Hamilton Day wins Top 100 Festival, Best Promotional Campaign, and Best Social Media Campaign honours 

The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to announce we have received three 2024 Festival & Events of Ontario (FEO) Achievement Awards for our Hamilton Day initiative. Hamilton Day was recognized as an award-winning event in the Best Promotional Campaign and Best Social Media Campaign categories. It was also recognized as one of the Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario. The awards were presented at the FEO Celebrate Awards Gala in Niagara Falls on February 28, 2024.

The FEO Achievement Awards recognize the accomplishments and successes of festivals and events by honouring best practices over many different categories within the industry across the Province of Ontario. Submissions were received for consideration in the Fall of 2023 and were judged by an independent panel. Festivals and events of all kinds from every corner of Ontario were represented in the submissions – from community festivals to internationally recognized events.

Quote from Greg Dunnett, President & CEO, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
“The Hamilton Chamber is honoured to be recognized again this year by Festival & Events Ontario for Hamilton Day 2023. With the support of our partners and sponsors, the Chamber team expanded and elevated Hamilton Day’s programming and scope to allow us to support multiple sectors of our economy, in addition to Hamilton’s small business community. We’re looking forward to Hamilton Day 2024 in November!”

Quote from Norm Schleehahn, Director of Economic Development, City of Hamilton
“Congratulations to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce team on their well-deserved awards, specifically being named a Top 100 Event in Ontario. The City of Hamilton is proud to be a partner of Hamilton Day, an initiative that continues to showcase the best our small business community has to offer.”

Award Highlights

The Best Promotional Campaign Award was awarded to Hamilton Day for the second year in a row. It is granted based on the effectiveness of traditional media marketing tactics used and quantifiable engagement metrics that are closely tied to the event’s attendance and overall success. The Hamilton Chamber’s promotional efforts for Hamilton Day generated an estimated 10 million media impressions and involved partnerships with 11 operating city BIAs, 14 artisan/farmers markets, 22 sponsors, 7 media partners and dozens of community partners. 

The Hamilton Chamber was the winner of the Best Social Media Campaign Award, for the second year in a row, based on our concerted efforts to create and roll out an extensive social media campaign with an engaged, local-loving following. Through a combination of organic and paid social

media efforts, the Hamilton Day channels have amassed over 7,200 followers (a growth rate of 75% since the previous year), and reached over 700,000 individuals with its content. 

Hamilton Day also received the Top 100 Award, recognizing it as one of the top Festivals & Events in Ontario. Acknowledging industry excellence, this designation provides its recipients with a high visibility profile and marketing benefits unmatched by any other awards program in the province. The FEO Top 100 Festivals & Events Program is recognized by festival goers, peers and government officials alike as Ontario’s leading source of quality festivals and events happening across the province.

About Hamilton Day

Hamilton Day is an annual, award-winning, city-wide celebration of Hamilton and its small business community – featuring concerts, markets, pop-up performances, programming and over 1,000 participating local businesses across Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton Day 2023 saw substantial growth as it expanded its programming from one to four days. It is estimated to have drawn over 8,600 tourists, and generated over $6 million in local and regional spending. Originally held during the Great Depression to boost spirits and the local economy, Hamilton Day was revived by the Hamilton Chamber in 2021 to support small businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. Hamilton Day will return on the first weekend in November 2024. Learn more at http://www.hamiltonday.ca

About Festival & Events Ontario

Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) was established in 1987 as an association devoted to the growth and stability of the festival and event industry in Ontario. FEO supports a lively, engaged and dedicated festival and events industry by sharing knowledge, enabling networking and providing leadership on education, advocacy and promotion. FEO operates Canada’s largest dedicated festival and event Conference, publishes and distributes an annual consumer guide, promotes its industry festival supplier goods and services and oversees an industry-leading awards recognition program. The festivals and events industry in Ontario is estimated to generate in excess of $2.3 billion annually in contribution to regional GDP, create/sustain approximately 50,000 full-year-equivalent jobs and foster approximately $1 billion dollars in taxes at all levels of government. Learn more at http://www.festivalsandeventsontario.com

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