The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake was recently announced as a Hermes Creative Awards recipient for multiple modernization efforts incorporating award-winning creative design elements.
Modernizing Town services and systems ensure the municipality meets the community's growing needs by serving residents and visitors in new and efficient ways. Digitizing how the Town conducts business helps build a customer-focused, modernized, and sustainable approach to the future.
The Town has spearheaded multiple modernization initiatives and efforts over the past few years and is honoured to be recognized for advancing Town services through digital means.
Niagara-on-the-Lake received the following Hermes Creative Awards for the creative design utilized in various modernization initiatives:
- Platinum Award: ShopNOTL Go Train Ads: In July 2022, the Town launched a GO Train print campaign for the Town's comprehensive online business directory, ShopNOTL.ca, to encourage residents and visitors to use the platform, learn about Niagara-on-the-Lake businesses and visit the Town. The GO Train print advertising campaign materials were utilized to reach audiences outside Niagara-on-the-Lake to drive viewership to ShopNOTL.
- Gold Award: ShopNOTL Site: ShopNOTL.ca was developed to support the local business community, acting as a one-stop shop for residents and visitors to experience Niagara-on-the-Lake. ShopNOTL connects local businesses and customers by showcasing the diverse business community and directly linking to local business websites and other pertinent contact information. This online hub features eight categories: Arts & Culture, Attractions, Wineries, Eateries, Farmers' Markets, Services, Accommodations, and Shopping. The ShopNOTL initiative showcases the distinct experiences in Niagara-on-the-Lake and fosters a partnership between the Town and the business community, helping to re-stimulate the local economy post-COVID-19.
To find local businesses through the Town's ShopNOTL Business Directory, please visit shopnotl.ca.
- Gold Award: Town Website Redesign and Honourable Mention for the Town Website Overall: To better serve the community, the Town developed a new website that is accessible, engaging, and showcases the Town as a unique destination. The Town worked closely with Upanup to design its new website, which launched in May 2022. The website is focused on meeting user expectations and providing excellent customer service to the Town's audiences. The user-centric custom design was carefully developed to enhance the user experience by anticipating user needs and ensuring the website is accessible to everyone. The Town's new website features popular links for each user group (resident, visitor, and business) on the homepage to provide a custom experience and easy navigation. Additionally, it has intuitive, user-focused navigation and a clean, unique design that was carefully built to reflect the Town's unique natural settings, culture, and heritage. Lastly, this website conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standards and complies with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
To browse the Town's website, please visit notl.com.
- Honourable Mention: Construction App and Interactive Map: A Construction Web Application launched with the new Town website, providing an interactive map relating to previous, active and future construction projects. This feature is engaging, easy to use and fully accessible, utilizing advanced technology to improve the organization's service levels internally and externally.
To learn more about the Construction App and view the interactive map, please visit notl.com/business-development/projects-initiatives.
"The Town has championed multiple modernization efforts by digitizing services to ensure availability and ease of use and to achieve greater efficiency for our residents," stated Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa. "We highly prioritize ensuring the public has various avenues to access the information and services they require. The Town remains committed to leveraging technology to modernize and digitize Town services and make continuous improvements towards customer experience excellence."
"I am so proud of the Town and its dedication to maintaining the historical and unique aspects of our community and heritage while simultaneously working hard to advance, modernize and serve the ever-changing needs of our citizens," stated CAO Marnie Cluckie. "Projects such as the Town's new website, ShopNOTL, and Construction App and Interactive Map are excellent examples of Staff's dedication to ensuring information is presented in formats and on platforms that are easy to use and appealing to our customers. Thank you to Staff for their design efforts and for using digital means to communicate effectively."
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Media Contact:
Marah Minor, Community Engagement and Communications Coordinator
905-468-3266 | communications@notl.com