Creative Capital of Canada
SCENARIO: Waterloo Region has been built on more than a century of problem solving, collaborative, and resilient individuals. It has been coined as an “Intelligent Community”, as per The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), “Southern Ontario's Silicon Valley", and recently being a part of the “Toronto-Waterloo Corridor". It was time for a more united and audacious identity.
TASK: Create a unified rallying cry for people of Waterloo Region that celebrated Waterloo Region’s history and that embodied all industries within the area for individuals to champion. Welcome to the #CreativeCapitalOfCanada.
Agency: Him & Her
Partners: Everyone Found Here
Industry: Municipal
Tasks: Strategy, Creative Direction, Branding, Web Design & Development, Print Design & Production, Photoshoot Coordination, Public Relations, Email Campaigns, Product Development, Social Media Management, Influencer Campaign, Partnerships, Event Coordination
Personal Responsibilities: Account Management, Project Management, Strategy, Partnerships, Social Media Management, Event Coordination, Influencer Campaign
Creative Director: Erin Martin
Technical Director: Justin Frenette
Designers: Trevor Martin, Emily Leung, Amy Esplen, Brie Pointer, Amanda Ashford, Kathleen Light
Development: Isaac Maier, Caitlin Dyk
APPROACH
sharing our successes
Taking a page out of Austin, Texas coining themselves as the Live Music Capital and Toronto, Ontario as Canada’s Downtown, we felt that Waterloo Region deserved a succinct identity as the Creative Capital of Canada.
The driving force for this initiative stemmed from a group of people, companies, and organizations that wanted to celebrate what led to Waterloo Region’s success…problem solving creativity. Organizations and individuals from both the private & public sector quickly joined us online in planting this flag on the map.
The Creative Capital of Canada website became a platform to celebrate the region’s rich history in one centralized location while stepping in as a site for member’s of the community to submit their own stories.
For Waterloo Region’s proudest champions in human resources, we also created RECRUITING packageS to assist with HIRING initiatives
OUTCOME
A UNIFIED IDENTITY
The true essence of this movement lived in conversation and the user-generated content (UGC) that supported this new identity. In a 6-month period, +2,500 pieces of UGC were produced under the #CreativeCapitalOfCanada hashtag across Twitter, Instagram, FaceBook and LinkedIn.
For more instagramable moments and as a part of our influencer campaign, we extended pins, laptop stickers, and other promotional materials for locals to rep proudly - all of which contributed to the overall content plan. With our swag becoming a hot ticket item, they were soon available for resale at +10 local public organizations and private businesses here.
The hashtag had quickly been adopted by thousands of business owners, public/municipal organizations and private corporations as a part of their individual content strategies. From what started as a conversation, has now led to a growing commitment from many community advocates to celebrate Waterloo Region’s creativity.
PRESS
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Celebrating Our Regional Reality
EXCHANGE MAGAZINE
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Interview with Justin Frenette about the Creative Capital of Canada
THE ECO PODCAST