Banff Mountain Film Festival Photo Journal
It says a lot about the effectiveness of your booth at the Banff Mountain Film Festival that the first person to visit it is none other than pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones.
Jones was at the 2023 Festival as a keynote speaker and he dropped by during the official opening of the event’s three-day Marketplace to check out the various vendors and organizations, including KORE, that had booths set up to offer info and gear to attendees. A splitboard offering from Revelstoke-based Trapper Snowboards was what initially pulled Jones into the KORE booth but he hung around for awhile talking with representatives about the robust craft gear industry in the Kootenays and how the new Kootenay Approved campaign was set to showcase all the local makers and designers to the world.
All images by Mark Gallup
One of the main highlights of the 2023 event was the three-day marketplace event in which KORE had a booth. Representatives were front and centre to introduce the thousands of visitors to the initiative as well as the 50+ member companies that are based in the Kootenay region and producing everything from snowboards and skis to bikes and beanies. Specific companies and products represented in the unique KORE booth, which was designed by Selkirk College’s Technology Access Centre (STAC), included:
- A splitboard by Trapper Snowboards
- An ultralight tent and backpack by Durston Gear
- Headlamps by Lynx OGT
- Backcountry poles by Wolverine Snow Products
- Skis by Instinct Skis, Thoroughbred Skis, Powder Room Skis, and Ski Fels
- Ski poles by Waist Deep Skis
- Apparel by Ambler Mountain Works
- Bikes by Six Mile Bikes and Jackalope Bikes
- Hats by Passage Hat Co.
- Bear spray bike holder by Ghostrider Equipment
- Clothing and backpack by Zapped Outfitters
- Slopedeck by Floworks Design
- Maternity outdoor clothing by Wildelore
- A run bike by Pintail Bikes
- Climbing gear by Basecamp Innovations and Dark Horse Innovations.
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Another highlight of the on-site festival in Banff was having the opportunity to host an hour-long outdoor campfire coffee talk in which various KORE members including builders and designers presented their products, services, and thoughts on what it’s like living in the Kootenay region of British Columbia.
Meanwhile, inside all the theatres KORE’s Kootenay Approved campaign was mentioned in every trailer aired at the event as well as online and via its socials and other external media. It was a treat to hear the official voiceover guy of the Banff Festival trailer say, “Make your next rad adventure Kootenay Approved.”
According to the festival organizers, some significant impression numbers came out of the event:
Aside from being featured in the official trailer, in its digital and print advertising, and via the World Tour Contest, other benefits and promotions came out of the partnership with Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival such as:
- Promotion on the contest website and contest video
- Collaboration on social media
- Promotion on the Festival Sponsor Intermission Video
- Major Partner recognition in media releases
- Recognition as a Major Partner on Mountain Photo Essay, Film and Book Competition entry forms
- Major Partner logo recognition during Festival in-person events
- KORE Outdoors name and logo as a Major Partner on Festival HTML messaging and e-newsletters
- Major Partner logo on Festival website plus active link to KORE Outdoors website
- Inclusion of KORE Outdoors promotional gift in the Festival Guest registration packages for VIP guests
The entire Banff Festival experience was a part of the “Kootenay Approved” campaign, which is funded by ETSI-BC’s Innovating and Advancing Key Sectors program. The campaign has a primary mission to raise consumer awareness of the KORE gear maker and creator cluster, increase sales of the products they’re responsible for, and attract business growth in the Kootenays. In short, it promotes the craft gear from here, one of the most renowned mountain regions in the world, and celebrates the way of life unique to this area of BC.
For more about the Kootenay Approved campaign, visit: koreoutdoors.org/kootenay-approved.
About KORE
KORE is an economic development and diversification initiative managed by the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise Society located in Kimberley, British Columbia. It is an industry alliance of outdoor recreation gear manufacturers and designers in the Kootenays and has brought together a network of 60+ craft gear makers and designers who have organically started up production manufacturing and designing in the region. KORE’s mission is to foster growth within the alliance through education, collaboration and connecting businesses to resources, grants, financing and capital, and to attract outdoor recreation product manufacturing and designers into the region to relocate or facilitate new entrepreneurial start-ups.
About Banff Mountain Festival
Since 1976, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, a flagship program of Banff Centre, has celebrated mountain culture. The event promotes understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain places by creating opportunities for people to share and find inspiration in mountain experiences, ideas, and visions. Following the multi-day festival in Banff Alberta each fall, the annual World Tour reaches more than 40 countries on seven continents, making it the largest adventure film tour on the planet.