Edify Magazine announced on Oct. 25 that it has acquired the Edmonton Made program from Explore Edmonton. Terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition includes all intellectual property associated with Edmonton Made, including the website, social media handles, logos, and contact lists.
"We approached them about a transition in the summer of 2021," Trudy Callaghan, publisher of Edify, told Taproot. "Our goal was to create a win-win-win for Explore Edmonton, Edmonton Made members, and Odvod Publishing (Edify)."
Edmonton Made originally launched in 2016 as a campaign to promote homegrown businesses. The initiative grew out of then councillor Michael Oshry's initiative on emerging economies and was developed by Make Something Edmonton, a unit of the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC).
"With EEDC gone and Explore Edmonton's focused mandate on destination development and marketing, as well as managing the Edmonton Convention Centre and Edmonton EXPO Centre, it no longer made sense for the organization to continue to manage the program," Dan St. Pierre, director of strategic communications and partnerships at Explore Edmonton, told Taproot.
"Rather than the program sitting on our shelf, the timing made sense to make the transition."
The Edmonton Made website features a business directory and stories about local businesses. Over the years, the program has also launched a gift catalogue and a controversial gift card promotion.
Edify is planning a soft relaunch of the Edmonton Made brand for its November issue.