I magine somebody asked you to guess the city they were thinking of by just giving you hints – could you do it? Probably, if the hints were good enough. What would you think of if that friend started hinting that the city in question creates some of the world’s most innovative technology and high-tech companies? Most would probably begin to think about San Francisco, the Bay Area or the Silicon Valley corridor connecting the two. Would you be surprised then when that friend tells you you’re wrong because the city in their mind isn’t even in the United States? It’s in Canada – and it’s not even Toronto. Really? Yes really, it’s Kitchener-Waterloo!
The Waterloo region is many things. When asked, people often boast about its two highly sought-after universities. Others talk about the town’s vibrant tech scene that attracts international business and rivals Silicon Valley. But there’s one piece of history about this town that many do not know of though and that’s its heritage of being a gangster-filled, booze-smuggling, and bootlegger hotspot during the Prohibition era.
When we enter the office space of MARK! we are welcomed by big pieces of what they call low brow art or street art. But other than that the office space is surprisingly clean and crisp designed, much like a modern architect’s office. The vibrant wall colors seem to be the only visible artistic expressions…
Marketing a city to businesses forces that city to think long term and future proof itself for growth and progress.
The potential power of food and how it changes how travellers interact and experience destinations is oftentimes overlooked by marketing strategies – it’s time to change this harness its true power.
When it comes to selling a city there are some unique traits acknowledged by destination marketing professionals that make it very different from selling a product or service.
More than a thousand windmills sprung up in Zaanstreek – right next door to Amsterdam – during the 17th and 18th centuries. Making it into a hot innovation spot with many startup windmill business. They sawed wood, threshed corn, pressed grain and nuts to oil, milled coloured powder from chalk and ground snuff from tobacco leaves. All sorts of craftsmen moved into the area including tin founders, boat builders and sail makers.
Others may still perceive them as unique once in a lifetime experiences, vices even – we Amsterdammers have accepted those vices as virtues.
Can we sell a city the same way we sell a product with marketing and branding techniques known and available to us? Or are a product and a city profoundly different and do we need a different approach?
Amsterdam like many cities is constantly changing, morphing to adapt to new realities. Where the old is no longer used it opens new opportunities. Leaving the industrial era and entering into a service related economy, leaves behind vacant buildings, that are first only known to a few urban explorers.