Calgary Stampede influencers are driving record social media engagement this year

The Calgary Stampede's strategy to engage social media influencers is paying off this year, with creators reaching audiences traditional media struggles to capture.

Stampede spokesperson Julie Forget confirmed the festival has been working with creators for several years. "They enable us to tell different stories, and they interact with potentially different crowds than traditional media," she said. "It's something that we're seeing growing year over year."

Some sponsors bring in their own content creators to promote activations on site, while volunteer committees engage creators for special events. The Stampede also offers media accreditation to independent creators. Though final numbers aren't yet available, Forget said the festival is tracking social-media impact anecdotally and that creators are clearly reaching new communities and niches.

Toronto-based influencer Erin Chau, who visited the Stampede this week through a Google partnership, said her content has been performing "really, really well" with her combined 110,000 Instagram and TikTok followers. She toured the rodeo from the new Corona Skydeck, attended Alessia Cara's concert, and sampled midway food including a ramen doughnut — her surprise favourite. "I was just in awe," Chau said. "Now I'm hooked. I definitely will be back next year."

Madison Smith, a Toronto-based creator with over 800,000 followers known for concert and fashion content, had only 48 hours at the Stampede but said she didn't get time to try everything. The partnership trend signals the Stampede's growing investment in digital presence alongside traditional media coverage.