In June 2021, recognizing the devastating effect of the pandemic on small- and medium-sized businesses, the federal government announced its investment of $33 million to support a national Shop Local initiative.
Delivered through provincial and territorial chambers of commerce, the Shop Local initiative provided grants for programs and campaigns encouraging Canadians to shop local and help businesses as they reopen.
Project funds of $5 million were earmarked for British Columbia and administered through the BC Chamber of Commerce.
In the period November 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, a total of $4.92 million was disbursed to 75 recipient organizations – small, medium, and large chambers of commerce and board of trades, non-profit organizations, Business Improvement Associations, and existing Shop/Buy Local campaigns – from each of BC's seven economic regions:
- Central BC
- Kootenays
- Lower Mainland/Southwest
- Northwest BC
- Northeast BC
- Thompson/Okanagan
- Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands
We thank the federal government for its support of businesses during the pandemic.
We also send a heartfelt thank you to each of the 75 grant recipients for their tireless work to deliver outstanding Shop Local campaigns in their communities and across regions, while navigating unprecedented weather events and responding to Public Health Orders and restrictions. Their optimism, creativity and tenacity have helped get small- and medium-sized businesses on the road to recovery, and our economy back on track.
Scroll below to view each Shop Local campaign, many of which are still active.
Thank you for Shopping Locally.
Central BC Region
Lillooet District Chamber of Commerce
The campaign focused on three elements: storytelling, business incentives, and collaboration. Videos were produced for a marketing campaign. A gift card and stamp card program were created with 42 participating businesses. Five long-lasting partnerships were established with key community organizations – the Community Hub, Lillooet Agriculture & Foods Society, the Lillooet Newspaper, Tourism Lillooet, and Gold Country Tourism.
Quesnel & District Chamber of Commerce
A 6×7 ft banner kicked off the Get Caught Shopping campaign at our Tour of Lights; 60 stores displayed Shop Local posters, and the message was amplified through social media, radio and newspaper. Customers were caught shopping every day - pictures were shared on Facebook, and they could enter for two $1000 draws of local gift cards. Four thousand reusable bags continue to share the message as well as the banner that is displayed downtown.
Kootenays Region
Love Castlegar Winter Shopping Campaign
Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce
Shop Local contests were held between January 13 to February 14, 2022, and promoted through social media, newspaper and radio advertising. Video vignettes were created for 16 businesses and promoted through social media channels. A combined Shop Local video was also made from the footage of the video vignettes and promoted on social media.
Columbia Valley Support & Shop Local
Columbia Valley of Chamber of Commerce
We developed videos featuring some of our local businesses, key sector and unique communities. We also developed an online platform to sell discounted gift certificates to be redeemed at any participating local business. We set up a mobile vending kiosk to enable local residents and visitors to sample products from local businesses.
Elkford Chamber of Commerce
The Celebrating Elkford magazine featured a business directory listing all licensed businesses in Elkford, special attractions and groups in Elkford and the layout of Elkford Chamber of Commerce's programs, events and specialties helping businesses.
Holiday Kick-Off Event and Spend it In Fernie Campaign
Fernie Chamber of Commerce
The Holiday Kick-Off event promoted local retail and food and beverage businesses leading into the holiday season. The Spend it In Fernie campaign encouraged consumers to shop locally from November 26, 2021, to January 7, 2022. Anyone who shopped at a local participating business could enter into a weekly draw for a gift card to a local business of their choice. Winners were announced on social media.
"Find it in Golden" Golden's Online Business Directory
Golden & Area Community Economic Development
We developed an online directory to help consumers easily find products and services locally. We supported businesses by offering them a free listing in this comprehensive directory. It encourages residents and visitors to shop locally when planning their next project, activity, or purchase. It also serves as a resource for potential investors and entrepreneurs.
Kaslo Board of Trade
KasLOCAL is a trusted brand that promotes shopping locally in Kaslo and Area. Online and print collateral was developed, including a 10×10 canopy that showcases Kaslo & Area Chamber and our various events/shop local campaigns, allowing us to have a physical presence at events throughout the year to continually reinforce the idea of shopping local. KasLOCAL not only supports local businesses and creates jobs, but also helps to reduce the carbon footprint.
Kimberley District Chamber of Commerce
Residents and visitors in Kimberley, Meadowbrook, Marysville, Wycliffe and Cranbrook were encouraged to shop locally in January. Any purchases at a local business during January went into a prize draw for a $100 gift certificate to be used locally. Fifty-two winners were chosen, and one winner will be announced each week for the rest of the year to constantly remind people to shop locally.
Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Society (KORE)
Our campaign raised awareness of the Kootenay region's thriving outdoor recreation manufacturing and product design sector. The "Meet the Makers" awareness campaign produced digital promotional content, while the "KORE Winter Makers Market" on February 12 enabled people to meet gear makers and product designers in a festive atmosphere.
Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce
The pre-Christmas campaign included print, online and social media contests, including the 12 Days of Giving, where the Chamber gave out $24000 local gift cards. Additionally, the multimedia marketing campaign involved video production promoting the diversity of the local business community as well as print, online website and social media posts supporting the Think Local theme.
Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce
Our campaign focused on incentivizing residents and visitors to spend their dollars locally in Revelstoke, benefiting businesses in the arts, food and beverage, tourism, trades and services sectors. We enrolled in the Support Local BC program to increase the communication capacity of our local businesses. We also incentivized consumer behaviour through the use of REVY bucks.
Think Local First ❤ South Kootenays
Trail & District Chamber of Commerce
The campaign showcases South Kootenay-based businesses and celebrates their contribution to our economy and communities through radio and online marketing. We developed an online portal – Think Local First Master Business Guide – and branded shopping bags, lamp post banners, and billboards to continually remind and encourage consumers to shop locally and often, even after this initiative concludes.
Lower Mainland/Southwest Region
Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce
The campaign promoted shop local messages through digital, social media and print advertising. A "Hey Neighbor Challenge" was launched to encourage storytelling among the community. The Abbotsford Business Community Coalition webpage was updated, and the #WhatLocalsDo brand was integrated. A "Labour Market Mingle" event introduced potential employees to local businesses and supported locals through labour force connections and networking.
Burnaby Board of Trade
Buy Local Burnaby communicates the importance of shopping locally and encourages consumers to do so by highlighting local businesses and hidden gems, profiling shopping districts to visit, and making it easy to find businesses to provide any product or service consumers may need. The campaign used social media, email marketing, digital and print advertising, and direct mail to communicate directly to both consumers and businesses. We created neighbourhood profile videos highlighting our city's unique shopping districts and promoted them to residents and tourists alike to encourage them to make a trip to Burnaby.
Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce and the Chilliwack Economic Recovery Network
The campaign included a variety of initiatives that encouraged our community to Shop Local and experience the different areas of our region. 'Shop Scan and Win' encouraged our community to shop locally as each local purchase was an entry to win some amazing prizes, all purchased from Shop Local participants. Festive mailboxes were placed in key shopping areas to encourage the community to visit new areas and new local businesses. Each participating location received a 1-min video in which local business owners were introduced to the community and shared why shopping local is important and what it means to them.
Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce
The iShopLocal app is a free app allowing businesses to offer a free coupon to drive customers to their business. We are supporting the app via our social media platforms, print media and billboards across Surrey.
Delta Chamber of Commerce
The We Love Delta website was audited and redesigned. Additionally, we produced four storytelling videos, a We Love Delta passport program, multiple print ads and social media posts promoting shopping locally. The campaign also featured Valentine's Day contest and sweepstakes. The final products include the participation of over 125 Delta businesses across 15 sectors, spanning Tsawwassen, Ladner, North Delta, Annacis Island and Tilbury Industrial Park.
Fleetwood Business Improvement Association
We use five different channels to promote local businesses, with "offers" that act as a way to encourage consumers to shop locally. The channels include the mobile app, push notifications, emails, social media integration, and web integration – a live offers feed on the Fleetwood BIA website.
Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce
The campaign ran from December 20, 2021, to February 15, 2022, and featured digital and social media marketing to promote local businesses and why it is important to shop locally. Additionally, multiple native advertising opportunities, and newspaper and radio ads, were used to incentivize local shopping.
Celebrate Your Community – Love Local Shop Local
Harrison Agassiz Chamber of Commerce
Residents were encouraged to shop locally through a contesting program and an online portal. We created high-quality video content featuring our local businesses, enabling consumers to engage with and get to know the person behind the business. Through new partnerships with Tourism Harrison, monthly newsletters and advertisements, we continue to remind and encourage consumers to shop locally, and often.
Hope Business & Development Society
Our campaign was based on supporting all local businesses and submitting receipts to enter our draw.
Latincouver Cultural and Business Society
Discover Local encouraged individuals to learn the importance of buying locally and changing consumer habits. An online marketing campaign helped explore the benefits of shop-local and brought to light minority-owned businesses in our communities. Visit our site to download the directory of local businesses that join the movement.
New Westminster Chamber of Commerce
We amplified our digital & print marketing campaign, ran an influencer campaign, created impactful new assets, promoted New West businesses to locals, and made a legacy project in our new website and Business Directory. We helped locals and tourists to rediscover the hidden gems that are part of the lively New Westminster culture and business community.
North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce
We created a unique brand identity to promote shopping across North and West Vancouver. Digital and newspaper advertising combined with Shop the Shore contests led to increased awareness of local businesses. Shop the Shore grocery bags, window decals and table tent cards were distributed throughout the community.
Pemberton + District Chamber of Commerce
We regenerated community support for local buying using social media messages featuring local business owners and key influencers, running gift card contests, using Youth Ambassadors to distribute prizes to local shoppers, and sending print collateral through direct mail. A Local Business Tool Kit was made available to local businesses, and decals, posters, stickers and wooden signs showed support for Shop Local. "Love Pemberton, Buy Local" was placed in strategic locations.
Richmond Chamber of Commerce
The "Right Here in Richmond" campaign showcases some of Richmond's outstanding shopping, dining and hospitality options. We profiled different businesses to inspire Richmond residents to spend locally and support local merchants. Print ads and digital assets showed a variety of our local businesses, representing the diversity of our population.
Festive Season on the Peninsula
South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce
We supported local restaurants and cafes with a special Diwali Dinner Celebration with Chef Vikram Vij and a Christmas/Holiday Dinner Celebration at Mainland Whisky, and the production of a video series of culinary adventures featuring 12 chefs and restaurants. We ran newspaper and social media advertising for the fitness and wellness sector, and produced a video series promoting 12 fitness and wellness businesses. Lastly, we held a winter variety arts show featuring local performance artists and vendor tables for local artists.
'Light Up Squamish' and 'Love Local. Love Squamish'
Squamish Chamber of Commerce
The Squamish buy local program had two components. Light Up Squamish was a holiday activation and promotion designed to encourage footfall in key commercial areas and increase awareness of local businesses. "Love Local. Love Squamish" was a series of content marketing (primarily video) designed to educate and remind consumers of the importance and impact of local businesses.
Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization
We created Keep it Coastal, a place-based brand that celebrates and promotes community love on the Sunshine Coast. Our campaign used a wide range of paid and organic messaging on various digital and analog platforms to ensure that all consumers, business owners, and visitors to the Sunshine Coast were exposed to the engaging and informative resources we created.
Surrey Board of Trade
SurreyStrong is a shop local initiative aimed at boosting local spending. Through 24 video vignettes of businesses in Surrey's six communities and a robust social media and traditional media marketing plan, Surrey shoppers were inspired to support local businesses. A digital toolkit was widely distributed to help businesses expand their reach, and a steering committee of business leaders acted as #SurreyStrong ambassadors. A shop local survey yielded insights from 700+ respondents on a range of local shopping trends, and four Surrey shopper focus groups were convened to delve deeper into key issues, challenges, experiences, and suggestions related to shopping locally.
Tourism Bowen Island Association
Activities included a Shop Local seasonal shopping campaign promoted through social media, a new Stay Local winter video, paid promotions to support Eat Local efforts, an Explore Local social marketing campaign that increased web traffic by 75%, and the #BowenIsAwesome contest to primarily targeting Bowen Island residents as part of the Be Local effort.
Whistler Early Winter Shop Local Campaign
Tourism Whistler and Whistler Chamber of Commerce
We ran an early season Whistler.com promotion to drive visitation to the resort with a longer stay and get visitors shopping at local retailers. We also ran a Shop Local promotion to drive business to local retailers by selling shopping vouchers worth $100 for a discounted price of $80. Over 40 retail businesses participated in the program, and the vouchers drove an estimated local economic impact of over $18,000 in direct sales.
Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce
We established a strong local brand called Tri-Local, designed to engage, motivate and educate consumers to shop locally. We created educational infographics and marketing campaigns; branded marketing collateral to be displayed throughout the Tri-Cities; an interactive webpage where consumers can learn more about how they can positively impact their community; and community investments, including a Tri-Local beer and reusable bags to help our hardest-hit industries recover quickly.
Vancouver BIA Partnership
The BIA partnership spread the message and urgency to shop locally by spreading the message in a number of ways: social, on our high streets, digitally and on a bus for all to see. We urged consumers to visit their local stores and vote for their favourite stores for a chance to win $1000.
Northwest BC Region
Stewart New Resident Welcome Package
District of Stewart
We put together a "Welcome to Stewart" package for new residents, which consists of a town map highlighting local businesses, a town recreation map, branded shopping bag, branded merchandise, a welcome letter from the Mayor and Council, gift certificates and products from local business, and promotional materials from local companies.
Misty Isles Economic Development Society
We created Shop Haida Gwaii, an e-commerce website that enables local artisans and artists to join, share, and sell products off-island. We have partnered with the Haida Gwaii Museum shop for knowledge sharing and contracted a local writer and photographer to develop content highlighting local artists on Haida Gwaii. Once the artist vendor signup is complete, the site shop.gohaidagwaii.ca will be publicly viewable.
Northeast BC Region
Keep Calm and Shop on Trade Show
Dawson Creek Chamber of Commerce
We created an online mall featuring local goods and services and offered prize draws to attract local customers. The platform helped small businesses with a non-existent or limited digital footprint to easily navigate setting up a digital storefront. We saw constant engagement on social media and estimate that over $70,000 went directly to participating small businesses.
Fort Nelson Chamber of Commerce
Promotion of Love Local Northern Rockies on media outlets, including radio, newspaper and Facebook, included education on the importance of shopping locally. Contest winners received Love Local Northern Rockies gift certificates usable only at participating businesses in the community. We also produced a digital bank of photos for 50 local businesses, including 6 First Nations businesses, for ongoing promotional purposes.
Fort St John Shop Local and School Education Module
Fort St John District Chamber of Commerce
Our Shop Local Campaign included a full circle purchasing process, including businesses, shoppers and the youth through an education and shopping incentive program. First, we created a Coupon Book with over 50 businesses and over 100 coupons providing discounts and savings to their businesses, which were distributed by students throughout the school districts. We also created a School Module that was presented at five Grade 7 classes to engage youth in the process and benefits of local spending vs online so youth understand the full scope of their purchasing power. Finally, we created a Shop Local Champion Program, where participating businesses can receive a marketing kit to use in-store to continue promoting shopping locally in the community.
Mackenzie Chamber of Commerce
The Mackenzie Loyal Initiative…Hey Neighbour…was designed to put a name and face to our local businesses that keep Mackenzie alive. We encouraged our consumers to shop with their head, heart and wallet. When you shop locally, you are not only supporting an entrepreneur but a family, friend or neighbour. This was accomplished by face-to-face, door-to-door and social media engagement. We held a contest for residents to bring in their purchase receipts to win Mackenzie Bucks.
Support Local: Give the Peace a Chance. Supporting Local business in the South Peace.
Tumbler Ridge Chamber of Commerce
Our social marketing campaign and contests encouraged people to stop travelling to Alberta or going online to do their general shopping, especially Christmas Shopping. In Chetwynd, our advertising and engagement assisted businesses in their effort to have people shop locally at their stores. In both Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge, we put up posters in town, on social media, and on our community pages to remind people of the value of shopping locally.
Thompson/Okanagan Region
Shop Local Armstrong Spallumcheen
Armstrong Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Centre
We ran a "Home for the Holidays: Elf on the Shelf" contest, a 'Christmas Cheer' card promotion, and a late-night shopping incentive to encourage consumers to shop locally over the winter holidays. We created videos and photographic content featuring local businesses – which will be used on our social media channels. We made branded items – reusable bags and buttons – to keep the shop local message front and centre.
Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce
The Winter Blues Shop Local encouraged locals to shop regularly at a wide range of local stores. Promotional videos were developed for local businesses to share what they bring to the local community. A new business directory page was developed on the Chamber website to create an accessible, informative platform for local consumers. A new printed map brochure was designed to showcase all local businesses to tourists and newcomers to the area and further promote the value of shopping locally.
Destination Osoyoos
The campaign developed a digital shopping guide to promote local retailer offerings and entice the local market to shop within the Osoyoos community during winter peak consumer times. The shopping guide was promoted through local media outlets, including Castanet Media, the Times-Chronicle, and Bounce and Move Radio, as well as the Destination Osoyoos mobile app and @osoyoosbc social media channels. A dedicated contest was developed, directly supporting over 25 retailers, restaurants, and attractions through contesting and further encouraging locals and visitors to Shop Osoyoos by sharing photos of how they shop locally in the Osoyoos community.
Kamloops Chamber of Commerce
This campaign supported 74 local businesses while highlighting a wide variety of local entrepreneurs and service providers that make our region unique. Utilizing digital media, we highlighted 17 diverse businesses and services throughout the Thompson-Nicola-Regional District, including Sun Peaks, Kamloops and Cache Creek, driving traffic to celebrateourmakers.ca. We also recorded two Shop Local commercials that played in high rotation on Pattison Media and Stingray Radio.
Okanagan We Got That-Show Local Some Love
Kelowna Chamber of Commerce
This multifaceted campaign harnessed traditional, social, and earned media to reinforce the value of shopping locally and increase awareness of products and services available in the Okanagan Valley. This television campaign aired across the Okanagan Valley, reaching more than 300,000 viewers and driving traffic to the revamped campaign website.
Merritt Locals Supporting Local
Merritt & District Chamber of Commerce
In partnership with Q101, a local radio station and the City of Merritt, community members were invited to call in to boost their favourite businesses in town and enter both themselves and that business to win prizes, including a grand prize of free groceries for a year from a local grocery store. All prizes are purchased from businesses to help support them through the tough times following the Nov 2021 flooding. Simultaneously, a YouTube channel featuring interviews with local business owners was created, and additional prize contests were held to support these businesses.
Shop Local-A Time and place for everything
North Shuswap Chamber of Commerce
A series of business profiles and videos were created and posted on the Chamber website and will be promoted through print and digital media. A business directory was produced and distributed to registered postal addresses in the Shuswap and Chase areas and placed in strategic areas for local residents and visitors.
Shop Local Shuswap Collaboration
South Shuswap Chamber of Commerce
Working to expand on a print asset, 'Do the Shu' Adventure Guide, the two Chambers worked with Thompson Okanagan Tourism and a local marketing firm to create a storytelling website, dotheshu.com. Through strong imagery and videography, this storytelling site showcases local businesses, their owners, what brought them to the Shuswap and in-depth interviews with locals who love to support local businesses and why. Many businesses are also tourism operators or activity providers, so some emphasis was placed on local experiences and 'must sees' in the Shuswap. The project also involved developing a new brand for DotheShu and launching a shop local holiday marketing campaign.
Shop Local Saturdays – Winter Series
Summerland Chamber of Commerce
We produced a video series highlighting the unique offerings of local businesses and the connection that supporting local has to the community. We featured a "15+ ways to support local this winter" campaign, highlighting all the ways we can switch our regular habits to include local support. We also ran a 6-week campaign with a Shop Local Saturdays theme where people played bingo and were entered to win a $1000 shopping spree, and to encourage them to check out businesses they would normally not visit and spend just $25 at any local business. We also created shoplocalsummerland.ca to host all our activities and further encourage and educate locals about the value of supporting local.
Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands Region
Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce
Residents were encouraged to shop at local businesses in Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet for an opportunity to enter a draw to win great prizes, including a 2-night stay at a local resort, a Dine Out West Coast restaurant package and gift cards for local businesses. The campaign was promoted through social media and local radio stations, and winners were announced daily.
Campbell River & District Chamber of Commerce
Our efforts were an amplification and expansion of all our current collective campaigns. Our multifaceted campaign involved advertising with key radio, print and tv outlets as well as promotion bundles featuring all our local businesses.
Chemainus + District Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre
'Shop the Town' is an inclusive online directory complete with every registered business, organization and society in our district. It's a one-stop resource, made complete with a community job board and local events calendar. We recognize how busy our small business owners are, and keeping up an active social media presence can be challenging – so we sought to create a one-stop resource. This website is an invaluable resource to our businesses, residents and visitors alike – and will expand over time to adapt to our community's ever-changing needs. We aspire to help bridge the gap between business and consumer by making everything quick and convenient to find, all in one place.
Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce
We created a local business directory as well as promotional videos featuring local businesses. Branded pens and bags were produced to promote the new directory, and Shop Local branded highway signs, business window stickers and digital promotional materials were produced and posted. A Valentine's Day Small Business Crawl for local merchants and restaurants was advertised in local media outlets.
Dine, Sip, Shop Local Cowichan
Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce
Dine and Sip Cowichan welcomed patrons who were eager to get out to food and beverage venues as restrictions began to lift. Shop Local Cowichan encouraged customers to shop locally. Both campaign activities were promoted through print, digital, social media, radio and TV advertising.
Gabriola Island Chamber of Commerce
We amplified the Love Local brand with the Winter Light Up campaign. There were five areas of focus: Economy, Sustainability, Community, Culture & Health. The campaign told the story of the interconnected components contributing to community well-being and how they work together. Two contests were held – consumers could enter by submitting local love and community shoutouts, raves and positive reviews. The Scavenger Hunt was a great success and will become an annual event for Family Day weekend.
Gold River Chamber of Commerce
We produced print and video content featuring our local businesses, artisans, chefs and retailers hard at work creating quality products for locals and visitors to enjoy. All materials are being used for extensive advertising in various print and digital outlets.
Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce
We created an online business directory featuring local businesses spread across multiple categories and sectors. Each week, the site will profile a different business owner and the story behind their business. A significant multimedia and social media campaign will drive traffic to the site. Businesses who register themselves for the online directory receive a digital and analog "I AM LOCAL' door and online stickers for the business to self-identify their local attributes.
Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce
Our shop local campaign included four unique opportunities to engage businesses and community members: a festival-style activity and extended business hours in the Old Time Christmas, an online shopping opportunity on the Gift Certificate Page, print advertising and brochures and social media marketing. We created a distinct shop local logo to tie together all the campaign activities.
Port Hardy Chamber of Commerce
Shop Local North Island is a movement that keeps the heart of our communities beating. Purchasing from a locally owned business strengthens our economy and way of life. We created a distinct brand and an online business directory, then used digital marketing to promote this overall message to local residents.
Southern Gulf Islands Love Local!
Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce
Our "Holiday Business Profile Campaign" featured 26 island businesses in the Salt Spring Exchange sharing their stories and products with consumers, encouraging local residents to shop locally. Local retailers were featured through a Facebook Shop Local holiday campaign for Galiano and Mayne Islands. We developed a regional shop local brand – Love Local – to be the ongoing brand the Chambers of Galiano, Pender, Mayne, Saturna and Salt Spring will use to foster a sustainable, creative and exciting future for our interconnected communities.
Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce
Sookes Hidden Treasures shows how our local businesses enrich life in the community. The site emphasized recreation, water activities, dining and retail experiences available in Sooke. A personalized postcard and CHEK TV ads reminded consumers to shop locally often. Additionally, rack cards were placed in the terminals and on BC Ferries, reminding both locals and visitors to support local.
WestShore Chamber of Commerce
This campaign took a multimedia approach to accomplish a strong reach of the Greater Victoria population to increase awareness of the benefits of shopping locally. Consumers were encouraged to take the Pledge and opt-in to email subscriptions. Consumers were encouraged to tag the Chamber in selfie videos explaining why they took the Buy Local Pledge.
Multiple Regions
BC Supply Chain for Accommodation Industry
British Columbia Hotel Association
Our campaign connected the accommodation community with local suppliers and highlighted the benefits of sourcing locally. We launched the #BCHAShopLocal week from February 7 to February 11, where we shared a new video that profiled a diverse collection of BC-based businesses and highlighted the environmental, social, community, and economic benefits of shopping locally.
Gold Country Communities Society
We created nine 3-minute videos highlighting some of the many businesses in our communities and their unique goods. These videos have been posted to Gold Country's social media platforms. A collective community digital mall was created to support local makers, artisans, and businesses. This has fostered partnerships between people that may not have a brick-and-mortar storefront. Rack cards have also been printed and distributed to promote #ShopLocalBC.
LOCO BC
Our objective was to engage businesses and raise consumer awareness to drive sales and create a more enabling environment for local businesses. We had 100 businesses register for four workshops and produced almost 60 business profile stories. We developed partnerships that will last into the future and support future buy local campaigns.
Lumby & District Chamber of Commerce
The launch event for Refresh Your Roots featured generations of locals shopping locally. We encouraged residents to get to know our community through a welcome holiday event and a fun Advent Calendar event for the holiday season. We developed and pushed out new content through social media, direct mailouts, and newspaper advertising to encourage shopping local and community development.
Prince George Chamber of Commerce
We presented a strong emotional appeal to consumers by creating impactful visuals that demonstrate the value of a local business and the flow-through impacts of a dollar. We amplified this message through social media, YouTube and traditional media outlets. We incentivized shopping locally by offering gift cards, contests and opportunities to share feedback and testimonials on their favourite local businesses.
Gift Local this Holiday Season
Support Local BC
Our campaign amplified the existing Support Local BC gift certificate program through three complementary components: streamlining our current gift certificate program by replacing it with a prepaid Visa debit card, boosting the number of corporate bulk e-gift card orders for Dec 2021, and executing the 'Gift Local this Holiday Season' incentive campaign in Greater Victoria.
BC Restaurant and Food Services Association
Dine Around is a restaurant marketing campaign that drives customers into restaurants to try feature menus. This year's robust marketing campaign focused on encouraging consumer confidence in dining out at local restaurants in general and promoting feature menus. We broadened our reach to include more businesses in the Okanagan and Comox Valley, and built new partnerships to promote restaurants in other Island communities and Smithers, Kamloops, Cranbrook and Prince George.
Shop Local BC Black Owned Businesses
Black Business Association of BC
The campaign included building an online directory and e-commerce platform, creating video content to promote shopping locally, and using local service providers to support the economy. We filmed video content which highlights local businesses and shows the people behind the businesses.
Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce
We created six videos to promote shopping locally, showing our local retailers and their impact on our local community. We produced professional photos of local businesses for the campaign and for businesses to improve their digital presence. We surveyed small, medium and large businesses to understand their needs and how to enable them to better connect with the community and their consumers. We encouraged local consumers to shop locally through newspaper ads and social media posts highlighting many of the region's great businesses and how spending locally keeps more dollars in the community.
LIVE LOVE LOCAL NORTHWESTBC COLLECTIVE
Smithers District Chamber of Commerce
The Live Love Local (LLL) collective is a regional unifying legacy campaign committed to supporting the diverse communities, businesses, entrepreneurs and industries along the Highway 16 corridor. It encourages residents to visit/support neighbouring communities and celebrate #northwestbc. Seven partnering Northern BC Chambers are asking participants to be stewards of their regional economy and to rethink how/where the money goes. Participants engage in unique calls to action that drive the regional economy.
