Canadian Museum of Immigration

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a national museum devoted to the history and impact of immigration in Canada. It’s located in a historic immigration shed on a pier in Halifax harbor, and it began as the Pier 21 Society: a research center focused on European immigration through Halifax in the 20th century. But in 2012, it became a national museum and assumed a much broader mandate. Over the next several years, the institution dramatically expanded its scope, developing new exhibitions that explored the immigration story nationwide and tripling the size of its staff.

Before
Newly designated as one of Canada’s seven national museums, CMI was having trouble shedding its past as an historical site and embracing its new role as a national theme-based institution.

After
While a name change would require an act of parliament, we were able to give the museum a powerful tagline. Through organizational alignment work, we additionally built commitment to a new visitor-centric ethos focused on the Brand Idea: Gateway to Empathy.

Persona Interviews: We conducted qualitative research through persona interviews with two groups: parents from the Halifax area and empty-nester tourists from the Toronto area (where the majority of out-of-town visitors are from). Research strongly confirmed “Gateway to Empathy” as a resonant Brand Idea, and all but one interviewee agreed that empathy was a more impactful goal for the visitor experience.

Research also uncovered a problem: the inaccurate perception that the museum is mainly focused on European immigration through Halifax. As expected, the name and location led some to doubt whether it would deliver on the mission of telling a national story.

Strategy: Based on our Discovery and Research findings, we developed a Brand Positioning Statement for the museum that makes a promise that all staff can be excited to work together in fulfilling. It clearly describes the museum’s unique value proposition and its competitive position, mitigating the confusion that was hindering the development of a clear brand. We also turned the positioning statement into a more conversational and usable elevator speech that will aid staff in their description of the institution and help ensure that everyone is sharing the brand story in a consistent manner.

Our findings strongly emphasized the need to de-emphasize the name “Pier 21” and focus on building a brand for the “Canadian Museum of Immigration” in its own right. This means staff must cease referring to the institution as Pier 21; it also implies changes in signage and other collateral.

Alignment: We returned to Halifax to lead all staff in workshops that helped define the relationship between the museum’s Core Values (developed in the Discovery phase) and everyone’s daily work. These workshops empowered staff to speak up about areas of improvement they saw and are helping to make the work environment more collaborative and productive.

Tagline: The museum needed a memorable tagline that was able to tie the brand together in a emotional way. We were told that many agencies had tried to craft one that would stick and be embraced by staff; so far none had succeeded.

Based on our understanding of the brand, the mission, and the content of the museum, we entered a brainstorming process based on the idea of capturing, at once, the national story and the individual stories that make it up. Our final option was unanimously endorsed: Countless Journeys, One Canada.

Advertising Campaign Concept: Based on this tagline and our strategy work, specifically the notion of empathy, we developed a campaign concept to inspire the museum’s marketing efforts. It is based on the idea that everyone is an immigrant in some fashion—whether they recognize it or not. It could be yourself, your mother, or your great-great-great grandfather. By challenging modern stereotypes around who is an immigrant, we can build a more empathetic and welcoming society.