Flin Flon will receive a new brand as part of Travel Manitoba’s Place Branding Program.
Council unanimously voted to contribute $10,000 per year over the next three years to implement the brand during the regular meeting of council on Nov. 7.
“Travel Manitoba has initiated a place branding program as the means of growing tourism through increased visitation to distinct destinations within Manitoba,” said Coun. Karen MacKinnon.
“Usually this costs thousands of dollars to get branding. They will be doing it for us. We just have to commit that once we get the branding we will use it to help promote our community.”
The money contributed from the city could come from a variety of avenues, and rather than going toward Travel Manitoba, it will go toward implementing the brand once it is created.
The program begins with a facilitated stakeholder session in the community. This session serves to identify the community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as current and desired perceptions of the area. Key marketing assets will also be developed.
“Our role is to secure investors to execute the brand and stakeholders to implement it,” said MacKinnon.
“The community is responsible to secure participation of key stakeholders including tourism owners, operators, municipal leaders and applicable representatives of the regional chamber of commerce.”
MacKinnon noted council is excited about the opportunity.
“There are a lot of things that happen in Flin Flon,” said Coun. Colleen McKee.
“This is our opportunity … we are making a commitment to it, this is part and parcel with the whole deal, and I think it’s very exciting. Travel Manitoba has done this in other communities, and it has been very successful.”
Clear Lake and Portage la Prairie have also taken part in the program and seen positive results. Gimli is currently in the process of going through the program.
Mayor Cal Huntley says he believes it is important for Flin Flon to have a clear identity.
“We believe this process will help sort of pull the little pieces together … and come up with something unique that will help us market ourselves outside of our area,” he said.
“Obviously we want Flin Flon and the area to continue to be very viable. We see a big portion of that as tourism. But marketing is more than just tourism. We believe it’s a wonderful place to live full time as well. We want to share what we know on a much broader scale to allow people to come here, move here, live here, work here. That’s the hope.”
MacKinnon noted that Creighton, Denare Beach and Cranberry Portage are parts of the area that is branded along with Flin Flon, but could not confirm whether Snow Lake and Sherridon will also be included.
There is no word on when the process of developing the brand will begin.
