BRAED Innovates through the Battle River Online Festival
Collectively, Alberta’s Battle River Alliance for Economic Development (BRAED) is proving that you can do more, together, when you embrace innovation.
As an organization, BRAED is constantly on the lookout for innovation opportunities, recently testing out a new, custom solution for online engagement to convert local business loyalty.
Outcomes of the organization's spring 2026 Battle River Online Festival not only left an innovation impact, but also results including:
85% of participants reporting that the festival delivered increased optimism for their small business or organization.
85% reporting the festival was a significant win for encouraging more visitation and small business support for the region.
“It shows that when we partner, we can exceed expectations,” explains BRAED’s Executive Director Caroline McAuley.
“Our region saw over 140,000 video views from this online festival, we could never have been able to do that on our own," she states.
BRAED partnered with Seekers Media and influencer Linda Hoang, with funding from partners including Community Futures, Beaver and Flagstaff Counties, and the County of Paintearth, and 19 participating businesses and organizations to bring together the festival.
"The collaborative ethic of everyone involved in this partnership really made this all work," McCauley praises. "We exceeded expectations all around here.”
How did the BRAED online festival deliver results?
The Battle River Online Festival happened through April and May 2026. During that time, the 19 participating small businesses and reigonal organizations were coached on the art of using digital media tools to generate videos about why they do what they do as a business or organization.
Like a music festival, an appearance schedule was released, and participants went live on their Facebook page at a set time, with their lives being promoted by FestivalSeekers, Linda Hoang, the counties and BRAED’s social media channels and websites.
TABLE: survey responses from participants, regarding benefits of social media coaching for their businesses
“The Battle River Online Festival generated so much awareness about this part of the world from outside our region,” says McAuley.
“From these businesses and organizations who took part we saw a significant increase in innovation and new ideas that then became known across Canada. The experience really helped put us on the map in a bigger and better way.”
Seekers Media’s concept of an online festival was born in April 2020 as an innovative response to COVID, supporting small businesses who were challenged to “get their word out” when much of our economy ground to a halt.
It’s still a very effective solution today, given how important online reputation management has become for small businesses.
Next to the results above, other outcomes of the Battle River Online Festival included:
A 10 to 25% increase in sales for participating businesses, compared to the same time last year.
A 25% increase in event attendance for one community, compared to the same time last year.
A variety of different product launches and innovations across many of the participants' businesses, working off newfound confidence.
TABLE 2: survey responses from participants, on their digital media confidence gained through festival training
The Battle River online festival is one of 17 digital readiness training programs (online festivals) produced by Seekers Media since 2020. The outcomes have all been the similar:
an immediate increase in sales
sizable increases in entrepreneur confidence
new-found collaboration across the community
Are you ready to bring the festival stoke to your community?
To see your own community celebrate its awesomeness through an online festival, simply reach out today to @email and we can get you on your way to some innovative success.