Open Farms win national marketing award

Jeff Green | Sep 27, 2019

Open Farms InFrontenac has received the Economic Developers Association of Canada’s (EDAC) 2019 Marketing Canada Award for Best Event. The award was presented to Richard Allen, Frontenac County Manager of Economic Development,  at the annual EDAC conference in Edmonton on Sunday (September 21).

The award was given for the marketing effort in 2018, the first year of the event.

The Frontenac County submission to the EDAC awards included a description of the genesis of the event, which was inspired by an event that was put on a few years ago by the National Farmer’s Union Local 316.

The primary goal for this event was to help farmers gain new customers and increase awareness of local farms in the area by giving consumers a behind-the-scenes look at life on a real working farm and an opportunity to meet and start relationships with the farmers who raise their produce and animals in an ethical and sustainable way.

“The 2018 event met its objectives as each farm had approximately 400-500 visitors during the event, many sold out of products, and farms gained new customers,” said the Frontenac County submission to the EDAC awards committee.

The marketing award recognised how the county pivoted the increasingly strong recognition of the Frontenac County brand, into promotion of the new Open Farms event, using print materials as well as social media to attract a local and regional audience.

"I am very proud of our team,” said Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender, about the award. “They took this from a dinner conversation to a highly successful event with true economic impact. To have their dedication and creative effort acknowledged by this national award for best event, makes the success of Open Farms in Frontenac extra special.”

Frontenac County has limited resources and Open Farms 2018 only had a budget of $4,000, and was only one of many initiatives that are overseen by a two-person economic development department.

Although the award recognised the success of the first year of Open Farms in 2018, in 2019 Open Farms progressed to a new level. The number of farms participating increased, and a collaboration with the Frontenac Plowing Match brought a new audience. As a result, overall attendance more than doubled.

“As a small farm, we were very pleased to be part of this larger event, to showcase our farm and connect with new customers,” said Xiaobing Shen, co-owner of Long Road Ecological Farm with Jonathan Davies. He estimates more than 1,000 people visited the farm during Open Farms, most of whom he met for the very first time that day.

“A huge thank you goes to Frontenac County for starting this initiative, and for organising, guiding and pulling us along. When people visited our farm, I heard them say, ‘I've never seen anything like it’ and ‘we should build a greenhouse like that’. That’s when I knew we are doing something right,” he said.

The EDAC Marketing Awards acknowledge communities of all sizes across Canada who have succeeded in their marketing efforts. Multiple awards are presented in each category each year.