A first-ever communications campaign for Héritage Montréal

Still aiming to reach more citizens, Héritage Montréal is launching a major communications campaign for the very first time. It will include posters in bus shelters at key locations in and around Montréal, ads in the Journal de Montréal and 24 heures, and posts on social media, including Instagram.

The campaign, designed and produced pro bono by the advertising agency Rethink, carries the slogan “A city without heritage is a city without memories. Let’s protect our heritage.” Its distribution was made possible through financial support from Quebecor Media. We would like to acknowledge the great generosity of our two partners in this campaign.

Funding in a time of crisis

Alongside this advertising push, Héritage Montréal is launching a major fundraising campaign, as more than 50% of the organization’s revenue comes from the donations it receives each year. In addition, like many organizations, Héritage Montréal has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, with revenue from its activities dropping dramatically.

To support the campaign, five short videos will feature Montréal ambassadors sharing a memory connected to a building they are especially fond of.

Donations will be used to produce more content, offer new programs and activities, and increase Héritage Montréal’s presence among decision makers and professionals. The public is invited to donate now on Héritage Montréal’s website.

Release

Héritage Montréal launches new Memento platform to protect metropolitan heritage

Tuesday 15 September 2020 at 12h00 · Reading 4 min

To engage more citizens in heritage protection

Héritage Montréal, an organization whose mission is to protect the architectural, historical, natural and cultural heritage of the greater metropolitan region, today unveiled its new platform for protecting metropolitan heritage. Memento is an interactive web platform that acts as a megaphone for citizens to showcase heritage at risk in Greater Montréal and encourage its rehabilitation.

The original version of this platform has existed since 2015 under the name H-MTL. Héritage Montréal is launching this second phase to make it accessible to more people through an improved user experience. Presented as a map, the platform is a space where anyone can post citizen alerts about sites of heritage interest that are under threat. The platform highlights the cases Héritage Montréal is monitoring and offers citizens

Memento is funded under the Cultural Development Agreement between the City of Montréal and the Gouvernement du Québec, and by the Fonds d’initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole (FIRM), under the authority of the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine of the ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation.

In short, it is an awareness tool that brings people together and invites collaboration. It is fed by citizens, local organizations, historical societies and development corporations, and powered by Héritage Montréal.

“A true tool for citizen engagement, Memento reflects our desire to reach even more citizens and local organizations across the vast metropolitan area,” said Robert Turgeon, Executive Director of Héritage Montréal. “We want citizens to make it their own and for Memento to become a catalyst that gets them involved in projects for the preservation and requalification of heritage buildings in their neighbourhoods. With Memento, we are giving them the opportunity to be part of the solution.”

“By gathering information on Montréal’s heritage in one place, Héritage Montréal is pursuing its dual mission of raising awareness and engaging citizens. The Gouvernement du Québec is proud to support Memento, a project that helps showcase and protect the built heritage of the metropolis,” said Chantal Rouleau, Minister Delegate for Transport and Minister Responsible for the Metropolitan Area and the Montréal Region.

“I congratulate Héritage Montréal on this improved tool, which will allow citizens to take part in efforts to protect and showcase the heritage of our metropolis. The Gouvernement du Québec is pleased to support this initiative through the Cultural Development Agreement between the City of Montréal and the ministère de la Culture et des Communications. Memento will certainly support our government’s actions to preserve and showcase Montréal’s rich heritage, which is part of our identity,” said Nathalie Roy, Minister of Culture and Communications.

“With its long history, the metropolis has an incredible wealth of architecture and heritage. Around every corner, buildings, public spaces and parks reveal parts of its history and fill us with wonder. Héritage Montréal does remarkable work helping us discover them and raising public awareness of the need to preserve them, through tools such as the Memento platform. It is an exceptional way to fuel citizens’ passion for and commitment to Montréal’s many heritage treasures, which must be showcased. Many Montréalers rediscovered their city from a different angle this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Memento will now allow us to deepen our knowledge,” said Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante.

It is worth noting that Greater Montréal is home to the largest collection of heritage buildings in the country.

Memento is available at: memento.heritagemontreal.org.