A $10,000 community branding exercise is designed to assist the municipality and the Summerland Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism in promoting the community.
The municipality and the chamber will each contribute $5,000 for the exercise, which will be completed by the Tourism Advisory Authority.
Connie Denesiuk, a member of the chamber board, said the branding exercise is important for the community to market itself.
“Who are we and what can we give to our visitors?” she asked.
While the chamber has worked on branding and marketing in the past, Denesiuk said this is the first time the chamber and the municipality are working together in this area.
She added that the exercise by itself must also lead to action and change. “It’s a huge waste of time for people to get involved in committees that don’t result in change,” she said.
Mayor Janice Perrino said the branding exercise is an inexpensive way for the community to define itself.
She added that it is important for the municipality and chamber to work together on this project.
Deneisuk also believes the joint nature of the exercise will benefit the community.
“We’re going to be working together instead of separately.” she said.
Perrino said the project will result in a strong message for the community.
“We really have not had a good community message for a number of years,” she said.
From the late 1980s until some time after 2000, the community adopted an Old English theme in its downtown area and also billed itself as a town of festivals.
Perrino said branding will change over time and the theme which defined Summerland in the past should be revisited.
“It was great when it was done, but it’s tired,” she said.