Kieran Miller, senior manager of corporate projects
Tantramar is seeking up to $60,000 worth of professional help in developing a new “visual identity” for the town.
Kieran Miller, senior manager of corporate projects, says that on March 8, staff issued a formal request for proposals (RFP) for what she termed “brand development”.
“With the amalgamation of two municipalities and three local service districts, each with their own unique identity, we’re looking to create a brand that reflects the new larger community of Tantramar,” Miller told council at its committee of the whole meeting yesterday.
She explained that the first step would be to create a new wordmark or logo.
“We’ve got a temporary one right now that I created,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s very temporary until we get a professional (one).”
The RFP itself says that aside from creating a new logo and tagline, consultants would be expected to provide “clear recommendations on corporate colors, fonts, photography styling, social media templates (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), Powerpoint templates, e-newsletter template, digital ad templates, corporate stationery, vehicle decals, and corporate email signature.”
The consultants would also be required to “create key messaging for use in marketing and audience profiles” and provide recommendations for names on highway signs to show the connection between Tantramar and its former municipal entities.
“Community engagement must play an important role in the project proposal,” the RFP states. “The community should feel invested in the exercise of creating a new visual identity for Tantramar and have opportunity for input and feedback.”
The RFP shows Dorchester’s logo & tagline
“The estimated budget for the project is $60,000 and the plan is to be developed for final approval by Council in the fall of 2023,” the RFP states.
CAO Jennifer Borne told councillors that the town is seeking financial help from the province on a number of items including brand development.
The RFP closes on March 31.
Nearly three years ago — in July 2020 — Sackville received a $15,000 strategic marketing plan from a Moncton-based firm called Portfolio.
The plan was sharply critical of Sackville’s previous marketing efforts.
“Don’t get too hung up on logos and slogans. A brand is a perception, it lives in the minds of all of your target audiences and it’s what they think of Sackville,” Portfolio CEO Mike Randall told town council then.
“Successful brands, though, in all the municipalities we looked at across North America, really had a narrow focus, they don’t try to be everything to everybody, they’re very specific.”
To read my report on the Portfolio marketing plan, click here.
there are about 600 (rough estimate) artists in sackville who could do this over a weekend.
We’re talking about branding. Nothing to do with “art”. Art and design are 2 totally different things. A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization. I wonder how an artist would get people to feel a certain way about tantramar especially over a weekend. working on a brand is A LOT of work that requires research, especially about the audience, it can take months and cost a lot of money.
Tantramar is not a brand; we are people, not a commodity.
Of course, Tantramar is not a commodity, but if we want to invite people to Tantramar for tourism, work, school, development etc than we need to communicate who we are and why we’re great. That’s where branding comes in lol. Branding also involves insuring that our logo is unique to us and is not copyrighted/trademarked by anyone. It is designing a totally unique identity that people can connect with but that one that is also simple enough that people understand. i don’t know if 60k is too much though for such a project, but this is definitely not a student art project either.
We have great artists but I don’t know if they are educated and trained in graphic design and creating a brand and brand guide (i.e. how to format newsletters, accessibility standards for documents and presentations etc.).
Oh look…. another exercise in spending and waste. Nothing to see here.
I have done plenty of logos and word marks over the years. While working at Atlantic Wholesalers Advertising Department (Loblaws) I developed Art Work that was used in the Ontario market and here in Atlantic Canada. Logos are in fact art work finding solid base or vocal points. The cost involved for a logo is around 7,500 and if it needs a Trade Mark the legal work is around 7,500 so in my books that’s 15,000 not 60,000 all the rest is more or less fluff.
Art work for a logo I can understand. However, we citizens should never have allowed these municipal corporations to brand themselves. That is for the private sector, which must pretend to be something it’s not. Put public resources into creating the reality that you want to be, and let your growing reputation do the rest.
I like the logo Kieran drafted. Underneath it, we just need to add the slogan “Where Your Vote is Worth More Than Anywhere Else in NB”.
Worth more or simply living with the reality that every surrounding community wants nothing to do with a region known for its regressive views on the cultural front (thus the desire not to associate with us being that they are all francophone regions) and certainly do not want to cope with an area where a less than desirable economic situation is the norm.
Quite a few towns and government entities have a coat of arms that represents them:
Shediac
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/851
Fredericton
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/1592
Quispamsis
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/1300
Charlottetown
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/1853
Halifax
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/855
New Glasgow
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/1422
Annapolis
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/351
Tantramar could consider getting a coat of arms as a permanent visual identity for the town that’s distinct from tourism marketing. Tourism advertising changes every few years but a town — like a province or a country — should have symbols with permanence and continuity.
This has been a great series of comments! I loved how Marilyn kicked it off, and the comments which flowed reveal so much about how various people believe a community should be visually represented to others. I agree with Jim T who speaks about logos being art with a practical application. And “design” is certainly not a foreign concept to good creative artists! Unfortunately, some of the comments also reveal how little most folks really understand what fine artists are capable of doing. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Tantramar supported (by awarding this contract to one of them) our own brilliant local artists who, in some cases, are celebrated both nationally and internationally! Was this possibility considered, even for a moment, or did it not even enter the equation?