In the fall of 2006, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) considered the relevance of developing an international promotion strategy for Greater Montreal.

Consultations with municipal elected officials, stakeholders in economic development and representatives from Quebec delegations, Canadian embassies and the Montreal diplomatic corps clearly revealed that there is a consensus on the relevance of moving forward on this strategy.

The first stage in this strategy is to develop a branding for the entire metropolitan region, including a logo, slogans, a positioning statement and a uniform graphic design.

For assistance in this process, the CMM hired external professionals through a public call for tenders. Their work will be commented upon and validated by a steering committee consisting of representatives from various socio-economic and cultural organizations in the region that are active on the international scene. The CMM’s economic development, metropolitan facilities and funding commission was assigned the task of supervising this project.

Throughout the project, consultations will be held with the public, municipal elected officials and socio-economic and cultural stakeholders in the region to ensure the highest possible level of participation and buy-in for this important collective process.

Here are the main steps:

  • Launch of the project and of a Web site where members of the public can express their views on the branding of the Montreal metropolitan region. (Completed)
  • Audit of the brand and its competitive environment. (Completed)
  • Focus groups and one-on-one interviews with municipal officials, opinion leaders active on the international scene and brand image experts to define brand attributes. (Completed)
  • Web surveys of municipal elected officials, CMM partners and the public in the region to determine buy-in for the defined attributes. (Completed)
  • Brand mapping, including positioning statement. (Completed)
  • One-on-one interviews with opinion leaders to validate brand mapping. (Completed)
  • Creation of brand expressions: logo, slogans, positioning statement, uniform graphic design, etc. (Ongoing)
  • Focus groups and one-on-one interviews with elected officials, opinion leaders active on the international scene, members of the diplomatic corps and branding experts to validate brand expressions. (Completed)
  • Production of a brand standards book. (Summer 2008)
  • Creation of a promotional Web site presenting the brand image. (Summer 2008)
  • Unveiling of the brand image. (Autumn 2008)
  • Use and dissemination of the brand image by regional stakeholders active on the international scene.