The City of Estevan has launched the first phase of a new branding strategy that they hope will lead to more consistency in its promotional efforts, and eventually create a better image for the community.
The strategy was unveiled at the April 11 city council meeting. The stylized City of Estevan logo that is currently found on the entrance signs to the community has been adopted as the primary city logo for most promotional efforts and documents. It has largely replaced the old circular crest, which depicted the four main industries found in the Estevan area.
“Some people had been using different letterheads,” said Jeff Ward, who is the city manager and acting city treasurer. “Some people are using the crest, and some are using the logo.”
The crest will be retained for corporate memos, such as correspondences that come from the office of the mayor and the city manager.
As part of the branding strategy, email signatures will look the same. When a city employee or manager sends an email, the recipient should know it’s from somebody at the city.
“You’ll even see the janitorial staff at the Leisure Centre will have shirts with the matching logos,” said Ward.
Ward would like to see a more comprehensive branding strategy in the future to help build civic pride. It would include input from the public as a whole.
“As the economy returns, we’d like to be set to really make an impression,” said Ward. “We want to clean the streets and emphasize beautification.”
They have announced the Operation Clean Sweep cleanup campaign that will run from May 16 to 23.
An economic development committee, which involves the city, the chamber and the Rural Municipality of Estevan, has resumed meetings. Branding is among the topics they have discussed.
“We haven’t developed any plans yet, but I really want to see this happen,” said Ward. “This is something that I think we need to do to change the image of the city.
“We have a strong volunteer base with great people. Look at our volunteers for things like the Saskatchewan Summer Games and the Western Canada Cup. Our service clubs are thriving. We need to start promoting that.”
There is also the potential for a slogan in conjunction with the branding strategy. Ward suggested having public opinion polls through the city’s website and other online sources, and possibly even host focus groups, to determine a slogan.
“That’s something I want to implement moving forward. It’s about transparency, but it’s also accountability. It’s not just something that’s thrown down without any thought in it.”
Ward expects the branding strategy will have a minimal cost, because it will be implemented gradually. They’re going to continue using all of the envelopes and business cards that have the old city of Estevan crest. The new letterheads will have the new logo.
There is about $1,500 allocated for some new hats, shirts and jackets for employees. Ward suggested the merchandise could even be available for the public to purchase.
