How Crescent Heights BIA Used Driftscape to Drive 200+ Visits and Celebrate Community
The Challenge: Static Tools, Limited Engagement
Crescent Heights BIA in Calgary is known for its cultural diversity and dynamic small business community. But leading up to Asian Heritage Month, the BIA faced a growing concern:
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Locals weren’t exploring the neighbourhood — many didn’t know about the variety of businesses tucked throughout the area.
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The BIA relied solely on its website to promote events and listings. It offered helpful information, but lacked the interactivity needed to engage visitors on the go.
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Campaigns were effort-intensive — printing materials, running promotions, and getting people’s attention required heavy lifting without guaranteed results.
Crescent Heights needed a modern solution that could cut through the noise, encourage real-world exploration, and celebrate the neighbourhood’s diversity in a fresh, meaningful way.
The Solution: A Gamified Incentive to Explore Local
To transform the visitor experience, Crescent Heights BIA partnered with Driftscape to launch a digital campaign using the Points & Rewards feature.
Here’s how it worked:
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Locals earned points by checking into participating businesses in the area using the Driftscape app.
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Once participants visited 10 locations, they were rewarded with a $50 gift card — creating a compelling reason to keep exploring.
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The campaign ran during Asian Heritage Month, spotlighting the BIA’s cultural vibrancy and bringing increased attention to Asian-owned businesses and restaurants.
This wasn’t just about handing out prizes. It was about redefining the visitor journey — making local discovery fun, rewarding, and digitally trackable.
The Impact: 200+ Visits, Real-Time Insights, and Lasting Buzz
The results speak for themselves:
Increased Foot Traffic
The campaign directly drove over 200 verified visits to participating local businesses — revitalizing community engagement and injecting energy into the local economy.
Data-Driven Strategy
Using Driftscape’s real-time analytics dashboard, the BIA tracked engagement, reward redemptions, and visitor movement. These insights allowed the team to adjust messaging and logistics on the fly, increasing impact without increasing effort.
Local Spending, Reinforced
The $50 reward didn’t just drive foot traffic — it kept dollars circulating locally. Participants often used the gift cards within Crescent Heights, supporting more shops and restaurants beyond the original 10.
Stronger Community Connection
The program drew attention from both residents and visitors, turning casual passersby into active participants in the BIA’s mission to shop local, celebrate culture, and explore more.
Boosting Local Business Awareness with Driftscape
Crescent Heights BIA Drives Foot Traffic with Driftscape’s Points & Rewards
The Crescent Heights Business Improvement Area (BIA) sought to revitalize its local economy and celebrate cultural diversity with a special focus on Asian Heritage Month.
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To achieve this, they partnered with Driftscape to harness its innovative Points and Rewards feature, aiming to drive foot traffic to local businesses through a dynamic rewards initiative that connects the community and showcases the area’s unique offerings.
The Challenge
Lack of Awareness
Limited Technology Integration
Poor Visitor Experience
Crescent Heights BIA faced challenges in engaging both residents and visitors:
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Lack of Awareness: Many local residents and visitors were unaware of the rich variety of businesses and cultural experiences offered within the BIA.
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Limited Technological Integration: The BIA primarily relied on its website, which lacked visitor interactive features, making it difficult to engage visitors and keep them coming back for more.
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Poor Visitor Experience: While websites are useful for sharing information, they fail to deliver interactive and engaging visitor experiences. This can limit its effectiveness in promoting local events, offers, and incentives, which can minimize campaign reach, making the initiative effort-intensive and costly.
Crescent Heights needed a solution that would not only boost awareness but also provide a modern, user-friendly experience that would engage visitors, showcase local businesses, and seamlessly integrate promotions.
The Solution
Collectible Points & Rewards
Seamless Integration
Enhanced Visitor Engagement
By partnering with Driftscape, Crescent Heights BIA was able to implement a cutting-edge engagement strategy. Driftscape’s Points & Rewards feature incentivized exploration by rewarding users for visiting local businesses, helping to revitalize foot traffic and create a more interactive, tech-driven visitor experience.
This dynamic initiative captivated both visitors and locals by offering collectible points for engaging with the event. Participants who visited 10 participating businesses were eligible to receive a $50 gift card, creating an irresistible incentive to explore more of what the community had to offer. This not only encouraged greater foot traffic but also fostered deeper connections between local businesses and their customers, leading to a significant boost in the local economy.
Key Benefits and Success Story
Increased Foot Traffic
The initiative directly drove over 200 visits to participating local restaurants, creating a tangible impact on businesses and revitalizing the community’s commercial activity.
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Real-time Analytics
Driftscape’s visitor analytics dashboard gave the BIA powerful insights, enabling seamless tracking of visits and reward redemptions. This ensured participants remained consistently engaged while allowing the BIA to fine-tune the program for maximum impact.
Enhanced Engagement
The rewards program captured the attention of residents and visitors alike, strengthening Crescent Heights BIA's role as a champion of the local economy and fostering a sense of community.
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Increased Awareness
Through the partnership, the BIA is able to showcase its unique stories and local businesses to thousands of users across North America significantly broadening its reach and visibility.
Conclusion
The partnership between Crescent Heights BIA and Driftscape proved to be a transformative success. By leveraging the innovative Points & Rewards feature, the BIA not only revitalized local foot traffic and business engagement but also created a lasting connection with the community. The seamless analytics integration empowered the BIA to track and enhance the program’s effectiveness, making it a data-driven success story.
Crescent Heights BIA is now better positioned to continue its mission of fostering economic growth and cultural celebration, showcasing how modern technology can bridge the gap between digital engagement and real-world impact. This case highlights the power of Driftscape’s tools in helping BIAs and other organizations drive meaningful results and sustain long-term success.