Dear Editor,
The task: to create a brand to appeal to visitors, businesses and residents who will appreciate and cherish the qualities that make Bowen Island the place we love – qualities like living in nature, the quiet, the dark, community, creativity and caring.
We are fiercely protective of these qualities to the point rudeness (although this has been somewhat tempered over the years and we no longer moon the visitors leaving the island at the end of the Labour Day weekend). And the list of what we don’t want is perhaps infinite: beaches and trails clogged with visitors, retail franchises, highrises and traffic lights.
What we most fear is losing what we have – a safe, quiet, caring, somewhat eccentric community of people more than happy to put up with the inconveniences of island living.
So we have very different goals from Metro Vancouver, Portland, Amsterdam, Colorado, and other places that have the capacity to grow without risk. Bowen Island is far more fragile.
So if the branding approach won’t be understood by or attractive to everyone, well to my mind that’s a good thing – because one thing is certain, you’ll be much happier here if you have a sense of humour and are not easily offended.
I have attended literally hundreds of council meetings and I have never experienced such overwhelming acceptance and appreciation, both by council and the audience, of an idea. The room was filled with joy and pride – what more can you ask of a brand?
Thank you to everyone on the economic development committee who brought this branding concept to us. You have, to my mind, made all the right decisions. And the very Bowen knee-jerk reactions, both positive and negative, will provide valuable input as you move from concept to campaign to implementation.
I look forward to seeing the campaign develop and anticipate more awful clever ideas that will bring smiles and laughter to Bowen Islanders and visitors alike. To me this is the real value of this brand. In a world of Trump and Brexit and intolerance and anger, it’s about sharing smiles and laughter.
Tim Rhodes
