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Tourism award for city and partners
The City of Cranbrook, in partnership with Canadian Rockies International Airport, Pacific Coastal Airlines and Seekers Media received the Best Community Tourism Initiative Award presented at the Kootenay Rockies Tourism AGM.
The award, a first for the City of Cranbrook, was presented to the community that developed and implemented the year’s most innovative tourism marketing campaign.
The award was presented during the 37th annual Kootenay Rockies Tourism Industry Conference & Annual General Meeting held on October 7 and 8, at Copper Point Resort in Invermere.
The City of Cranbrook, Canadian Rockies International Airport and Pacific Coastal Airlines continue to develop attraction strategies to increase tourism to the region. They partnered with the Kootenay Rockies Gran Fondo and contracted Seekers Media to produce a multi-media campaign.
“Our goals with the campaign were to increase tourism to the region, and promote the Kootenay Rockies Gran Fondo as a means to showcase Cranbrook as an active tourism destination. We contracted Seekers Media to help see through our interests via a social and digital media campaign,” explains city economic development manager Kevin Weaver.
Strategic content supporting these goals was produced including a collection of editorial and a video on biking in the region. It was key that this content spoke not only to the Gran Fondo event that happened September 7, but also promote and encourage active travel to the region most times of the year. The Gran Fondo was organized and run by the Cranbrook Sunrise Rotary Club.
This content was then published on www.FestivalSeekers.com an award winning multi-media platform that has an audience of active travellers.
“We were excited to be part of this campaign,” says Kevin Boothroyd, Director of Sales and Marketing with Pacific Coastal Airlines. “It allowed us to showcase our airline and our continued partnership with the City of Cranbrook and Canadian Rockies International Airport through the use of social media, a significant part of our overall marketing strategy.”
The campaign helped generate a 40% increase in registrations from the year before and a 77% increase in out of town registrations, some from as far away as the U.K.
“A campaign like this helps further the Canadian Rockies International Airport’s interest to remind people that access to the Kootenay Rockies and all of its remarkable experiences couldn’t be easier via our airport,” explained Tristen Chernove, CEO for the YXC.
“From this campaign the region’s tourism stakeholders have gained a new appreciation for the power of social media, partnership campaigns and the value in content marketing,” says Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Stetski. “The timing of this award is perfect, considering that the city’s tourism interests continue to expand with ongoing work to establish a tourism Destination Marketing Organization and development of a 2015 media and marketing plan. This plan will help insure Cranbrook and its residents continue to welcome people from around the world to enjoy its historical, cultural and active travel experiences, bringing with them additional economic prosperity to the community.”
Above photo (Left to right) – Jim Barr , CEO Seekers Media; Kevin Weaver, Economic Development Manager (City of Cranbrook); Kevin Boothroyd, Director Sales & Marketing, Pacific Coastal Airlines; Tristen Chernove, Airport Manager, Canadian Rockies International Airport.
City of Cranbrook
Photo courtesy Canadian Rockies International Airport.
