This winter, the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board (RMB) launched the third round of their marketing grants. Over $50,000 has been granted to 30 small businesses and organizations to assist them with their tourism marketing efforts. The grants were created in 2020 as a result of the pandemic to support businesses while also enabling a more regional approach to marketing, made possible with Municipal Accommodation Tax and other funding.
Businesses in Belleville, Brighton, Greater Napanee, Quinte West and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte had the opportunity to apply for funding of up to $2,500. The funding was allocated into seven categories of photography/video, website enhancement, paid digital advertising, brand asset development, event activation/marketing, partnership projects and product or experience development.
Some examples of successful grant projects include The Brake Room in Belleville creating a print version of cycling routes from bayofquinte.bike, the Brighton BIA enhancing their website to increase tourist traffic, Empey Estates Wedding & Event Venue in Napanee taking on new marketing to attract out of town groups, Wild Card Brewing Company in Quinte West increasing their paid digital advertising and LiL Crow Cabin from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte purchasing an ice hut and snowshoes to enhance their winter experiences.
“We’ve been proud to receive funding through the Bay of Quinte RMB for our tourism product development so far, and truly appreciate the community’s commitment to helping us see this project through,” said Laura Voskamp of The Brake Room. “As a small business, we’ve spent countless hours refining bayofquinte.bike on our own time outside of running our shop. Having the grants to back us up is a big help.”
“After an incredibly challenging two years of pandemic lockdowns and uncertainty, we’re elated to begin reconnecting with our customer base and the Bay of Quinte RMB has jumpstarted that endeavour,” said Zack Card of Wild Card Brewing Company. “To reconnect, we have to reach them where they’re at; the web and social media. We’re so grateful for their work to bring marketing funds to hard-hit tourism and hospitality sector businesses such as ours. This investment will supercharge our social media and Google ad buys, allowing us to draw in new and reconnect with old customers.”
A full list of grant recipients will be available in the coming weeks at bayofquinte.ca/tourism/grant-recipients.
Another round of Bay of Quinte Marketing Grants will be opening later in 2022.
