Brandon ‘Brings You Back’ with Launch of Community Place Brand

April 8, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brandon, MB – With the launch of a new regional place brand, the community of Brandon, Manitoba, has cemented its place on the Prairie Canadian landscape as one that warmly invites visitors in and promises them a constant path on which to return.

The centrepiece of Brandon’s new tourism brand is the succinct, yet passionate phrase, “Brandon brings you back.” Represented visually as a colourful logo and tagline, the four impactful words are adorned with brilliant ribbons of blue, purple, red and orange reminiscent of a Prairie sunset stroll along the Assiniboine River corridor, and also speak to Brandon’s inviting and inclusive nature, its vibrant, diverse and dynamic community, and the promise of a place worthy of return, time and time again. Together, the logo and tagline create a visual identity that instills a sense of pride of place and a commitment to the welcoming brand of hospitality that only Brandon can deliver as the region’s consummate host.

As part of Travel Manitoba’s multi-year place branding initiative, Brandon’s place branding journey began approximately one year ago. The multi-faceted creative process with McKim Communications Group was highlighted by a February 2018 community workshop with more than one hundred people in attendance, including some of Brandon’s most creative forces, and culminated in an official launch event earlier this evening.

“While our vibrant City has always had a broad base of tourism products and has experienced notable success in bringing large-scale events like the recent 2019 Brier to Brandon, we’ve thus far been lacking that ‘marquee statement’, that catchy slogan that sums up everything we know we can offer guests from near and far,” noted Rick Chrest, Mayor of Brandon. “Anyone who has ever lived in Brandon, visited Brandon, or has had the ‘Brandon Experience’, so to speak, knows that this new slogan, ‘Brandon brings you back’, is the undeniable truth. I very much look forward to seeing this brand spread its wings in our community and beyond.”

Chrest noted that while the City of Brandon, Brandon Tourism and the Brandon First destination marketing organization will be the brand’s lead ambassadors, it belongs to the entire community and will be best championed by all organizations and residents, whether they are hosting a large-scale event or simply recommending their home city to family and friends as an unforgettable place to visit.

"Brandon Tourism is extremely excited about the new place brand for our City,” said James Montgomery, General Manager of Brandon Tourism. “Brandon is a great place to call home and a wonderful place to visit. We are confident that this new branding will emphasize this.”

“Whether it is turning a one-time visitor into a recurring visitor, enticing back those who have moved away, or compelling events like the Brier to return ‘home’, this brand perfectly captures Brandon’s ability to bring people back,” added Graham Harvey, Executive Director of Brandon First.

With today’s launch, Brandon becomes the 9th regional destination in Manitoba to benefit from Travel Manitoba’s Place Branding program, which was initiated in 2016 as a means of growing tourism through increased visitation to distinct destinations within Manitoba.

“Travel Manitoba is so pleased with the new place brand for Brandon,” said Colin Ferguson, President and CEO of Travel Manitoba. “As Manitoba’s second largest city, Brandon’s success as a tourism destination is integral to the overall growth of tourism in the province. There is so much opportunity to raise the awareness of all that Brandon has to offer, and we’ll continue to work with Brandon First and Brandon Tourism to support their efforts in doing so.”