In a 1910 tourism brochure Revelstoke claimed to be one of the easiest places to travel to in North America, with 10 passenger trains every day.
In 1912, a tourism slogan proclaimed Revelstoke “the capital of Canada’s Alps.”
The early 70s brought fake alpine trim to several buildings in the city, in an attempt to brand Revelstoke as “alpine.”
“The right path forward was found in the mid-1980s, when a Downtown Revitalization Committee was formed,” said Cathy English, executive director at the Revelstoke Museum & Archives. “The idea was simple, but profound. Celebrate the authentic history of Revelstoke, and restore the downtown buildings to their original facades whenever possible.”
Today, Tourism Revelstoke launched new branding that draws on both Revelstoke’s past and the industries that built it as well as visions of Revelstoke’s future as a world class destination.
| The new logo is based on the the original hand-painted sign at the historic railway station. (Revelstoke Museum & Archives) |
“The strong punctuation reaffirms our position in the outdoor adventure landscape,” said the media release from Tourism Revelstoke. “We’re one of the best places in the world. Period.”
The committee and the team at Tourism Revelstoke began the re branding process by identifying what Revelstoke stood for and how they wanted to represent the community.
“We wanted to ensure our new brand recognized the themes that helped shape Revelstoke into the vibrant mountain town it is today,” the release said.
Through the creation process key themes emerged:
- engaged community
- evolved mountain town
- unconstructed and organic
- intense adventure
- history embraced
- working town
- beauty hidden in plain sight
- validation
Along with a redesigned logo, the new branding includes colours, typography, voice and photo and video guidelines.
“The importance of our environment is echoed in the colour scheme,” the release said. “The black and white logo represents a sense of certainty in our identity and a clean, modern take on tourism branding. The deep forest green is pulled straight from the forests that surround our town. The burgundy and gold are an acknowledgement of our industries and a recognition of the hard-working nature of our community.”
The tone is confident, brief and collected. It speaks to anticipation, sophistication and promises adventure. The photos and videos chosen endeavour to tell a compelling story that invites further investigation.
Central to the new branding is authenticity.
“Revelstoke is a destination like no other and our brand reflects this,” the news release said. “It captures the raw beauty of our landscape, the industrial backbone of our community and our status as a dream adventure hub.”
English finished her speech at the launch event with a little bit of that authenticity.
“So, what Revelstoke Tourism is saying with their new brand is that yes, we have some of the most challenging outdoor activities that you are likely to find, but we have so much more than that,” she said. “We have a rich history and a vibrant cultural identity that we want to share with our visitors. We want them to know and love Revelstoke the way we all do.”
@JDoll_Revy
jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com
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