By Eric Elliott
Pioneer Staff
Its been six months since the unveiling of the brand they will be used for valley wide tourism marketing going forward, and local businesses are excited to see that brand start to show up in the not-too-distant future.
Members of Cult Collective, the marketing agency contracted to develop the new brand for the valley, were present at Copper Point Resort for the first town hall meeting since the brand Columbia Valley: its time to unwind, was unveiled in July of 2016.
Tricia Murray, strategist with CULT, said that their first objective after presenting the brand to business leaders in July was to create a viable website where people would be able to go to experience the valley virtually. After several months they unveiled the website focused on tranquility and relaxation found at www.travelcolumbiavalley.com.
Within the website, Ms. Murray said one of the objectives was promoting to people just how much there is to do within the Columbia Valley for people.
One of the things we heard in the research was that they know where the Columbia Valley is or they know where Radium is but they dont think they need to go back because there just wasnt enough to do to keep them busy, she said, noting that each community within the website (Radium Hot Springs, Invermere on the Lake, Panorama, and Fairmont Hot Springs) has a detailed page with a variety of events people can participate in with accompanying visuals.
Within the website, there is a blog space for people to contribute, Ms. Murray said, inviting anyone from the Columbia Valley to submit their stories promoting the valley as one of the greatest places to live.
Among the other updates Ms. Murray presented the audience with, she announced that they decided to bet on radio advertising starting on February 13th in Calgary as a potential way to hit the largest group of the audience.
Ms. Murray said they will continue to hold open houses similar to this one as they advance further with the new brand promoting the entire Columbia Valley.
