Local service guide
Branding and Marketing Strategy in Montreal
For Branding and Marketing Strategy in Montreal, hire a provider against a written brief that names your target customers, business goal, French-language deliverables and implementation responsibilities. Ask for separate prices for research, messaging, design and rollout. If you plan a storefront rebrand or customer-data collection, include Québec language requirements, borough sign-permit checks and privacy review before approving production. [1] [2] [4]
Define the business problem before requesting proposals
Write down the decision you need help making. A new shop might need positioning, a name and launch materials. An established business might need clearer service descriptions or a plan for reaching a different customer group. Give bidders your current materials and explain which parts you want to retain.
Ask each provider to propose a research method and explain how they will turn findings into decisions. Specify who they should interview, what customer questions matter and who will approve the work. Request a sample strategy document with confidential information removed, then check whether you could use it to brief a designer or run a campaign.
Compare deliverables and the full rollout budget
Ask for an itemized proposal covering discovery, positioning, messaging, identity design and implementation. Name the outputs you need: a positioning statement, French copy, logo files, brand guidelines, channel priorities and an action calendar. Specify revision rounds, approval milestones, editable files, intellectual-property terms and any third-party asset licences.
Budget separately for the work needed after strategy approval: translation or French copy development, website changes, photography, printing, sign fabrication and advertising spend. Request comparable written quotes for the same deliverables and list implementation costs separately.
Choose a launch date after discussing dependencies with the people doing the work. Ask the strategist to identify who handles technical implementation, production proofs and final approval. Keep a contingency date for a storefront launch that depends on municipal review. [2]
Build French-language work into the scope
The OQLF says public signage and commercial advertising must use French, with provisions for other languages and specified exceptions. For exterior-visible names and recognized trademarks containing another language, its guidance describes French terms that establish marked predominance. Ask your provider to review the whole sign layout, including the descriptor or slogan, before presenting a production-ready concept. [1]
For businesses with fewer than 25 employees in Québec, the OQLF offers a self-assessment covering websites, social posts, advertising documents and customer materials, alongside workplace practices. Use it to prepare an inventory of French-language work for your brief. The OQLF states that the questionnaire has no legal value; do not treat a completed assessment as compliance approval. [3]
Assign privacy responsibilities for research and campaigns
If the provider proposes surveys, subscription forms or web analytics that collect personal information, ask them to document the purpose and justify each item collected. The Commission d’accès à l’information says businesses must establish necessity before collection, and that obtaining consent does not replace that analysis. [4]
Québec guidance requires a privacy policy when a business collects personal information through technology. It also says identification, location and profiling functions must not activate by default; people must receive information and choose to activate them. Have the provider identify relevant technologies, proposed notices and who will implement and review the settings before launch. [4]
Request a handover list for website, analytics and advertising accounts. Agree on access permissions, where research files will reside and how the provider will return or remove them when the engagement ends. Name the person in your business who approves data-related work.
Published sign-permit fees in three Montréal boroughs
Local details that affect your job
Exterior-visible branding needs a French layout check
Québec rules in force since June 1, 2025 affect exterior-visible business names and recognized trademarks that contain another language. The OQLF describes marked predominance as French text occupying at least twice the space of other-language text, with permanent visibility and readability at least equivalent. French terms must appear in the same field of view. Ask for a dimensioned storefront mockup and review applicable exceptions before ordering the sign. [1]
Use the borough application route before fabricating a sign
Montréal directs owners to borough-specific requirements for installing, replacing or modifying commercial signs. In Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, the city also requires a permit to retain an existing sign when you become the new operator, and lists a fee of CAD 273 per sign. It requires a valid commercial or professional occupancy permit, or proof of a recent application. Tell the branding provider whether you are taking over premises and assign responsibility for the permit documents before approving fabrication. [2]
A Rosemont storefront launch needs time for permit analysis
For Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Montréal publishes an indicative analysis period of six to eight weeks after applicants submit all required documents. The city does not guarantee that period and says complexity and demand can change it. Ask your provider to schedule the complete sign submission before committing to an opening campaign; distinguish municipal analysis from design, fabrication and installation time. [2]
Choose the scope to request
| Your situation | Request in the proposal | Approval question |
|---|---|---|
| You cannot explain why customers should choose you | Customer research, positioning and core messages | What evidence will support the proposed positioning? |
| You have approved messages but inconsistent visuals | Identity system, usable templates and file handover | Can my team apply the system without commissioning each item? |
| You need a plan for generating enquiries | Channel priorities, implementation tasks and measurement plan | Who will execute the plan and report on enquiries? |
| You are changing storefront branding | French layout review and borough sign-permit coordination | Who confirms requirements before fabrication? |
| You are adding lead forms or customer profiling | Collection-purpose review, privacy notices and technical settings | Who verifies necessity and approves activation settings? |
Your hiring checklist
- Write a business goal and describe the customers you want to reach.
- Gather current logos, website copy, sales materials and storefront photographs.
- List French-language outputs and name the person who will approve them.
- Request itemized quotes with revision limits, milestones and implementation exclusions.
- Ask for a sample strategy document and discuss how you would use it.
- Assign sign-permit checks and production approval before ordering physical materials.
- Agree on customer-data review, account access and the final file handover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I hire a strategist or a logo designer first?
Start with strategy if you have unresolved questions about customers, positioning or messages. If you have approved those decisions, request identity design against that brief. Ask bidders to explain which decisions they expect you to supply and which they will help you make.
Can I keep a business name or trademark in English?
The OQLF describes circumstances where non-French names or trademarks can appear, including conditions concerning registered French trademark versions. Exterior-visible signage can require accompanying French terms with marked predominance. Have the provider check the applicable rule and exceptions for your proposed layout. [1]
Does changing a sign's wording require a permit?
Confirm with your borough. Montréal's guidance includes message changes in several borough procedures, while Ville-Marie lists modifying a sign's message among work that does not require a permit. Give the permit office the address and exact proposed change before approving production. [2]
Can an agency take over responsibility for collecting customer information?
You can delegate collection tasks, but the Commission says your collection obligations still apply when a service provider performs them. Require a documented purpose, a necessity review and appropriate information for customers before collection starts. [4]
Sources and scope
This guide combines the sources below with practical planning guidance. Figures apply to the stated geography and period; request a written quote for your property.