Case study · Edmonton Chinatown
Chinatown Transformation Collaborative
Brand, digital platform and ongoing communications for the organization coordinating the renewal of Edmonton's Chinatown.
Full-service · 53.5461°N 113.4938°W · Edmonton AB
01 · The case
A district with real assets and a borrowed story.
Edmonton's Chinatown carries more than a century of history, a dense concentration of independent business, and cultural institutions with national profile. It also carries a public perception shaped largely by other people's coverage, and a district split across two geographies that had drifted apart.
The briefGive the organizations responsible for the district one story they could all tell, and the everyday machinery to tell it — a platform, a calendar, a booking path, a brand a volunteer could use without asking permission.
The constraint[Name the thing that made it hard. A budget, a timeline, a divided board, a community with good reason to be wary of consultants, two geographies that needed one identity. Be specific — this is the paragraph that makes the rest credible.]
02 · Our role
What we ran.
The Chinatown Strategy belongs to the City of Edmonton. The capital projects belong to the district and its partners. This is our part.
One story the BIA, the Collaborative, businesses and the City could each tell without contradicting one another.
District identity and the assets that carry it — including a mascot and wayfinding map built to be used by people who aren't designers.
Website rebuild with event calendar, bookings and store — the operating layer a district needs to be findable on a Saturday.
Programming planned as a season rather than a series of separate weekends competing for the same audience.
An ongoing presence written in the district's own voice, not a corporate one borrowed for the occasion.
Tours and guides turned into something a person can find, book and repeat — not a one-off event.
03 · The work
In the district.
04 · Results
What moved.
Reported by the client after the engagement closed, January to August 2024.
Dragon Food Tour, 2025 season. Figures published by the Edmonton Tourism Awards.
Awarded to the Collaborative, 5 June 2026. We built the brand, booking path and marketing behind it.
Numbers in a district move for many reasons. Ours is one contribution among several, alongside the work of the businesses, the cultural organizations, the City and the community itself.
05 · In their words
Items were delivered on time and oftentimes ahead of deadline. Our requests and needs were taken care of promptly and professionally.Joanna Wong · Director, CTC Edmonton · Verified on Clutch
The relationship carried forward. The Collaborative now hosts the International Chinatown Conference, September 2026, and runs the platform itself day to day.
06 · Next
Your place is next.
Tell us the place, the mandate and the date something has to be approved. We'll tell you what we'd run and what you already have covered.
Full-service destination branding · Churchill Strategy · Edmonton AB