posted on September 29, 2010 16:30
| By District of Lillooet |
| |
LILLOOET - “And the winner is…the District of
Lillooet. Et le gagnant est…le district de Lillooet.” Those sentences
were heard four times on Sept. 21 as the District won four major
national awards at the Economic Developers Association of Canada’s
annual conference in Quebec City.
Lillooet Economic Development Officer Jerry Sucharyna accepted Marketing Canada awards for:
- Digital Media/Best Website – the District’s website at www.lillooetbc.ca
- Best Brand Identity – Guaranteed Rugged
- Best Single Advertisement – the ‘Dirty Girl’ ad for Guaranteed Rugged
- Digital Media/Best Translation – the District’s website, which
features a multilingual video and promotional pages in 11 languages. The
videos target investors and potential residents.
The Lillooet Economic Development Office was nominated in six
categories and took top honours in four of them. The Marketing Canada
awards honour innovation and creativity in the field of economic
development.
This is the second time this year that Lillooet has earned accolades
for its economic development program. In June, Jerry Sucharyna was named
Economic Developer of the Year at the Economic Development of
Association of British Columbia’s annual conference.
Sucharyna described this latest recognition as “another way for the
community of Lillooet to highlight all we have to offer in terms of our
community, our resources and the great people who live here. This shows
we are getting our message out there.”
He added that when the Quebec conference began, only a handful of
people had heard of Lillooet. By the end of the gathering, “everyone was
asking about Lillooet.”
The District’s revamped website features scrolling scenes of the
natural beauty of the area; information on council agendas, minutes and
public notices; a calendar of community events; a feedback form; and the
videos highlighting the local lifestyle and business opportunities.
Sucharyna said the website has been an effective tool for promoting
Lillooet, noting that a new winery and a planned brewery accessed much
of their information about Lillooet from the municipal website before
deciding to establish their businesses here.
Commenting on the “Guaranteed Rugged” brand, he said it was developed
to highlight the reality of life in Lillooet today rather than
continuing to emphasize the town’s historic past.
“This is who we are and what we have to offer,” Sucharyna explained.
“We recognized that we don’t have five-star hotels or all the amenities
of a major resort; we have an active, rugged lifestyle – hiking, biking,
ice climbing, snowmobiling all within minutes of downtown – and if you
like this active lifestyle, this is the place to visit, live and do
business. These are the types of people we are aiming to attract, with
lifestyle being the important factor.”
The “Dirty Girl” ad, which features the mud-spattered face of an
adventure-bound young woman, was cited for its boldness and creativity.
Sucharyna said, “It was much bolder than anyone in Lillooet was used
to. It has given us a new direction for diversifying our economy…Her
face embodies the true spirit of ‘rugged fun’ and a desire to ‘get busy
living’ with all the adventure that can be found in Lillooet.”
Mayor Dennis Bontron praised Sucharyna’s efforts, saying they are
promoting Lillooet regionally, nationally and internationally. He added
that Lillooet is setting an example for how a small community can market
itself.
“I think sometimes people misunderstand the efforts that we put in,”
the mayor observed. “They expect immediate results, but economic
development is a slow process where we build over time. We don’t do any
of this without incurring costs and without spending taxpayers’ money,
but we also understand this is a process. It took Kamloops 10 or 12
years of working and promoting the idea before it became known as
Canada’s Tournament Capital.”
The mayor continued, “Although we don’t promote it on the front page of
the newspaper every time someone contacts us about investing here,
those things are certainly happening. I think Jerry’s doing a wonderful
job for our community.”