By FRANK LANDRY, City Hall Bureau Edmonton Sun:
How much is a good story worth? To the city of Edmonton, in the midst of another image-building campaign, about $1.4 million. That’s how much has been spent to develop and promote the new Edmontonstories.ca website, launched today. It’s touted as a place where residents can post their positive Edmonton experiences in written, video or audio form. The idea is that the stories will lure more people to the Alberta capital – either to live or visit, according to officials. “This campaign is about reaching a new audience and being able to sell our city in a different way – in an efficient way, a modern way and in a very creative, technological way,” said Mayor Stephen Mandel. “The people that live here are the ones that care about the city and they’re the ones to sell it.” The city budgeted $1 million for the project, with the remaining $400,000 coming from the Edmonton Economic Development Corp., a city booster group.
City officials have caught flak over other promotions in recent years, including one that saw $30,000 spent hiring U.S. actors to hand out Edmonton-branded yo-yos in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2006. That same year, the city also had trouble finding three randomly selected Canadians who were willing to accept free trips to the city. The national contest was part of a $50,000 marketing ploy to attract attention to E-Town. Despite earlier problems, Coun. Kim Krushell said she liked this new approach and defended the $1.4 million bill. “We still have jobs in Edmonton that need to be filled and we still need more taxpayers to move to our city,” she said. “So from that perspective I think it’s money well spent. And not marketing doesn’t help us at all.”
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