Calgary Branded: The Blue Sky City?
Upon hearing Calgary was going to try yet again to successfully re-brand itself - this time as “The Blue Sky City” - I thought it would be fun to see what would happen if I searched my photo library for “Calgary blue sky,” and see what turns up. Turns out I have 10,258 photos of Calgary’s blue skies.
FYI: I have been accused by some followers of only taking photos of Calgary when the sky is blue, so I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that almost 50% of my Calgary photos have blue skies.
I decided to review all of them (took 2 hours from midnight to 2 am) and ended up saving 121 in a folder thinking I might be able to use them in the future. After sleeping on it, I decided to create this blog. But first a little background information.
Branding Background
After two years of research, the City of Calgary is going to use a new slogan, moniker, brand and/or nickname “The Blue Sky City,” to help market the City to the world for tourism and economic development purposes. The goal, as with any city branding initiative, is to create a clever and catchy way to capture a city’s unique “sense of place” in a manner that will get non-residents excited about a city. However, most cities struggle to create a moniker that is authentic, memorable and lasting. And in some cases, it is such a disaster the brand was quickly abandoned.
Calgary already has three nicknames that are widely known nationally and internationally – Stampede City, Cowtown and Canada’s Energy Capital. However, the City’s major marketing agencies, Tourism Calgary and Calgary Economic Development and some of the City’s leading champions desire a brand that is more “all-encompassing.” Something that says Calgary is more than just the 10-days of Stampede and more than the oil and gas capital of Canada. The new brand comes after two recent studies found Calgary’s reputation is relatively poor among Canadians who live outside Alberta.
Today, some progressives see the Stampede and oil and gas as negative images for Calgary.
Calgary tried to rebrand itself in the late ‘90s as the “Heart of the New West.” And when that didn’t work, in 2011 we tried “Be Part of the Energy.” It didn’t work either. The fact is, the best city nicknames are not contrived in workshops and brainstorming sessions, they happen at more a grassroots level or based on some obvious fact. I wonder, “Can a city give itself a nickname?”
For example, Paris’ moniker is “The City of Light” after becoming the first city in Europe to use gas lighting to illuminate its streets at the beginning of the 19th century, not because of some branding research. New York City is “The City That Never Sleeps” because it has street life 24/7.
Many Calgarians are upset the City gave $1.8 million to Calgary Economic Development and $3 million to Tourism Calgary to come up with this new brand. The money was used to meet with 129 organizations, across the City via workshops, interviews, focus groups and conducting research to come up with the name.
The public feedback has largely been it was a waste of money.
Here are some of the even earlier Calgary branding names.
Why “ The Blue Sky City?”
Yes, Calgary does have amazing blue skies! And yes, it has them often, i.e. 320+ days of sunshine a year. Indeed, one of the things newcomers to Calgary often comment on is how sunny it is here, especially in the winter when the sun is so low in the sky, it is literally blinding.
In the winter our deep blue skies, create a bizarre, yet comforting feeling of warmth, even when it is -30 degrees Celsius. The blue sky turns many of our glass office towers into deep blue mirrors and when the light bounces from tower to tower downtown it creates astonishing abstract reflections. So yes, Calgary is a “blue sky city,” but so are most prairie cities.
And of course, there is the psychology of colour - with blue creating a feeling of calmness and relaxation for some. But on the flip side, it can also be associated with sadness (feeling the blues) and aloofness, no doubt not the message Calgary wants to project to the world. And of course “blue” is associated with being politically conservative (which Calgary certainly is) and traditional (which Calgary as a young city is not).
And then there is the term “blue skying,” another way of saying brainstorming that is often used in workshops where participants are asked to think outside the box, come up with some crazy imaginative ideas without being immediately judged!
“Blue skying” is synonymous with being creative and progressive and THAT IS the image Calgary wants to project.
But is the term widely known and understood by the public, which it must be to be effective.
FYI: If you are thinking of visiting Calgary and are interested in private small group or couple guided tour, Alberta Blue Sky Tours might interest you. Use code "everydaytourist" to receive a 10% discount on your tour.
Top 24 Blue Sky Postcards
I thought I would share a few of my favourite “blue sky” photos from my collection, which will also give you a quick glimpse of Calgary “The Blue Sky City.” But first, I have a fun slide show titled “My Blue Sky City” created by my neigbour Madeline Ell. I sent her some of the photos and she did her magic. Hope you like the show!
Last Word
Personally, I am not a big fan of “The Blue Sky City.” But perhaps it’s sour grapes as I have been advocating for 20+ years that if Calgary wants to create a new brand/moniker, it should be “The City of Parks & Pathways!”
My rationale: Calgary has 7,000+ parks and green spaces, including two huge parks – Nose Hill and Fish Creek (both bigger than Vancouver’s Stanley Park) – as well as a diverse array of unique urban parks – Canada Olympic Park, Memorial Park, Prince’s Island Park, Shaw Millennium Park and Stampede Park to mention just a few. Calgary could be the “dog park capital of the world.” We not only have 100+ off leash dog parks, but several that are unique, including the one kilometre long River Park Dog Promenade where thousands of dogs and dog owners parade every day. Calgary is also home to 1,000+ km of outdoor pathways and a 16-km indoor walkway downtown (aka Plus 15). Every Calgarian lives within a 5-minute walk to a park, playground or pathway.
Who wouldn’t want to visit, move to, or invest in “The City of Parks & Pathways?”