Flin Flon could have a brand within the next two months.
Dozens of local stakeholders met with representatives from Travel Manitoba and McKim Communications Group on Feb. 21 to collectively identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for tourism in the area in advance of the brand’s creation.
The City of Flin Flon has agreed to invest at least $10,000 per year over the next three years to implement a tourism brand for the region as part of Travel Manitoba’s place branding program.
Prior to the branding session, Colin Ferguson, president and CEO of Travel Manitoba addressed the crowd, acknowledging that the stakeholders who had gathered understand the value of tourism.
“Tourism in the north counts for over half a million visitors spending over $130 million in the area,” said Ferguson.
“Our new northern tourism strategy which was launched just last year is aiming to reach $152 million annually by 2012. In order to reach that goal, Flin Flon will be a major part of the equation. Our presence here today is a good indicator that you are well on your way.”
The session itself, facilitated by Lloyd Fridfinnson, consisted of significant stakeholder participation – attendees were asked to identify and gauge the product Flin Flon has to offer as well as past and current marketing efforts on a report card system. Both items received a range of letter grades.
“I really think there are a lot of things that are happening here, but we just don’t have it all together. It’s piecemeal,” said Colleen McKee, who represented both Flin Flon City Council and the Flin Flon Aqua Doves at the meeting.
“It needs to be cohesive, it needs to be put together in a nice little package.”
Some participants noted they felt the product Flin Flon has is quite strong but has been poorly marketed.
“I think because we’re from here, it feels very high, but if you were to come from somewhere else – I don’t know where the limestone caverns are, so I have to find the right person at the gas station to tell me how to get here,” said Dianne Russell, past president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce.
“They’re not actually ready for the public. There might be a lot of backcountry hiking that could happen because we have a lot of country that’s not actually developed that way, not a system that’s ready to welcome the world. There’s you’re hiking, sledding … we have the raw elements … but it’s fragmented.”
Stakeholders were also asked to identify the region’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats when it comes to tourism. They were then asked to identify the top three strengths and opportunities and top three weaknesses and threats from the list they had created.
The crowd was able to identify a long list of strengths and opportunities, including the physical beauty of the area, its presence as a cultural hub, its unique appearance and the opportunity to collaborate with indigenous communities. Toward the end of the discussion, however, Krista Lemcke with Community Futures raised the importance of being realistic with the area’s weaknesses as well.
“I’m concerned about our objectivity, in that we are super proud of the town we live in and all the good things it has, but I feel like our self-awareness is lacking as far as what we should be aware of if we can survive,” said Lemcke.
“You can be the best cheerleader in the world but if your team can’t win a game then it’s no good.”
Weaknesses and threats identified for the area included the region’s remoteness, accessibility issues, internet issues, along with negative social media.
There was some confusion at the meeting as to whether Creighton and Denare Beach would be included as part of the brand. Fridfinnson expressed the difficulty of pointing people in the direction of three places, rather than one general area.
“From a marketing point of view, if you want to point to a destination and say, ‘People go there, it’s a wonderful experience there,’ it’s difficult o say ‘Go to Creighton, Flin Flon, Denare Beach and Bakers Narrows,’” he said.
“For marketing it’s a nightmare. The marketing campaign is going to have a much sharper focus than that so the viewer is going to know exactly where they’re talking about and what they’re being promised.”
With the branding session wrapped up, Travel Manitoba and McKim Communications Group will work on a creative brief that will be shared with local champions. Once the details of the brief are agreed on, McKim will begin creating the brand. It is expected to be unveiled to the community within six to eight weeks.
“This was a really good session, a really terrific session,” Ferguson told the group.
“You’ve got more product and more opportunity than we’ve seen in virtually all the other ones. The opportunity is before you and we’re really honoured to have the opportunity to help try to put a face on this…I really hope you’re going to love what you see.”
