June 9, 2022
As businesses continue to increase their reliance on technology and digital platforms, the need for support has grown. Throughout the past 3 years, many small businesses have had to pivot their operations online in a short timespan, creating a heightened need for digital upgrades and support. With the help of Nova Scotia’s growing tech sector, small businesses across the province are able to address their unique needs with specialists located locally to reach their full potential.
In order to address the heightened demand for digital support, this past year Digital Nova Scotia delivered the Digital Assistance Program for Small Businesses (DAPSB) in partnership with Nova Scotia’s Department of Economic Development. The program has connected 215 Nova Scotian Digital Service Providers with 570 small businesses across the province to attract more customers and grow their existing sales through specialized assistance with website development, search engine optimization, digital marketing, social media strategy, online booking systems, and e-commerce tools.
To highlight the impact of the DAPSB program, we have connected with participants from one of our most recent projects to share their experiences – the Nova Scotia Summer Fest Association, based in Antigonish, and Rose Wagner Media. Together they have accomplished a successful project to help kickstart the 2022 Nova Scotia Summer Fest, taking place this summer on Aug 19 – 20, 2022.
Joining DAPSB with the hope of finding a professional digital media company that can help them showcase talents that exist in Nova Scotia’s music industry, Nova Scotia Summer Fest is a non-profit association with a mandate to develop Antigonish into a top event tourism destination in Atlantic Canada. Encouraging Canadian music talents and helping bring communities together by offering a diverse selection of acts, the Nova Scotia Summer Fest invites anyone in Atlantic Canada to participate.
After learning more about what Nova Scotia Summer Fest was looking for, our team was excited to connect them with one of Atlantic Canada’s leading digital media agencies, Rose Wagner Media. Passionate about leveraging success in our local community, the team at Rose Wagner Media believes proper marketing strategy and execution creates real results, regardless of the size of the business. They recognized the value that DAPSB offered small businesses who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to work with a professional agency.
“It is an honour to be able to promote Nova Scotia Summer Fest, as it provides an opportunity to showcase that world class musical and digital marketing talent exists in Canada and Nova Scotia.” – Rose Wagner, Rose Wagner Media
Once introduced, both Nova Scotia Summer Fest and RW Media felt an instant connection. After discussing needs and goals, it was established that the main focus would be setting up a well-organized digital marketing campaign. Rose Wagner and her team quickly got right to work and provided an organized and targeted layout for a marketing strategy, using age demographics and music preferences (roots, rock, pop etc.) to capture the perfect audience within Nova Scotia.
When developing a media strategy, Rose Wagner Media ensured that the campaign had a solid foundation destined for success when it went to market. To do so, they examined various areas, such as target audience and past marketing initiatives. This allowed them to avoid duplicating past strategies while still aligning the media usage habits of the target audience. Ultimately they landed on a multi-channel sustained approach across digital, social and audio platforms in order to align strategy and targeting.
“This is an important program for Nova Scotia businesses and for our provincial economy in general. […] We hope to see this program continue well into the future to sustain our provincial economic growth.” – Ray Mattie, Founder / Executive Director of Nova Scotia Summer Fest Assoc.
The customized approach enabled Nova Scotia Summer Fest to avoid ‘blanket style’ media campaign that may blend in, and instead allowed the Festival to stand out and attract a greater audience to participate! By using streams such as programmatic, Connected TV, streaming audio and social channels, the Nova Scotia Summer Fest shared that their participation in the DAPSB program helped them increase their province-wide awareness online and translated into just over $40,000 in tickets and extra engagement and page views on their website.
The strategic choice of each channel allowed the Nova Scotia Summer Fest to target specific audiences tied to each genre offered at the event, which helped broaden their outreach and allowed them to reach their engagement goals. Audience targeting capabilities provided them with cost-efficient visibility and variety that many small businesses value, as it supports their needs while minimizing risk.
“The DAPSB is a fantastic opportunity for so many small businesses. It can be a challenge for local businesses to market their products or services in a complete way. Whether that might be because of lack of funding, experience, or time. DAPSB is an equalizing opportunity that truly makes a difference for businesses in need of additional support.” – Rose Wagner Media
Digital Nova Scotia is thrilled to have fostered the relationship between the Nova Scotia Summer Fest and Rose Wagner Media, we are excited to see how this years festival goes!