Business partnership to update inventory of beauty shots from MODG

GUYSBOROUGH — The Guysborough District Business Partnership (GDBP) is accepting proposals for a one-year term to provide photography services encompassing tourism, events and business in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG).

“Travellers love updated visuals of places and events, which help them see themselves in a new destination,” GDBP Executive Director Ashley Cunningham Avery told The Journal in an email last week. “We live in a beautiful part of Nova Scotia [and] have some of the most beautiful outdoor vistas, beaches, trails and lively community celebrations, but we lack a steady stream of updated photography to help us market this to people who don’t see it every day.”

She added: “We’re doing our best to invest in projects like this to help out the local tourism operators, other small businesses, as well as our community volunteer groups that may not have funds to invest in professional and up-to-date materials,” for websites, social media, print, brochures and other modes of tourism marketing.

According to the request for proposals, the GDBP has set a maximum budget of $10,000 for an “experienced and qualified photographer” to “capture high-quality images” from a list of pre-determined festivals and community events between June and next March. The list, which will be created in consultation with the successful applicant, will include events organized by the GDBP that provide opportunities for a mix of candid and staged shots that “showcase the atmosphere and energy of the events with participants taking part…”

Meanwhile, destination and business photography will “capture scenic landscapes, waterfronts, landmarks, attractions and cultural experiences in MODG… in multiple seasons” highlighting the destinations’ “unique selling points” and showcasing the area’s diversity of “accommodations, dining options, retail [and] industry.”

Earlier this year, after hosting its first visioning conference, the GDBP adopted a consultant’s findings, which underscored the importance of effective marketing and communications to the municipality’s economic development goals.

“The only thing holding you back is a clear articulation of the story of who you are becoming as communities and a region, and your decision to get on with becoming it,” Doug Griffiths, a former Alberta municipal affairs minister and one of Canada’s best-known community development consultants, concluded in his report.

The deadline for submissions to the GDBP is Friday, June 7 at 4:30 p.m.

Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal