Comments on: Introducing dEdmonton – Canada’s Halloween Festival

By: Edmonton Notes for 2/28/2009 at MasterMaq’s Blog

Edmonton Notes for 2/28/2009 at MasterMaq’s Blog — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:16:39 +0000

[...] In case you missed it: Introducing dEdmonton – Canada’s Halloween Festival. [...]

By: Jakub Sadowski

Jakub Sadowski — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:27:31 +0000

Sounds like some great fun!

As for the name…hmmm…the only thing is that it has to look and sound like an evil village that would be named that way. dEdmonton looks more like a function name in a Java program than it does a City name – the first letter definitely has to be capitalized and the rest lowercase (or all caps to dodge the issue altogether).

How about: D’edmonton?

It’s got a French connotation to it…but this is Canada after all so that should be quite acceptable.

By: Derek Clayton

Derek Clayton — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Hey Mike!

Thanks for the mention. Some of the media did gloss over our accomplishments last year, so it’s nice to hear people coming out and supporting what we’re trying to do.

Horror’s considered “niche”, but what a lot of people gotta be convinced of is that this niche is a billion dollar a year industry.

In 2009 I plan to make dEdmonton the Horror Capital of Canada!

By: Ghoul Friday

Ghoul Friday — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:58:01 +0000

Regardless of the tiny details you’re hashing out, I’d like to say I’m glad to see this is coming together (I remember reading about it last year).

I’d be willing to bet that you’ll have more fans of the name in your target audience than nay sayers, so don’t fret about using the term ‘dedmonton’ (however you choose to spell it). It’s really catchy, memorable and fits perfectly for your festival. Remember, there are loads of people all across Canada who don’t even know the negative connotation associated with the birth of the term. They are going to see the festival name and think it’s great.

You haven’t even made official plans for it, and already I’m lamenting the fact that I live so far away. I think this has HUGE promise and if it’s handled well, you might be able to corner a niche market (large scale Halloween festivals) that currently is lacking in Canada.

Good for you. Congrats.

p.s. don’t mess it up *wink*

By: Adam Snider

Adam Snider — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:04:09 +0000

Eric makes a good point. While I did think about the iPod and other lowercase-first-letter product names, I didn’t quite think of it as dee-Edmonton. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of other people *did* make that mistake upon first glance.

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:45:21 +0000

That’s a good point Eric, about words like iPod and such. I guess we have to hope that people hear the word enough to know how to say it!

By: Eric Warnke

Eric Warnke — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:44:12 +0000

I don’t think the lowercase d works at all. It doesn’t automatically read deadmonton until it’s explained. With so many other brands like iPod with lower case first letters people have already been conditioned to read any lowercase letter at the beginning of a word as the actual letter. I think most people will look at the name say “dee-Edmonton” what’s that!?

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:15:10 +0000

Michael – It’ll be back, with a slightly different name. Derek is keen to make it even bette than last year!

Adam – Thanks for your comments. I was initially sort of unsure about the name also, but it has grown on me. I’d say give it time and see how you feel then. Also, like you said, if it works out the name won’t be an issue.

By: Adam Snider

Adam Snider — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:55:23 +0000

While I’m very enthusiastic about this festival, I must admit that I’m not too fond of the name. It doesn’t feel as much like we’re reclaiming the word if we’re creating a completely new word.

And, while I get what you’re saying about removing the negative connotations of “dead,” it’s a Halloween festival, “dead” is completely appropriate!

I also think the lowercase “d” at the beginning is a bit silly when typed, but it actually works quite well in the logo, so I can let that slide.

Having said that, I’m looking forward to the first incarnation of this new festival come October. The name might not be ideal (in my opinion), but if everything else works out, then that’s hardly a big deal.

By: Michael Lawton

Michael Lawton — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:55:52 +0000

I love to see more Halloween fun, and I think the “dEdmonton” branding is fantastic! But I want to make sure that people know about the Deadmonton Horror Film Festival (http://www.deadmonton.net/) that got started last year.