Digital Marketing Agency for Economic Development – Driving $50M in Investment Leads and Population Growth for Prince George

How We Helped Prince George Attract $50M+ in Investment and Reach 750,000+ People

When the City of Prince George approached us, their goal wasn’t just brand awareness—they wanted growth. Specifically, they needed to increase population, attract investment, and showcase what makes Northern BC an incredible place to live, work, and build. We weren’t just brought in as a video production vendor or a content shop. They needed a digital marketing agency that could shape strategy, design the system, and deliver results.

This campaign became one of the most integrated population growth marketing initiatives we’ve done to date—touching every Setsail department: strategy, video, content, design, paid media, and reporting. The dual-focus nature of the campaign—residency attraction + investment attraction—meant every asset had to speak to different stakeholders, across multiple platforms, while still telling one cohesive story.

Context & Challenge: One City, Two Audiences, Big Goals

Prince George was already known for its affordability and access to nature. But with rising competition from other BC cities, they were getting outshouted—both for skilled residents and economic partnerships. The challenge? Most municipalities either market to residents or to investors, but rarely both at once. PG wanted to do both, simultaneously, in a cohesive campaign.

We had to:

• Position Prince George as a viable relocation destination for families, remote workers, and professionals seeking affordability and lifestyle
• Make a case to investors that this was a smart place to build—especially in the hydrogen, clean energy, and logistics sectors
• Create content that felt real, local, and emotionally resonant, without falling into stock footage territory or sounding like a generic city video

We knew from the start this needed to be more than a brochure or website. This had to be a full-scale content and advertising ecosystem built to support city goals across months—and possibly years.

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Our Approach: A Dual-Track Digital Marketing Campaign for Cities

Our strategy split into two clear tracks:

1. Lifestyle Campaign → Targeted prospective residents through visual content (video + photo) and social media campaigns, mainly on Instagram and Facebook.
2. Investment Campaign → Targeted economic development audiences through messaging on LinkedIn, digital presentations, and sector-specific content for clean energy and infrastructure opportunities.

We worked closely with Prince George’s internal teams—economic development, communications, and tourism—to ensure alignment. Every message, every post, every deck had to reinforce a shared narrative: Prince George is where lifestyle and opportunity meet.

Creative Process: Human-First, Data-Informed Storytelling

We kicked things off with a discovery sprint: stakeholder interviews, story mining, local scouting, and trend analysis. From there, we built the backbone of the narrative around two central promises:

• For residents: "Life is more affordable here—and the quality is just as high."
• For investors: "There’s room to grow here, with workforce, land, infrastructure, and political will."

We filmed in multiple seasons to showcase different facets of life in the city. Our video production team captured family life, outdoor recreation, and community events. Meanwhile, we interviewed economic leaders and municipal officials for the investor materials. Every shot and quote had to do real work—this wasn’t fluff content; it was designed for conversions.

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We handled:

• Scriptwriting and interview prep
• Aerial drone coverage and on-location lifestyle b-roll
• Talent sourcing from within the community
• Voiceover sourcing and audio production
• Photo shoots for use in web, print, and social campaigns
• Content structuring and visual hierarchy for presentations

Execution & Deliverables: High-Impact Digital Marketing for Municipalities

Over four months, our team produced and deployed:

• 200+ assets, including 15 short-form videos, 50+ edited photos, 6 investment presentations, and 3 lifestyle campaigns
• Detailed investment prospectuses, including hydrogen hub and logistics sector deep-dives
• Social media campaigns, segmented by audience and platform:
  • Facebook and Instagram for lifestyle stories
  • LinkedIn for investor messaging
• Community testimonials—short videos and photos capturing real stories from residents and local businesses
• Sector-specific landing decks with modular design, so economic development teams could tailor by opportunity

Every piece was formatted for easy distribution across print, digital, and event settings. And we designed templates the city could keep using well after the campaign ended.

Tangible Outcomes: Population Growth Marketing with Real ROI

The results weren’t hypothetical. They were tracked, measured, and shared with stakeholders across the city.

Impact Metrics:

• 750,000+ reach across digital platforms (organic + paid)
• $50M+ in qualified investment interest generated from deck distribution and LinkedIn campaigns
• 15+ formal investment presentations delivered using Setsail materials
• 200+ creative assets handed off to city teams
• 40% above-average engagement rates across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• 60% cost-of-living differential highlighted in lifestyle messaging (benchmarked against Vancouver)

What mattered most was what we heard from city leaders: “This is the most comprehensive, professionally executed campaign we’ve ever run.”

[Image 5: LinkedIn ad preview showing investor-targeted campaign asset]
Alt: LinkedIn sponsored content preview featuring Setsail-created investor messaging for Prince George economic development.

Lessons Learned & What’s Next

Working with cities means navigating multiple stakeholders and public accountability. That’s why we built in tight approval loops and feedback sprints. We learned that when you get alignment early and let real stories lead, the rest comes together fast.

We also saw the power of resident-focused content in economic development. Often, cities split their messaging and miss the synergies. Here, one campaign spoke to both hearts and balance sheets—and that made all the difference.

Next steps include supporting the City of Prince George in refreshing content seasonally, extending the messaging into paid search and display, and developing new materials for upcoming real estate and infrastructure initiatives.

We’re proud to have helped create a system that delivers not just short-term attention, but a long-term marketing foundation the city can continue building on.

If you’re a municipal or regional government looking for a proven digital marketing agency to drive resident attraction, investment, or branding—we’d be happy to help. Contact Setsail Marketing to explore what’s possible.