Sundre was among the top-three finalists recognized at the recent Alto Awards for best tourism marketing campaign more than $50,000.
The Calgary Zoo placed first, but the finalist recognition is a major accomplishment for Sundre, whose staff managed the exploresundre.ca campaign entirely in-house, said Jon Allan, economic development officer.
“This recognition as even just a finalist for this prestigious award is a testament to just how much is going on in our little town. We are on the map, and our district is developing into a highly desirable destination,” he said.
Being named a finalist contributes towards “legitimatizing our community as a genuine destination,” he said.
Adopting a multi-media strategy, Sundre's campaign included a variety of approaches such as curated content blogs, advertising on social media, TV, radio, print, as well as large ads at Calgary International Airport's baggage arrivals section leading up to and during the Stampede, he said.
“This campaign would not have been possible without the support of our private partners, the people of the Town of Sundre and the surrounding West Country, and Travel Alberta,” said Allan, who was the project's lead.
Grant funding from Travel Alberta over the last two years facilitated the initiative, as did significant contributions from industry partners, he said.
“Their contribution is witness to the great level of solidarity the people of Sundre have for our community and region.”
Since the campaign's launch, the Sundre Visitor Information Centre has seen record-setting attendance. Additionally, some campaign goals were surpassed by as much as 134 per cent, he said.
The Alberta tourism — or Alto — Awards are organized by Travel Alberta and were hosted in Banff on Oct. 24 in conjunction with the 16th annual Travel Alberta Industry Conference that ran Oct. 23-25.
Looking ahead to next year, Allan told the Round Up the marketing campaign will continue, but that it will be reassessed once complete figures from 2016 are in.
“One way or another, there will be another campaign next year.”
However, the size and scale of that campaign will depend largely on the number of partners who get involved to support it, and whether Travel Alberta again approves further grant funding. The 2015 and 2016 campaigns each cost shy of $60,000 for a total of almost $120,000, he said.
“The goal here is the success of Sundre, and that will continue to be our motivating factor.”
Perhaps Sundre will be fortunate enough to again be named a finalist next year, he said.
“It's a good incentive to work hard and be as good as possible.”
