Case Study: Unveiling YYC Calgary Airports’ New Brand

Background: Unveiling a Transformed Identity

YYC Calgary Airports undertook a significant journey to refresh its brand identity, including a new logo and visual system. The ask for a brand launch was multifaceted:

• Strategically introduce this new brand identity to key external audiences;
• Gradually build anticipation;
• Ensure consistent brand representation across diverse channels; and
• Make a memorable impact during high-visibility events like Calgary Airports’ annual employee town hall and Stampede Breakfast.

Calgary Airports needed a partner to translate their new brand platform into an actionable, phased soft launch strategy that resonated with employees, corporate partners and guests across both digital and in-person channels.

The Solution: A Phased, Multi-Channel Brand Activation

Hashing Media collaborated with Calgary Airports to develop a comprehensive, two-phased brand launch and activation strategy, that resulted in a cohesive and impactful unveiling.

Phase 1: New Brand Digital Soft Launch “Whisper” Campaign

We developed the strategic framework for a phased digital campaign designed to gradually introduce the new brand elements and build anticipation and engagement online. Key elements included:

• Compelling Campaign Narrative: Crafting narrative pillars rooted in Calgary Airports’ refreshed purpose, vision and personality (Connecting Calgary to the World, The Welcoming Gateway, Powered by Heart) to guide key messaging and content development.
• Strategic Storytelling Arc: Mapping the gradual reveal of new brand elements across digital channels (yyc.com, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X) to build anticipation and familiarity before the hard launch.
• New Brand Landing Page Framework: Designing the strategic layout for a dedicated brand hub on yyc.com, in alignment with industry best practices, to provide engaged audiences with in-depth information about the new brand and to serve as a central resource for brand assets.

Phase 2: Experiential Brand Activation

Hashing Media provided strategic guidance and project management support for a modular, experiential branded display for use at various events and as an in-airport experience. This involved:

• Engaging Story Booth Concept: Collaborating on the design and activation of “YYC’s Story Booth” - an interactive display built by Park Production House that tangibly brought the new brand to life and encouraged stakeholder engagement.
• Integrated Brand Touchpoints: Ensuring seamless brand presence across various event elements, including QR codes on signage to encourage attendees to learn more about the new brand, branded swag distribution, and even custom-branded pancakes.
• Empowering Brand Ambassadors: Developing a comprehensive briefing document for TeamYYC members and volunteers, ensuring consistent brand messaging and embodiment of Calgary Airports’ friendly, joyful and ambitious personality in a dynamic event environment.

Throughout the project, all efforts were anchored by Calgary Airports’ new Brand Identity & Guidelines, with this project marking one of the first creative expressions of the new brand.

The Results: Widespread Awareness & Meaningful Engagement

This strategic, phased approach successfully introduced Calgary Airports’ new brand identity, generating significant awareness and fostering meaningful engagement across both digital and in-person channels.

• Broad Digital Reach: The digital soft launch campaign successfully generated initial awareness across social media channels, effectively introducing the new brand to a broad audience.
• Strong Digital Resonance: Posts about the new brand achieved strong audience interest and positive perception, indicating the new identity resonated effectively with digital audiences.
• Deep Digital Interest: The new brand landing page served as a centralized digital hub, guiding engaged audiences to seek more in-depth information about the brand’s story and assets.
• High In-Person Engagement: Nearly 2,000 event attendees engaged with the experiential display at YYC’s annual Stampede Breakfast. Critically, a high volume of YYC traveller and TeamYYC stories were collected through the “Story Booth”, demonstrating appreciation for tangible, personal engagement at the event.
• Tangible Brand Presence: All SWAG items with the new branding were successfully distributed, extending the brand’s reach and creating positive associations beyond the event itself.

Key Learnings & Future Outlook

This project provided valuable insights to inform future brand initiatives:

• Strategic Success of Phased Launch: The combined digital soft and experiential hard launch effectively built anticipation and introduced the new brand, demonstrating the power and broad reach of a multi-channel, phased approach. The new brand landing page on yyc.com will serve as a centralized hub for partners seeking brand information moving forward.
• Audience Engagement Nuances: While digital reach was strong, the high volume of in-person story submissions suggested attendees appreciated the tangible, analog engagement at events. This offers valuable insight for optimizing future activation designs.
• Empowering Brand Ambassadors: Comprehensive pre-event briefings were crucial in ensuring consistent brand messaging and personality embodiment by TeamYYC, underscoring the value of internal communications and employee engagement.

Ready to launch your new brand with strategic impact and engaging experiences? Give us a shout via info@hashing.media today to discuss your next project!