[Retrospective] City Marketing Day 2018 - City marketing versus Regional marketing
On a freezing cold Tuesday morning, those attending the City Marketing Day were warmly welcomed to a beautiful location in the Apenheul in Apeldoorn. A day marked by several inspiring speakers, a fun interactive programme and, of course, the announcement of the winner of the Netwerk Citymarketing Award 2018.
Thanks to excellent organisation, the day kicked off with the Meet & Greet in the reception area. In a relaxed atmosphere, there was room to shake hands with new faces or catch up with relations. While enjoying a cup of coffee or tea, this was the start of an inspiring day, where, in the meantime, speculation quietly began as to who would go home with the coveted Netwerk Citymarketing Award 2018.
Attendees were then escorted to the room where a full and interactive programme awaited them. Moderator Marceline Schopman, known from national television and radio programmes, had the honour of steering the day in the right direction and making the connection between the invitees and those present in the room.
Whereas last year's Netwerk Citymarketing Award was dominated by two separate awards; a jury prize and a public prize, this year one overall winner would be announced. Instead of five nominees, this year three nominees competed for the main prize:
MarketingOost
Hanseatic Cities Marketing; making a difference based on ancient DNA.
"Hanzesteden Marketing aims to improve the image and increase brand awareness of the Hanze cities. By doing so, Hanzesteden Marketing contributes to strengthening the regional economy for business and government." - marketingoost.nl
Municipality of The Hague
30 days as a Hagenees
"All over the world, people lose sleep wondering: 'What's it like to live in The Hague?' 'What's really behind all that freedom, peace and endless beach?' 'Are all Hagenesen really so pleasantly eccentric?' Wonder no further. Three lucky ones will experience living as a Hagenees for 30 days and expand their dream." - behague.com
Utrecht Marketing
Regional strategy International tourism Utrecht region
"As a region, we are stronger than as a city alone. The tourism offer in the region complements that of the city. This regional marketing strategy is also an important means for the city of Utrecht to spread visitors by which we give direction to growth." - utrechtmarketing.nl
Xperts versus public
With Erik Braun & Martin Boisen
After a brief introduction and preface, the day started with an interactive item: Xperts versus audience. For this, Erik Braun (Jury President NCNL) and Martin Boisen (Independent advisor at For the Love of Place) were called forward as the 'Xperts' and interacted with the audience in a unique way. In doing so, they were joined by sidekick Gerben Baaij (Director Dordrecht Marketing) who was allowed to break in for pressing questions or additional comments.
Central were issues related to marketing and branding for cities and regions. In an interactive way, mentimetry was used to link the thoughts of those present in the room with the Xperts. This resulted in interesting outcomes.
How is the Netherlands perceived inside and outside its borders? Holland or perhaps Amsterdam? This clearly showed that Holland is seen as the best brand name.
Which brand name for Eindhoven is stronger? Brainport or still Eindhoven? With over a third of the public's votes, Brainport turned out to have a large share.
A great start to the day...
Elevator Pitches nominees Network Citymarketing Award 2018
The stage was released for the nominees of the Network Citymarketing Award 2018. One by one, they got the chance to inspire the audience in a few minutes and once again briefly and concisely tell what they stand for during the elevator pitches. A great moment to profile the organisation for the last time before the winner would be announced.
Finally, the audience in the room had the chance to vote for their favourite via mentimeter. Who will end up winning the Netwerk Citymarketing Award 2018? More later...
After a short Coffee Break where attendees had space to enjoy a snack and drink, everyone got off to a fresh start. And how? Geerte Udo, marketing director Amsterdam Marketing, took us through an inspiring story about the power of Metropolitan Region Amsterdam.
A fascinating presentation on the perception of Amsterdam and its targeting. How big is Amsterdam? What do people see as Amsterdam? The bustling city centre or also the surrounding areas? According to Geerte Udo, how big Amsterdam is depends on:
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The target group
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The reason for visiting
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Accessibility
"We actually work with all iconic areas that can be reached within an hour by public transport," says Geerte Udo. For residents, an Amsterdam Marketing campaign is running to show how great Amsterdam is. "The soul of the city is made by the people who live, work and recreate there," she says.
An interesting look behind the scenes of Amsterdam Marketing ending with the inspiring words
"If you entice people to go somewhere, make sure it's worthwhile".
Great advice for all city marketers.
After the lunch break, the room was exchanged for the beautiful outdoor area around the Apenheul. In teams of eight, attendees ventured into the Citymarketing Vlog Challenge. A challenge to tell a story with passion about city marketing in a fun and impactful way. This under the guidance of filmmaker Brian Diks, who enthusiastically told his story about making videos and their impact. He challenged attendees to step outside their comfort zone and do things you don't normally do because you think you can't do them.
The winner of the Vlog Challenge was finally announced by none other than the mayor of Apeldoorn: John Berends.
The Netherlands or Battle of the Cities
Peter Savelberg
Just over an hour before the announcement of the winner of the Netwerk Citymarketing Award 2018, the stage was set for Peter Savelberg. He took us through the developments of 'mega-cities'. At a rapid pace, around 60 super-cities have emerged worldwide. A good example is Saudi Arabia, which is planning to build a super-city 33x the size of New York.
Are mega-cities the future? Can Dutch cities compete in this 'Battle of the Cities'? And isn't cooperation (BV Nederland?) essential? These questions were central.
50% of the Netherlands' economy is in the Randstad and the rest in the ring around it. Peter Savelberg believes that in many ways, as an organically grown super-city, the Netherlands is a successful example for all those mega-cities in the making. The right course for the future?
AND THE NETWORK CITYMARKETING AWARD 2018 GOES TO:
The moment everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived. The winner of the Netwerk Citymarketing Award 2018 would be announced. After a packed programme with lots of interaction and, above all, a very successful day, Jury Chairman Erik Braun was able to announce the winner.
Both the jury and the audience agreed that the winner of the Netwerk Citymarketing Award 2018 should be....:
MarketingOost - Hanseatic Cities Marketing!
A very deserved winner and a great ending to an inspiring day. Compliments to the organisation, the beautiful location and all guests and attendees in the room. Finally, we caught up over drinks and snacks during the drinks reception. See you next year?