(Bentley, Alberta) Council has adopted a new Brand that will be a workhorse for pursuit of an ambitious community development vision:
We are the model small town reimagined; an affordable, family friendly community that has enhanced its quaint charm with unique recreational and business opportunity, including tremendous potential to be the Red Deer region’s dinner table as an agrifood investment hub.
Four key initiative areas will enhance pursuit of a prideful and vibrant community:
- Housing innovation that provides affordability options for young people, families, and seniors
- Downtown enhancement
- Investment attraction and local job creation via South Area Structure Plan completion and nonresidential land development
- Focused beautification initiatives
“We started this initiative with a question: What if we could achieve the exceptional as a community?” says Bentley Mayor Greg Rathjen. “Our new brand answers this question with focused vision and dynamic action — working to preserve what people most appreciate about Bentley today—small community feel, quaint, quiet, friendly, charming—while looking to the future and ensuring we are a vibrant place with local job opportunities and a high quality of life.”
A key opportunity that has potential to give Bentley a leg up on industrial land development is water availability via the Paskapoo Reservoir below Bentley, which is a key consideration for agrifood investment. Beyond the creation of job opportunities, which promotes strong social connectivity through a lower commuter ratio, non-residential development has many benefits, including tax revenue that can pay for desired services and amenities, as well as the repair and replacement of existing municipal infrastructure.
The new Brand – including a new visual identity and website, will enhance community image and the sense of “salesmanship” needed to better connect with residents and potential newcomers. The Brand is an authentic representation of Bentley as a modern reimagining of wholesome, small town living, where living whole means living large. With convenient access to major transportation routes, urban centres, essential amenities and provincial attractions, and a no limit approach to all season recreational adventure or the enabling of entrepreneurial and enterprising vision, the Town of Bentley is not a dot on the map, but a checkmark off the bucket list. A place where residents, visitors and investors can experience a true kaleidoscopic life of vividly hued, lifestyle-defining moments worth basking in. Ever unfolding patterns of connectivity and community, affordability and opportunity allow us to take a progressive foot forward powered by traditional values to reach for our dreams and hobbies quicker, buy a new home or launch a new business sooner, raise our families better, and retire with comfort earlier.
Compelling visuals and messaging urges the viewer to take another look — because this is the Bentley we know can come to be, for all who choose to gain new perspective and focus on the things that matter most. The things that take our words away and allow us to simply be. And it’s the word Be that’s key. As in Bentley is a place to truly belong, and Bentley is the place to be. In fact, this simple word is so fitting that it even appears in our name, at the very beginning of it all in fact — hidden in plain sight, just like the Town itself…Until now that is.
“Bentley really is a place for all people to come to be,” says Mayor Rathjen. “Housing and business costs are affordable. Quality of life here is valued and appreciated. We have transformative opportunities in our downtown with its theme of unique shopping and craft food experiences, and in non-residential development within a fast-growing, prosperous Red Deer region. Families are supported by safe streets, warm smiles, and a school system that cares to take the time to get to know its students. We have a bright future, and we have a tremendous opportunity to build a legacy our children and grandchildren will be proud of.”
Background
Bentley’s rebranding initiative was led by the Town of Bentley in collaboration with Town Staff, an Advisory Committee of Bentley residents and community leaders, and international award-winning Fort Saskatchewan-based “brand-first” marketing and communications firm Unfussy. Brand development was aided by a community survey and workshops.
