‘The Incident:’ REAL releases consultant’s report on Experience Regina fiasco

The board of Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) has released a review of the failed launch of the Experience Regina brand — a failure termed “The Incident” by the independent consultant tasked with doing the review.

The rebranding of Tourism Regina to Experience Regina was announced March 16, but people quickly started complaining about slogans like “Show us your Regina” and “The city that rhymes with fun.”

The online response prompted REAL president-CEO Tim Reid to issue an apology and Mayor Sandra Masters to call the messaging “tone deaf.”

In the executive summary that accompanied the report that was released Thursday, independent consultant George Cuff took a deep dive into REAL’s operations.

“The ‘Incident’ happened in large measure because of a lack of managerial oversight, loose procedures, inadequate policy guidance and unavailable senior staff who were knowledgeable about what was expected,” Cuff wrote. “While there were undoubtedly extenuating factors which impacted how the release of unapproved slogans occurred, the lack of adequate supervision was certainly one of them.”

Cuff noted that REAL had a playbook to develop a new brand, but it wasn’t followed in this case.

He pointed to a number of factors going on at the same time — including REAL’s attempt to recover its sport and entertainment business after the COVID-19 pandemic, its involvement in the city’s catalyst committee, and its operation of Frost Regina — as well as personnel changes at REAL as reasons for the lapse.

“The lack of close attention to administrative processes and procedures due at least in part to the frenetic activity on the 100-acre site seemed to lead quite a number of those interviewed to express a lack of surprise to what happened and more to the fact that it had not happened earlier,” wrote Cuff, who noted 51 people were interviewed during the review process.

While Cuff said the responsibility for changing a brand ultimately lies with Reid, the consultant said the president-CEO should not lose his job.

“While it would be a fairly easy solution to simply blame (Reid) and demand a resignation, that would be foolish and unnecessarily expensive,” Cuff wrote, although he did say REAL needed to improve itself as an organization and create a better “decision ladder.”

In a media release, REAL’s board said it still had to examine the review thoroughly, but did create some priorities based on the recommendations. Those included:

• Reviewing board policies and procedures related to governance with the lens of the observations of the report, including committee charters, procurement policies and risk priorities;
• Defining what information is required to be shared with, or presented to, the board as part of committee and board meetings to allow the board to effectively carry out its responsibilities;
• Directing management to review operational procedures related to internal project management process, external communications and decision-making authority;
• Reviewing the organizational structure, including capacity and capability, of REAL and Tourism Regina and ensure appropriate mentorship, supervision and accountability; and
• Establishing a tourism advisory committee to ensure Tourism Regina is reflective and inclusive of the citizens of our community.

“Recognizing the mistakes made in the Experience Regina brand launch, the REAL Board of Directors is committed to a constructive path forward that best represents our City and our citizens,” board chair Wayne Morsky said in the release. “The completion of the independent review is a critical step in this process, and we want to be transparent with our stakeholders and community members as we move forward.”

More to come.