Town begins rebrand under slogan ‘Brilliant All Year’

For many years, Sylvan Lake has been branded as ‘A Town For All Seasons’.

Following a unanimous vote by Town Council on Monday evening and an extensive rebranding process conducted by Ion Design out of Vancouver, the Town of Sylvan Lake will move forward with the rebrand process under the slogan, ‘Brilliant All Year’.

Over the course of 2016, Ion Design consulted with various community members and stakeholders within Sylvan Lake while gathering input through workshops, focus groups and various other branding methodologies before arriving on the branding package they delivered to Council on Monday evening for final approval.

The branding package contained more than just the new slogan ‘Brilliant All Year’, Ion Design also delivered Council with an innovative approach how to integrate the new brand overtime.

“We felt really good about having arrived at this – it’s an appropriate statement and I think it can be really be built on over this whole place branding experience,” said Rod Roodenburg,partner at Ion Design on the Town’s new slogan, ‘Brilliant All Year’.

Ion Design described the brand’s essence as: warm, confident, relaxed, charming and fun.

Vicki Kurz, economic development officer for the Town of Sylvan Lake stated the new brand is a beacon that signals economic opportunity and builds community.

She added the objective of the brand would be to position the Town as an ideal year-round location for business and tourism in Central Alberta and inspire pride while promoting community involvement among residents and businesses.

“Key messages of the brand are that the Town of Sylvan is a supportive and relaxed place to live, work and play,” said Kurz during to Town Council on Monday evening during the meeting. “The Town of Sylvan Lake has experienced significant growth and supports sustainable businesses that provide diverse economic opportunities and it is a year-round destination for family fun, tournaments, festivals and relaxation.”

Aside from the release of the logo, residents likely won’t see many changes around town until a hard launch of the new brand is underway later - with Town staff estimating this process to take place in late 2016 or 2017.

Development of a communication strategy for the brand strategy is currently underway with Joanne Gaudet, communications officer for the Town stating to Council during the meeting how development of a communication plan for the new brand will be paramount in order to familiarize the public with the new look.

During the presentation given by Ion Design there was indication of changing banners on Lakeshore Drive and the addition of other banners throughout the Town.

“I like the calculated approach being taken by staff here,” said Mayor Sean McIntyre in regards to the way the brand will be rolled out. “The other part of the calculated process I appreciate is that of Ion Design taking time to interact with our community and find out who we actually are.

“At the time of our final reveal we will have something that our residents will be able to own and say, ‘That does reflect my home town’ , so overall I am pleased with by Ion and now they are passing the torch back to our staff.”

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