Mar/02
Positioning the Province for Prosperity

Brand British Columbia as the ideal setting for both corporate investment and business location. Sound like a daunting task? Not for the combined creative force of Invest BC's marketing team, MarketPULSE, and the designers at Fleming Design. With equal parts of confidence and pride, we set out with the client to create an invigorated 'face' for the province: one that will help build the momentum towards economic growth.

Invest BC is a marketing alliance comprised of public and private agencies focused on attracting new business to British Columbia. Their new branding campaign had to be ready for launch at the Pacific Northwest International Development Research Council World Congress, held in Seattle, Washington - a big title for a global event with a simple objective: attract companies to this corner of the continent.

The key messaging was the first thing to be determined. We developed the campaign theme of "The North in Pacific Northwest", aligning BC with the positive recognition associated with the Pacific Northwest region of the continent... and "British Columbia - The People. The Power. The Place." emphasizing the province's six key competitive brand attributes.

Once the key messages were carved out, senior graphic designer Niko Potton took on the visual look of the campaign. Niko worked with the key branding messages: "Border? What Border?"... "Work Hard. Play Hard"... "Abundant. Reliable. Affordable"... "More for Less"... "We're Connected"... and "It Adds Up". To complement these strong statements, vibrant colours of green, orange, and blue were applied to all collateral, with selected images reflecting the natural landscape, technical talent, and lower costs of power and people.

The Invest BC branding campaign was publicly launched at the Congress. The campaign involved a bold and informative 20 foot reusable display, supported by six free-standing banners highlighting each of the six key brand attributes. Collateral materials included brochures, shirts, handouts, and invitations to an exclusive dinner at the Consul General of Canada's private residence. The campaign also included innovative and entertaining onsite 'guerrilla marketing' initiatives and an eye-catching follow-up email campaign (permission based) to all event guests.

The results? Not only did BC make an impression, they stole the show! Michael Track, Project Manager of the BC Trade and Investment Office (and an Invest BC's spokesperson) was thrilled with the volume of kudos from both exhibitors and attendees. "Fleming Design was really responsive and creative," he said. "It was exactly the kind of strong message and look we were after."

BC's branding campaign also captured the imagination and interest of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. They were so impressed by the branding campaign, they recently partnered again with British Columbia to promote the Pacific Northwest as a whole. And once again, Fleming got involved in developing the 'team's' identity and key messaging along with a tradeshow booth, team shirts, and a variety of other components. What's next on the horizon? We're all getting recharged so we'll be ready for upcoming events in San Diego and Toronto!

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