Mayor, councillors consider rebranding for City of Kingston

The City of Kingston seems to have an image problem — and councillors are being asked to spend about $90,000 to fix it.

The proposed funds would be used to hire a consultant to help the city come up with a new brand and slogan, among other things.

Mayor Bryan Paterson says rebranding isn’t just changing for the sake of change; it’s vital in this day and age for a city to firmly position itself.

“It’s about capitalizing on some of the gains that we’ve already seen with our tourism marketing, and how do we extend that to other sectors and really be able to attract not just tourists but residents, visitors, new businesses, investment as we look to build more housing,” Paterson explained.

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The mayor says the city’s rebranding effort is a multi-pronged approach in which everyone has to work together as a community.

Kingston’s current motto is “where history and innovation thrive.” For some, it’s a catchy phrase, but Paterson says it could disappear with a new brand.

“I certainly think that it’s a motto that does speak to Kingston. We have this great history, but there are incredible things happening on the innovation front,” he said.

“I think that this is really a step further than just coming up with a motto; this is really about building the brand of Kingston and helping to communicate who we are as a city, as a community. As we want to attract new businesses, attract more people to our city, these are all sorts of things that we have in mind.”

Paterson says public consultation will be a big part of the process. City staff is recommending the contract go to a consulting firm out of Toronto.