May 30, 2017 – The British Columbia Economic Development Association (BCEDA) is now the exclusive provider of the 468 Insider platform across British Columbia. To support shop local initiatives and tourism, the 468 Insider platform from 468 Communications allows municipalities to maintain their own branded mobile apps that reward users for visiting places in the community. As a demonstration of how municipalities can utilize the platform, BCEDA has launched its own app, BCEDA Insider, which guides users to economic development offices around BC.

“For local economies to thrive, communities must thrive,” said Dale Wheeldon, President and CEO of BCEDA. “The 468 Insider platform is a powerful tool for engaging residents and visitors within a community in a way that drives people into local businesses.  More and more communities are looking for ways to encourage residents to shop local and to direct visitors around the community to different destinations and local businesses thereby allowing them to spend more time and money in the community – this app does it all.”  

468 Insider apps are named and branded by communities that deploy them. Municipalities can easily set up, manage and dynamically update information within their apps through a user-friendly online control panel. Assigning points to each location in an app creates incentives for users to visit those places. App administrators can then identify Rewards locations where users can redeem their points for value when they make purchases. Analytics tools in the administrator’s control panel provide information such as where visitors are from and what places they visit.

“In an increasingly digital and mobile world, communities need to place a premium on presence,” said Tim Fry, President of 468 Communications. “468 Insider apps create incentives around presence, which will ultimately reward visitors and residents for investing in the local economy.”

One example of how the platform is used is the BCEDA Insider app, which is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play. The BCEDA Insider app will help serve as a guide to the BC Economic Summit, Making Waves, being held in Victoria, BC June 11-13^th, 2017.

The 468 Insider platform is available now for any BC community to use for deploying their own app. Those interested in more information, including pricing, should contact Dale Wheeldon at BCEDA.

About BCEDA
The British Columbia Economic Development Association of (BCEDA) is the leading professional association of economic development practitioners in the Province of BC. The BCEDA currently has over 360 members from communities throughout the Province. The BCEDA provides services that helps member communities grow and expand new and existing businesses, attract new business investments, and work towards strategic infrastructure investment, land use planning, and community enhancement.  BCEDA has been a leader in Canada in providing tools and resources for communities, including business retention, disaster recovery, networking opportunities and more.

About 468 Communications
468 Communications helps organizations be more present with their communities through creative storytelling and practical use of technology. Sandcastle Web Design & Development is the technology partner working with 468 Communications to bring the 468 Insider apps to life. For more information on 468 Insider, visit http://468insider.com.