Rebranding Whitby - focus on business

NRU
Sept. 13, 2017
By Sarah Niedoba

The Town of Whitby is set to rebrand itself for the first time since 1968, with the intent of attracting businesses to its growing downtown.

On Monday, corporate communications staff launched the research phase of the project, including an online survey where residents and business owners can share their thoughts on what the town's new brand should look like.

"We haven't done any kind of rebranding work in decades," Whitby corporate communications manager Carlene Siopis told NRU. "When you think about the fact that most brands are refreshed every five years or so, that's a long time-a lot has changed in Whitby since then, and that's something that we want to communicate."

According to Mayor Don Mitchell, Whitby's current brand depicts a safe community to raise a family. While that's still very much the case, he thinks the town needs a brand that reflects its strengths as a business centre.

"We've intensified over the past few years, and we've become a great place for people to come and work," Mitchell told NRU. "We have a great package to sell to people looking to relocate their business—a great quality of life for their families, competitive land prices and taxes, and transportation is getting better and better. These are all things we want to communicate better than we currently are."

A major shift in the town's business community came in 2014, when a group of downtown business owners expressed interest in reestablishing a downtown BIA 20 years after its predecessor had been disbanded. Approved by council in May, the Downtown Whitby BIA comprises 354 businesses and has an annual budget of $80,000. It is bounded by Dunlop Street to the south, Mary Street to the north, Athol Street to the east and Henry Street to the west.

BIA executive director Liam Nichols says that a rebrand is "absolutely key" to convincing businesses to relocate to downtown Whitby.

"I've lived in Whitby my whole life, and I've really seen it shift from a bedroom community to a place where people can grow their business," Nichols told NRU. "Growing the business community here is two-fold- we want people to bring their businesses to the town, but to do that we need to ensure that we have the kind of restaurants and stores that their employees will want. All of that requires a brand that reflects what we have become-a place to live, but also a place to work."

When it comes to developing that message, the town has retained brand marketing firm Mindshape to create a new logo, crest, seal and primary colour palette for the town, along with branded messaging. Meanwhile, town communications staff will be promoting the online survey on social media channels, and at events throughout the fall.

"This is the largest public consultation that we've undertaken as a town" says Siopis. "We're asking people through the survey-and in person at different events- what attributes do you feel set Whitby apart from other communities in Ontario? And in the coming months we're going to see what the response ends up being."

The research will be consolidated in a report for consideration by the operations committee at its November 13 meeting by council at its November 20 meeting.