Helping Edmonton organizations attract people to Edmonton Edmontonstories has become a valuable tool for local recruiters - November 2011 Update

About Edmontonstories

The website you’re looking at is just the tip of the Edmontonstories iceberg. Edmontonstories is a phased campaign designed to help attract people – new employees and their families, students and tourists – to Edmonton. The campaign is intended to help raise general awareness about Edmonton in the rest of Canada and the world, and correct misperceptions about the type of lifestyle and opportunity our city offers.

The Research

Research conducted by Longwoods International in July 2008 serves as the foundation for Edmontonstories.

Longwoods tested awareness levels for Edmonton in national and international markets. They tested the attributes people look for in an ideal place to live, visit and go to school. And they also examined what our most critical audience – citizens of Edmonton – felt about our city and what it has to offer.

The results? Thereis a huge gap – one of the largest Longwoods has ever seen – between the reality of life in Edmonton and the way other Canadians see it. The gap was particularly evident in key motivators like the economy, job opportunities, taxes, shopping, future growth, sports, and recreation facilities. While awareness of Edmonton is low in national markets, our city ranks high in terms of the key attributes and motivators people look for when considering the ideal place to live or visit.

Basically, we discovered the experience Edmonton offers is what people look for and value in a city. We want to tell that story!

The Plan

The Longwoods research also showed that Edmontonians rate their city higher in attractive city attributes than Torontonians, Montrealers, and Calgarians collectively rate their cities. It became clear that our strategy had to involve Edmontonians. So we designed a solution that would tap into Edmontonians’ love of their city. Who better to tell Edmonton’s story than the people who live here and know it best? We decided that our strategy would unfurl in two phases. 

Phase I (Complete)

Our first phase involved getting a website built and populated with the stories of Edmontonians. We ran a contest to encourage people to tell their story, and people keep submitting stories – even when there’s no contest running. Clearly Edmontonians love their city, and their generosity when it comes to sharing their stories has helped the site develop into a repository of great stories full of useful information and genuine, sometimes touching, experiences.

Phase II (In Progress)

The second phase is getting the word out about Edmonton. We do that in a variety of ways, including deploying stories via social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We also partner with local businesses and organizations to find the particular audiences they want to attract, and then build a strategic Edmontonstories page for them. Populated with stories of interest to a more specific target audience, these pages tell a more complete story about Edmonton and what our city offers – a story that often can’t be easily told through traditional advertising. These story collections can be supported by social media, reciprocal web links, and online advertising. We collaborate with our partners to come up with a plan that supports their goals. When appropriate, and when we are able, we also translate stories into the mother tongue of our storytellers.

Partnership

One example of Edmontonstories partnering with a local organization on a recruitment effort is our partnership with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). Edmontonstories was applied to help EPS tell the story of Edmonton to potential recruits at job fairs in the United States. Survey results illustrate the success of the approach: 

• Prior to attending the information sessions hosted by EPS, 74% of respondents hadn’t previously considered Edmonton as a place to live
• After the sessions, 76% said they would be likely or very likely to relocate to Edmonton

In addition, edmontonstories.ca saw up to eight times more visits from users in the targeted cities.

After working with Edmontonstories during the recruitment drive, staff sergeant Gary Godziuk, Edmonton Police Services Recruitment & Selection Unit, offered the following insights:

“Of significance is the use of edmontonstories.ca. This web site is aligned in our efforts to present the attractiveness of Edmonton to potential applicants with the EPS. These stories are presented in a unique manner which allows our recruiters to connect with potential employees in a meaningful way. It also effectively serves those wanting information about the city and what it’s like to live, work and visit. It deals with questions around topics such as economics, culture, schooling, quality of life issues and more. These issues are vital for both external and internal users in demonstrating what a truly fabulous city we live and work in, as well as what we can offer to them and their families.”     

Although Phase I is technically complete, we’re always working on the site, adding more stories submitted by Edmontonians, and strategically gathering stories to support our partners.

If you have a story that you’d like to share with potential Edmontonians, we’d love to hear from you. Share your story here.

If you have questions or want to comment about this site please send an email to [email protected]. 

For details about site use, please review the Terms and Conditions.

Please note:The City of Edmonton does not endorse any products or services referenced in or linked to this website.

This site has been made possible through the leadership and vision of the Mayor and Council of the City of Edmonton. Led by the City of Edmonton and supported by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, this campaign is intended to increase awareness of Edmonton, enhance the potential of our city and support the attraction and retention efforts of our civic business partners and community leaders.