Place Branding
Super, Natural British Columbia Brand Family
Connecting the World to 6 Iconic Experiences in British Columbia
Destination BC launched the ‘Invest in Iconics’ strategy to refresh its global tourism positioning under the umbrella of ‘Super, Natural British Columbia’.
Need to spread tourism to all parts of British Columbia
Tourism was over‑concentrated in season and geography, limited mostly to Vancouver, Whistler, and the Okanagan. Destination BC needed to shift visitation toward underrepresented regions, shoulder seasons, and Indigenous-led experiences.
The goal: to create distinct, emotionally compelling place-based brands that capture diverse landscapes, cultures, and experiences, while building authenticity and inclusivity through community and Indigenous engagement.
Solution & My Contribution
Discovery & Engagement
I co-led province-wide stakeholder and resident research and engagement, including deep collaboration with Indigenous Tourism BC, to shape the narrative and identity of each brand.
Brand Narrative, Name & Identity Development
Under my leadership, the positioning, pillars, name and brand identity were developed for 3 of the six brands. I ensured each identity reflected its unique cultural and geographic essence, including Indigenous perspectives.
Collaboration & Integration
I facilitated alignment across leadership, creative partners, regional DMOs, and Indigenous representatives–embedding
a holistic approach that connected strategy, storytelling, and
visual design.
Annual brand planning
A key part of my role post the brand launch, was to develop the annual marketing plans that would be implemented by the cross-functional teams. This involved research, insights, ideation and leading the marketing from the brand lens.
Outcome
The six Iconic brands were officially launched to industry in June 2025, marking a transformative refresh of BC’s destination marketing strategy with global rollout plans for fall of 2025.
These brands are now central to BC’s global marketing plans—supported by tools, guidelines, and a launch campaign underway designed to help regional partners engage with travel trade, media, and travellers.
The Destination BC team will assess the brands performance on an annual basis and develop the year’s brand plans to advance the brand’s objectives and achieve the long term goals of this strategy. The team continues to implement the marketing of these brands.
The initiative is already shaping tourism development by promoting geographic dispersion, season extension, and community-led experiences across communities throughout BC.
I worked on this project with the team at Destination BC and their regional partners in my role as Global Manager, Brand Strategy and Planning at Destination BC from 2021 to 2026.