The Economic Development & Tourism Committee Branding Exercise
Last updated April 16, 2008
West Shore Chamber of Commerce - Branding Exercise
It has been almost three months since the branding process started and we have come a long way. Mike Wicks, our branding consultant, has met with dozens of politicians, business and community leaders, and members of the public. He has walked the streets garnering opinion from people from all walks of life, of every age and from all parts of the West Shore. From these interactions he was able to create a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis of our community and discover what really makes the West Shore one of the premier places to live in B.C.
A community branding group was put together representing a cross section of the community. The group has met twice for a total of six hours, brainstorming every aspect of the West Shore and looking for the essence of the region, the heart and soul if you will, which can be captured in a logo and a tag line that can then create the brand.
After the first evening the graphic designer, working with Mike, came up with nine draft logo images based on what had come out of the previous session. The group were pleased that the initial images reflected the input of the group, which was that the West Shore is a great place to live, and that one of its best assets is its natural surroundings, including the ocean, parks, lakes, trails and its overall ‘greenness'. As a result, one of the most popular draft logos featured five leaves above the name WestShore. The general opinion was that having the name as one word with the ‘S' in shore capitalized was the most effective. The five leaves of different colours represented the five municipalities. The group did ask the branding team to look at using Arbutus or Garry oak leaves instead of the stylized ones in the draft logo.
The other favourite logo was one that showed hills, water, a rising sun and the outline of Royal Roads University. Much discussion surrounded this draft logo and it was decided that the group would like to see a version with Fisguard lighthouse instead of, as well as with RRU.
Another contender featured the words West Shore beside a map of the region, although the feeling was that this needed a lot more work to make it effective. The logos that were shown to the group at the first meeting are shown below.
A lot of time has also been spent on looking for a tag line that will accompany the logo. Current favourites include: Embracing Life, Naturally; Embrace Life, Naturally; and The Art of Island Living.
The next meeting will be held on April 23rd at Royal Roads University and the group will be presented with versions of the previous logos that have been refined based on the comments of the group. Further discussion will surround descriptors to come up with a number of possible tag lines.
Once the group has decided on a short list of logos and tag lines, these will be displayed at the Chamber offices so that the public can comment and vote on which ones they like best. A final choice will be made by the end of June and launched by the Chamber at the end of the summer.
A social network has been set up for all interested parties to submit comments and follow the process. The site is at: http://westshorebranding.ning.com/. We look forward to your input.
