It’s the second year for K-Days, Edmonton’s summer fair – there was a time when the K stood for Klondike, but now, the letter stands for nothing. The festival is not the only thing about Alberta’s capital lacking a distinct identity.
Over the years, Edmonton has taken on many identities – such as The Winter City, The Festival City, and The City of Champions, a phrase that turned into the city’s slogan.
It’s a slogan Mary Sturgeon said was hardly original when the city started using it.
“City of Champions was used by six other cities before we adopted it as our slogan,” Sturgeon, the Executive Director of Make Something Edmonton said.
Sturgeon said that’s the problem with generic brands or slogans. Make Something Edmonton is trying to work out the best way to sell Edmonton to the world.
“You do end up generally with pretty bland statements that could be applied to any city,” Sturgeon said.
It’s an issue Edmonton has struggled with for years – an issue evident in a controversial parade float that some say doesn’t really show what the city offers.
“I don’t think that float was designed to be serious,” Former Edmonton City Councillor Kim Krushell said. “It was designed to say here’s some pieces of Edmonton all incorporated into an inflatable float.”
The city’s apparent identity crisis is something Make Something Edmonton is working to change, in the hopes that the answer lies in coming up with a new slogan, one Edmontonians help come up with.
“Spreading that story amongst Edmontonians, getting them to rally around that and then from there we can build an external brand or marketing campaign,” Sturgeon said.
With files from Amanda Anderson
