Gail Scott, the managing director of Destination Osoyoos, shows off the Marketing Collateral Award given out at the recent B.C. Economic Development Association awards in Richmond. Destination Osoyoos was recognized for publishing its successful snowbird guide. (Photo supplied)
Staff members and the board of directors with Destination Osoyoos (DO) are proud and excited after winning a major award for their success in attracting snowbirds to our community in the recent British Columbia Economic Development Association (BCEDA) Awards.
The 2015 BCEDA Awards were given out at the B.C. Economic Summit Awards Banquet on Tuesday, April 28 in Richmond.
The award DO got is the Marketing Collateral Award (in the Marketing Awards category) which recognizes achievements in innovative and effective marketing tools that support economic development.
The award DO captured was for a community with less than 20,000 population.
The submission was for the Snowbird’s Guide to Wintering in Osoyoos.
The guide was a result of research done over two years, speaking one on one with both current snowbirds and those interested in coming to Osoyoos to gather information on what they’re looking for and what information they wanted to know, then creating the guide with those needs in mind, said DO marketing director Brianne Hearle.
“We are proud to win this award as it lets us know that we were successful in putting together something over two years where we answered questions that our snowbirds wanted to know,” said Hearle.
Included in the guide is information on why Osoyoos has become a destination of choice for snowbirds, climate information, general statistics, location, winter accommodation information, recreational activities and a map with locations plotted that are important to seniors, said Hearle.
This includes vital information about health care locations, pharmacies, grocery stores, the Osoyoos Senior Centre, town amenities and recreation facilities and trails, she said.
The guide also featured a large font that was easier for most seniors to read.
A total of 42,000 guides went out as an insert in the Western Producer publication.
“We had many snowbirds come into the Destination Osoyoos office that came to Osoyoos as a result of getting the snowbird guide in the Western Producer and we also had feedback from accommodators that had experienced the same thing,” said Hearle. “Snowbirds in Osoyoos over the winter requested guides to bring back to friends and family. Accommodators reported a significant overall increase in snowbirds for both this last winter and early bookings for next winter.”
Destination Osoyoos has also engaged in other marketing activities aimed at promoting Osoyoos to snowbirds and providing information, such creating and updating a document with all the accommodators in Osoyoos that offer monthly winter rates with their amenities, a dedicated page on our website, social media promotions and media coverage on wintering in Osoyoos, she said.
Don Brogan, chair of the board of directors with DO, said he was honoured and thrilled for the organization to win such a prestigious award.
Hearle and her boss Gail Scott, the managing director of the organization, share the credit for the snowbird promotion guide said Brogan.
“We’re over the moon. We have an amazing team running DO right now,” he said. “To think of where we were and where we are now over the past couple of years with these two running the show is truly remarkable,” he said.
Brogan, the general manager of the Walnut Beach Resort hotel, said he has been working in Osoyoos for the past 15 years and has seen the number of snowbirds who spend the winter months in our community skyrocket over the past couple of years.
Most of these snowbirds come from the “Baby Boomer generation” and have more financial freedom during their retirement years than any generation before them, which is great news for the local economy and business owners in and around Osoyoos, said Brogan.
With the warmest and driest climate in Canada and the low Canadian dollar, Brogan believes Osoyoos will continue to attract more and more snowbirds in the coming years. Having the guide distributed to small towns across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba through the Western Producer, which is the largest circulation publication in those three provinces, was crucial in the guide being successful, said Brogan.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
