BURSTA resident attraction campaign that leaned into Kitimat’s rugged identity and offbeat humour has earned a provincial marketing award from the BC Economic Development Association.
The District of Kitimat, the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce and agency Munro/Thompson received the association’s Economic Development and Marketing Innovation Award last week for the “Kitimat, BC: It’s Not for Everyone” campaign.
Launched in Nov. 2025 as part of the broader Kitimat Bound initiative, the campaign broke from traditional tourism and recruitment advertising by embracing self-aware humour and an intentionally unconventional tone to market life in Kitimat.
Rather than presenting an idealized version of the community, the campaign highlighted Kitimat’s rugged character, outdoor lifestyle and tight-knit culture to appeal to people looking for space, opportunity and a different pace of life. The campaign featured a comedic video centred on a Kitimat resident alongside fictional products inspired by the local experience as part of a broader digital advertising strategy.
The campaign generated more than two million digital impressions across Canada, organizers said.
See the marketing material and video at kitimatbound.ca.
The Kitimat Bound initiative began in 2020 and secured provincial support in 2023 through a three-year funding package totalling $789,565. Funding included $289,565 from Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Northern Healthy Communities Fund and $500,000 from the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation through the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program.
Since the launch of Kitimat Bound, officials have received hundreds of inquiries from people considering a move to Kitimat, with at least 25 confirmed new residents now living here, according to the district. In a community of just more than 8,200 people, that represents a measurable population increase and potentially more than $1 million in annual household income circulating through the local economy, based on census income data.
The BC Economic Development Association presented the awards during its annual conference in Penticton last week. The Marketing Innovation Award recognizes campaigns that use creative branding and communications strategies to support goals including resident attraction, workforce development, investment attraction and community awareness.