City Brand Wins Big at the 2015 Transform Awards North America

The City of Mississauga won the Gold Award for the best strategic/creative development of a new City brand at the 2015 Transform Awards North America held on October 27 in New York City. The Transform Awards recognize and celebrate brands that successfully address brand development, rebranding or brand repositioning. Award nominees showed an ‘adept understanding of their audiences, have taken a considered approach to brand strategy and have seen phenomenal results supporting their changes to the business.’

Unveiled last year, the City’s brand communicates an authentic story of a vibrant and diverse city that is open to the world. Mississauga’s brand story is supported by three key ingredients; Welcoming World Culture, Naturally Enriching and Inspiring Possibilities.

“Winning this award complements all of the positive feedback we have received from the community regarding the City’s brand strategy,” said Janice Baker, City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer. “As a young and modern city, the new brand positions Mississauga as a place where people want to live, work, play, invest, study and visit.”

City staff worked in partnership with Trajectory, a Toronto-based brand strategy consultancy, to develop the new brand including a vibrant logo, designed by the City’s Creative Services team. The project team was led by the City’s Communications Division and also included researchers from the Strategic Counsel and London-based brand strategists Placematters.

“This award demonstrates that we are on the right path as we continue to showcase the City of Mississauga on a global scale,” said Ivana Di Millo, Director of Communications at the City. “Our project team worked effortlessly to ensure that residents and businesses were given the opportunity to provide feedback in shaping our brand story. The outcome is a brand that truly reflects and represents our growing, culturally diverse and prosperous city.”

The City of Mississauga’s brand strategy was also recently recognized as being highly commended by the jury of the City Nation Place Awards, the only non-winning submission to receive the distinction. Along with Trajectory, a case study documenting the approach for the new brand was developed and published online at placebrandobserver.com/how-to-develop-city-brand-strategy-example-mississauga/.

The City of Mississauga won the Gold Award for the best strategic/creative development of a new City brand at the 2015 Transform Awards North America held on October 27 in New York City. (L to R): David Ferreira, Ivana Di Millo, Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Tina Mackenzie, Lori Kelly, Sonja Banic, Alex Lo-Basso

About the Transform Awards

Established just seven years ago in Europe, the Transform Awards has evolved into a global celebration of the indispensable talent that exists within the branding sphere. Both the Middle East North Africa and Asia Pacific regions have set an exciting precedent for what is occurring this year in North America. Since the launch of Transform magazine in April 2014, the global publication has led the way in reporting on those leading the way in both creative and strategic branding. The inaugural Transform Awards North America took place on October 27 in New York City.