Case Study: Building a Brand

With a need to give the international cruise industry a clear understand of this region and why people should visit, our company co-developed a new ‘Atlantic Canada’ brand. This new brand allowed the Atlantic Canada Cruise Association (ACCA) to elevate the awareness of the region and market itself to the international cruise industry. In late 2007/early 2008, we created a new brand strategy that was accepted by all members of the ACCA (i.e. provincial tourism groups, ports and other members such as Parks Canada).
 
The process of developing this strategy included conducting extensive research with a variety of customers; conducting a competitive analysis; reviewing additional third-party research; pulling out key insights from the research; developing a distinctive positioning; and gaining buy-in from a variety of stakeholders. Once the brand strategy was formalized, a visual identity was developed and introduced through a new creative platform. The video produced to launch this new brand can be seen here. We also consulted on the development of support material for channel and consumer marketing, along with the website redesign.
 
Outcome: The brand has, and continues to be, incredibly successful at helping bring hundreds of thousands of cruisers to the region. It still exists, is actively used, and has been well accepted by the cruise industry.