Vancouver Convention Centre expands its horizons

This past weekend, the Vancouver Convention Centre officially opened the doors to its expanded premises, welcoming over 63,000 meeting planners, local dignitaries and residents of Greater Vancouver to explore its new, innovative amenities; the new structure has tripled the convention centre’s capacity and set industry standards in environmental sustainability. As well as unveiling a new visual identity, the convention centre is rolling out an integrated marketing program to promote the space and the entire unique experience Vancouver has to offer.

"We recognize that when people come to conventions, more than anything, they come to get inspired. When we had the opportunity to design a new convention centre from the ground up, we chose to do things differently," says Claire Smith, vice president, sales and marketing, Vancouver Convention Centre. "Status quo is not enough. We take great pride in finding ways to differentiate ourselves across all touch points, including our marketing, to help us stand apart from the ‘conventional’ convention centre experience."

DDB Canada and its integrated groups Karacters Design Group, Tribal DDB, Radar DDB and Rapp Collins were tasked with creating a complete new brand and the seamless delivery of a new creative platform to coincide with the launch of the new facility.

"This is one of the larger, fully integrated branding initiatives the agency has undertaken. It nicely demonstrates our collective creative expertise and the scale of work that clients can trust us to deliver on," says James Bateman, creative director, Karacters Design Group. "The new brand seamlessly permeates all consumer touch points, from the new logo, print materials and website to strategic DM work, print and online ads, social media and more."

The Vancouver Convention Centre was built using some of the clearest glass in the world, designed to let the outside in and the inside out. Looking directly out on Vancouver’s waterfront, delegates are inspired by an uninterrupted view of water and mountains. Instead of the usual literal architectural or place-themed logo, Karacters Design Group developed an identity system that evokes the unique feeling one experiences at the centre. With layered images of water, light and glass, the identity reflects both the spacious, modern feel of the building and its spectacular surroundings. The photography-based logo prominently features the word VANCOUVER to emphasize that the brand is much more than just a facility, but is reflective of the entire Vancouver experience.

To introduce the new Vancouver Convention Centre to meeting planners, a print campaign shows images of dreary, partitioned meetings rooms, accompanied by cheeky copy that communicates, "Conventions should inspire," and a call to action to visit the website. For example, to underline the key message the text in one execution featuring a drab, lifeless convention space ironically reads: "Hell isn’t all fire and brimstone; sometimes it’s carpeted." 

To help raise awareness of its unique services and space and what Vancouver has to offer, Vancouver Convention Centre is also utilizing a targeted social media program. Radar DDB is engaging relevant online communities with videos and photos of Vancouver and the expanded facility, as well as aspects of the expansion’s design, Vancouver Convention Centre’s strong commitment to sustainability, its rooftop garden and more. An international direct mail campaign targeting meeting planners to make Vancouver Convention Centre their number one choice for their next meeting is being developed by Rapp Collins and will launch later this summer.

Since 1987, the Vancouver Convention Centre has been British Columbia’s flagship convention facility, hosting more than 350 events annually and generating more than $213 million (fiscal 2008), in economic impact for the province. Vancouver Convention Centre is nearly 500,000 square feet, and will serve as the accredited media centre for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In 2008 the centre won the AIPC Apex Award for "World’s Best Convention Centre," following up on its previous win for this honour in 2002. The Vancouver Convention Centre is the only convention centre worldwide to receive this award twice.