For the past 20 years, Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo’s reputation has been dictated by outsiders, with locals left saying, ‘that’s not us!’ The region needed to start proudly sharing what they were instead of what they weren’t, and so the team at Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo [FMWB] started on the region’s first attempt to proactively manage the region’s identity and reputation.

They wanted to attract people who shared their community’s values, but this can only be done if the image shared externally is a true reflection of what’s inside. The team began with an inside-out approach to identify the region’s place brand – and it began with listening.