London firm selected to lead branding exercise

A London firm has been selected to conduct a branding exercise for the township.

At the Jan. 28 meeting, Mapleton council approved the recommendation of the township’s management committee to accept the branding proposal from Honey Design at a cost of $8,500 plus HST.

Both the township’s strategic plan and economic development strategy call for a municipal branding exercise and $10,000 was allocated for the project in the 2013 budget.

A total of eight proposals were received and reviewed with consideration given to:

- qualifications and expertise;

- past performance;

- cost;

- completeness of proposal;

- community engagement;

- in-house disciplines; and

- ability to meet a timeline of three months form start to finish.

A staff report from CAO Patty Sinnamon notes the management team recommended the services of Honey Design, as the cost is well within the allocated budget and the proposal scored the highest in the review process.

Councillor Neil Driscoll asked what branding could do for the municipality.

“Part of the exercise is just bringing your community together attracting new businesses ... How do you market your community?” replied Sinnamon. She noted the Town of Minto’s “Where Your Family Belongs” slogan is an example of municipal branding.

“That’s what comes to mind when you see that logo,” said Sinnamon.

Mayor Bruce Whale suggested selecting an image to associate with Mapleton Township might be a pretty straightforward process.

“We’ll have to wait and see if it’s a green combine or a red combine,” he quipped.