Merit Winners The Regional Municipality of Durham Kerri King The Regional Municipality of Durham Whitby, Ontario, Canada Need/Opportunity / The Regional Municipality of Durham is the largest geographic region in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, located east of the city of Toronto. It encompasses the cities of Oshawa and Pickering; the towns of Ajax and Whitby; the Municipality of Clarington; and the townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge. The region has a diverse economic base and balanced representation in key sector areas, including advanced manufacturing, energy and tourism. Because 85 percent of land within the region is rural, agribusiness has emerged as a growing sector. The Durham region offers balanced growth and livable communities with thriving downtown areas, unique attractions for residents and visitors, vital services, and a sustained urban-rural mix. A 2006 Premier Ranked Tourist Destination Project, which was led by the provincial government, revealed that the Durham region lacks a world-class and easily recognizable attraction. There are five counties and regions within a radius of 35 60 kilometers of each other that offer similar attractions competing with Durham for tourists. The project also identified that 71 percent of visits to the region are daytime visits, and only 29 percent are overnight stays. Seventy-one percent of overnight stays are people visiting friends and relatives. The Durham region identified the opportunity to combine the agriculture sector with other local tourist destinations restaurants and bed and breakfasts into one event. Showcasing Durham chefs serving local farm fresh food from the agricultural sector was an ideal chance to promote culinary tourism in the area, lengthen visits to longer than 24 hours and increase travel to the region. In the previous two years, the Gates Open event took place at five farms in two of the region s local area municipalities. For 2008, the Durham region saw the opportunity to expand the event by inviting more local businesses and municipalities to participate. Intended Audience(s) / The primary audiences targeted were families with active lifestyles, people visiting friends and relatives in the Durham region, Greater Toronto Area (GTA) residents, Durham residents, and tourists who live three or more hours away. _ 319
The mind-set and characteristics of the primary audiences include the following: 4 They want to gain a better understanding of where their food comes from. 4 They are interested in learning about rural living, farming, etc. 4 They are becoming more interested in buying local food and supporting local businesses. 4 They want a unique travel experience close to home (within a one-hour drive from Toronto). 4 They want cost-effective entertainment. 4 They want to participate in activities that are family-friendly (activities need to appeal to children). The Premier Ranked study revealed the following breakdown for overnight visits: 4 percent are from other provinces, 9 percent are from the U.S., 4 percent are from other international markets, and 83 percent are residents of Ontario. Goals and Objectives / The primary goal of the Gates Open event was to increase consumer awareness and educate people about Durham Farm Fresh Products and agriculture. Objectives 4 Increase the number of participating farms to 10 (several are normally closed to the public). 4 Increase the number of visits to farms by 30 percent. 4 Promote tourism and increase overnight stays by 20 percent in the Durham region. 4 Build awareness about local farm fresh products. 4 Build agri-tourism and culinary tourism in the Durham region. Solution Overview / For the event to be successful, it was important to partner with an industry organization the Durham Farm Fresh Marketing Association that would assist with the promotion of agribusiness and support local vendors in the region. In doing so, small and locally owned businesses in the region will build the bridge to a more sustainable economy. Further, with a growing agriculture sector, Durham Farm Fresh aids the region in supporting the development of rural Durham. This was the first year that Gates Open involved all eight local area municipalities and included 14 farms, 11 local restaurants, nine bed and breakfasts, two wineries, and one theatre. Six municipalities also scheduled complimentary programming across the region. The event idea was developed as one that offered entertainment at a low cost for families CDN$10 for a Weekend Adventure Passport (17 years and up) and free admission for children 16 years old and younger. Ideally, this meant a family of four with young children could attend for CDN$20. The event was planned to provide attendees with a unique experience and the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, while including supporting attractions that would extend their visit. The wide variety of activities offered included: _ 320
4 Demonstrations (such as milking cows and sheering sheep). 4 Competitions (such as chili cook-offs). 4 Musical entertainment. 4 Craft demonstrations and displays. 4 Offerings from local chefs, bed and breakfast getaways, and samplings from local restaurants. 4 Wine tours. 4 Photo shoots with Today s Parent magazine, for which staff took pictures, made a mock cover of the magazine and e-mailed the piece to parents for free. In an effort to strengthen culinary and agri-tourism, Durham Tourism designed and executed a comprehensive marketing and communication campaign. The campaign included a media launch; GTA-wide print, radio and television advertising; and web and social media marketing (YouTube and Facebook) promotion. Also enlisted to help at the two-day event were approximately 95 volunteers from the 4-H Club, Durham Farm Fresh Marketing Association members, chefs, farm families and various members of the business community. They were a key component to the success of the event. One of the participating chefs featured was Tin Mill Restaurant chef and owner, Don Andrews, who has cooked for the U.S. Olympic VIP team for the past three Olympic Games. Key messages 4 The Durham region is a choice area for farm fresh products. 4 Restaurants are committed to serving local foods. 4 Gates Open provides the opportunity to get hands-on farming experience. Communication tactics 4 A media launch event was held a week before the Gates Open Savour Durham Tour, which created interest, excitement and the opportunity to further promote the event. The launch highlighted a local farm where local food was served, a local band played and a local winery participated. Elected officials were also in attendance. A media kit was provided, and photo opportunities were available. 4 A news release and media advisory were distributed to local, GTA and national media prior to the event. 4 Advertisements were run in GTA-wide print, radio, television and magazines. 4 Marketing materials included the following: Postcards: 5,000 distributed to farms, restaurants, municipalities, tourist centres and libraries in Durham. Flyers: 10,000 distributed to farms, restaurants, municipalities, tourist centres and libraries in Durham. Posters: 250 distributed to all participating farms, restaurants, municipalities, schools, _ 321
tourist attractions and centres, and libraries in Durham. 4 Social marketing was a predominant tool used throughout the Gates Open Savour Durham Tour campaign, including Facebook and YouTube, which showcased local photos, videos and event information. 4 The Durham Tourism e-newsletter was distributed from June through September to more than 8,000 subscribers, highlighting local produce and generating interest prior to the event. 4 Information promoting the Gates Open Savour Durham Tour was included in Durham region employee newsletters. 4 The Durham Tourism blog featured Gates Open. 4 A Gates Open web site (www.gatesopen.ca) was created to provide visitors with details on the event, photos and promotional information. 4 The team performed cross-promotion with restaurants, farmers markets and summer festivals. The tourism manager had the lead role in planning and implementing the event, which included: 4 Attending Gates Open committee meetings and meeting with municipal partners to gain their support and discuss municipal events. 4 Liaising with restaurant owners and bed and breakfast owners for their participation. 4 Submitting an application for the Tourism Event Marketing Partnership grant program to secure funding for an advertisement in Harrowsmith Country Life magazine. 4 Promoting Durham Tourism during the event itself. 4 Creating a partnership with Today s Parent magazine Toronto. Implementation and Challenges / The team worked with a small budget of CDN$15,000 that covered the cost for graphic design, web site design, print materials, advertising and the media launch. An additional CDN$5,000 was obtained through the Ontario Tourism Event Marketing Partnership Program, and was used for a full-page advertisement in Harrowsmith Country Life magazine. Funds from ticket sales were allocated toward event expenses (signage, washroom facilities, volunteer t-shirts, etc.), and the remainder supported agriculture education awareness programs administered through the Durham Farm Fresh Marketing Association. Challenges Some farms did not want to participate or be open on both days (they preferred one day); therefore all promotional materials listed the days that individual farms were open. This permitted each farm to continue working with limited interruption to their regular operations. Six municipalities held events as offshoots to the Gates Open event. As such, there were times when residents/visitors could not differentiate between the regional event and the local municipalities event. At times there were almost too many choices. _ 322
Measurement/Evaluation / Overall the event was a huge success: 4 The number of visitors ranged from 150 1,500 people per farm. 4 There were 14 participating farms (up from five participating farms in 2007); several of these farms are normally closed to the public. 4 The number of passports almost doubled from the previous year from 400 to 749. This only identifies people 17 years of age and older (children 16 and under could not be tracked because they were admitted for free). 4 The number of overnight visits tripled at participating bed and breakfasts, exceeding the objective of increasing overnight stays by 20 percent. 4 The event inspired 178 people to join the Durham Tourism e-mail list, which builds awareness about tourism for the region. 4 To find out how effective each promotional method was, 84 individuals were surveyed on how they learned about the event, which revealed the following: Twenty-three percent via Metroland Durham Division Eighteen percent via word of mouth Seventeen percent via the Gates Open web site The remaining 42 percent included a combination of media outlets, web sites and marketing materials. 4 The number of municipalities involved increased from two to eight resulting in 100 percent participation. 4 Visitors to the Gates Open web site: October: 413 visitors and 466 visits (27.3 percent was direct traffic). November: 154 visitors and 182 visits (24.2 percent was direct traffic). December: 110 visitors and 114 visits (32.5 percent was direct traffic). 4 At the time of the event, 186 members had joined the Gates Open Facebook group. 4 There were 12 videos posted on the Gates Open YouTube web site, which garnered 271 views in total. 4 There were 19 print articles and radio and television broadcasts that, based on audited circulation numbers, translates to more than one million media impressions, which captured the key messages. 4 A feature article in the National Post gave Gates Open national media coverage for the first time. With the Gates Open Savour Durham Tour, the Durham region has successfully set itself apart from the neighbouring counties and regions by offering agriculture education and culinary experiences. Gates Open has led to an increased interest in agri-tourism and culinary tourism within the region and spurred Durham Tourism s efforts to strengthen this area. _ 323