Promotional campaign aims to attract new residents to ‘Land in Lanark’

LAURIE WEIR

It’s a catchy tagline to attack newcomers to Lanark County as the county aims to bolster the health care and trades sectors. 

“Land in Lanark” is the new phrase coined by the company, Cinnamon Toast (CT), who has been tasked to tackle the labour shortages by showcasing the abundant employment opportunities and lifestyle offerings. 

Bronwyn Mondoux, founder and chief creative officer from CT, shared the campaign with county councillors during the regular April 17 economic development meeting. 

She spoke, through video link, of the ways in which her team will attract people to Lanark County as part of the $96,000 strategy, which includes a six-week campaign starting with video filming in May. They are looking to launch the campaign in early summer. The team will track the online project through analytics, web traffic, engagement, advertising, etc., and provide weekly updates. 

Coun. Bill King, (Lanark Highlands Deputy Mayor) said he’s “not all that excited about the content” of the plan. “The important thing is how you’re defining success … I’m interested in how many doctors we are attracting. Do we have hard targets about what we are getting for this investment?”

As a lead generation campaign, Mondoux said the goal is for the final push to contact. 

“I don’t have a careers opportunity landing page, or a particular place that I can send them to apply now,” she said, in hopes people will download information or contact a resource about moving to Lanark County. “But we don’t have one hub of job opportunities, unfortunately.”

King said they have an organization that they fund – Valley Heartland — for lead generation and business expansion. 

Amber Coville from Valley Heartland spoke via video about the project. She and Mondoux are working together on the campaign.

“We haven’t set hard targets in terms of how many doctors, nurses and tradespeople in particular we’re going to attract. This is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this, so it’s a little bit of a learning curve for us.”

Coville said anyone who is looking for more information will be directed to Valley Heartland so they can get an idea of what people are looking for. 

“Ideally, if they do need any assistance in terms of getting connected with agencies locally, or if they’re looking at certain communities and they need to connect with one of the employment centres, we will be able to make that connection. And if they are looking for a business opportunity I’ll be there to back up (staff) on that.”

The focus areas are metropolitan areas like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, Coville said, where new immigrants are landing. “That doesn’t exclude any of the other communities (like Kingston, Ottawa).”

This campaign was a result of a request for proposals where more than 15 businesses responded; CT was the successful bidder. 

This is part of the Rural Community Inclusion Pilot Project which is a collaborative initiative between Lanark and Renfrew counties, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Rural Economic Development (RED) program. The mission is to create a more inclusive, diverse, and economically vibrant community by connecting local businesses with skilled newcomers and fostering a welcoming environment.

This project centers around introducing a shared Settlement and Recruitment Coordinator for Lanark and Renfrew. This role is vital for connecting local businesses with skilled newcomers, ensuring a smooth transition and fostering a thriving, welcoming community. 

The motion to receive the report for information was approved by council.