By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
With a total population of 1,801 residents as of 2021, the Town of Dalmeny still has a fair bit of room to grow its population both in terms of residential and commercial development.
Indeed, if you are to peruse the town’s website, you can find information on residential lots for sale along Loeppky Avenue, Bitner Place and Wall Street, as well as commercial and industrial lots within the Dalmeny Industrial Park.
“There are a number of lots that are already open and available for people to build to however suits their needs,” said Lacy Boisvert, who works as a social media consultant with the town.
One potential avenue for growth is to attract people tired to the pace of city life, or perhaps wanting more yard space than you could find in Saskatoon without breaking the bank.
The question is: how do you get those people interested in Dalmeny to begin with?
That’s why the Town of Dalmeny has partnered in recent months with YOLO Nomads, a marketing company that has helped to promote both large and small communities across Canada.
Boisvert said this partnership came about following YOLO Nomads being featured at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association’s annual conference.
What the company essentially did was put together an advertising campaign for the town, highlighting local attractions and amenities in both Dalmeny itself and nearby communities.
“What they do is they just feature and highlight what makes the town … unique and why you would want to consider this place over another (if you were considering re-locating),” Boisvert said.
The process began with the marketing company learning about Dalmeny and the surrounding area through a series of interviews and calls.
They then developed an online hub page describing the benefits of living in Dalmeny, which can still be viewed at the YOLO Nomads website.
That hub page highlights sites like the Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, the Dalmeny Arena, Prairie Park and the Dalmeny Spray Park.
Attractions found a short drive from the town are also promoted on the hub page, such as the Legends Golf Course in Warman, the hiking trails near Pike Lake and River Ridge Trails.
A promotional guide can also be downloaded that shares more details about Dalmeny, such as its population, economy and infrastructure. Getting people to download that guide was also part of the overall strategy, according to Boisvert.
“In order to get that relocation guide that has more information, they would provide us with an e-mail address, which we could then follow up with to see if they had any questions,” she said.
As well, Boisvert said the company also ran a number of ads on Facebook and Instagram promoting Dalmeny. (Google was offered as an option, but the company basically stated they would see a lot less turnaround.)
The last advertising campaign YOLO Nomads ran in the winter yielded 33 interested individuals, which the company indicated represented a fairly high click rate.
As well, the town office itself reported a rise in phone calls and other inquiries regarding the community following that campaign.
A second ad campaign was run this spring, and Boisvert said they are currently waiting for the results.
“It might take quite a few times for somebody to consider re-locating their whole family, but at least we’re on their radar and we’re able to share why it would be a good consideration for them,” Boisvert said.