallwood.

Apex searched for every reference to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in thosesources from January 1, 2020, until 2 p.m.ETon January 22, 2020.

Over $28 million in value definitely on the higher end.- Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group

The firm used these references tocalculatethe equivalent brand value, whichSmallwood describes asthe "earned media value" essentially, how much valuean organization would spend or receive ifit was paying for advertisements,marketing and similar public relations.

So how much exposure Harry and Meghanhave added to "Brand Canada" in 2020? The results surprised Smallwood.

"It cameout to be over $28 millionin value," he said. "It was definitely on the higher end of what we expected."

Specifically the marketing firm calculated that the value to Canada's brand fromall the coverage between Jan. 1 and Jan 22, 2020was $28,211,991.

Meghan has her own Markle effect

Toronto jewelry designer Sue Henderson, owner and designer behind Suetables, experienced a version of this "brand value"in November 2019 when the Duchess of Sussex wore the company's products in public.

"I woke up from a text from our marketing manageron November 19th," said Henderson.

"She wrote: 'IT HAPPENED' with a screen shot of Meghan Markle wearing two of our necklaces.

The two 10-karat gold zodiac charms worn byMarklerepresented Harry and Archie's astrological signs.

"I've always been a fan of Meghan Markle," said Henderson. "I had been trying to get her to wear our jewelry for years when she was on Suits."

The jewelrydesigner toldThe Cost of Livingshe was most excited by the worldwide attention, which thrust her designs onto the international stagejust from being worn by and seen on Meghan Markle.

"Within two days we were all over the world. We had over 30 articles written about us.The coverage was crazy," said Henderson.

"I knew it would create a buzz, but we're a small Canadian company. We thought our Canadian followers would go, 'Oh, that's really cool! We'll buy more of that.' But it was the international component that we just didn't expect."

Henderson said the sales lasted for weeks, including sales boosts on November 2019's "Black Friday" and through the Christmas period. The designer told CBC Radio that online sales from the end of November increased by 150 per cent, and that their typical online team grew from just one person to 10.

"Any random person that ever said to me, 'Hey,you know if you ever need any help...'I'm like, okay,you're a full time [gift] wrapper," said Henderson, who also said visitors to the Suetables website increased by more than 700 per cent.

Henderson and her team wereover the moon when Markle wore one of the charms again,in a recent visit to aVancouver women's centre.

Meghan and Harry's economic impact could be manifold

There are many other ways the Sussexes could bump Canada's economy.

"I mean, they're gonna show pictures of the house that they're staying in, the scenery around it, so it will be a high profile location for people to visit in a tourism scenario and then this should help the real estate in that area," said Apex Marketing's Eric Smallwood.

The marketing expert compared the effect on real estate to what happened with famous locations U.S. presidents vacationed in.

"Kennebunkport, Maine, is a good example, where the Bushes would reside. The Kennedys with Martha's Vineyard. All those are high profile [locations] but also high real estate and it keeps growing," said Smallwood.

Harry and Meghan could have lived anywhere, but they chose Canada. And that means almostevery time the world talks about the famous couple, they'll hear about this country and what the Sussexes are doing here.

That will draw attention to Canada, but also createpotential "brand value"forany businesses the couple choose to patronize.

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"They're going to be Canadian royaltyin a sense," said Smallwood.

"Not technically, but they will be. When they cross the country and do whatever business they're going to be doing. You know they're going to be followed. They're celebrities."

What Canada currently pays for

Right now, Canada spends around $62 million a year on the Crown, according to the Monarchist League of Canada.

Canadians dopay for the Queen's representatives here at home. That ranges fromthe Governor General in Ottawa and all the office'ssupporting departments to the provincial lieutenant-governors.

We also cover costs when members of the Royal Familycome to Canada for official visits, such aswhen the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge came to Canada for eightdays in 2016 to help celebrate the country's sesquicentennial.

Written and produced by Tracy Fuller.
Click "listen" above to hear the segment, ordownloadtheCost of Livingpodcast.