REGINA - The Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. board has officially sent the Experience Regina rebrand to the trashcan.
The board announced Thursday that after just a few weeks they are officially changing the name back to Tourism Regina, after heavy criticism of the new Experience Regina branding rollout due to controversial slogans used in the launch such as “show us your Regina” and “the city that rhymes with fun.”
At a news conference at REAL District offices, REAL Board Chair Wayne Morsky said the board would be undertaking an Independent review led by a third-party consultant to examine all aspects of the development and launch of the Experience Regina rebrand.
The indication from the REAL board chair is that any further actions related to Experience Regina will happen after the independent review is complete. The board will also engage “diverse community groups” to develop what Morsky called an “inclusive brand strategy that supports the future positioning of tourism in Regina.”
“The board of directors looks forward to the future of tourism in Regina and creating a brand that is inclusive, positive, and most importantly celebrates the amazing attributes of our fine city,” said Morsky.
He was not able to report on how much the cost of the independent review would be at this time.
As for a timeline on how long that review might take, Morsky said they won’t know until the contract is finished with the independent review contractor, but did say that the board was very concerned about “having a quality review put together.”
After the investigation is complete, the review will be made public; Morsky said the Board of Directors will see it and it will also be submitted to city council.
As for the status of current Tourism Regina CEO, Tim Reid, Morsky said his status is “status quo until the independent review is completed.” There had been some calls from the community to remove Reid as CEO in the wake of the debacle.
Regarding the return of the Tourism Regina name, the intention is to reactivate the website and social channels under that name, at least for the time being. “This will allow us to return to work and support the local visitors economy as we head into a busy spring and summer season,” said Morsky.
Asked why they are specifically returning to the Tourism Regina name, Morsky said they felt it was the best thing to do at this time until the independent review is done and more research done on the branding going forward.
Morsky also addressed the decision to pull down the website soon after the Experience Regina furore erupted.
“Based on the feedback we’ve seen in the media, it was a decision that was made immediately,” Morsky said of the decision to take the site down. He also said they had gone through a process with their owners and Board of Directors to determine next steps, and said there was “quite a process involved, determining the terms of reference of what we’re going to do and find out who this consultant would be.”
He also confirmed the decision to restore the Tourism Regina name at this particular time had nothing to do with reports of a motion being filed at City Hall to convene a special meeting on Experience Regina — a meeting that ended up not going ahead on Thursday.
Instead, Morsky said they “made the decision based on the feedback we received.”
Morsky was also asked if the review might bring some semblance of closure to the whole Experience Regina saga.
“I certainly would like to see that happen,” said Morsky. “I think the independent review is very important, it’s important for the Board of Directors, and that would be our hope that it would.”
