After opposition was expressed to changing Powell River’s branding tag line from Pearl on the Sunshine Coast to Coastal by Nature, it is likely both will be used interchangeably in future.
At the City of Powell River’s Tuesday, June 16, committee of the whole meeting, councillors weighed in on opinion they’d heard in the community regarding the change. Discussion was precipitated by the Coastal by Nature tag line recently created for the city and Tourism Powell River’s resident and tourist attraction campaign.
Councillor Rob Southcott said he appreciates the marketing work undertaken by Scott Randolph, manager of economic development, and others, to come up with the Coastal by Nature tag line that was used for the recruitment campaign.
“I see it speaks the language of those that are being targeted,” he said. “I see how speaking the language works.”
When the matter of substituting Pearl on the Sunshine Coast with Coastal by Nature arose, Southcott was unresolved, even when he submitted his opinion to the city’s online survey regarding the new tag line.
However, when people attracted by the Coastal by Nature campaign land here, their experiences here are more represented by the Pearl on the Sunshine Coast, Southcott said.
He said he would like to reconsider the city’s initiative to change from Pearl on the Sunshine Coast to Coastal by Nature and consider using both.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway said she had spoken to a number of people and the tag line change has become a much bigger issue than anticipated.
“I had no idea how many people were attached to Pearl on the Sunshine Coast,” she said. “It establishes we are on the Sunshine Coast and not on Vancouver Island.”
There are pros and cons to either selection, according to Hathaway. She believes some people signed the petition opposing the change thinking there was a large cost involved in making the change.
She said she’d like to brainstorm through public consultation, devising some way for people to actually vote for one or the other and feel they’ve been heard.
Randolph reiterated that the Coastal by Nature tag line was part of the city’s resident attraction campaign as well as refreshing the marketing efforts for tourism.
“We heard from many circles, including members of the former council, that Pearl on the Sunshine Coast was old and tired and needed to be replaced,” Randolph said. “We started brainstorming and when we were designing the campaign we came up with Coastal by Nature as part of that campaign. At that time we were not thinking about changing the corporate brand.”
When the campaign launched, there was positive feedback to Coastal by Nature, according to Randolph.
He was part of the project team that came up with Pearl on the Sunshine Coast in 2004. It was a $40,000 effort. Consultants interviewed inside and outside the community, surveys were conducted, submissions from the public were requested. A submission from a member of the community suggested the Pearl branding.
“It’s 11 years old,” Randolph said. “The Pearl on the Sunshine Coast accomplished its goal, which was to put us back on the Sunshine Coast, which it did.”
At the end of the day, if council wants to stay with Pearl, there’s no problem, Randolph said. There has been thought given to not having a tag line at all, so when marketing is changed in future, the economic development function is not tied to any particular image. “That way we can be fluid and adaptable,” he said.
With regard to the change that was made, and the tag line itself, it cost nothing, according to Randolph. It was created on staff time and the font used to create it was downloaded for free.
Mayor Dave Formosa said after council made the change he received a great deal of feedback from citizens. He believes that the public could have been engaged more before making a decision. The opinion he’s heard does not rest with one tag line or the other. He said maybe it is best to stick with both.
“I think we should give it a second look, whether it is Coastal by Nature or Pearl on the Sunshine Coast, or both, I do not feel the public had a chance.”
Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman said she thought Pearl on the Sunshine Coast would be the corporate brand and the city could have two or three tag lines. She is opposed to spending more money or staff resources.
Councillor Karen Skadsheim said there never will be consensus. She said Coastal by Nature sounds way better.
“As a relative newcomer to Powell River, I was always a little bit baffled by Pearl on the Sunshine Coast,” she said. “It doesn’t seem representative of Powell River. It’s more representative of Lund where there are oyster farms.”
Councillor Jim Palm said he wanted to thank the citizens for getting involved because they always get it right. He said both should be used.
Brewer said he did not think it was an either or decision.
“I think we have an option here,” he said. “I suspect we can have two corporate brands. Ladysmith has two, Nanaimo has two and Victoria has two. I suggest we keep them both and then we can use [whichever] for whatever purpose we want.”
Marie Claxton, city clerk, said an amended policy could be brought to city council that would suggest using both. The committee directed Claxton to bring a report to council.
