| Province of Alberta
2011 REBRAND 100 > merit Enterprise Rebrand Country Base: Canada Industry/Sector: Travel and Tourism, Leisure, Places, Geographic Locations, Countries Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Summary, Credits 
Summary: Industry Setting The Alberta (Canada) province/place branding challenge is driven by the goal of clarifying and improving reputation to retain locals and to attract national and international new comers to live, work, visit and invest. The province needed to be defined and represented beyond Canadian oil and gas. Challenge The Alberta Province had a clear need for reputation creation and pro-active management. A strategic positioning was required to inform a brand identity that seeded and reinforced a positive, meaningful image. The exercise had to align multiple local, national, international stakeholders within a politically charged environment. Strategy • Global online and focus group research revealed a huge divergence in audience views • The brand strategy culminated in the inspirational brand promise of “Freedom to Create. Spirit to Achieve.” – uniting divergent views, fitting multiple objectives, and negating criticism • The brand strategy was translated into a comprehensive identity system considering varying degrees of ambassador brand adoption • Continuous stakeholder alignment supported the development of a brand of ambassadors • A full spectrum of brand applications and guidelines we designed for the province, the government and ambassadors • A social media campaign gathering Albertan Stories launched the new brand locally, and Alberta House at the Vancouver Winter Olympics lead the international launch Result The ambassador brand approach has multiplied communication efforts thereby reducing budget burden and tax payer scrutiny. Approved ambassadors, including Travel Alberta and the University of Alberta, are far exceeding expectations, whilst general public research supports the new provincial brand. Credits: Client: Government of Alberta - www.albertabrand.com Director, Marketing Services, Public Affairs Bureau: Marvin Luethe Brand Strategists/Designers: Cossette - www.cossette.com Creative Director/Managing Partner: Nick Richards Designers: David Lidiard, Andrew McPhee Director of Strategy: Ute Preusse Account Director: Noemie Bessette Director of Production: Denise Carefoot Production Artist: Calvin Porter [back] |
