The Bridge River Lillooet News
December 16, 2009
By Robin Poon
Lillooet is selling its new “guaranteed rugged”
image in tourism magazines across the
province and the results are not pretty, nor
are they meant to be.
The first ad in the campaign is a close-up shot of a beaming woman’s face covered in mud. Underneath the photo is a caption under the heading “Wild Things” (see right).
The ad has already appeared in, or is about to appear in, publications from Gold Country, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, Vancouver Coast and Mountains, and others.
According to Chris Fields of Twist Marketing, which designed the “guaranteed rugged” branding strategy for the District of Lillooet, “I imagine they will all be out by January at the latest.”
District economic development officer Jerry Sucharyna recruited Twist, a Calgary-based firm, earlier this year to look at community branding for the area. Since then, council has adopted the “guaranteed rugged” theme proposed by Twist.
The district is now slowly rolling out the new brand, starting with the magazine ad. In terms of coverage, Fields said, “That’s most of the B.C. tourism publications.”
Fields said the ad was designed to stand out among other tourism advertising while staying true to the spirit of Lillooet. “Everything must be original” to get noticed, he said.
To achieve that and create an effective brand, Fields said, “Your first order of the day is to try to sow the seeds of experience.”
The muddy woman, for example, indicates “something that’s not as clean and organized as the Whistler experience.”
Fields admitted the ad might not speak to most people. However, he said, the goal is not to say something to everyone, but to reach out to a type Twist refers to as the “Active Adventurer.”
“It’s a very targeted market.”
In terms of authentically representing the area, Fields noted that when he was looking for images of Lillooet online, he stumbled across a photo of muddy outdoorsmen.
Often, communities try to advertise to too many demographics and end up not appealing to anyone enough to make a difference, said Fields.
Selling experiences and things to do as an end in themselves is not as effective as tying them around a larger theme in Twist’s view “It’ll just be kind of a shotgun blast at everything.”
Twist determined that the Active Adventurers are those who would most likely come to visit Lillooet and, eventually, perhaps stay or invest.
Fields noted, “Tourism is an economic development tool.
“Everything Lillooet is doing should be directly targeted towards that.”
The initial advertising is geared towards tourists because that is usually the first point of contact, which can then lead to greater involvement in the community, explained Fields.
The District of Lillooet will gradually proceed with the brand, depending on budget constraints. But, Fields said, “This kind of initiative, if it’s successful, should go on for a decade.”
Changes coming soon could include themed district stationery and business cards that are printed to appear crinkled and bitten.
“I know Jerry was looking at a limited line of promotional merchandise” like “dented” coffee mugs, added Fields.
