Travel Penticton’s real-time promotion of the city last summer has been nominated for a B.C. innovation award.
Between July 20 and Aug. 31 last year, the tourism marketing organization posted “Real Time” plugs for the city on Facebook and Instagram.
A total of 41 video posts showcased local food, vineyard views and of course, walks along the beach.
The social media campaign received over 430,000 impressions on Facebook and over 19,600 impressions on Instagram.
Based on its success, Travel Penticton submitted it to the 2019 BC Tourism Industry Awards for consideration. The team was notified this week that it had been selected as a top four finalist in the innovation category.
According to Travel Penticton executive director Thom Tischik, the campaign was all about giving visitors the confidence to come to Penticton, knowing their experience would not be affected by adverse conditions like smoke from forest fires.
“2018 was a challenging year for tourism throughout B.C., dealing with the physical and negative economic impact of forest fires in the province,” said Tischik. “While there were some smokey days in Penticton, particularly during the Peachland/Summerland fires, there were many days when the weather was great and our tourism businesses were ‘open for business.’
“The Travel Penticton team realized that we needed a way to convey this message to potential travelers in a truthful and meaningful way, and came up with the ‘Real Time’ campaign,” he said.
Related: Travel Penticton working to secure funding
Award winners will be announced on Feb. 28 at an awards dinner in Vancouver, which members of the Travel Penticton team will be attending.
The other three finalists in the innovation category are the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, Fishing BC and Tourism Nanaimo.
karissa.gall@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
<p<
