Manitoba’s provincial gov- ernment has taken a giant step toward eradicating the province’s reputation as Canada’s cold-weather capital in the winter and a mosquito-infested swampland in the summer.

A new branding strategy was unveiled for the province in mid-June with the motto “Manitoba — Spirited Energy.” The goal is for a new communications campaign and a wide variety of images, patterns and messages to convey the province’s unique community spirit and energy to both Manitobans and those outside its borders.

The newspaper, billboard and television advertising campaign includes testimonials from some of Winnipeg’s most recognizable faces, including Gail Asper, corporate secretary of CanWest Global Communications Corp.; Ash Modha, president of Mondetta Clothing Co.; and Bob Silver, president of Western Glove Works. They all ask, “Can you feel it?”

The intention is for the public and private sectors to make use of the new brand, which is designed to give Manitoba a consistent image regardless of the messenger. The hope is when somebody picks up a brochure from a Manitoba company or provincial agency, they’ll know immediately where it’s from.

Mariette Mulaire, co-chairwoman of the image committee on Premier Gary Doer’s economic advisory council, says she has had enough of Manitobans complaining about the cold winters — although the most recent one should quiet the naysayers until, say, the next one — and the mosquitoes.

“We’re our own worst enemies sometimes. That has to change. If we want people to think great about us, we have to think great about us,” she says.

Almost a year behind schedule and $164,000 over its $500,000 budget, the rebranding strategy has had its share of problems. First, there were complaints when Interbrand, a New York-based agency, was chosen to head the project. Then, when it was launched, many Manitobans complained saying they didn’t understand what “spirited energy” meant. Many questioned why the province didn’t simply adopt the age-old slogan on our licence plates: “Friendly Manitoba.”

Dave Angus, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, says the lack of consistency among the provincial government, the economic development and tourism industries, and businesses prevented a more positive image of the province from being projected.

“When it comes to branding, what creates an image in someone’s mind is thousands of impressions, and we need to manage those impressions. The new brand will focus on why Manitoba is a great place to visit, live and to do business,” he says. “There are elements that are unique to Manitoba, whether it’s our vast lake country, the strength of our arts and cultural community, the diversity of our businesses or our entrepreneurial approach to business.”

Angus says the province and all interested parties will embrace the strategy in the long term. “We’re not going to have immediate returns on this. You don’t change impressions overnight. We’re trying to create top-of-mind awareness of all the positive attributes of Manitoba,” he says.

As difficult as some Manitobans believe changing the province’s image may be, the architects of its new brand say they had a far more difficult time doing the same for Estonia. Most people lumped the former outpost of the Soviet Union in with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan when, in fact, it has a more Nordic culture, says Jeff Swystun, Interbrand’s global director.

Rebranding the country of more than one million people presented a significant challenge because it was well known for its cheap booze and underage drinking. Now, the country has a strong tourism campaign that highlights its beautiful castles, old cities, manor houses, forests, beaches, islands, its progressive nature and its warm people. In the end, says Swystun, the country’s leaders credited Interbrand’s work with helping it gain admittance into the European Union.

And if Interbrand was able to accomplish that with Estonia, just maybe it’ll be able to turn Manitoba’s image around as well. IE