By Geoff Smith

Three visual identity choices for final phase of Lethbridge brand study

Mar 19, 2018 | 12:16 PM

LETHBRIDGE – By this summer, the city and Economic Development Lethbridge intend to have a brand new logo for marketing the community. But this is just the final step in a process that goes back a year and a half.

Three finalists were unveiled at a news conference Monday, March 19. They’re the culmination of research funded by the city to develop a brand essence and visual identity that express what it is people like about Lethbridge.

“What we really want is everyone to support the brand and the logo and support the promotion of the city of Lethbridge,” Mayor Chris Spearman said. “Whether you’re doing economic development, whether you’re doing tourist attraction, all the major events and the major organizations in the area should be using the same logos and building off the same logos. We want to be a team and we want to support a common brand.”

Jaylene Ulmer, director of marketing and brand strategy for Economic Development Lethbridge, said getting feedback from more than 1,200 members of the community was a great start. Starting at noon Monday, people can visit chooselethbridge.ca/ourlethbridge to provide their input on this final step.

“The other thing we’ll be doing is working with varying organizations throughout the city, like our public institutions, to talk about how we can be more collaborative in some of our marketing efforts going forward,” Ulmer explained. “Not to suggest that everyone needs the same logo. But if we have similar key messages, if we understand some of the essence together, I think we can really build a sustainable brand.”

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The “brand essence” has been crystallized in the words “bold,” “vibrant,” “technological,” “grounded,” and “smart.” The objectives include attracting “smart, interesting people and businesses to enrich life in Lethbridge,” by capturing the city’s personality and building on the friendliness and diversity that exists. A knowledge economy and economic diversification are also objectives.

Trevor Lewington, Economic Development Lethbridge’s CEO, said it was important to engage the community from the start, given that 86 per cent of place brands fail within a year.

“Most brands start as a logo on a page and you slap a city name on there,” he explained. “We took the reverse approach. We’ve taken a very deliberate attempt over the past two years to engage with the community. This is very much a brand that’s emerged from residents.”

Lewington said the final phase of input will take three to four weeks, with the goal of having the new brand in place in time for the start of the summer season.

People can learn more and submit input at chooselethbridge.ca/ourlethbridge.