The Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, Tourism Kelowna and Accelerate Okanagan release new stories of entrepreneurs and innovators in the Okanagan.

Phase Three of the award-winning OKGo campaign, tells the stories of business leaders in key business sectors; Viticulture, Agriculture, Technology, Cannabis, Aerospace, and Advanced Manufacturing. to raise awareness of the Central Okanagan’s economic and tourism opportunities, is officially underway, building on the success of the first two years of the campaign.

To launch the next phase of this multi-year campaign, in-depth video profiles of some of these local entrepreneurs and innovators were created:

• 50th Parallel Estate Winery (Viticulture)
• GreenStep Solutions (Digital Tech)
• KF Aerospace (Aerospace)
• Paynter’s Fruit Market (Agriculture)
• Pela (Advanced Manufacturing)
• THC Biomed (Cannabis)

In early December, our team successfully hosted some of our Meetings & Conferences (M&C) Program Partners, as well as other industry partners, at the Kelowna Innovation Centre for a soft launch of the videos, which were then officially launched online just before the holidays.

“These videos are another asset in our OKGo toolbox that we can use to differentiate our community when selling to meeting and event planners,” says Tourism Kelowna’s Business Development Consultant and OKGO lead, Nicolle Gomez de Sousa. “By targeting key economic sectors and showcasing success stories within these sectors, planners can leverage the local industry, including our local experts and infrastructure, to elevate their conference programming, ensuring their agendas are impactful and relevant to delegates.”

The OKGo campaign was launched in 2021 through a partnership between Tourism Kelowna, the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, and Accelerate Okanagan. The campaign provides a cohesive regional story focused on key economic sectors—Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Agriculture, Cannabis, Digital Tech, and Viticulture—that each of the partner organizations can share and leverage to further their unique mandate and individual goals. For Tourism Kelowna, that means strategically targeting planners to attract business events to our region in alignment with Destination Canada’s Global Sector Strategy.

OKGo was recognized with two International Economic Development Council (IEDC) awards in 2021 and four 2022 Marketing Canada Awards.

Phase One of the campaign included a 30-second video, website, and print magazine. PDF File, while Phase Two included Vol. 2 of the print magazine. PDF File, additions and updates to the website, including a Community section, as well as video content and other promotional assets. As part of Phase Two, our team started hosting economic sector strategy familiarization (FAM) tours for our M&C program partners, which will continue through Phase Three.