A new branding and marketing strategy promises to breathe new life and opportunity into the Village of Canal Flats.
After a presentation to council at the January 26th meeting by Upended and Arnica Consulting (UAC), it was gleaned that creating a brand for the community would strengthen and enhance the community’s assets, while also procuring interest in the tourism sector.
“It’s about redefining strengths, requiring a changing and evolving logo brand,” said Karen Nicurak of UAC.
Creating a brand for the community that illustrates strengths and stands out was a key point that Ms. Nickurak and her partner Tracy Connery discussed at length during their presentation. They highlighted the attractive points of the village and surrounding areas, including: wildlife, the Columbia Lake, the regional airport, school, mountain living, nature and weekend getaways. All were major points of interest that the duo brought to the table for attracting traffic, residents and outside visitors to the area.
Implementing a logo that embodies the character of the Village, emphasizing the caring nature of the community, and enhancing the existing websites were all part of a strategy suggested by the consulting company to give the impression that the Flats is an area to be reckoned with.
“It’s about positive local perceptions — it’s about creating a distinctive and solid foundation, a recognizable brand,” said Ms. Connery. Community identity and a website that reflects and acknowledges the brand as a tourism town were also slated as top priorities.
Sparwood was cited as an example of a community that has created a significant knowing.
“It’s a knowing of who they are as an entity,” said Ms. Connery. “Community branding represents an evolving foundation that can be built on — it’s about branding everyday communication, about building on it it and about promoting and sharing the brand.”
The village began its rebranding efforts last year, with a rebranding plan approved by council in October 2014. The idea behind the plan is to attract more businesses, attract more residents and attract more day trippers to the village, all in an effort to help Canal Flats remain viable and become more vibrant.