The Value of Calgary: Calgary Re-brand: Debate "unsettling"

Friday, October 23, 2009

Calgary Re-brand: Debate "unsettling"

Kaitlin MacLeod-Rogers

Opinion Reporter

No more "Heart of the New West" cowboy culture for Calgary. The city is getting a makeover. From Americans. Last week, a municipal steering committee funded largely by the public chose a California-based branding firm to "re-brand" Calgary. Almost immediately, controversy erupted over why, in the midst of a recession, a local company wasn't chosen instead. In a small news article for the Calgary Herald, dated October 18, 2009, committee chair Lance Carlson's opinion and the "unanimous" rationale of the committee. Carlson maintains the Californian firm was the most qualified out of all entrants and therefore deserves the job. He feels any controversy is missing the forest for the trees, and completely missing the point of "what the program is going to do for the city." Furthermore, he argues, the firm will be working closely with the community in order to determine what best represents Calgary. For Carlson and his committee, it appears debate on this issue is non-existent.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/family/Debate+will+brand+city+unsettling/2116567/story.html

http://www.jensdecals.com/west-cowboy%20hat.bmp

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Friday, October 23, 2009

Calgary Re-brand: Debate "unsettling"

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