The New Alberta Brand Logo
The new Alberta Brand video has joined in with the hundreds of other advertising voices shouting for your attention. It’s these hundreds of voices that have in part made products like TiVo so successful – the ability to turn them off and get back to the content that really matters to you.
The Alberta Brand is about to experience the same fate due to its fluffy, generic, barrage of unsupported messages. It comes across like a Wal-Mart PR campaign about ethical sourcing and competitive pay, or McDonald’s advertising itself as a “healthy lifestyles” destination (I’m aware both of these companies have made strides to improve all of the above mentioned issues, but the point is its hard to change a reputation). The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, and your reputation precedes you.
The unfortunate part is that Alberta truly does have an “open door”. The province, and municipalities within have made Alberta a very friendly place to do business, and there are companies all over the world moving in to take advantage of that. These actions that the province has taken, and the ways that real businesses have benefitted, are what should be the substance of a marketing message to investors. Investors are looking for concrete substance, and Alberta has it. Unfortunately it never made it into the message.
Perhaps its not too late, as I’ve read we’ve only spent $4M so far of our $25M PR campaign!
Check out the vid, and the site here: http://AlbertaBrand.com, and let me know what you think.
As portrayed in the video, Alberta’s new “brand” is completely inadequate. Not only does it fail to situate Alberta historically in its colonial displacement of aboriginal groups, it also fails to situate it environmentally. The only truly Albertan theme within it is that of the frontier – where we set out to encourage unlimited possibilities regardless of the life projects of other people groups or species. It is inherently unethical and covers over untold injustices.
Gee Jeremy, don’t hide how you really feel! Nice website btw, thanks for letting me know about it. I’m hoping to make it to that event tonight . . .
Let me know what you think of the lecture, I’d be interested to hear your perspective. I worked with Peter at McGill – so he’s heard a lot about Alberta…
Have you seen the Edmonton Powerhouse Redefined video?
It is very Pro-Edmonton and Alberta.
I will check it out, thanks!