Making the city 'sexy' was always part of the plan for Experience Regina

March 16 was supposed to mark a new chapter for an organization in charge of tourism in Regina. 

A decision to rebrand Tourism Regina to Experience Regina was supposed to "flip the narrative" and signal that organizations in the city support each other, one of the organization's employees said in an email. 

The brand would officially relaunch with a number of dignitaries in attendance including the federal tourism minister, the CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan and Regina Mayor Sandra Masters. 

The event had companies offering special drinks and promotional items with one of the most coveted being hoodies created by 22Fresh that were emblazoned with the Experience Regina logo and included one of the phrases that would doom all the organization's efforts: "The city that rhymes with fun."

It's a play on words that tries to capitalize on the similar pronunciation of the city's name and vagina. The language was criticized by organizations that advocate for survivors of sexual violence, including Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan — which last week penned a letter to Regina's mayor and city councillors.

"SASS is deeply concerned that a government body, using public funds, has endorsed a tourism marketing campaign that is built on disrespectful and harmful language, perpetuating a culture of harassment and abuse against women," read the letter. 

However, before the launch, the hoodies were so popular that there was a special list of VIP individuals meant to receive them. Even Regina's mayor was asked if she wanted to have one ahead of the March 16 event.

"Mayor would definitely like one for the stage, if possible," wrote a communications and public affairs advisor from Master's office.

The emails were released to CBC through a freedom of information request for all documents pertaining to the rebrand.

Just a few weeks later — and after the widespread backlash to the brand's overhaul prompted all advertisements about the hoodies to be pulled down — Masters would condemn the clothing during an interview on CBC Radio's The Morning Edition with Stefani Langenegger. 

"I think that it offends some people. I think again private businesses that want to sell it, and have been selling it for years, can do it," she said. 

"I think it's a misstep for the brand launch to have included it. I ultimately think what private businesses want to do is fine."

LISTEN | From March 23: Mayor addresses concerns about Experience Regina's marketing campaign

On Wednesday, Masters said the exchange was about a different hoodie, after consulting with her staff. 

"I don't have a [Experience Regina] hoodie," she said.

After this story was first published, a representative from the mayor's office told CBC News that the mayor was shown a hoodie design prior to the March 16 event, but that no one saw a "City that Rhymes with Fun" slogan on it.

The rebrand would be put out of its misery just a few weeks later as Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) — the organization in charge of tourism promotion in the city — announced it was going to revert back to its Tourism Regina branding as it conducted a third-party review of the brand and its launch. 

Internal documents shed light

REAL and Tourism Regina have remained quiet or declined comment since the third-party review was launched.

But the internal documents provide the clearest information so far about the internal discussions around the relaunch.

The documents show that more organizations were aware of the impending rebrand than was previously known or disclosed to the public. 

One of the documents released to CBC News was a pitch deck used to solicit feedback on the organization's overhaul. 

After the publication of this story, a spokesperson for the mayor said in an email they did not receive the pitch deck originally released to CBC. 

Instead, the office provided two other decks from Tourism Regina that they had reviewed. 

These versions of the pitch deck were not included in the original batch of documents provided to CBC.

The slide deck originally provided to CBC is listed as confidential and was only shared with select organizations, according to internal emails. 

A version of the pitch deck was shared with the Regina Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Western Agribition, Regina Folk Festival, The Cornwall Centre, Regina Hotel Association and Saskatchewan Winter Games. 

The slide deck originally provided to CBC encouraged each organization to provide feedback through a QR code at the end of the slide deck.

Those responses were not released to CBC through its freedom of information request. 

WATCH | Regina's tourism campaign gone wrong

Regina's tourism campaign gone wrong | About That

2 years ago

Duration 6:16

Last week Tourism Regina rebranded to Experience Regina and unveiled several new slogans like ‘Show us your Regina’ and ‘The city that rhymes with fun.’ The campaign prompted heavy criticism and backlash. Andrew Chang looks at what went wrong.

The pitch deck 

On Wednesday, Masters recalled some details around the pitch deck she was shown, including a page about how the organization's vision for the rebrand was "To make Regina sexy."

In the original pitch deck provided to CBC, sexy is bolded in the document. 

"The 'make Regina sexy' was with the following slides saying that 'sexy' [was] in terms of marketing, branding, meaning to make it exciting and to make it pop," Masters said. 

That detail matches up with one of the slide decks provided to CBC News after the publication of this story. 

One of the other slogans used in online materials that drew the most backlash, "Show Us Your Regina," is nowhere to be found in the document.

The pitch deck also outlines the inaugural 2023 campaign for the rebranded organization was going to be "Do it in Regina."

The slide deck originally released to CBC News assures readers they shouldn't be worried, as the phrase was "meant to be cheeky" and "own who we are," which is the "the city that rhymes with fun."

Masters confirmed she remembered that part of the document. 

"Because in Regina, the word 'in' is in Regina. And so there was some discussion around that," she told media on Wednesday.  

The pitch deck and the inaugural campaign give the clearest indication yet that organizations were given a preview of the plans for the revamped brand — including one of the phrases that would sink the entire revamp. 

Additional internal emails reveal that at least some employees of the City of Regina were included in meetings where Experience Regina was discussed.

Mayor Sandra Masters has previously said she was "really pleased with the slide deck" that she was shown. 

"I think everybody in the room was like, 'This is good, this makes sense,' " she said.