The Pulse: Oct. 31, 2023

To open a second location of Baekjeong in Edmonton, James Kook's go-to marketing move was to invite five influencers to help spread the word. But he doesn't know if it worked.

"Since opening, it's been pretty busy, but we have no idea if it's related to the influencers," said Kook, senior food and beverage manager for Mirae Investment Inc., which owns and operates the Korean barbecue restaurant and several other restaurants in Alberta and B.C. "Word spreads before the opening and some people already knew about it."

On the other hand, Café Bel-Air co-owner Avinash Soochit knows exactly why reservations went through the roof for high tea at his Mauritian restaurant: a post by Stephanie Truong, aka Ms. Hangry Foodie.

"If I could have a statue of her, I would," laughed Soochit, who explicitly thanks Truong on the restaurant's website.

While some restaurants can draw a straight line from an influencer's post to increased business, the connection is a lot harder to determine for others. But an intentional strategy increases the chances of success, said social media strategist Linda Hoang.

"I think influencers can be super-effective and useful for businesses if done right," said Hoang, an influencer in her own right. "But if they go into it without a plan, they don't know what they're looking for, and it can lead to a bad experience."

Kook estimated that Mirae spent around $1,000 in food costs to host the influencers at Baekjeong's opening in Mayfield Common. He indicated that Mirae chose the influencers based on their follower count, and focused on those who post more frequently about Asian cuisine. He also noted that the influencers were not given any direction or timelines for the content.

"I don't want to get a bad reputation," said Kook. "We are not hiring them. We are just asking them to do us a favour."

Hoang recommends being more strategic. Businesses should be clear about their goals and their content parameters (e.g., an Instagram post as opposed to an Instagram story), and they should ask for analytics, she said.

"Who is the person's audience?" Hoang recommends asking. "Are their followers in Edmonton? Would they be my customers?"

• City administration has allocated $8 million in its draft 2024 capital budget for an unnamed technology project related to cybersecurity, referred to only as an "in-private discussion item" in a city report. The draft operating budget sets aside $436,000 for the project's operations and indicates one staff member would be assigned to it full time. A city spokesperson said further details will remain private because releasing them is "not in the best interest of the corporation or citizens." Council is expected to discuss the project in private before deciding whether to fund it.
• In his latest article, Postmedia opinion columnist Keith Gerein suggested municipal tax increases could become a focal point of the next civic election. City council is facing criticism for proposing a property tax hike of 7.09% in next year's budget, which would be the highest increase in a decade. With a potential cumulative tax increase of 22% over the four-year budget cycle, the hikes could give opponents of the current mayor and council "a tent pole on which to build a campaign," Gerein wrote.
• Edmonton radio host Lauren Hunter revealed her latest Halloween costume last week. Hunter, who is known for creating elaborate costumes inspired by news headlines, dressed up as a full-sized fridge. "We're all feeling the grocery prices this year, but we all love food," Hunter said, adding she put 50 hours into building the costume. Last year, she dressed up as a cracked Valley Line LRT concrete pier.
• Edmonton's office vacancy rate has decreased in the third quarter of 2023, indicating a potential shift in the market. While the change is positive, the city is still a long way from a balanced market, said Cory Wosnack with Avison Young. The decline in vacancy is attributed to the leasing of office space by Norquest College and Classical Academy, a new charter school in the city. There are also ongoing efforts to convert vacant office space for residential use.
• Pro-Palestine supporters staged a protest in the office of Edmonton Centre Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault on Oct. 30 as part of a nationwide effort to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Officers with the Edmonton Police Service were called to the office around 11:30am and said the nine protestors left "without issue." A representative of the protestors said they were inside the office for about an hour before continuing the demonstration outside. The protest was one of 17 that took place at MP offices in 12 cities across Canada.
• The UCP government outlined its agenda for the fall sitting of the Alberta legislature in its throne speech on Oct. 30. The government says it will lower electricity and auto insurance costs, and that the province would use the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act if the federal government implements emissions caps or a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. While the provincial government is holding consultations on a potential Alberta Pension Plan, the throne speech did not include any mention of the plan. The government also introduced its first bill of the sitting, which, if passed, would prevent the government from increasing personal or business tax rates without first holding a referendum.

The Valley Line Southeast LRT is scheduled to begin passenger service on Nov. 4 at 5:15am, and that's cause for celebration, say the hosts of Speaking Municipally.

The official opening ceremony won't be held until 2024, after the train has been running for a "number of months," the city said in a release.

"Usually when we open train lines like this, we like to get all the funding partners: the MLAs, the MPs, all the councillors, everybody together. They take a big picture, they cut a ribbon … Interesting that we're not doing that this time," said Mack Male, co-host of Taproot's civic affairs podcast.

The city initially estimated that the project would be finished in 2020, but delays such as cracked concrete piers and surprise obstructions put it three years behind schedule.

"I think there was a value computation made: To get all the funding partners, to get all the feds here and everything, that's going to take some time and organization," said co-host Troy Pavlek. "We're not delaying the opening of the train for the ribbon-cutting."

While there is no formal opening ceremony yet, Pavlek and others plan to be there for the train's bright and early opening, leaving from 102 Street and 102 Avenue. Pavlek promises cake, and Mike Kunicki has pledged coffee from Candid Coffee Roasters (while supplies last). They expect to be joined by city councillors and other passionate Edmontonians.

"Come enjoy the party of riding the train to Mill Woods and back," Pavlek said. "This is, dear listener, your official invite."

Hear more on the Valley Line Southeast LRT launch; the passage of Edmonton's new zoning bylaw and the failed and passed motions that followed it; the cost of incentives for office tower conversions; and much more in the Oct. 27 episode of Speaking Municipally.