Brand Enhancement Project
Following nine months of intense work representing 550 volunteer hours (and counting), the new Squamish brand strategy and marketing action plan has been revealed.
The formulation of the brand strategy stems from the analysis of data from 1,143 surveys that asked seven open-ended questions about locals’ (and visitors’) perceptions of Squamish. We learned that we are a community that embraces an outdoor lifestyle; that is youthful, active, vibrant and creative; that is inspired by and in awe of our natural surroundings; that leads an unscripted way of life; that is entrepreneurial; and that is proud and respectful of First Nations' heritage and logging industry roots.
View the Squamish Brand Overview.
View the video of the presentation.
View the PowerPoint slides of the presentation.
Read the 55-recommendation strong Branding, Development & Marketing Action Plan
Read the story of the Squamish logo.
Read why the Brand Team loves the tagline: Hardwired for Adventure
View the brand team, representing 28 local organizations and businesses.
Read about the background of this project.
Contact: economicdevelopment@squamish.ca to learn more about the Brand Leadership Team.
Visit our Logo Request page if you are a Community Partner and would like to request use of the Squamish logo.
The story of the Squamish logo
The logo of Squamish represents our past and our future; our connection to the outdoors through the sky, wind, land and water; and it symbolizes our diversity.
Our name, Squamish, is an English adaptation of the First Nation word Skwxwu7mesh, meaning “Mother of the Wind” and “people of the sacred water”.
The ‘Eye of the Creator’ icon that sits proudly above ‘Squamish’ represents the powerful connection that our people – from Squamish Nation residents dating back thousands of years, to residents of today – have with nature and the magnificent scenery that surrounds us. Ocean, mountains, granite, forest, wind, and rivers. These natural elements have defined us and our changing economy through the ages, and today offer a lifestyle packed with adventure that sets Squamish apart from all others.
The ‘Eye of the Creator’ is framed in Coast Salish red and black and adorned with blue to represent our community’s youthful exuberance, vibrant nature, and a community rich with generations and cultures. Blue also tells the story of the glacial waters that pulse through our rivers into the ocean and our expansive sky. Mirror image whale tails form the centre of the eye further demonstrating our community’s oceanic connection. We are youthful. We are bold. We are deeply connected to this extraordinary landscape and the adventures it provides. We are innovative and entrepreneurial, and we stand tall as we lay down a strong foundation for an abundant future in Squamish.
The tagline
The tagline Hardwired for Adventure represents the remarkable network of natural and manmade infrastructure – lakes, mountains, rivers, trails, climbing routes and water access – that provide limitless opportunities for adventure of all shapes and sizes. It also speaks to the people of Squamish and their innate desire to embrace all that the natural surroundings have to offer. Hardwired for Adventure also reflects how connected we are for business ventures. From our state of the art highway connection to Vancouver and Whistler and the fibre optic cable that runs along it to our multi model transportation infrastructure… we are hardwired for business adventure. The growth of our knowledge-based, tourism, and education industries, are all reflections of a forward-looking economy, and a youthful entrepreneurial community.
Brand team
- Christy Allan, Expand Marketing Group - Business owner and citizen representative
- Yanick Belanger, Squamish Chamber of Commerce – Board Member; Web Development Manager, The Web Division
- Deanna Bell, Britannia Mine Museum - Director of Sales and citizen representative
- Christine Campbell, Downtown Business Improvement Association – Executive Director
- Jeff Cooke, Squamish Off Road Cycling Association - President; Chamber of Commerce - Board Member; Bark Busters - Business owner and citizen representative
- Glenn Davies, Downtown Business Improvement Association – President; The Ledge Café - Business owner
- Tim Emmett – Professional Athlete, Television Presenter and citizen representative
- Alice Guss Tsawaysia Spukwus, Squamish Nation – Educator
- Paula de Jong, SquamishAdventure.com – Business owner and citizen representative
- Colleen Myers, Form Business Design – Founder and Lead Consultant; Entrepreneur and citizen representative
- Michelle Neilson, Squamish Arts Council; Mclean Meats - Business owner and citizen representative
- Auli Parviainen, Squamish Chamber of Commerce - Board Member
- Darren Roberts, Publisher, Squamish Chief Newspaper/Glacier Media Group
- Toran Savjord, Quest University – Vice President, Operations and Development & Director of Recreation and Athletics
- Tracey Saxby, Imagine Squamish - Creator; Greener Footprints - Co-Founder and Director and citizen representative
- Lesley Weeks, Tourism Squamish - Executive Director
- Stephanie Wells, Capilano University Schools of Tourism Management, Business & Communications - Instructor, Program Convener and citizen representative
- Patricia Heintzman, District of Squamish - Councillor ex-officio
- Vanessa Carrington, District of Squamish - Acting Economic Development Officer (January to October 2014)
- Dan McRae, District of Squamish - Economic Development Officer
- Christina Moore, District of Squamish - Communications Manager
- Randy Stoyko, District of Squamish - GM Business and Community Development
Roger Brooks International was retained to facilitate the process, led by Roger Brooks, Jordan Pogue and Creative Director, Greg Forsell. Competitive analysis, research and feasibility work was a team effort between the BDC and the Roger Brooks team.