Edmonton's outgoing ‘City of Champions’ slogan proves difficult to replace

Where there was once a City of Champions there is now… nothing?

The City of Edmonton’s identity crisis appears to be over, after it elected to retire its popular, but occasionally snark-worthy, slogan earlier this year.

But it is the slogan’s replacement that is most surprising: Nothing.

Unlike other recent rebranding efforts taken on by Canadian cities, Edmonton will not replace its outgoing slogan.

It will instead rely on the quality of its city to lure in tourists and create an international identity.

Aside from filling space on the “Welcome to” signs on the outskirts of town, city slogans act as powerful marketing tools. They are like movie taglines, giving potential visitors a taste of what they can expect, while in the meantime giving residents a rallying cry.

But they can be difficult as well. For every “What Happens Here, Stays Here” or “City of Lights” slogan, there are countless duds.

Earlier this year, for example, Sudbury, Ont., gave itself the motto “Canada’s Resourceful City,” which went over like a lead balloon.

But that’s what makes Edmonton’s decision to move on from “City of Champions” so compelling: It was perhaps the best-known Canadian slogan. It’s more compelling than, say, Saskatoon’s “City of Bridges.” Though Saskatoon certainly does have many bridges.

Edmonton may have been getting some heat over its name, synonymous with the success of the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. With the franchise struggling mightily in recent years, the connection had fallen flat. That point was further brought home today with the firing of the Oilers’ head coach Dallas Eakins.

The Globe and Mail recently reported on the death of the moniker and how it relates, or doesn’t, to the struggles of the city’s sports teams.

“I wish that Edmonton being the home of champions for our fans and players was never a debate,” Oilers’ president Patrick LaForge told the newspaper.

But the downfall of the City of Champions slogan really dates back to September, when councillor Michael Oshry took aim at the outdated city signage and urged an update.

The end result wasn’t a new slogan, but simply the end of the old one. Mayor Don Iveson said at the time that it was time to revisit the impression the city gives to visitors.

"There’s different things we can do to present the complexity and richness of the city that go beyond two or three words that half of us love and half of us hate," Iveson told the Edmonton Sun. "I think the new signs should just say Edmonton. We’re in the post-tagline era."

In some ways, the end of the City of Champions slogan is a shame. Few Canadian cities have had such high-quality taglines. Too often, they lack the sparkle or uniqueness to make them a glowing success.

Few can remember their own city’s slogan, let alone those of others.

Toronto’s slogan is “Diversity our strength,” while Charlottetown’s is perhaps the most notable yet dull of the lot: “Birthplace of Confederation.”

For the most part, city slogans live on the signs outside town, and official websites. Some more enthusiastic civic officials add it to their letterhead, if they still use letterhead. But they are also powerful branding tools.

So it is unsurprising, should one slogan prove itself outdated or ineffective, that it be replaced.

Six years ago, Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz held a public vote to replace the city’s “One Great City!” slogan (the exclamation point was part of the slogan).

The outcome was the slogan, “Heart of the Continent,” which is arguably geographically accurate but not resilient enough to ever have a song named after it.

Calgary replaced “Heart of the New West” with “Be Part of the Energy” in 2012, or at least its economic development agency did.

But Edmonton’s not the first region to toss away their old slogans and decline to issue a replacement. British Columbia was once trumpeted as the “Best Place on Earth,” but the slogan is no longer used by the provincial government. It was replaced by a simple logo of a sun and mountain.

The Vancouver Sun reported at the time that the government said it was trying to simplify its branding, while marketing experts noted that the chest-thumping motto likely did nothing to curry favour with those outside the region.

The same argument could be put to Edmonton’s “City of Champions” claim.

But perhaps the best indication that Edmonton has gone the right route with simply not replacing its now-exiled slogan is this.

The Calgary Sun reported in 2012, when the city introduced its latest slogan, $250,000 was earmarked to market the new phrase.

Regina’s “Infinite Horizons” slogan came attached to its own reported $400,000 price tag.

Sudbury spent $70,000 to declare itself “Canada’s Resourceful City.”

Every city wants to catch lightning in a bottle. They want the notoriety that can come with a successful slogan. The “City That Never Sleeps” effect, if you will.

But those aren’t brewed up in a boardroom, or through a public survey, and marketed out every day.

More often than not, trying to make something happen ensures it isn’t going to happen. Winnipeg may be the “Heart of the Continent” but it will be known as, if anything, one great city.

Edmonton will continue to be called the City of Champions, at least colloquially. And they’ve saved themselves a heap of headaches, invoices and sneering comments by not replacing it.

If only the Oilers would pull up their skate straps, the city could earn back the moniker.