8 April 2018 |
West Coast Mayor Phil Vickers has encouraged West Coast residents to attend one of five exhibitions to showcase concepts for a new brand for the region.
West Coast Council and consultants For The People will be presenting ideas behind a new brand and how it can be bought to life in various towns in the municipal area next week.
“Following consultation across the community in February, we are now looking to provide a chance for residents to review the brand concepts and provide feedback,” Mayor Vickers said.
“Based on a number of questions including‘if you could tell the world one thing about the West Coast, what would it be?’, these brand concepts are a result of the community working to create a new way to promote our area.”
The need to refresh the West Coast brand was first highlighted by West Coasters during the creation of the West Coast Community Plan 2025 in 2015, with a desire to promote awareness and value for the region, its products and experiences strong amongst residents.
“A new brand will be a critical part of ensuring we can drive further economic development and business investment, growing our population and attracting people to live, work and visit the West Coast,” Mayor Vickers said.
West Coast Council received a financial contribution towards the project from the State Government and following an extensive process appointed consultants For The People to lead the project.
“In February we spent 10 days on the West Coast and in this short time we were welcomed by everyone we met. We were shown places that aren't on the map, told stories that have been retold through generations and given an insight into the West Coast's history and way of life,” Bec Lester from For The People said.
“Over the last month, we’ve been working to bring what we saw, heard and found into brand concepts that are a true representation of the West Coast, and everything that’s extraordinary about this place.”
“We’ll be exhibiting two different creative interpretations for the brand. We’ve tried to make these concepts feel as real as possible by showing examples of how they might come to life across tourism, the local community and longer-term investment and economic development initiatives.
“Ultimately, it’ our responsibility to build something that will be picked up and used by people and businesses across the region. To make sure that happens, we need as many people as we can from the community to give us their feedback on this stage of work.”
Exhibitions will be held across the West Coast over the next week, with the community encouraged to attend and provide feedback. Venues will be open from 12 - 8pm, with live sessions taking place at lunchtime (12 - 1.30pm) and the evening (6.30 -8pm) in each location.
Exhibition schedule:
Tuesday 10 April - Queenstown Memorial Hall – lunchtime live session 12-1.30pm, evening session 6.30pm-8pm;
Wednesday 11 April - Rosebery Memorial Hall and Tullah Community Hall – lunchtime live sessions 12-1.30pm, evening sessions 6.30pm-8pm; and
Thursday 12 April – Council shops, The Esplanade, Strahan and Zeehan RSL – lunchtime live sessions 12-1.30pm, evening sessions 6.30pm-8pm.