Goal

Development of a Public Communications and Marketing Strategic Framework, including key messaging, defined guidelines for communications, a full suite of visual identity elements, and a community website.

Target audiences included internal departments, existing and potential residents, commercial and industrial businesses and investors, and visitors.

Situational Analysis

Although a Public Communications & Marketing Committee had been formed to oversee consistent branding on all internal and external materials, to present information as one voice, and to improve the quality of internal communications, it had not quite landed on a traditional list of desired outcomes, and sought recommendations based on an overview of ‘what future success looks like’ derived from a variety of existing challenges.

On the face of it, Calmar is slower and simpler, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find rich, raw beauty, a bounty of land, and room for action and adventure, for innovation and opportunity, and for personal and professional growth and expansion. Whether looking for relaxation or vibrancy, opportunity or ease, Calmar provides, enables, and supports. It connects us to land and people, and encourages us to get busy living life for all its worth.

Unfussy Recommendations

The Town of Calmar’s “Ambitious Future” and rebranding initiative started with a question: What if Calmar could achieve the exceptional as a community? In partnership with key members of Council and Staff, Unfussy worked to develop a new Strategic Community and Economic Development Direction, a Brand and Communications Strategy, a new visual identity, newsletter and website, and targeted marketing and creative campaigns to answer this question in a way that stirs community pride, and attracts new residents, new business investments, and new visitors, in order to pursue a more ambitious vision of the future: One where adventure awaits, grit happens, and happiness blooms.

Think of the new brand story as the collected works of a hard-working, creative community working even harder to help move the plot forward and build a more prosperous and more exciting future while drawing strength from its more humble roots.

While core elements of the Community Strategic Direction included fast-tracking downtown enhancement, creating more housing choice and affordability, nurturing niche shopping experiences, expansion of industrial land supply and focus on agriculture services/production and regional industrial services, more space and programming options to enable entrepreneurs, and gigabit broadband service enhancement, the spirit of Brand is grounded in the idea of a quintessential small-town that embraces simpler and more meaningful pleasures within a safe, friendly, and deeply connected community with affordable lifestyle living.

Designed to enhance community image, pride, and the sense of “salesmanship” needed to better connect with existing residents and potential newcomers and entrepreneurs, visitors, and business and industry investors, the rebrand initiative was fed by extensive internal and external research, including Council, staff, and key stakeholder workshops, SWOT, and discovery sessions, and significant community engagement in the form of online surveys and PR / social media engagement.

Much more than a shiny new website and logo, Calmar’s new brand is bold, brash and honest in this declaration of genuine, affordable small town living at its finest (albeit less fragile bone china and more durable cast-iron); and unrelenting and unapologetic in its boasting of unparalleled access to, and enjoyment of, deep lakes, deep sunsets, and even deeper connections to friends and neighbours, to diverse recreation, and to rewarding business opportunity.