City of Brampton branding: b… extraordinary

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  • Brampton’s b… extraordinary branding began when the city’s Economic Development Office commissioned us to develop a new marketing strategy and brand identity so that Canada’s ninth largest city could compete more effectively against other modern city brands in the aggressive battle for global business.

    Other city brands have their Big Bens, their Wall Streets, their Guggenheims. The best thing in Brampton is powerful and human, but intangible: the spirit of Brampton. “Our Guggenheim is us!” we said, in astonished delight.

    It was the perfect foundation for branding a people-powered economy. We developed a new brand identity device to celebrate our discovery — a line mark — a series of line marks, in fact. Each mark celebrates Brampton’s diverse, variegated wealth of raw human energy. At the same time each line mark invites businesses and citizens to make the most of the opportunities that Brampton represents, to move to, exist in, and benefit from a Brampton that offers a plethora of choices, a liberating diversity of opportunity — and in doing so, to make the most of themselves. “Come to Brampton,” says the city’s new economic brand, “and b… more, b… unstoppable, b… extraordinary!”

    To see how the new branding was applied to Brampton’s advertising, click here.

  • EDAC Awards: Marketing Canada 2013: Best Branding, Best Video.

  • Our work drew spontaneous applause from citizens in the public gallery when it was unveiled in Council. The new brand revived team spirit, created excitement and pride. It had a halo effect on municipal and provincial
    leaders alike and other city departments wanted to adopt the new branding for their own brands.
    The new brand identity and brand video received two awards from the prestigious Economic Developers Association of Canada. By August 2014, YTD jobs in Brampton had increased by 29% and residential construction value had jumped by 89%. The new economic branding kept working: in 2015 Brampton hit #1 spot for foreign direct investment among mid-sized NA cities, as ranked by fDI.