The heavy lifting for Calgary’s Blue Sky City rebrand has only just begun

Article content

As Calgary trades in its images of cowboys and energy for a nod to its sunny skies, one marketing expert says the city’s new slogan will require a monumental effort to make it stick, but early signs show it could be a hit.

On Wednesday, Calgary Economic Development, Calgary Tourism and a host of city organizations in technology, arts and culture unveiled a new tagline for Calgary, Blue Sky City.

Article content

Article content

The city will abandon its current slogan, Be Part of the Energy, which was introduced in the early 2010s.

“The fact that they’ve made it to the race, put on their bib and are running is huge, but that doesn’t get them to the finish line,” said David Finch, a marketing professor at Mount Royal University who has participated. in several races. executive marketing positions at companies such as Rogers and Bell.

“If only one person runs it, you’re dead.”

The announcement comes after several years of “extensive” research and focus groups, said Cindy Ady, CEO of Tourism Calgary. A logo will arrive in due time, said Brad Parry, president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development.

“This is not meant to be a ‘flip the switch and everything changes,’” Parry said.

A direct nod to Calgary’s perhaps lesser-known reputation as Canada’s sunniest city, the slogan was crafted as a symbol of “unexpected possibilities, where ambitions are as big as the blue skies under which we converge,” Parry said. It serves as a whole, he said, for the city’s diversity and growing mix of economic sectors.

Parry said the motto is not a deliberate departure from Calgary’s long-standing reputation as a city dominated by the energy industry and the Calgary Stampede. “I think, if anything, it encompasses our heritage,” he said.

Article content

Article content

Partners needed to help slogan succeed: expert

While the heavy lifting has only just begun, the initial slogan “has some legs,” Finch said.

“You can start owning a lot when you start leaning towards something like Blue Sky City. “I could see how blue, which would contradict and challenge the city’s official red, could be used very effectively,” she said.

But all of that will be for nothing if CED and the city don’t gain buy-in from companies and groups like Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. (CSEC), who can champion the brand and help it become part of the city’s identity. .

“You need partners like (CSEC) and others who are prepared to lean in and start owning Blue Sky City as part of their brand, because they see it as a contribution,” Finch said. “The heart of Blue Sky City is the Calgary Flames, the Stampeders, Theater Calgary and Suncor.”

Calgary seeks to improve its reputation

The change comes after two studies found Calgary’s reputation is relatively poor among Canadians living outside of Alberta.

One such study, written and published in June 2022 by Finch and two researchers from the Canada West Foundation, found that 44 per cent of respondents from Vancouver and Toronto said they would never move to Calgary. Only 33 per cent of respondents also considered Alberta to have a diverse population despite Calgary being the third most diverse city in Canada.

Article content

Meanwhile, a 2021 survey by Maru Public Opinion found that half of Canadians would not feel comfortable living in Alberta. It also found that there is a perception that life in the province goes against the common goals of Canadians. On the heels of that report, Calgary Chamber of Commerce CEO and president Deborah Yedlin called for the city to change its brand and reputation.

The move is Calgary’s third slogan change in less than a quarter-century.

Calgary’s current motto on welcome signs outside the city read “Be Part of the Energy,” a slogan that was adopted in 2011 to attract businesses and workers. “Heart of the New West” preceded that slogan by 15 years, after being adopted at the turn of the millennium.

‘No experience is shared more widely than our beautiful blue sky’

Several key players have already endorsed the new motto: Joel Cowley, executive director of the Calgary Stampede, who was among the group of city leaders at Wednesday’s announcement, said it’s appropriate because the Stampede most often occurs “under the sky Calgary Blue”.

Article content

“When you stop and think about it, there is no more shared experience than our beautiful blue sky,” Cowley said.

If the city fails to engage its partners and the private sector, Finch said, it could go the way of Alberta’s ill-fated $25 million “Freedom to Create, Spirit to Achieve” campaign, which was devised in 2009 under former Prime Minister Ed Stelmach and trashed two years later by then-Prime Minister Alison Redford.

Wednesday’s announcement was attended by leaders from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Arts Commons, the Center for Newcomers, the Calgary Hotel Association, Platform Calgary, Ask Auntie Consulting, Calgary Arts Development and the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association.

Parry said the next pieces of the rebrand will be an “organic process” over the next few months.

[email protected]
X: @mattscace67

Article content