Marketing Groningen by Dirk Nijdam for MARUG International Marketing Experience 2010

Marketing Groningen

Dirk Nijdam

The marketing of Groningen, who are involved?

Gemeente & Provincie • (local & regional government)

GPO - Groninger promotie overleg• Counsel of stakeholders

Groninger Congres Bureau Groningen City Club

VVV’s (tourist offices)

Marketing Groningen

The essence of citymarketing:

• No mental brandownership• Conflicting interests

Sufficient support Synergy of communication power Clear policy suggests mental

ownership

Marketing Groningen

• Start: 2003

• Focus: tourism

• Main objective:

More people, To visit Groningen more often, Stay longer and Spend more.

MG- Organization

• Groninger Uitburo• VVV Stad Groningen- Martinitower• Touristic marketing city and province• Economic marketing – city of talent• 17 fte - 37 empl.

• 5 fte marketing• Event-policy for city of Groningen• Region marketing

Financial sources

• Structural grant: Gemeente (City) • Long term projects: Provincie (County)• European funds• Private enterprises & “Ambassadors”• Profits VVV-store• Joint Ventures• Private funding

Start Research 2003: the tourist

1,9 million a year Top 5 or 6 in the Netherlands Relatively high social classes (A & B1)

High frequency of visits Average: 2.7 times a year

Average staying period is short “you’ve seen it all in one day”

Main motivators• 1) shopping

• 2) Groninger museum

Research: the city

Product 1 main attraction: Groninger Museum Rich cultural and various shopping supply Good infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, etc),

but targeted at middle segment

Image Few spontaneous associations Cultural character Visitors have significant more positive

attitude compared to non-visitors

Conclusions in 2003

• Too little distinctive power• Image < identity• Regional profile visitors• Ambiguous communication• Growth of City-breaks

• In short: invest in branding Groningen

Strategy:

• First: clear brand positioning Top-of-mind (awareness) Identity image

• Increase brand loyalty Easy & quality CRM, accessibility information

• Brand contact Brand identity (house style ‘Groningen’) Circle of contact: consistent & coherent

Positioning: target group

• Groningen is not aiming at the mass No ‘focus’ at 16 million Dutch people

Not for everyone, but for connoisseurs (fijnproevers)

You’ve got to learn to know it, to appreciate it

• Rich, vital seniors? Seems attractive, but:

There is a risk that they dominate the image

Everybody is targeting at this group

Target group ‘geïnteresseerd NL’• Ambitions:

Work important and private life important

Self-realization, independency

New experiences

• Life-style

Balance: enjoy but not exuberance

Modest hedonist

Calculating & comfortable

• Design in the living room, upstairs IKEA

‘postmodern individualist’

Positioning: core proposition

• Functional benefit: The reason to visit Groningen: rich

cultural supply

• Emotional benefit: Groningen is for people who

appreciate quality: no mass destination

In short:

• Groningen: cultural capital (of the north) Focus on cultural supply: museums, festivals, modern

architecture

• Groningen, for connoisseurs Focus on ‘geïnteresseerd NL’

Towards a stronger brand

Focus: “geïnteresseerd Nederland”• Spearhead: culture

Consistent: long term strategy

Recognizable: museum, events, architecture (and identifiers, house style)

Distinctive: culture, location and surrounding

Relevance: supply meets demands targetgroup

How ?

• 1 House style/ Identifiers• Image language• Logo• Toolkit/brand manual

• 2 National campaign• TV-Commercials (city & provincie)• magazines, flyers, event-calendars• Inserts• Public relations

3 Action programms for PMC’s

• Shopping• Citybreak• Congres• Germany• Belgium• Groups• And….

• Groningers

Regiomarketing

• Oost Groningen

Sector marketing

City of Talent

Bezoekintentie

0

20

40

60

80

100

2005 2006

geen herkenning commercial wel herkenning commercial

In 2005 hebben personen die de commercial niet herkennen een bezoekintentie van 10%. Van de personen die de commercial wel herkennen geeft 11% aan van plan te zijn de Provincie Groningen te bezoeken.

Voor 2006 ligt de bezoekintentie van de personen die de commercial herkennen op een hoger niveau, namelijk op 21%. Het effect dat we hier vinden wordt binnen de flights steeds sterker.

Overnachtingen stad Groningen (Totaal logiesverstrekkende bedrijven)

222.600248.600 251.600

283.100 294.900

0

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

300.000

350.000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

www.toerisme.groningen.nl

220.000

426.335

586.697

878.639

1.167.893

0 10.000 28.073 37.494 36.470

0

200.000

400.000

600.000

800.000

1.000.000

1.200.000

1.400.000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

websitebezoek abonnees nieuwsbrief

Participerende ondernemingen

62

148

232

295332 341

050

100150200250300350400

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Participerende ondernemingen

Percentuele veranderingen van het aantal toeristische overnachtingen

t.o.v. het ijkjaar2004, voor de campagnejaren

2005 2006 2007

-0,9

3,86,7

-6,1-4,7 -4-3,5

17,7

13,3

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

"Nederland (80.903) Friesland (4.851) Groningen (1.191)

Commercial results

• Maastricht:

• 2004- 3,9 miljoen dagrecreanten

• 2005- 3,7

• 2006- 3,1

• Groningen:

• 2004- 4,7

• 2005- 5,0

• 2006- 5,5

Trends

• Internet 2.0

• User generated content

• Global market

• More short breaks

• Authenticity

• Strong competition