The City has launched a series of promotional videos that invite viewers to "discover" what Weyburn has to offer.
The series was officially launched at an event held at City Hall recently, where several residents and City staff that played a role in the video and its production were present. The videos made their Internet debut on January 24, when they were launched on the City of Weyburn website at www.weyburn.ca.
The series of six videos are each a minute in length and focus on local attractions and things to do, business and industry, economic development, real estate and relocation and way of life. The project was headed up by Mayor Debra Button and Jon Michaud, director of finance for the City.
The videos are a way to market the city to developers and those considering relocating to the area.
"We want to show others why we are proud to call this city our home," said Michaud.
The City entered into a three year contract with CGI Communications last June. CGI produced the videos and uses advertising on the site to gain revenue.
CGI recently completed similar promotional videos for Estevan and Yorkton. During the video launch at City Hall, Michaud used Estevan's video series to directly compare it with Weyburn's series. Michaud pointed out that while Estevan used the same narrator for all of their videos, Weyburn used a different narrator for each video and did something that no other city featured by CGI had done before - include testimonials from local residents.
"I think we captured the best of local talent in this video series," said Button.
Each video also includes comments by City staff and residents doing various activities to enhance the background. With all the extras, a total of 40 waivers were signed for the six videos and over 25 hours of footage was filmed.
The first video features Mayor Button on the Riverfront Boardwalk welcoming viewers to the city as she proclaims, "This is our Weyburn, come discover yours." This slogan is repeated throughout the series. Narration for the video is done by Cameron Birnie and the testimonial is performed by Dr. Bola Subera.
The second video has City Councillor Andy Broccolo jogging along a section of Tatagwa Trail and discussing the quality of life offered to Weyburn residents. Narration of this video is done by Laura Morrissette and a glowing testimonial is given by April Sampson.
The third video focuses on real estate and relocation and is introduced by Manager of Community Services Doug Mulhall, who calls Weyburn, "an affordable place to call home." The narration is done by Glenn Rogers and the testimonial is by Canalta Hotel Manager Amber Knauft.
The fourth video focuses on attractions and things to do and is introduced by City staff members Leah Mildenberger and Katelyn Struthers. It features Weyburn's many parks and Main Street flower gardens in full bloom. A testimonial is given by MLA Dustin Duncan and narrator Michelle Erickson proclaims, "There is always something to do in Weyburn."
Economic development is the topic of the fifth video, which is introduced by City Manager Bob Smith and narrated by Chamber of Commerce Manager Jeff Richards. In the testimonial given by Susan Minard of Minard's Leisure World, she claims that Weyburn has "a big city selection with a small town feel."
The sixth and last video is introduced by Councillor Rob Stephanson and focuses on business and industry. Stephanson comments on the "business-friendly attitude" of the city. Narration of the video is done by Kevin Smith and a testimonial is provided by Dale Rinas of Crescent Point Place.
Michaud said he is hopeful that the videos will attract more viewers to the City website and is encouraged by the fact that CGI has begun using Weyburn's videos as an example to other potential clients. He said that the City is also looking to revamp their website and plans are in place to make some changes this summer.
"We want to splash it up a bit - change colours, pictures - we don't want it to become stagnate," said Michaud.
Michaud said they are looking at the value of adding more to the website, such as the ability to view water bills and more resources for City staff. He said that anyone with ideas on how to improve the website should contact him at City Hall.
