Brand Development Committee announced to help steer Squamish’s branding enhancement efforts

The District of Squamish is very excited to announce the members of the Brand Development Committee (BDC) who will work over the coming nine weeks to steer Squamish’s branding enhancement efforts. This project working group will take the lead in finding and developing the brand direction with the help of the consulting team of Roger Brooks International, community engagement tools, and market research.

“I’m very excited about the potential of this talented and capable group, representing a broad range of interests within our community,” says District of Squamish Mayor Rob Kirkham. “I believe we are in excellent hands as the Squamish Brand Enhancement and Marketing Project kicks off January 8.”

The BDC is comprised of representatives appointed by the Downtown Business Improvement Association, Squamish Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Squamish, Squamish Nation and District of Squamish. Six citizen representatives were also chosen from applicants across the community. The BDC members are:

• Glenn Davies, Downtown Business Improvement Association – Board Member; The Ledge Café - Business owner
• Auli Parviainen, Squamish Chamber of Commerce - Board Member
• Lesley Weeks, Tourism Squamish - Executive Director
• Alice Gus Tsawaysia Spukwus, Squamish Nation - Educator
• Michelle Neilson, Squamish Arts Council; Mclean Meats - Business owner and citizen representative
• Christy Allan, Expand Marketing Group - Business owner and citizen representative
• Deanna Bell, Britannia Mine Museum - Director of Sales and citizen representative
• Jeff Cooke, Squamish Off Road Cycling Association - President; Chamber of Commerce - Board Member; Bark Busters - Business owner and citizen representative
• Tracey Saxby, Imagine Squamish - Creator; Greener Footprints - Co-Founder and Director and citizen representative
• Stephanie Wells, Capilano University Schools of Tourism Management, Business & Communications - Instructor, Program Convenor and citizen representative
• Patricia Heintzman, District of Squamish – Councillor and Committee/Council Liaison
• Randy Stoyko, District of Squamish - General Manager of Business and Community Services
• Dan McRae, District of Squamish - Economic Development Officer
• Christina Moore, District of Squamish - Manager of Communications

Specifically, the BDC will work with consultants and project research to:

• Identify perceptions, challenges, opportunities, and what locals want the community to be known for;
• Identify primary, secondary and tertiary markets;
• Develop a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis for primary and secondary markets;
• Shortlist brand direction candidates;
• Conduct brand feasibility testing.

“We received 30 applications for six available citizen seats on the committee, and were thrilled with the high level of response from such committed, passionate, talented and experienced individuals,” says Dan McRae, District of Squamish Economic Development Officer and project lead. “The six were chosen based on their ability to represent community groups, access to networks of people, branding experience, consideration of whether they brought a diverse background to the table, outdoor recreation buy-in, and overall proof of accomplishments. It’s a very strong group that we believe will represent the community well.”

The District is hoping for broad-based community participation beyond what the BDC is tasked with. A variety of opportunities exist for the public to participate throughout the brand enhancement process, beginning with the project kick-off event, January 8, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park. The project launch event will be informative and will outline the process as well as highlight what the scope of a brand means. Those in attendance will be asked for some initial input, and the meeting will mark the launch of an on-line survey that will promoted for community members to complete throughout the following three weeks.

Following the January 8 public meeting, a series of small interview groups will be conducted throughout the day January 9. The public has been invited to sign up on-line if interested, and the interview groups are now full. Full details about the January 8 and 9 events are available on the project page of the District's website at Squamish.ca/brand

“The success of this project depends on the input of every Squamish resident and business owner,” continues Kirkham. “This is Squamish’s time to shine. Please get involved and have your say into the story we share with the world.”

January 6, 2014