"DATE: December 15, 2008
FROM: Colleen Pepper, Communications Officer
SUBJECT: Community Branding
______________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended:
1) THAT Council endorse the research component of the community branding exercise completed by Whisper;
2) THAT Council reject the logo and tagline recommendations of the Whisper report;
3) THAT Council endorse a partnership with Tourism White Rock to develop three new options
for a community brand (logo, tagline, key messaging) and present these options to the
community for feedback and a decision;
3) THAT Council support the application that has been submitted to the UBCM Community
Foundations Tourism Program (Phase II) and authorize Tourism White Rock to use these funds
to assist in the implementation of the Tourism Plan.
______________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION:
Community branding is the creation and development of a unique image and phrases that provide a distinct and easily recognizable identity for a community. Once in place it can be used by the municipality and organizations in the community to market the community.
Community Branding has been endorsed in White Rock in the Tourism Plan and now by
Tourism White Rock, the BIA and the Chamber of Commerce. All of these agencies want to
promote White Rock by utilizing a community brand as part of their marketing plans.
This report provides the background on the community branding exercise as it relates to White
Rock and proposes an approach for moving forward with developing a community brand.
BACKGROUND:
The topic of “branding” has been on the City’s agenda in some form or another since 2004.
In October 2004, the City began pursuing branding by participating in a free Community
Tourism Essentials (CTE) workshop facilitated by Tourism BC.
The exercise generated good
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Community Branding
Page No. 2 discussion around White Rock’s tourism potential, but did not result in any concrete action plan, nor any specific community branding recommendations.
In April 2005, through the Economic Committee, a consultant was hired to provide further
insight into branding and its potential economic benefits to the City. The consultant provided a
high level overview of what a City-wide, community branding project might entail.
Also in 2005, the City began addressing its own corporate branding (i.e. a logo and visual
identity standards for use in the City’s corporate communications). This project emerged
following an informal communications audit with senior managers within the City.
The audit revealed that a variety of logos were currently in use by various City departments, and further, that some departments were already in the process of developing their own individual departmental logos.
In addition, the audit highlighted that no practical guidelines or graphic
standards had been developed pertaining to the use/development of logos within the City. Of
particular concern was the use of the City’s coat of arms—the graphic most commonly used on
official correspondence. A survey of various publications showed that the crest was frequently
altered through the use of accompanying typefaces, with no consistency in spacing or text
placement.
Approximately $5000.00 was paid to Passport Marketing to develop new logo
concepts and a brand standards guide.
Council later put this corporate branding project on hold indefinitely, while discussions
continued regarding the development of a unified, city-wide community brand.
In 2006, the City was accepted into Tourism BC’s Community Tourism Foundations
development program and received funding to work with a professional facilitator to develop a
formal Tourism Plan.
This plan was adopted by Council on November 26, 2007, and subsequently led to the creation of Tourism White Rock (2008).
This plan re-iterated the importance of branding, and coordinated messaging when presenting the City to potential tourists.
In the fall of 2007, White Rock began the process of developing a community branding program.
Funding from the Community Tourism Program (Phase I allocation--$68,521.82) was used to
hire a branding consultant.
The City issued an RFP for a firm to develop a community brand for White Rock. The City
received 15 responses and Whisper Branding of Newport Beach, CA was the successful
proponent.
PAST PRACTICE/POLICY:
There are currently no policies specifically regarding brand strategy in the City. Council Policy
#203 addresses how the City’s Coat of Arms (registered trademark) may be used.
ANALYSIS:
Whisper’s mandate was to develop a particular way of speaking about and presenting White
Rock’s attributes that would distinguish White Rock from other competing tourism destinations.
Their contract also required them to develop a new visual identity for the community in support
of this distinctive messaging.
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Community Branding
Page No. 3
To complete this work, the consultant conducted intensive research into the White Rock
community over the course of several months, including meeting with a small steering group,
and conducting 33 one-on-one interviews with Council, community stakeholders and tourism
partners (including representatives from the BIA and Chamber).
The consultant also engaged a variety of members of the general public in conversation and completed numerous “immersion experiences” at various locations in the region, including Whistler and Washington state. At the conclusion of the research process, the consultant made presentations to the tourism/business stakeholder group, the City’s Economic Committee and a C ouncil planning session for furtherinput/feedback.
Although the initial feedback to the consultant’s recommendations from all stakeholders was
positive, a preliminary strategy document and the “island of White Rock” messaging received
strong criticism from the public. The consultant submitted a final report entitled “Brand Strategy Implementation Plan” which is Appendix A to this report.
The initiative was subsequently put on hold and UBCM granted the City an extension to the end
of December 2008.
The City is required to file a final report with UBCM on how Phase 1 funding was used by
January 31, 2009 in order to receive the remainder of the grant. To date, only 75% of the funding has been advanced.
OPTIONS FOR BRANDING:
Council has several options when it comes to branding.
1) Endorse solely the research component completed by Whisper, and partner with Tourism
White Rock to develop three new options for a community brand (logo, tagline, key
messaging). These options would then be voted on by the community.
2) Endorse the research component completed by Whisper, and authorize Tourism White
Rock to take the lead on implementation, developing a community brand at their
discretion that could be utilized by groups in the City.
3) Reject the report and the branding initiative (i.e. the City would continue to use the Coat
of Arms, and Tourism White Rock would likely develop their own independent brand)
RECOMMENDED OPTION:
Given how long “branding” has been on the City’s radar—at the staff, Council and Committee levels—the value of having a consistent way of speaking about and presenting the City seems clear.
With the advent of Tourism White Rock, it is prudent to not only work with them, but give them
significant “ownership” in the brand.
Likewise, the public needs to feel ownership in the brand as well in order for it to be accepted and widely used. With this in mind, staff recommends
Option 1 to Council.
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Community Branding
Page No. 4
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
None of the options require the City to expend additional funds at this time. With any of the
options, the cost of developing a new community brand will be borne by Tourism White Rock.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING:
An additional $68,521.82 is available as a grant to the City of White Rock under the Community
Tourism Program (Phase II). Under the guidelines, only a municipality may apply for this
funding, and to be eligible, the City was required to submit an application to UBCM prior to
November 30, 2008.
To ensure the City did not miss out on this potential funding source, an application was
developed with Tourism White Rock, and filed with UBCM on November 29.
The Executive Director of Tourism White Rock provided a list of how the additional $68,521.82 could be effectively used to further tourism in White Rock—and more specifically, how the funds could be used to implement a strategic marketing plan, one of the items specifically identified in the Tourism Plan.
A copy of this application is Appendix B to this document.
It should be noted that the project descriptions/budgets submitted was also developed in
consultation with a representative from Vancouver Coast and Mountains (Tourism BC), based on
the best practices and experiences of other similarly sized municipalities.
However, before White Rock’s application for Phase II funding can be approved by UBCM, the
City must file a Council Resolution in support of the application. Note that the success of the
application does not appear contingent upon the results of Phase I.
OPTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING:
1) Support the application that has been submitted to the UBCM Community Foundations
Tourism Program (Phase II) and authorize Tourism White Rock to use these funds to help
implement the Tourism Plan;
2) Do not support the application that has been submitted to the UBCM Community
Foundations Tourism Program (Phase II).
RECOMMENDED OPTION:
Since Tourism White Rock receives only limited funding from the City, and tourism has been identified as a key to White Rock’s economic future, staff recommends Option 1 to Council. It
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Community Branding
Page No. 5 should be noted that the items identified for funding in the UBCM application are not contingent upon the implementation of a city-wide, community brand.
Respectfully submitted,
Colleen Pepper,
Communications Officer
Approved
Peggy Clark,
City Manager
Appendix A: Brand Strategy Implementation Plan
Appendix B: UBCM Community Tourism Foundations (Phase II) Application
Agenda"
Above :Excerpts from the total, the entirety Council Document; White Rock, BC, 2008.
Compliments::
Johan Sandstrom, BComm
info@whiterockreporter.com
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