Positive reaction to ‘Outside the Ordinary’

Marketing, economic development professionals pleased

A day after councillors approved a new municipal logo and tagline, Outside the Ordinary, some local marketing and economic development professionals said they couldn’t be happier with the brand.

“I love it... It fits Peterborough like a glove,” said Terry Guiel, executive director of the Downtown BIA. “BrandHealth nailed it - I think it’s great.”

Last year, council hired local marketing firm BrandHealth to develop a new municipal brand that would help attract investors, visitors and new residents to Peterborough.

The idea was to have a new city logo, tagline, colours and promotional material to boost the city.

But BrandHealth’s first proposed tagline - Where Roads and Rivers Meet - was unpopular with

city council and the public. Council rejected it last summer.

In November, council rejected BrandHealth’s next effort, Live Outside the Ordinary.

But at City Hall on Monday evening, council changed its mind and approved the simpler Outside the Ordinary after BrandHealth president Paul Hickey gave a presentation.

Hickey explained that “ordinary” is a 90-minute commute to work inthe GTA every day, and a three-hour drive through clogged traffic to get to the cottage on weekends.

Outside the Ordinary is Peterborough, he said, where people don’t commute, where the cottage is a short drive away and poeple feel they’ve found a lifestyle that beats big-city or suburban living.

Hickey also showed council a proposed new logo - the simple word “peterborough” in lowercase, with the blue waves of the city’s new welcome sign.

He also showed council how the tagline can be adapted to suit promotions: there was a photo of the downtown with Not Your Ordinary Downtown emblazoned across it, for instance.

Guiel said he was delighted with it.

“It’s a comfortable fit - we are outside the ordinary,” he said. “Brand Health knocked it out of the park.”

Rhonda Keenan, CEO of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development, also said the brand will be a useful tool to attract investment in the area.

Keenan, who moved to Peterborough from Oshawa to take her job nearly a year ago, said Outside the Ordinary is a perfect fit.

“If you want ordinary GTA - a sea of roofs with the same commercial plaza after the same commercial plaza - well, there’s little personality,” she said.

That’s not what Peterborough’s about, she said - and that’s why she likes the brand. She also said she likes the new logo because it isn’t over-adorned.

“I do like the simplicity. It’s refreshing,” she said.

Kelly Jessup, corporate marketing officer for Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development, has helped market tourism in the Peterborough region for years.

She said there’s a “pride of place” in the community that is worth marketing.

“The reasons people want to visit this place are the reasons why people live here,” she said, citing friendly people and wonderful natural assets as examples.

“We’re proud of that in this community - and it’s also very attractive to visitors.”