The Canadian Tourism Commission showed Rendezvous delegates
a glimpse of its new branding strategy last month, but the full
identity will not be unveiled until World Travel Market in
November.
Explaining the background to the project at the show, CTC senior
vice-president of marketing and sales Jean Chrétien said the
new brand will radically overhaul how Canada is presented to the
world.
The traditional images of “mounties, mountains and
moose” will not disappear altogether, he said, but will be
sidelined in favour of something more modern.
Chrétien admitted Canada is not perceived as an exciting
destination and the challenge will be to update its “outdated
and incomplete” image, which relies too heavily on nature and
the great outdoors. The seven-year-old slogan, ‘Discover your
true nature’ will be replaced with ‘Canada. Keep
exploring’.
Chrétien stressed it was important not to concentrate on any
one product but rather the notion of experience. Las Vegas, he
added, provides a good example of successful branding.
“Las Vegas doesn’t say: ‘we have casinos; we have
conference facilities,’ it says, ‘come to Las Vegas and
you can be free’. We want people to associate the notion of
exploring with Canada, just as they associate freedom with Las
Vegas.”
Operators agreed the range of experiences available in Canada was
too broad to condense into a single message, but those questioned
welcomed the prospect of fewer mounties and moose.
All Canada product manager Allyson Cogger said: “Canada is a
great product for young people. We should be promoting the active
adventure product. We’re taking on so much new product for
the brochure and it’s all exciting stuff. Canada’s not
just about flydrives.”
The material shown at Rendezvous hinted that the new campaign would
emphasise the different cultures and nationalities that exist in
Canada.
Chrétien noted that Canada is not the same ‘melting
pot’ as the US, and that separate national characteristics
are still very strong.
Acting CTC UK director Nim Singh confirmed the new brand would be
visible in the UK in early 2006, with regional radio ads and
possible press advertising. Coffee shops, gyms and the London
Underground have also been earmarked as potential sites.
The CTC said the goal of the new campaign will be to boost tourism
revenue from its 11 core markets by 23% over the next five years.
The CTC is not alone in creating a more modern image for Canada.
Vancouver and Banff have both unveiled new brand identities this
year, and Ontario, Quebec and Whistler are working on branding
projects to be complete in time for WTM.
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