Red Deer is preparing for its closeup.
On Monday, the City of Red Deer launched a microsite — uncoverreddeer.ca — designed to share and promote Red Deer’s identity.
“In the lead up to the 2019 Canada Winter Games, we essentially have three years before we welcome 25,000 Canadians and we have a once in a life time opportunity to tell that story. So it was absolutely imperative that Red Deer take the lead and to provide our community and our partner organizations with the tools that they need to convey the authentic Red Deer,” said Mayor Tara Veer at the launch of Uncover Red Deer at Sheraton Red Deer Hotel.
“In the absence of Red Deer telling the people of our province and the people of our country who we are, and about the authentic Red Deer, those messages were being filled in on their own.”
Since 2012, the city worked with community partners and stakeholders to gather community input in hopes of representing what citizens feel, love and think about their city.
More than 1,600 people were surveyed as part of the identity project.
The first in a series of videos at Uncover Red Deer was produced to market the city outside Red Deer’s borders.
“Red Deerians told us who they are and what they love about Red Deer. Today’s launch is the culmination of what Red Deerians said and it’s the beginning of a whole messaging and equipping of marketing tools for our partnering organizations to tell Red Deer’s story on behalf of Red Deerians,” Veer said.
Red Deer Airport, Westerner Park, Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce, Red Deer College, Tourism Red Deer and Red Deer Downtown Business Association partnered with the city and now have a tool to share videos and other content for their own communications and marketing.
She said speaking with one collective voice creates a stronger message for Red Deer, increases the city’s profile and helps organizations fulfill their mandates and goals.
And Red Deerians are invited to continue to add to the microsite, Veer said.
“With the online access, our community will be able to contribute stories and photos and great things they know and love about Red Deer so that we continue on in collaboration with our partner organizations, so that we can market Red Deer for tourism, so we can market Red Deer for business growth and development, we can market Red Deer for new students, we can market Red Deer for new residential growth as well.”