There are two fundamental principles to the development of a new logo design. Montreal lost sight of both of them.
- Establish big picture objectives that transcend your new logo design by accounting for your entire brand and marketing plan. I would be shocked to hear that Montreal had actually intended to spend $487,000 on a new logo design. I am assuming that this cost (as are others from my scan of media coverage of this story in: Montreal City Weblog, National Post, Canada.com and Spacing Montreal) is a result of a process that simply got out of hand because of too many chefs in the kitchen and no accountability for budget. Hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have been put to good use in the actual marketing of the city, an investment that surely would result in a return, were instead wasted on irresponsible management of a new logo design.
- Focus on the highest priority messages about your authentic strengths and integrate them into your new logo design. The most challenging step in the new logo design process is to make a decision about the message you want to communicate. This step of the new logo design process is fraught with emotion because it involves staying true to authentic strengths rather than caving to competitive forces or the need to compensate for weakness. My home is Toronto but I am one of countless Montreal expatriates who have intimate knowledge of Montreal’s wonders as well as its failings. According to the branding greater Montreal website, the new logo design was intended to tell the world that Montreal is a place where you can grow. The website claims that the new logo design conveys that Montreal offers “above all, room for creative and entrepreneurial freedom”. This message does not resonate for me nor would it, in all likelihood, for other expatriates who would have preferred to make Montreal their permanent home. Considering that this new logo design is focused on the international market, this would be a rather important learning. However, the fact that so many of Montreal’s expatriates would have preferred to stay in Montreal rather than make the trek down the 401 is enormously revealing about Montreal’s wonders. Montreal is an historic city that has stature. It is one of the most interesting, beautiful, enjoyable and, certainly, the most European city in all of North America. Culture in the forms of gastronomy, art, literature, language and theatre abound. This story about authentic pride is the real missed opportunity for Montreal’s new logo design.