Neepawa’s new brand gets first look
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- Published on Friday, April 6, 2018
Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
A select group of community leaders have had a sneak peak at Neepawa’s new potential tourism brand. On Tuesday, Apr. 3, representatives with Travel Manitoba and the design firm McKim Communications Group, sat down with members of the local tourism task force to go over the proposal. The presentation showcased the potential logo and tagline for the campaign. It also included several options for advertising on a provincial and national level. After the presentation, members of the task force offered their insights on the brand and potential alterations.
Travel Manitoba CEO Colin Ferguson said that they’re pleased with the initial feedback from the group.
“Each meeting we have before the reveal is critical. This process first began in January with a public meeting [at the ArtsForward building]. From there, about a dozen or so people stepped up and said they wanted to be a part of getting this process moving ahead. [Travel Manitoba] and McKim have stayed in contact with that group, going over ideas. Now, here we are today, presenting a brand,” noted Ferguson. “It’s testing the waters, before we reveal to the greater community, in case there is something there that doesn’t resonate. It’s very important to get that initial feedback and discover if there are tweaks that need to be made [to the design]. The feedback was pretty positive. There’s always going to be somebody who says ‘What about this?’ or ‘Maybe this colour could be different.’ We’ve had that in every presentation we’ve done. What typically happens though, is that after some time to digest the concept, the room comes together and says that this is a step in the right direction.”
Due to my personal participation on the task force, the Neepawa Banner & Press cannot go into the specific visual details for the brand before the official community unveiling. McKim Communications Group associate vice president of creative Carey Pradinuk did note, however, that it’s a brand that should serve the community well.
“What we wanted to do was make [the brand] feel progressive, without feeling out of touch with what Neepawa is. It gives room for it to grow, but also just really make it feel like it’s representative of where the community is right now.” Pradinuk stated. “We think we’ve come up with something that’s true to what Neepawa is and what it still can be.”
As for the next step in this process, Neepawa’s economic development officer Marilyn Crewe said the task force will review what was presented to them, send back suggestions to McKim and devise a plan with Travel Manitoba for the community branding launch. The current hope for the official unveiling is for it to occur before the summer. Similar campaigns have already occurred in Portage la Prairie, Morden/Winkler and Clear Lake. Other communities, including Brandon, Thompson, Steinbach and Dauphin have also approached Travel Manitoba inquiring about participating in the program in the future.
