Branding policy allows both tags

City of Powell River Council has endorsed two tag lines to go with the city’s corporate branding.

At the Thursday, August 6, council meeting, councillors voted unanimously to maintain The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast and also add Coastal by Nature to the city’s brand.

The city, for years, has used The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast in conjunction with its brand on vehicles, business cards, letterhead, its website and other mediums where a logo can be used. Earlier this year, in conjunction with a marketing campaign launched between the city and Tourism Powell River, Coastal by Nature was revealed and appropriated by council as the city’s new tag line. The city published an online survey that favoured Coastal by Nature.

Opposition in the community arose and a petition was circulated. When it was presented to council there were more than 900 signatures on the petition.

“We had much input from the general public,” Councillor Jim Palm said at the council meeting. “We had a petition with many signatures coming forward. We kicked this around at a few meetings and in the end we decided that many communities like our own have a couple of tag lines. We thought that was a good idea and we can use those interchangeably.”

Palm said Coastal by Nature is a good marketing tool and it is nice to see that The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast is going to be maintained by the City of Powell River.

Palm then read, and council approved, amended Policy 205 – Use of Corporate Brand that provides for use of the two tag lines.

Mayor Dave Formosa thanked Councillor Russell Brewer for coming up with the idea of having two tag lines. Brewer researched branding and tag lines in several coastal communities and discovered that two tag lines are common in many centres.

Marie Claxton, city clerk outlined in a report for council that on February 19, 2015, the committee of the whole received a staff report recommending changing the corporate brand tag line to Coastal by Nature. The report advised that the city, in partnership with Tourism Powell River, had launched a resident attraction campaign to help stimulate the economy by increasing investment and population. Claxton stated that when designing the marketing campaign and tools, based on input from the community and the opinion of the project team, it was decided to find a new tag line for the brand.

“After giving it much thought, it was decided that Coastal by Nature would best reflect the community’s traits, assets and attractiveness,” Claxton state.

Council directed city staff to conduct a community consultation process regarding the proposed new tag line. The online poll, conducted March 3 to 22, 2015, asked residents to choose between the tag lines Coastal by Nature and The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast. There were 343 responses, of which 243 preferred Coastal by Nature (70.85 per cent), 68 preferred The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast (19.83 per cent), and 32 people left a comment.

At the April 2, 2015 council meeting, despite receiving a delegation opposed to the new tag line, council approved amended Council Policy 205 – Use of Corporate Brand replacing the tag line The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast with the new tag line Coastal By Nature. At the June 16, 2015 committee of the whole meeting, however, staff was directed to bring an amended policy directly to council showing the corporate brand logo and authorizing the use of the two tag lines.

There is no financial impact in amending the policy to include both tag lines with the corporate brand.

Claxton stated council’s actions in this matter reflect the public consultation held in regard to the concerns expressed over the change in tag line. The outcome informs the public that their concerns were acknowledged and considered.