Québec City rebrands as key North American destination

There have been a series of Canadian city rebrands in the last several years. In 2017, the City of Vancouver attempted to rebrand to the derision and ire of many, only to abandon its plans at the outcry in early 2018. In 2017, Edmonton, Alberta reportedly spent $2m CAD to rebrand its slogan only to decide against having one. Halifax, Nova Scotia rebranded in 2014 and its branding is still dividing locals.

Now, the capital of Québec, Québec City has rebranded with Canada-wide and Québec City-based creative firm Cossette to create a local identity for an international audience. Set apart from recent Canadian city rebrands, Québec City seems aware that its brand is its product, making its new identity poised to influence tourists on a global scale.

Contrasting its fellow Canadian cities, Québec City’s new logo differs from the norm by sharing its wordmark typeface with every centre under the Tourism Québec umbrella. The result is sophisticated, memorable and reinforces the wider Québec provincial brand. Its mix of upper and lower-case characters is youthful, its accent aigu is shaped like Québec City’s signature landmark, the Hotel Château Frontenac, and its cool signature colour is likewise reminiscent of the hotel’s green copper roof. Its accent, or crown, also serves as the logomark for the city.

The messaging behind the branding is purposefully francophone and targets an international audience.

Moving away from the anglicised ‘Québec City,’ it has branded itself using the French cité to emphasise that it is a predominantly French speaking centre. The director of Québec City Tourism, André Roy, declares the virtue of using Québec’s francophone tongue in its signage saying there is, “no translation needed – that we are a French speaking region,” emphasising the firm stance of the Québecois provincial government and many Québecers to have signs only in French or have the French versions be twice as big as any other language. This position also contrasts the cosmopolitan image of Québec’s larger, more bilingual French/English speaking city, Montréal.

Rather than place itself within a Canadian context, it has positioned itself as a unique francophone destination within North America, worthy of its UNESCO status, “Québec City is unlike any other place on the continent, and people come from all over to immerse themselves in its rich history, culture, and scenery,” says Québec City mayor Régis Labeaume. Its positioning statement specifically describes Québec City as ‘l’accent d’Amérique,’ rather than ‘l’accent du Canada,’ and rightly so. As Cossette pointed out when discussing the brief, global tourism is fiercely competitive.

Québec City’s new identity materials have been rolled out throughout its local region and in all its marketing materials.

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