My Perspective-Attracting the future
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- Published on Monday, June 4, 2018
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson
Neepawa Banner & Press
After close to six months of work, last week, the Neepawa Tourism committee launched the community鈥檚 new brand. I鈥檓 excited to see this greater focus on tourism and I鈥檓 not alone, judging from the strong turnout at the unveiling.
Neepawa is part of a larger trend, as many communities, like Clear Lake, have recently completed a branding process and others, like Minnedosa, are looking into it.
The new slogan for Neepawa鈥檚 tourism activities is 鈥淲here stories take a beautiful turn鈥� and the logo features the town鈥檚 name, with a stylized 鈥淣鈥�. A bit like a Rorschach Test, depending on how you look at it, the artwork above the letter gives a nod to the town鈥檚 agricultural, literary and floral attractions. It鈥檚 unlikely to ever attain the international fame of slogans like 鈥淭he big apple鈥�, 鈥淲hat happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas鈥� or 鈥淢otor City鈥�, but on the other hand, it doesn鈥檛 discourage tourists, like: 鈥淭he coldest spot in Iowa鈥� (Washta, IA) or 鈥淐ow Chip Capital of the World鈥� (Beaver, OK).
More than anything, what I like about the slogan is that it鈥檚 adaptable. 鈥淭he lily capital of the world鈥� was a great slogan when we hosted the Lily Festival and both public and private gardens heavily featured the flower. While we are still home to many lilies, the flowers aren鈥檛 the community-wide source of pride they once were and the unofficial slogan no longer really works.
I was worried that the new branding would be too specific, but it applies equally well to a lily festival, as a drag race, a brewery tour, a sporting tournament, a fair or a trip to the museum or the Margaret Laurence 水果视频. It鈥檚 not industry specific either and should serve the community well going forward, regardless of what our major industry, agricultural product or attraction may be.
The new branding may not say who we are as the town鈥檚 residents, but it doesn鈥檛 have to, it鈥檚 not meant for us. We know what our community has to offer, we need to present ourself in a way that attracts others to find that out as well.
While the new branding will help bind the community鈥檚 tourism efforts in one direction going forward, an improvement over the more haphazard approach previously undertaken, one of the main benefits of the process was to help the community identify just what they have and what they need. This type of assessment can be undertaken by any community and while I鈥檓 sure it helps to have an experienced guide, it doesn鈥檛 have to be an overwrought or expensive process.
Whether a community is looking to attract highway traffic, destination tourism, new businesses or new residents, this type of inventory is necessary. Each community has their own set of assets and while it鈥檚 nice to dream of having something else, the starting point has to be what you鈥檝e already got. These assets can be tangible, like a major employer, beach, museum, school or hospital, or intangible, like a devoted volunteer base or sense of community. These are what should be built upon and celebrated in the pursuit of growth, whatever form it may take.
It鈥檚 been too long since Neepawa had a coherent plan to invite out-of-towners to come visit and I鈥檓 glad to see that there is a push for that to change. The ground work is in place and it鈥檚 now up to the community to push the initiative forward. I hope that other communities get loud about what they have as well. This area has so much to offer, but those beyond our borders鈥� whether neighbourhood, municipal or regional鈥攐ften just don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 out there in our own backyards.
