Flaunt Your Frenchness 

Maillardville, British Columbia

Société Maillardville-Uni

Flaunt Your Frenchness is an initiative developed by 12 Francophone organizations to promote the bilingual character of Maillardville. Every year since 2005, the campaign has included activities in French throughout the week before the Festival du bois which is held in February.

•	Promote the Francophonie in Greater Vancouver
•	Develop partnerships with community groups, municipalities, and tourism organizations (e.g. Tourism Vancouver)
•	Revitalize the community and harness the cultural and tourism potential of Maillardville, British Columbia

•	A number of promotional tools have been developed, such as t-shirts, "Kiss moi I feel French" mints, pamphlet entitled "50 Ways to Flaunt Your Frenchness" (e.g. eat a croissant, wear a beret), advertisements on buses in Vancouver and Victoria
•	During the week of the campaign, activities (film, music, cuisine, etc.) are held in French every evening in Maillardville

• Municipality of Coquitlam
• Tourism Vancouver
• BC Tourism

• Municipality of Coquitlam
• Tourism Vancouver
• BC Tourism
• British Columbia Francophone Affairs Office

•	Creation of a trademark
•	Adoption of this trademark by both language communities and recognition of the importance of the Francophonie in the municipality
•	Creation of an official committee to address the Francophonie's contribution to Maillardville
•	Recipient of the Economic Developers Association of Canada's 2005 Promotional Campaign Award in the $200,000 to $600,000 category

As evidence of the campaign's success, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean gave part of her address in French when she travelled to British Columbia, explaining that she had to "Flaunt her Frenchness while in BC".

Ingredients
for success

•	Yearly visibility of the Flaunt Your Frenchness campaign which precedes the Festival du bois, the most well-known event in the area
•	Originality of a light-hearted approach has proven successful, generating community enthusiasm which has contributed to the success of the campaign
•	Mobilization of community stakeholders, including schools and the community

For additional information