The Oxford Shopping Channel – Rural Oxford Series is coming to a town near you!
Oxford County communities have an abundance of shopping options for residents and Rural Oxford Economic Development is on a mission to highlight some of the #shoplocal stops across our rural towns.
The pandemic led to a community collaboration that evolved from supportingoxford.ca to the creation of the Oxford Shopping Channel website which launched in the fall with a mix of 39 urban and rural business features- just in time for the holidays. The Rural Oxford Economic Development team is again partnering with Community Futures, Puffin Media, The Social Factory, and Tourism Oxford to launch the Oxford Shopping Channel – Rural Oxford Series. The video series will feature another 35 businesses located throughout our County’s five rural townships.
Crystal van Roekel, Business Support Consultant and Project Lead, said the project’s focus has shifted. “When the Oxford Shopping Channel originally launched, the focus was on supporting local businesses in downtown hubs. Earning such positive feedback, we decided to reach out to Community Futures Oxford about relaunching a summer series with a focus on supporting more of our rural businesses because we want people to know what else is available in their backyards.”
A total of 35 small businesses will benefit from a professional feature video as well as the Marketing Partner Program that’s been created to increase support and promotion for these companies. “The videos will really showcase exactly what these small businesses have to offer. I feel that in this day and age if people don’t know what they are getting they are less likely to go there. We are tying faces and products to business brands and that helps give the public a feeling of comfort,” she added.
Being stuck at home gives people an opportunity to see what is available locally. There are so many different options. For example, you don’t have to go to a Big Box Store when you can go to a farmer’s market and buy produce grown right here in Oxford. It gives people a connection to their food. Crystal added that residents will see a wide variety in the types of businesses featured. “There’s really nothing you can’t get here and there’s a lot to be said for keeping it in the community. When you are going to buy beef from someone who is locally raising it, it’s very likely that that person is also going down the road to buy lunch or feed from a local neighbour.”
Some benefits of participating as a Marketing Partner on the Oxford Shopping Channel – Rural Oxford Series include training, coaching, resource sharing, new networking connections, and a wonderful community collaboration where community partners and businesses work together to uplift other rural businesses.
Chairman Jim Pickard, on behalf of Rural Oxford Economic Development’s Board of Directors, commented, “The creativity and collaboration among our community partners to leverage existing resources and strengthen the business support available to our rural communities has truly been remarkable. Congratulations to the team on another successful program!”
We will be filming the Rural Oxford series as it is safe to do so and the second round of videos will be rolled out throughout the summer on Facebook & Instagram.
Follow along @RuralOxfordEDC, @CommunityFuturesOxford and @SupportingOxford.
Did you know the Oxford Shopping Channel’s first round of video features reached over 70,000 people?! Visit www.oxfordshoppingchannel.ca to check out these great local businesses.
If you have any questions about the upcoming Oxford Shopping Channel – Rural Oxford Series, please reach out to crystal@ruraloxford.ca
This project is funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs- the views expressed in this video series are the views of the Rural Oxford Businesses and Community Partners and do not necessarily reflect those of the Province.
