| Location | 16 bilingual municipalities in Manitoba
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| Organization | Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM)
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| Description | The marketing brand C'est si bon! Ensemble Together is part of a major project to position Manitoba's bilingual municipalities and demonstrate the added value of French in Manitoba. A strong, inclusive, positive brand was the result of an exhaustive community consultation involving about 1,500 people both within and outside 16 bilingual municipalities, including people at different age levels, Anglophones and Francophones, government and private-sector representatives as well as stakeholders.
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| Objectives | | • | Promote bilingualism and linguistic duality | | • | Demonstrate the advantages of using both official languages, making the bilingual municipalities excellent places to visit, live and in which to invest
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| Activities | | • | Consultation to encourage dialogue between Anglophones and Francophones and bring the two cultures closer together | | • | Development of a unifying marketing brand | | • | Preparation of local and global marketing strategies | | • | Development of a plan outlining the commitments of each of the 16 municipalities | | • | Posting the logo at community/town limits on municipal welcome signs, on municipal buildings and vehicles, buildings and trucks owned by private companies, in credit unions, museums and restaurants, on banners hung on main streets, Web sites, letterhead, etc. | |
| Partners | • 16 bilingual municipalities in Manitoba
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| Funding | • Municipalities
• Province of Manitoba
• Canadian Heritage
• Western Economic Diversification
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| Results | | • | Greater supply and promotion of bilingual services in Manitoba and positioning of bilingual municipalities, contributing to Manitoba's prosperity | | | A unilingual Anglophone florist purchased a flower shop in a bilingual community. She asked whether she could still use the C'est si bon! Ensemble Together logo, and the answer was yes, since she represented the "together" part of the slogan. The next summer she approached the CDEM to find ways to hire bilingual young people for summer employment. | |
Ingredients
for success | | • | The CDEM took advantage of a situation where Anglophones and Francophones were working together to initiate this large-scale project | | • | Inclusive process of community consultation | | • | Financial commitments of municipalities, the private sector and provincial and federal governments | | • | Commitment of community leaders, organizations
and institutions | | • | Media commitment | | • | Approach included all Anglophone and Francophone groups | | • | Creation of promotional strategies by adding the logo to existing products and slogans, thereby preserving individuality
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| Challenges | • Funding • Number of municipalities (16) • Distances involved • Raising awareness about the project
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| For additional information | http://www.cdem.com/content.php?pageID=36
Simone Neveux
204-925-2320
simone@cdem.com |
