Experience Regina launched rebrand slogans that rhymed with a body part, then pulled them

CBC reported in July 2023 on an independent review into how Regina's tourism agency handled its failed 'Experience Regina' rebrand. The slogans drew public backlash because they played on the city's name rhyming with a word for female anatomy, using lines like 'show us your Regina' and 'the city that rhymes with fun'. Tourism Regina pulled all the rebranding from its website and reverted to its original logos, and CEO Tim Reid apologised.

The 114-page report by George B. Cuff & Associates said some slogans were known to members of a staff committee, but senior management did not sign them off before they were published in March. A junior employee posted them online after the website designer asked if they were good to go and he answered 'Yeah, I guess so'. Cuff said the Regina Exhibition Association was disorganised, running the rebrand alongside other high-profile projects, and had lost experienced senior leaders, which limited oversight. He said responsibility lay squarely with the organization.

The report cost the association roughly C$90,000, plus the reviewer's travel, and it had spent C$30,000 on the rebrand. Cuff advised against firing the CEO or the staffer, saying that would be costly.

About C$30,000 on the rebrand plus roughly C$90,000 for the review, and the rebrand was withdrawn.

A junior employee published the slogans before senior management or the board could vet them.

The association was disorganised and running the rebrand alongside other high-profile projects.

Experienced senior leaders had left, leaving little oversight of the review process.

Oversight of the rebrand review process was limited, so slogans went public without senior approval.

Rebrands need a named sign-off chain; when no senior person approves copy, whoever presses publish becomes the approver.

The association said it would review its policies and procedures and set up an advisory committee to make Tourism Regina 'reflective and inclusive' of the city's people. It planned no new rebrand until policies changed, and no one was dismissed. A local advocate said she felt the association was dodging responsibility.