Comments on: Branding Canada eh?

By: James Welsh

James Welsh — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:29:47 +0000

DDB created this really cool Tourism Canada activation in New York http://goo.gl/N9f0

By: James Welsh

James Welsh — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:11:15 +0000

I think customer service is not distinctive enough and way too generic an attribute to hang the Brand of a country on. I think we’d have a difficult time competing on that front. On the other hand, China would have a very difficult time competing on Maple Syrup and Mounties, but this traditional approach relagates us to stereotypical approaches.

Tourism Canada has done a great job of trying to create an over-arching framework for the Canadian Tourism Brand.

Canada’s Brand has benefitted from the global economic downturn. Perhaps Canada’s reputation as a well-managed country helps? The fact that our banking sector is the strongest in the world reflects new (and badly needed) Brand credentials / attributes.

Maybe, just maybe, the word “Canada” on a hang tag will mean something more than mosquitoes, mounties and maple syrup.

By: ed bernacki

ed bernacki — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:14:26 +0000

I think this conversation is long overdue. I do a lot of work down under and Asia. We don’t really have a brand. People have some notion of Canada but it does not stand for much. When I ask people if they can name a Canadian product, the best they can do is, “maple syrup”. Why is it that a country of 34 million can not create consumer products with global appeal??? From a tourism perspective, people know you can ski here.
I lived in New Zealand where this work is well done. It is brands for tourism and business:
100% PURE New Zealand
New Zealand New Thinking
The concept work and investment behind these efforts is very good for a small country.

Saying this, I also know of Taxi CEO Paul Lavoie’s experience in trying to start this conversation…. let’s say he was frustrated.
ed bernacki

By: Brian S.

Brian S. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:27:48 +0000

Lots of feedback on the intrinsic value associated with the term “excellent customer service” and its relationship to a national brand. Frankly, I’m a big fan of both the term and its usage in this specific context. I believe the discomfort exhibited by a few of our co-contributors with associating a “Canada” brand with “Customer Service” is a matter of vocabulary. If I look back at one of Lynda’s earlier Marketing Morceaux (”Dear Customer: We Really Don’t Value You” – posted August 13, 2009)I find a more detailed description of what “Excellent Customer Service” really means to her: “Training for great customer service is difficult because great customer service requires three key attributes: empathy, creativity and good judgment…”. I would only add integrity to the mix (and Martin’s suggestion of Compassion…good one!). Hmmmm….not a bad set of national values/attributes and certainly ones that most every Canadian should readily aspire to. Reasoning that a nation like Canada would benefit from a positive branding campaign implies that the world is our customer (what’s a brand without a customer??); ipso facto any such branding must include the first rule of keeping our customers happy as its goal, namely excellent customer service. If we simply contextualise the term within the broader and more identifiable description of our national identity, and apply it with a little panache, then we may have hit on a very clever value vector that points to our true North. When can I start selling…..

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:55:26 +0000

Well, good customer service as a National Brand… Is that reaching high enough?
I often think that Canada has the opportunity to be the national brand of Human Powered Compassion, and Creativity, harnessed to improving our relationship with our environment and our planet.

By: Lea Werthman, APR

Lea Werthman, APR — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:01:49 +0000

hi Lynda:
I am sorry to be late jumping in to the conversation, and have to run to a meeting, but wanted to toss my hat into the conversation “ring”.

I am responsible for the Service Canada Brand, and am very interested in participating in this conversation… especially as “service” appears to be on the agenda!
a bientot – I’ll be back next week!

By: Lynda Partner

Lynda Partner — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:56:47 +0000

Brian, I love your thinking. Just imagine what a team of brains like these could do for Canada. Stephen Harper – we want to help – reach out, we’re here!

By: Brian Baumal

Brian Baumal — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:48:46 +0000

I have a qualitative research consultancy that focuses a fair bit of its time on doing research that creates emotional connections to brands. I accomplish this by leveraging training in psychotherapy. I focus on finding key metaphors that link consumers emotionally to brands.

You speak of creating a brand based on something that is deep in our psyche, and I agree. I would suggest that part of our psycho-cultural DNA is something along the lines of “To Keep”. Our history is largely about maintaining what we have – maintaining a union that is spread-out across a very large and diverse geography. It’s about keeping together a very diverse set of individuals in one country. It is about keeping our resources alive and the resultant wealth that comes from them.

I draw a direct link between the metaphor of “To Keep” and the fact that we are known as “peacekeepers”. To this extent, I am not so sure that we are a nation committed to “peace”, as much as we are to “keeping”. In order to keep-up our country, we need to be hearty, clever, resourceful, good at making and accepting concessions, and keeping our word.

Similarly, one of our national icons, David Suzuki is doing nothing more than trying to keep what we already have. Of course, we also implore that “God keep our land glorious and free”. I would argue that we are known to “keep our cool” (note the reference to climate as well) on the international stage – especially compared to our neighbours to the south.

I don’t think “To Keep” should be our brand statement, but I would argue that if we want to look for a brand, we simply look at what we keep and guard so dear.

By: Rick Hobbs

Rick Hobbs — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:12:01 +0000

HI Lynda,

I do believe that the time is right for a Canadian Brand Czar, but am not sure Customer Service would be one of the top pillars. Maybe. Canada should be well know for politeness and other qualities that are necessary for excellent customer service, but how would the implementation work? Very difficult to successfully implement that particular attribute.

By: Dennis Van Staalduinen

Dennis Van Staalduinen — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:42:59 +0000

Actually, for fun and edification, I suggest gathering a few Canadian branders and we do a Twitter #brandjam on the topic. Start with qualities / values / perceptions abroad and work our way back to brainstorming about it – maybe do it over a few weeks with a different part of the puzzle. I’ll volunteer to host and compile the notes.