County developing new marketing model

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County is developing a new marketing model to promote specific industries within the county by networking businesses and connecting them to potential buyers in the Calgary region.

The first model is being applied to Wheatland County’s agricultural food producer network, in an initiative being referred to as Wheatland County Mercantile. 

The project includes a sub-branding of the WC brand announced last October by the county’s economic development department. This department works to develop resources for business development, retention, expansion, and attraction in Wheatland County. The work is part of a broader economic development strategy that the county has been implementing since its approval by council in 2019.

The model includes the development of a database referencing all businesses throughout the sector. Then, businesses featured by the WC Mercantile brand will be promoted on social media, said Matthew Boscariol, Wheatland County’s general manager of community and development services. 

“We have the brand, we compile the database, and we reach out through social media channels and other means in the area,” he said.

The initiative will help businesses throughout the county enter larger markets, said Boscariol.

“Wheatland County is very lucky to be in the Calgary metropolitan region and we have a population access of 1.5 million people,” he said. “We have producers that don’t necessarily have their message out there.

“By promoting through this sector chain, we can make contact with retailers or potential customers that may not have even known about our businesses in the county.”

WC Mercantile is being used to as a base example of what is capable with the new model that can be applied to other industries, said Boscariol. 

“That is pretty much our poster child for where we are going with regards to our initiatives and strategies, and how we roll them out,” he said. “We are going to target every single industry that we can in the county – that’s our ultimate goal.”