A quirky, funny and quintessentially Sunshine Coast campaign to lure businesses to the region has claimed not one but two international gold awards.
The entertaining videos featured in the campaign, titled Give your business a boost of Vitamin SC (Sunshine Coast), have attracted 2.7 million views and generated almost 1000 business investment leads since launching in 2020.
The Sunshine Coast Council campaign, executed by local creative firms including Macneil & Co and Tide Productions, has achieved global recognition at the 2023 International Economic Development Council (IEDC) awards ceremony held in Dallas, Texas in the United States.
Sunshine Coast Council received two gold level awards for the Vitamin SC campaign in the categories of Multimedia/Video Promotion and Paid Advertising Campaign for cities with a population between 200,000 and 500,000.
Among the scenes in the video series, which showcases local actors and producers, are the reactions of city-based staff to a call for a “volunteer” to head up a Sunshine Coast office.
Other videos show how productive, relaxed and happy staff are when they can hit the outdoors before or after work rather than being stuck in long commutes like their big city counterparts.
The region’s global fibre connections via the Sunshine Coast International Broadband Network and rapidly growing airport also feature, along with the area’s popularity with clients who jump at the chance to come here for a meeting, rather than meet in their own locations!
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said council was extremely proud of the recognition and emphasised the campaign’s role in showcasing the region’s commitment to the Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS).
“Attracting business and investment to our region is a key outcome of the REDS, so it’s fantastic to see this clever campaign receive double gold recognition and showcase our Sunshine Coast on a global stage,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“In recent years, our region has capitalised on the trend of businesses migrating to regional locations, wanting all the benefits of big city infrastructure with space to support a more relaxed and healthier lifestyle.
“The award-winning campaign was aimed to inspire business leaders to re-think the need to be city based and to actually pack their bags and move here.
“We already had the proof in the pudding as businesses who had moved to or expanded here were keen to be involved, to spread the word about the advantages of doing business on the Sunshine Coast.
“These awards further demonstrate council’s commitment to delivering world-class products and services in all its own activities and further builds on our success from the 2019 IEDC Award win for the Sunshine Coast International Broadband Network promotion.
“The success of this campaign is also a strong testament to the world class skills of local businesses who crafted the exceptional content that showcases our region in a typical Sunshine Coast manner: healthy, smart, creative,” Mayor Jamieson said.
IEDC president and CEO Nathan Ohle congratulated Sunshine Coast Council on raising the bar for excellence in economic development.
“It is IEDC’s honour and privilege to present Sunshine Coast Council with these awards and recognise its leadership and innovation in the field of economic development,” Mr Ohle said.
On the back of the success of this initial campaign, a third Vitamin SC video series was completed in April this year and is now in market.
As part of Sunshine Coast Council’s commitment to being a smart region, an impressive list of national and international accolades has been achieved by Council’s Investment, Trade and International team, including:
2023 – Won – Paid Advertising Campaign – International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
2023 – Won – Multimedia/Video Promotion – International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
2022 – Finalist – Marketing and Promotion – Economic Development Australia (EDA).
2022 – Finalist – Excellence for Teamwork – Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA).
2019 – Won – Promotional Video Award – International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
2018 – Won – Single Event or Activity – Economic Development Australia (EDA).
2016 – Won – Head of Investment, Trade and International – Outstanding Economic Development Practitioner – Economic Development Australia (EDA).
2016 – Finalist – Community Economic Development – Economic Development Australia (EDA).
2011 – Won – Best Management of Complex Issues – Government Communications Australia.
