Economic Development Regina campaign draws response from Halifax mayor

REGINA — An ad campaign launched by Economic Development Regina (EDR) for people to consider moving to Regina has caught the attention of one Canadian mayor.

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore said he had a “good laugh” at the liveinregina.com ad, as EDR has been loving the reactions.

"We've kind of loved the reactions. It's fun to see people sticking up for their city, and we hope that people in Regina would stick up for our city the way they are. Obviously, this ad is bold, and we wanted to do something that would get noticed,” said Karlie McGeough, EDR's manager of marketing and strategic projects.

The ad targets four specific Canadian cities, Halifax, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

“In those areas, we tailored our marketing to things that maybe their city was struggling with. So whether that's career opportunities, housing, affordability, quality of life,” said McGeough.

In each ad, the messaging reflects the problem people may be having in each specific area.

“Those problems might be the reason people come to Regina,” noted McGeough.

Reacting to the ad, Fillmore said Halifax doesn’t need to convince people to move to the different areas, as they're already coming here.

In response, McGeough said every jurisdiction across Canada “is in the same boat.”

"Jurisdictions across Canada are all competing for the same people. And we feel like we want to stand out in the crowd. And so that's really where this marketing campaign came from."

EDR has launched the ad three different times, which can be seen on different platforms, including Google, Instagram and Facebook.

So far, McGeough said over 50 people have reached out inquiring about living in Regina from the ad.

“A win for us is that if someone saw this ad, and they look up liveinregina, now we're kind of in the back of their head, and maybe we're an option for them."

If the ad runs again, EDR could focus on more cities to target, she noted.

EDR will also look at adding more information to the website in the future.

The current liveinregina ad will run until the end of May.