Lake Wanaka Tourism (LWT) in partnership with Wanaka’s chamber of commerce, Ignite, has announced the launch of a campaign to support local businesses. 

The ‘LoveWanaka, Supporting Local’ campaign starts today (Friday May 1).

The objective of the campaign is to promote a ‘go local’ approach to doing business, the two organisations said, which arose from a vision to unite as a community and rally behind Wanaka businesses in a changed world.

The campaign plays on the ‘lovewanaka’ hashtag - the tagline for the town since the inception of social media.

Businesses will have the opportunity to offer promotions, discounts, and initiatives under the banner of LoveWanaka, Supporting Local.

“Wanaka is renowned for its spirit of community and this campaign is about drawing on that local pride to support our Wanaka businesses through this crucial time post lockdown,” an announcement from the two groups said.

The ‘LoveWanaka Supporting Local’ campaign logo. IMAGE: Supplied

LWT general manager James Helmore said a rebuild needs to begin at a local level, with locals working collectively.

“We are in this together, the LWT team is working hard with our businesses and partners to get this off the ground, and we really encourage the Wanaka community to get behind this initiative and support local.”

Ignite Wanaka joins LWT as campaign partner.

Ignite Wanaka executive officer Naomi Lindsay said Ignite Wanaka’s goal was “to nurture and empower our local businesses through support and connections”.

“Now more than ever, we need to come together and support our local businesses to help them not just survive but thrive post lockdown. We are lucky to have such an amazing array of businesses here and we’re hopeful we can all “ignite” Wanaka’s economy again together.”

LWT worked with local graphic and website agency Blend Creative to promote the campaign across print and digital platforms.

“The most important thing for us as a studio is a genuine desire to help local and get behind this campaign,” Matt Proctor of Blend Creative said. 

“We think it’s a fabulous initiative and we are hoping that the campaign will inject some fun and light into what we know is uncertain times for local business. Without the visitors, locals will need to support and celebrate local, even more so,”  

The LoveWanaka, Supporting Local campaign is live now with local deals, offers and events on the Lake Wanaka Tourism website.