Live for the moment NB, a pilot marketing campaign created to attract remote workers to New Brunswick, is being touted as a success.
Launched in March 2021, the program used digital and video assets, social media campaigns, a new landing page and an ambassador program to grab the attention of people living in large urban areas.
“The campaign focus was on that life-work balance and quality of life for family,” said Susy Campos, CEO for 3+ Economic Development Corporation.
Provincial stakeholders involved in the program include 3+, Ignite Fredericton, Envision Saint John, New Brunswick Business Council, Conseil Économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, Atlantic Chamber of Commerce and TechImpact.
Campos said the campaign enticed 21 families to pack up their lives and make the move, as well as an additional 44 probable moves.
The program used two eight-week online phases, one targeting remote workers in Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau and Montreal, and another focused on smaller regions in Sherbrooke, Edmonton and Fort McMurray.
Other provinces launched similar programs, but what made New Brunswick’s unique was the ability to call a phone line and speak with a real person rather than an automated line, noted Campos.
Through this approach, they determined the needs of people considering a move and their expectations.
Campos said they learned about whether someone had a family, their type of employment, and what kind of housing they wanted.
“We actually changed the narrative of what New Brunswick is about, so we were able to see that people from Ontario and other parts of Canada saw New Brunswick in a different light. They saw all the positive attributes and positive things in New Brunswick we should be very proud of.”
The next step for the program, said Campos, is to determine how they should proceed, stating stakeholders will determine if it should be altered to attract people from specific sectors or perhaps other countries.
