Contents

Introduction - Purpose and Content Place Marketing - A Practical Guide

What is Place-Making? Developing a Place-making Strategy - The Importance of Stakeholders Process - Critical Success Factors

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5 7 7 7 9

SPAA Partners Demonstration Projects

Summary Limerick Chester Ourense Valimar

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12 13 18 21 24

International Place-making Best Practise Newcastle/Gateshead Glasgow Barcelona The Scottish Borders London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 Lichtenstein Sweden Poland Costa Rica Ireland New Zealand

Case Studies

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Introduction - Purpose and Content

Purpose
This Place-making Toolkit has been produced within the European Union Sustainable Promotion of Atlantic Area (SPAA) project. The SPAA projects core aim is to strengthen and promote Atlantic identity by testing the impact of an integrated place marketing approach that will offer polycentric solutions to the disadvantages of being on the Atlantic fringe, thereby contributing towards sustainable regional development. Within this context, the Toolkits purpose is to help European Atlantic cities wishing to attract people to live, work, visit, study and invest in their cities. In fulfilling this purpose it aims to: Serve as a useful reference document and transferable marketing tool for European Atlantic cities and sub-regions, which explains the benefits of place-making and gives guidance on how to undertake place-making. (Part 1, pages 5-18) Record SPAA partners place-making demonstration projects and insights gained (Partners: Valimar in Portugal, Ourense in Spain, Limerick in Ireland, and Chester in England). (Part 2, pages 19-49) Identify international examples of good placemaking practice and highlight key insights from each. (Part 3, pages 50-65) Provide partners with a mechanism for measuring economic impact, which they can apply to their own places. address these imbalances and develop robust integrated approaches to economic development at a number of levels (local, regional, inter-regional) to secure their future. Dissemination of project results to other cities is undertaken by the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (CAAC)1

Process
The process expected of SPAA partners was to: Establish effective ways of developing cross-sectoral partnerships within a sub-region to address placemaking. This should ideally encompass a genuinely holistic approach to engaging all relevant sectors (e.g. retail, accommodation, leisure, finance, manufacturing, property development, professional services, smallmedium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the public sector). Develop integrated place marketing strategies for each sub-region to maximise the impact of marketing activity. Partners were expected to identify shared characteristics that would help them and other cities make the most of their Atlantic-facing identity and incorporate this understanding in their marketing strategies. It was hoped that this would lead to an understanding of how their regions particular distinctiveness could be used to market the totality of services available in each region. Undertake demonstration projects that would engage visitors, local populations and communities through the development of new initiatives and sustainable promotion of sub-regional areas. These pilot projects were expected to explore: - The robustness of a cross-sectoral approach - How distinctive features could be used to create city/sub-regional branding - The impact of marketing sub-regional cities in spreading economic benefit across a wider area

Context
The SPAA project exists under Interreg IIIB Atlantic Area Priority D: Strengthening and Promoting the Atlantic Identity in a Context of Globalisation. This project has developed out of a desire between partners to address some of the economic disadvantages they face as sub-regional hubs on the periphery of not only their region, but also their national hub and the EU as a whole. These subregions are vulnerable because of their scale, weak infrastructure, positioning and peripherality. In comparison to vibrant economic centres within the Atlantic area they are often marginalised and thus pose a risk to balanced harmonious development of the Atlantic Area. But the economic vibrancy of these sub-regions is essential to the performance of the Atlantic are as a whole. These small cities are characterised by their cultural distinctiveness and are at a scale that makes them attractive to residents and visitors alike. This project offers an opportunity for these sub-regions to 2

Themes
The SPAA projects four key themes are: Place-making partnerships Place-making strategies Distinctive qualities of place as a tool for place-making - Demonstration Projects Economic impact of place-making

Created in 2000, the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (CAAC) now includes about 40 members - cities and urban networks - from the 5 States which comprise the European Atlantic seafront (Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal). One of CAACs main objectives is to encourage synergies and partnerships between member cities in order to contribute to the emergence of an area of solidarity and the

development of projects of cooperation. CAAC also intends to promote Atlantic cities' interests and cities in general at a European level, in order to favour a balanced and polycentric organisation of the European territory. The role of CAAC within the SPAA project is primarily to provide dissemination and publicity for the partnership through its network through: - CAAC newsletter: The newsletter has a circulation of 200 people, among members (councillors, mayors, technical and administrative services) CAAC partners within and outside the Atlantic area (economic and social councils, chambers of commerce, etc.) and members of EU institutions (MEPs, EU Commission, Committee of the Regions, etc.). Promotion of the project among CAAC members: the SPAA project has been presented to members at several occasions: General Assembly, Executive bureau and in Urban Development working groups meetings SPAA website: http://www.arcat.org/SPAA/Index.htm

Yellow Railroad Thumbnail: Outline of Services & Tom Buncles Experience (For CAAC Conference, Chester, June 2007)

Yellow Railroad is an international destination consultancy, run by Managing Director Tom Buncle. Yellow Railroad helps put places on the map: Yellow Railroad specialises in place branding, place shaping, destination marketing strategy, eco- and ethno-tourism strategy, tourism policy, and crisis management for tourism destinations. Tom Buncle has over 25 years experience in tourism development and place marketing on four continents (UK/Europe, N America, Asia, Africa). Prior to establishing Yellow Railroad Tom spent 4 years as Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourist Board (STB - now Visit Scotland). Before that, he was International Marketing Director at STB and ran British Tourist Authority (now Visit Britain) operations in Southeast Asia, Norway and California.

Tom was a founder board member of Scotland the Brand a pioneering national place-branding organisation. He has served on several boards as a non-executive director, including the Edinburgh International Festival Council, the Cairngorm Partnership (Scotlands second national park). He was an adviser to the UK Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) on the European Capital of Culture 2008 award. He has undertaken consultancy work for destinations in the UK, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. His focus is on destination and place branding (Namibia, England), business planning and place marketing strategy (Gabon, England, N. Ireland, Commonwealth Games), national tourism policy development (Namibia), crisis recovery (Britain after 9/11, England after Foot & Mouth Disease,) and organisational restructuring (National Development Corporation of Dominica).

ECON IMPACT

Place-Making - A Practical Guide

This section outlines some of the critical success factors and risks, and offers practical suggestions, for developing a placemaking strategy potential tourists; adequate services, affordable housing and access to employment for potential residents/relocators). Once these hard rational factors have been satisfied, softer elements come into play in persuading people to consider the place. The softer elements often provide the most compelling argument for choosing a place. When all rational factors are equal, the softer elements play a significant part in giving a place a competitive edge. Quality of life becomes a critical differentiating factor for potential residents. This softer element covers everything that contributes to making the place an attractive place in which to live: from the architecture, public realm and general environment to the cultural, entertainment and retail offer, public transport and parking to the general buzz of the place that imbues it with character. An appealing destination for visitors often goes hand in hand with quality of life as a defining factor in a places competitive edge. If a place is appealing to visit, it is usually attractive to live in. And if it is attractive to live in, that can significantly enhance its chances of attracting inward investors and students, as long as their rational needs are met.

What is Place-Making?
Place-making is about developing a vision for a places future and making it happen. It is about creating a competitive edge: finding out what makes a place distinctive and attractive to key target markets and using those appeals that transcend individual economic sectors and time to attract people to live, work, study, invest in, buy from, and visit, the place. This includes identifying what developments are needed to enhance the image of the place and putting them in motion. It is also about encouraging all who talk about the place to do so positively and consistently. And it is about ensuring these appeals are evident and visible, both through residents behaviour and in the look and feel of the place, when outsiders arrive. It requires clear leadership and strong partnerships to make it happen. Ultimately place-making depends on partnership, pragmatism and people. (Tom Buncle, Yellow Railroad)

Place marketing, which is becoming increasingly known as place-making or place-shaping, is therefore critical in giving the place a competitive edge when it tries to attract people to live, work, study, invest in and visit. It means putting the necessary developments in place and communicating the places unique identity to prospective customers.

Globalisation has made the world smaller and more competitive. Business, and therefore the jobs associated with it, has become more mobile. People are travelling in ever increasing numbers on holiday, on business and to study. All of these mobile markets offer substantial opportunities for places to earn both revenue and prestige. So competition for them is increasing dramatically. Places all over the world are vying to attract people to live, work, study, invest in and visit their destination. Attracting these people to a particular place involves three key elements: Ensuring the right rational factors are in place to satisfy the potential customers basic needs. These vary between different sectors and segments within each sector. (e.g. appropriately skilled labour force, satisfactory productivity, good access to markets, affordable housing etc. for potential inward investors; appropriate courses with a reputation for academic excellence for potential students; plenty to see and do, with good restaurants and decent places to stay for 5

Sense of Place - Distinctiveness

London is cosmopolitan, Paris glamorous and New York vibrant. Of course they have many other defining characteristics too, but their great strength, is that each has its own special character in the eyes of the world. Each is perceived to have different strengths, which make each city distinctive and underpin its image. The image of a city, or a country, is critical to its ability to attract people to come and live and work there, as well as to visit. At the core of what gives a place its distinctive character and makes it feel different from all other places is a sense of place. And, while a sense of place is most evident in the face it presents to tourists and in the quality of life experienced by its residents, the feel of the place communicates itself to potential customers in other sectors too. It is therefore important that all stakeholders who have an interest in attracting people to visit, work, live, study, invest in or buy goods from the place understand the core brand values of the place. Stakeholders must apply these brand values appropriately in their own marketing communications, in order to reinforce the places distinctiveness and ensure that

the place delivers its promise when people arrive. This not only gives each sector a competitive edge in their own marketing activities, derived from positive associations with the place, but it should also help create a cumulative impact over time in establishing a positive image and growing awareness of the place.

External Customers and Internal Stakeholders Squaring the Circle

A strong sense of place needs to be communicated when promoting the place. This lies at the core of the places brand essence and should ooze consistently from all marketing communications about the place. Consumer research will reveal how potential customers perceive a place. But, if the place does not live up to its promise and convey the expected sense of place to customers when they arrive, then it will lose competitive advantage. Equally, it is essential that residents and stakeholders of the place are comfortable with the sense of place that is being communicated to external prospective customers. Otherwise, if local people do not perceive the place in the way that outsiders do, then there will be a disconnect between external customers prior perceptions and their actual experience. Residents dissatisfaction with the image of the place being promoted can lead to dissent and disunity. This can erode local pride and ultimately risk undermining a sense of place. Place-makers should therefore spend time researching customer perceptions, and consulting with residents and stakeholders, in order to achieve synergy between these two groups, before embarking on place development or going live with place-making campaigns.

Tourism and residents quality of life have a disproportionate impact on how people perceive a place

A sense of place is determined primarily by a places physical environment, cultural history, character of the people and products the place makes. These are the critical elements, or DNA of a place. Products can contribute towards a sense of place whether they are owned (e.g. Scotland whisky) or claimed by the place (e.g. California computer software design). As the world becomes more homogenous through globalisation and labour mobility, and places struggle to find their points of differentiation, physical heritage and natural products are likely to increase in importance as differentiators.

Place vs Destination
Place is different from destination in that place refers to the image of the place across all sectors, whereas destination usually refers to the place only from a tourism perspective. Place describes somewhere to work, live, invest in, study and visit; destination is just somewhere to visit. The image of a place influences potential customers in all sectors. Significantly, however, peoples perceptions of a place are usually influenced more by its appeal as a visitor destination and by the quality of life for residents than by any other factor. Word-of-mouth plays a major part in creating an image of a place, for good or ill. However the most visible promotion for any place is usually that which is undertaken by the tourism authorities. Tourism authorities tend to be the highest spenders on place promotion. It is therefore critical that tourism promotional campaigns reflect the true values of the place and do not send out conflicting messages that might encourage tourism but discourage inward investors or potential new residents. Equally, economic development agencies should be careful to avoid sending out messages that undermine the places appeal as a visitor destination. Everyone who has a stake in promoting the place should recognise the potential synergy that can be derived from reinforcing the values that underpin its appeal as a place in which to spend time. And they should reflect these in their own marketing communications. Marketing partnerships between those who promote the place as a tourism 6

Place DNA - the 3 Ps

Many factors contribute to a places distinctiveness

destination and other sectors can enhance the places overall image, as well as benefit individual sectors. For these reasons, many places rely on, or at least lead with, destination promotion to establish their image in the outside world.

involves answering 3 key questions: Where are we now (situation analysis) ? Where do we want to be (vision) ? How do we get there (strategy) ?

The Future
Although destination marketing remains a highly visible form of promotion, more and more cities, regions and countries are widening their focus to adopt a place-making - or placemaking - approach. Developing a places competitive advantage is best served by integrating place-making with destination marketing. Place-making transcends all sectors, while still retaining a flexibility that enables individual sectors to pursue the necessary targeted approaches to their own markets. This requires a mature approach to partnership working, based on mutual respect between partners, a keen eye for potential synergy, and strong leadership from a place champion. When everyone reinforces a places distinctiveness everyone benefits. Fame, as long as it is deserved, can only enhance a places reputation.

Where Are We Now (Situation Analysis)?

Product Audit / Health Check 2 Develop a clear understanding of what the place currently offers, its strengths and weaknesses. This will cover areas such as: - Attractiveness: What does the place offer? (e.g. leisure, entertainment, culture, tourism facilities; business and employment; retail; service centre; quality of life; housing) - Accessibility: How easy is it to get into, out of and around the place? (e.g. roads, parking, public transport-rail, bus, air; cycling and pedestrian routes; freight transport; signage, information and welcome; disabled access) - Amenity: What quality of experience does the place provide? (e.g. safety and security, cleanliness, planting and greening; physical fabric public realm, buildings, public art; lighting; public toilets) Trend Analysis Identify current and anticipated global, national and local trends that might impact on the places future competitiveness (e.g. climate change, manufacturing decline, increasing retail competition, changing fashions in tourism). What are tomorrows customers going to want and how will the place have to change to accommodate them? Market Analysis Identify the places best prospects. Who are the places current customers? Which sectors are most important (e.g. tourism/visitor economy best prospects, inward investment, education, sport) ? Which segments within each sector offer the best opportunity (e.g. inward investment: biotech, light engineering, creative industries; tourism: regional day visitors, US emptynesters, German hikers etc.)? Consumer Research Establish a clear understanding of the place through customers eyes. What do current customers, as well as those who are not currently customers but could be, think of the place? How do they perceive its strengths and weaknesses as a place to visit, invest, study, work or live in? What do they feel about it? How do they perceive its sense of place? This will feed into the development of the place brand. (See Place Brand below) Stakeholder Consultation Begin the process of obtaining stakeholder buy-in to the places future by obtaining their views. How do stakeholders perceive the place? What are its strengths

Developing a Place-Making Strategy

The Importance of Stakeholders
Place-making involves the same principles as any form of marketing: defining the product, understanding the market, developing the product to suit current and anticipated future demand, identifying the best prospects who might wish to buy the product and promoting it cost-effectively to them, measuring success, and learning lessons from current customers and non-customers that will inform future product development and marketing. The main difference between marketing a place and any other product is the number of different stakeholders involved. This presents one of the greatest challenges in place-making. The place is not owned by any one organisation. It takes many different organisations and people in both the public and private sectors to make the place what it is, and to drive its future forward. Involving stakeholders from the outset and obtaining their buyin at key points in the development of the place-making strategy is therefore essential. This is even more important when it comes to implementing the strategy, as each key stakeholder in every segment in every sector will have to play their part in delivering what they agreed.

Process
At its simplest, the development of a place-making strategy
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Per UK Association of Town Centre Managers (ATCM)

and weaknesses as a place in which to work, live, do business, invest in? This is where one of the greatest risks lies. Local residents buy-in to the way forward and the marketing of the place is critical. If local stakeholders do not view their place in the same way that potential customers do, then there will be a disconnect between potential visitors/customers expectation and their experience when they arrive. Local stakeholders must feel pride both in their place and in the way in which it is promoted. Squaring this circle achieving consensus between stakeholders views and potential customers perceptions of the place - is very important. If this cannot be achieved, then the place will always under perform and not reach its potential. In order to achieve widespread community buy-in, this consultation should involve a wider range of stakeholders than those identified under Identify Core Stakeholders below. This will also feed into the development of the place brand. (See Place Brand below)

making strategy. They must be encouraged to share a sense of ownership of the place-making vision. These people must be prepared to be champions of the places vision and act as critical friends and advisers on developing the place. This will include key people in local authorities, tourism boards and in the commercial and community sectors. They will comprise the steering group to drive the places vision forward and monitor progress. Place Brand Develop a unique, distinctive brand for the place. This lies at the core of place-making. What are the places distinctive characteristics? How does it differ from its competitors? What are the rational and emotional benefits that people perceive in the place? What is its personality? What are the brand essence and core values of the place? These will be established through consumer research and stakeholder consultation (See under Where are we Now (Situation Analysis) above). How can these be applied in their own marketing by different sectors? How can stakeholders be persuaded to adopt them? And..is it truly distinctive?!!

Where do we want to be (vision)?

Vision Develop a vision behind which stakeholders (residents, businesses, public authorities) can unite. This is about what sort of place it wants to become in 5-10 years time. Articulating what it might look like as if the future was already here, taking everyones aspirations into account, can be a helpful way of doing this. The vision should be developed with core stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. If core stakeholders are not involved from the start, then the risk of failure will be magnified as time progresses. Place-making Strategy and Action Plan Develop a Place-making Strategy and Action Plan. Identify, through consultation and research where necessary, the actions that need to be undertaken in each sector in order to achieve the place vision. Ensure each action has an owner who is accountable for delivering it. Sustainable Development Ensure all development is sustainable. All product and infrastructure developments should pass a sustainability test. They must be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Technical mechanisms may be used to assess their sustainability, such as environmental impact assessment, models projecting economic growth etc. What this means in essence is that any development should provide long-term revenue and employment, enhance local peoples quality of life, contribute towards environmental improvement and certainly not cause environmental degradation. Otherwise there is a risk of sowing the seeds of long-term community and economic decline. Targeted Marketing Place-making must be focussed on the best prospects for the place. This requires a clear understanding of current and potential customers by all sectors. Who are they? Where are they? What motivates them to travel, invest, move jobs, relocate businesses, and select one place over another for study? It also means that each sector and business must focus on their own best prospects, using the most convincing messages and effective media channels to reach their particular customers. However, they should all present consistent messages about the place in their own marketing, based on the places core brand values, and never send out conflicting messages about the place.

How Do We Get There (Strategy)?

Leadership Identify the place leader. The place-making strategy has to be owned and driven by one organisation, which is accountable for initiating its development and engaging stakeholders to ensure its implementation. Usually this will be the democratically elected authority (e.g. city council, municipal authority). This is so important to the places future that it should be led, or at least championed, from the very top (e.g. council leader, mayor, chief executive). Otherwise it will not be perceived to be particularly important and officials charged with implementation will find it harder to achieve credibility. Core Stakeholder Group Identify and pull together key stakeholders in all major sectors, who will form the core driving force behind the development and implementation of a place8

SMART Targets Develop SMART targets (SMART = specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timed) These need to be agreed and allocated to appropriate organisations and people, who will be responsible for delivering them. Partnership Identify and develop a good working relationship with appropriate partners. It is important to identify areas for joint planning and action. It is equally important to have a realistic approach to partnership where it is appropriate and where it is not. This is about identifying areas of mutual interest and being explicit about each others objectives. For instance, all sectors should be agreeable to using the places brand values in their own marketing communications; but different messages and communications channels will be used to attract visitors to come for a short break, potential investors to set up a call centre, postgraduates to study or creative professionals to relocate to the area. Understanding where and when to work together, and when to pursue ones own objectives will be critical to a good working relationship between partners in the place.

impossible to know whether the place is improving its competitive position, or to adjust the place-making strategy to deal with change.

Critical Success Factors

Critical success factors are inherent in the How Do We Get There? (Strategy) section above. However it is worth highlighting a few that are often overlooked or underappreciated: Leadership and Vision Strong leadership is essential to maintain focus, drive the vision forward and maintain involvement by all core stakeholders. If no one is seen by stakeholders to own and champion the place-making vision, then it is likely to fragment into a series of uncoordinated projects that will fail to reinforce a sense of place. The overall leader and place-making champion (usually the head of the local authority) needs continually to enthuse stakeholders and partners and retain their commitment to the vision for the places future. Strategic focus Place-making takes time. An unwavering, strategic focus must be maintained over several years. This becomes increasingly important as projects fail to materialise or investors pull out. There will always be setbacks. What is important is that clear commitment is maintained to reinforcing a sense of place throughout the difficult times. Reminding waverers that this is about the long-term goal of improving the places competitiveness may help retain focus. Stakeholder Understanding and Buy-in Stakeholder understanding of, and buy-in to, the places vision of its future will be critical to reaching that future. Each must understand the direction in which the place is headed and play their part, according to their own expertise, in propelling the place towards that future. This relies on regular and effective communication. Partnership A spirit of mutual understanding, trust and respect should underpin all partnerships. Identifying mutual opportunities, understanding when to work together and when to pursue ones own objectives are important Distinctiveness It is axiomatic that the place has to establish its distinctiveness from its main competitors. Every development, whether a new building, infrastructure improvement or marketing campaign, should aim to reflect the places distinctiveness and ensure that all stakeholders understand and appreciate what this is. Sustainability Any vision for a places future is about making it a better place to be. This has to be economically, socially

Communication Develop a mechanism for ongoing communication with stakeholders to inform them of place-making developments, particularly milestones reached and successes. This should cover both core stakeholders (e.g. through meetings, workshops, electronic and printed updates) and the wider stakeholder group including local residents (e.g. through consumer media news releases, interviews etc.). Effective communication to a wider group of local residents is particularly important where major infrastructure developments, which may cause them considerable inconvenience, is under way. If they can see what the future will look like, rather than merely feel the inconvenience to their daily lives, then residents are much more likely to buy into the way forward with pride. It is also important to explain the ripple effect of the place-making strategy to regional stakeholders. This means identifying how areas further afield, which have an economic or social link to the place, will benefit from the slipstream of a more successful place.

Measuring Progress Identify how success will be measured. How do we know when the place is successful? Success indicators might include measures such as new jobs created, companies retained/attracted, VAT registrations, office space availability, retail rental rate, number of visitors, visitor spend, student growth, demand for housing, to residents satisfaction surveys and competitor benchmarking etc. Measures will vary from place to place and sector to sector. But, without robust measures in place, it will be 9

and environmentally sustainable and seen to be so by stakeholders. Alignment Structures, policies and strategies need to be aligned to support the vision and to ensure all sectors of the community will benefit. This is about both effectiveness and sustainability. This means ensuring that duplication is avoided and that all partner organisations, whether public or private at community, city or regional level, communicate effectively and apply their respective skills towards a common goal. Measuring progress Identifying success indicators and measurement methods is one thing. Ensuring that stakeholders provide the relevant data on a regular basis is another. Sometimes this will involve stakeholders providing commercially confidential information (e.g. sales figures, business performance etc.) to an honest broker, who collates all input and issues a trend report. This will need to be agreed with appropriate stakeholders in advance so that a baseline can be established and the necessary information obtained to monitor progress.

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SPAA Partners Demonstration Projects

Summary
The four SPAA partners (Limerick, Valimar, Ourense, Chester) represent regions with quite different characteristics. Each faced a different challenge in developing a strategy to market their places. This was reflected in the different approaches that each took. One thing they all had in common was a belief that peoples perceptions of their city regions would be driven primarily by their image as a place to visit. This is true of many places worldwide that wish to improve their chances of attracting people to live work, invest, study in and visit them. So, all partners either led with a tourism/leisure angle, or this was a major element of their approach to place-making. Their focus varied from enhancing their place for residents (Limerick), through establishing an appealing identity and providing appropriate information for visitors (Ourense and Valimar), to identifying actions that would enhance the appeal of their place across all sectors - economic development, retail, tourism, inward investment, education and the local community (Chester). Ourense therefore opted to associate itself with high profile sporting events, such as a regional car rally, inter-Celtic rugby tournament and a major Spanish tennis championship in order to emphasise the natural, healthy, outdoors environment and range of sporting activities available in the area. Considerable numbers of people attended these events, particularly the car rally. Through this association with these high profile sporting events, and with the sports celebrities who attended or participated in them, Ourense was able to draw its charms to the attention of a wide audience. Substantial media coverage was also achieved for Ourense, which will hopefully bear fruit in years to come in establishing Ourenses reputation as a lively, natural area with good access to outdoor activities and a great place to live, work and visit.

Valimar faced two main challenges: an expansion of the Valimar region from 5 to 6 independent municipalities during the project, and the need to put itself on the map as a visitor destination, which would underpin its appeal as a place in which to live and work. The unique combination of cultural, natural, historical and religious heritage form the core of areas appeal as a place to visit, live and work. Valimars focus was therefore on providing an integrated information service for visitors. This included the development of thematic routes to enhance the areas appeal and encourage visitors to stay longer in the area, signposting these routes and providing interpretation centres to help people get the most out of their experience.

Limericks main challenge was to re-energise the city and address negative perceptions throughout its main market, Ireland. This was considered essential in order to inspire civic pride, underpin the potential for attracting investment and potential relocators to work in the area, and appeal to potential visitors. Limerick identified the need for a more coherent vision, focusing on development of the city centre. At the same time it undertook a series of events and activities designed to animate the city centre. This was aimed at attracting local people and regional residents back into the city and, to a lesser extent, visitors from further afield in Ireland. Limericks main aim was therefore to put a foundation in place that would begin the citys transformation This had a clear focus on improving the product, changing residents perceptions and addressing customer service in the city, as well as ensuring through cost-effective public relations campaigns that potential customers and visitors heard about the changes. The success of these events, particularly Riverfest, not only brought people into the city in considerable numbers for the event, but there was also evidence of an emerging willingness to view Limerick in a different light. Plans are already well advanced for future events in 2007, building on the success and insights learnt in 2006.

Chesters main challenge was to address its relative competitive decline within a rapidly developing economic subregion. It developed a place-making strategy that recommended 69 prioritised actions. These were aimed at restoring Chesters competitiveness in 5 sectors: economic development/inward investment, tourism, retail, education and community. Chester benchmarked itself against key competitor historic cities, developed a pioneering aspiration to become a boutique city (a term never before used to refer to a city) and identified its economic future as being strongly linked to the wider economic sub-region. Against a background of declining independent and specialist retail - on which its reputation had in large part rested - and intensifying competition from regional retail expansion, Chester also successfully undertook tactical marketing campaigns. These were aimed at encouraging regional residents to visit Chester to shop, thereby helping to reinvigorate Chesters appeal as a retail centre that offered a unique shopping experience in a historic environment. The 2005 campaign generated over 11m in additional visitor spend in Chester.

Ourense wanted to put itself on the visitor map and attract former residents back. This meant creating an identity for itself that attempted to overcome peoples limited awareness of its natural charms, particularly throughout the rest of Spain. 11

Limerick, Ireland
Challenge
Limerick is Irelands third city, located in the southwest of Ireland with a proud heritage, thriving university and only a short distance from Shannon international airport. The last five years have seen unprecedented development and change in Limerick. Nevertheless, Limerick suffers from an image problem in the rest of Ireland, which appears to have had a negative impact on its self-image and local self-confidence. The Limerick Coordination Office (SPAA partner for Limerick) recognised that the city was not yet at the stage where it could credibly promote the city externally without addressing certain development needs. A report was commissioned from the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) within the SPAA project to address the place-marketing of Limerick. This highlighted the scale of the challenge that Limerick needed to address: Despite the current noticeable level of investment in Limerick city centre, it offers a poor experience compared with other significant European cities. Limerick city centre is under serious threat from a combination of out-of-town retailing, the growing reputation of Galway as a shopping destination, and cheap flights offering easy access to far better shopping and entertainment locations. The loss of local and regional spend will not be replaced by visitor spending without a substantial upgrade to the experience the city centre offers. The poor image of Limerick remains a serious issue for potential visitors and investors. Although a real city centre offering a diverse range of activities (civic functions, personal, professional and business services; business and employment centre; housing; and transport interchange), without a strong retail and leisure/entertainment base in the centre, Limerick risks becoming more like a US city than a European one, with potentially the many inherent security, environmental and investor value problems that brings. Despite existing partnerships and a willingness by many parties to do something to regenerate the city centre, there appears to be a lack of focus and no clear vision for the future. This means there is no comprehensive shared strategy and no prioritised action plan. The raw materials of a historic city, the riverside location, airport proximity a city council committed to overhauling the public realm, existing private sector investors, and regional prominence (together with a well-respected university and rugby club) suggest that Limerick can be changed if a concerted and sustained effort is made now. Strategic city centre management, with buy-in from the key public and private sector stakeholders, a clear widely-adopted vision and shared strategy and a strong delivery 12

focus, could (based on evidence from other European cities) be the focus and driving force that Limerick city centre needs. The challenge therefore was to develop a shared vision of the future amongst city stakeholders and communities. It was also to begin developing Limericks leisure/recreation offer that would enhance residents enjoyment - and therefore perceptions of, and hopefully pride in - their own city as well as, eventually, provide reasons to visit Limerick, and to promote this new face of Limerick within Ireland.

Approach
SPAA Projects Limerick undertook 5 SPAA demonstration projects: Speciality markets Street ambassadors Events and festival office Public relations Loyalty card

City Centre Vision Plans are being developed, as a result of the ATCM report, to address the development of a shared vision, strategy and action plan for Limericks city centre. This will begin with a detailed health check assessing what the city centre has to offer (attractions), how to get into, out of and around the city centre (accessibility), quality of experience in the city centre (amenity), and what needs to be done to enhance the city centre and promote it (action). The aim of this city centre vision, strategy and action plan will be to: Build consensus and a positive direction Build upon the citys uniqueness Build partnership, trust and civic pride Encourage people to return to the city centre Encourage investment and maintain vitality and diversity

Strategic leadership will be required to develop this vision, implement and monitor it. Uniting the providers of public services with the drivers of growth in the commercial sector will be critical. At the moment some elements of this role are being carried out by the Limerick Coordination Office, some by the local authority and some by the regional development organisation (Shannon Development). However, the need to formalise this role and ensure accountability has been identified as a critical step in propelling Limerick forward. Activities Limerick has not put its development on hold while waiting for this vision, strategy and action plan to be agreed and developed. It undertook the following activities within the SPAA project, aimed at beginning this process of turning both the reality and image of Limerick around:

Speciality Markets

Sunday Market The objective of the market is to create attraction on the newly finished pedestrianised area of the city centre on a day that is traditionally quiet in the city. The market is aimed at locals as well as tourists. Limerick is experiencing considerable tourism growth, with a doubling of hotel bed night capacity to 2,000 when three 4 /5 star hotels open in May 2007. The market, which will specialise in the promotion of indigenous arts, crafts and foods, will hopefully prove a big attraction. It will have a bohemian feel, with local students from the College of Art & Design (ceramics, painting, fashion, etc) invited to participate. There will also be jazz music and an overall relaxed Sunday morning laid back atmosphere to the event, which will hopefully run throughout the summer and into the autumn. It is intended to spend the additional finance in three key areas: Physical Appearance of the market is crucial it must be seen to be professional and well presented. Therefore investment will be made in the branding and image of the market - such as umbrellas, aprons, banners etc Advertising/Promotion in the local media will include a high profile launch and advertising campaign, brochure/leaflet/posters as well as direct marketing to the hotels and tourism sector. There will also be a wider campaign promoting the city on a Sunday as a place to visit i.e. Limerick City Centre On a Sunday a More Inspiring Shopping Centre; Limerick City Centre for a Perfect Sunday

to provide a welcome to city visitors to provide information to city visitors to observe, and feed back comments to city authorities, on the city environment that might affect the visitor experience

They were provided with uniforms so that they were highly visible. They were required to fill out a report at the end of each daily shift on their activities, an analysis of visitors encountered and any city environmental/public realm issues that needed addressed. They also completed an evaluation form at the end of the programme, which identified ways in which the programme and service to visitors could be improved.

Recruitment ad for street ambassadors

Events and Festival Office

The obvious benefits of the project are that it will create employment, add value to the city centre by attracting more people into Limerick. It will enhance the image of the City and utilise the new public space in the city centre.

Events and festivals were identified as capable of playing a major role in reinvigorating the city and refreshing its image. A local promotional agency (Eightball Promotions and Media) was appointed to develop, manage, promote and monitor a major festival, Riverfest. Riverfest comprised a wide range of events over 4 days (April 27 May 01 2006), from watersports on the River Shannon, through a rock concert by an internationally renowned band (Fun Lovin Criminals), sports events and a French market, to a barbeque and fireworks. Research amongst Riverfest participants showed that: the main appeal was the craic/ambience/fun (68%) specific events were important motivators for attendance, particularly the main concert, French market and barbeque (43%) most people travelled to the festival by car (59%) over half the festival participants were not local residents and stayed in hotels, rented accommodation or with friends (52%) most people came in groups of two, as couples or with friends; few families with children attended more than half decide to come less than a month beforehand, with some deciding less than a week ahead while their length of stay at the festival varied from half 13

Food stall - speciality market

Street Ambassadors

Nine roving street ambassadors and one supervisor were trained with three aims:

a day or less (38%) to 2 days (30%), 27% said they would spend between 2-4 days in Limerick

Loyalty Card

The idea of developing a Limerick loyalty card was mooted. The aim was to attract people back into the city to shop, to increase footfall, sales and customer retention for stores, thereby adding value to both consumers and retailers. Around 45% of shopkeepers didnt know who their customers were. The first step, undertaken as part of the SPAA project, was to test the feasibility of a loyalty card scheme with retailers and residents. Research into these two critical customer groups was considered essential in order to decide whether the concept had sufficient merits, in terms of its stated aims of helping to regenerate the city, to go ahead or not. Following this research, it was decided not to go ahead, primarily for the following reasons: the inconvenience to retailers of requiring to install a separate terminal in an already crowded customer contact point (e.g. shop counter); the 10-15% minimum discount customers expected for them to perceive the card to be valuable, which was not universally acceptable to retailers; potentially burdensome administrative procedures and disproportionate marketing costs associated with developing a loyalty card. Overall, it was felt that it was unlikely that there would be sufficient benefit to retailers, residents or to the city as a whole to warrant the investment of time, money and effort required to establish a loyalty card. Nevertheless, some useful insights were learnt regarding both loyalty cards and residents attitudes to the role of the city centre. (See Insights below)

Riverfest programme

Public Relations

Communicating the changes that Limerick would be going through was immensely important. People in the rest of Ireland needed to be made aware of Limericks determination to change, and of the changes as they happened. This was far more important in Ireland, where Limerick had suffered for some time from a very negative image for violence and deprivation, than in overseas markets, where it was not tarnished with this image. Consequently a public relations professional was appointed to ensure that all SPAA demonstration projects, as well as other activities aimed at reinvigorating the citys sense of place, were communicated via the media to local people, as well as to regional residents and people in the rest of Ireland. The focus of PR effort was on generating positive news stories highlighting the best developments in Limericks business, sport, social, cultural, education and public life, and then strategically placing them in the relevant media to ensure maximum impact amongst the most appropriate target audiences.

Impact
Speciality Markets The impact of these is still to be determined Street Ambassadors: During the three-month summer period (June Aug) the street ambassadors encountered3 9,368 visitors. The largest single number was, surprisingly, from the USA (18%), followed by France (12%), England (11%), Limerick (11%), Germany (9%), Spain (9%), Italy (6%). Surprisingly, although the number of local visitors encountered was relatively high, the number of visitors encountered from the rest of Ireland was low (3%).

Events and Festival Office

Limerick came alive during Riverfest. It demonstrated the fun side and potential vibrancy of the city in contrast to the widespread negative publicity that Limerick had received in

Limerick Co-ordination Office Newsletter

Visitors encountered as opposed to visitors in total. Local visitors would be much less likely to require the services of a street ambassador.

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recent years. It proved a hit with local people and international visitors alike and represented an important step en route to Limericks re-positioning. Key success indicators were: 400% increase in private funding expanded festival programme for the city increased positive media coverage for the city seeds of a recovery in the citys self-confidence and civic pride clear insights were learnt from research amongst Riverfest participants about how to enhance the event and market it in a more focussed way for 2007

stage in their visit and can make the most of their visit The value of festivals to the citys tourism product The value of festivals in restoring community confidence and civic pride The value of festivals in improving the citys image The positive economic impact of festivals for local traders and on the city as a whole. Insights (cont.) The critical success factors in implementing a loyalty card scheme would be: From a customer perspective: - Preference for accumulating points, leading to a cash discount, rather than an instant discount* - *Older people were happier with accumulating points for later redemption; younger people were keener on an instant discount - No membership/management fee - 10-15% discount minimum on all goods, not just a selected range - Success depends on involvement of key anchor stores, as well as a sufficient critical mass of stores - Discounts on non-retail items, such as parking and public transport were not appealing - The card must be simple to use - The concept of exclusivity was highly attractive (e.g. pre-sale viewing and chance to purchase at certain times of year) N.B. Most people already had at least one loyalty card (store-specific) People preferred the idea of obtaining a loyalty card through a store, rather than a mass marketing campaign From a retailers perspective: - The card must be simple to use - Multiple/chain stores generally require head office approval - Ability to capture details on a per product, per transaction basis - Card must be EPOS (electronic point of sale) compatible - Customer purchase profile needs to be captured electronically - Potential to reduce marketing costs Important factors in residents usage of the city: Shopping in Limerick was seen as a social experience, not just a functional activity it was more of a day out The city centre was seen as more relaxing - open and not claustrophobic - than a shopping mall While older people preferred the ambience of the city centre, younger people preferred the vibrancy, coupled with entertainment opportunities (e.g. cinema, restaurants), of a shopping mall On-street car parking was important to people visiting the city centre Main disincentives to shopping in the city centre

Public Relations

Considerable media coverage was achieved in targeted media locally and throughout Ireland. Media coverage of festivals and events, such as Riverfest helped boost attendance. But, more importantly, they began to redress the negative perceptions of Limerick held throughout Ireland. And, hopefully, they will have contributed towards the rebirth of civic pride amongst local people, whose self-image had been affected by the constant negative media coverage of their city.

Limerick press cutting

Insights
The power of street markets to help refresh a citys product, attract back lapsed shoppers and reinvigorate a citys image The value of street ambassadors to - make visitors and local shoppers feel welcome - provide information to visitors - to act as the eyes and ears of the city authorities in identifying the need for public realm improvements, thereby feeding into the citys product and infrastructure development plans - gain an insight into visitors perceptions of the city (both likes and dislikes) and where they came from, thereby feeding into the citys future marketing plan The need to promote the street ambassador role at key visitor arrival points (e.g. airport, train, bus stations) so that visitors are aware of them at an early 15

were: car parking, weather, less choice and earlier closing than the mall, and pedestrianvehicle conflict, lack of pedestrianisation, busy traffic The importance of public relations in communicating how a city is changing, informing potential visitors of events and redressing the negative impact of one-sided media reports

See more www.limerick.ie www.limerickcityfestivals.com

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Chester, England
Challenge
Chester is a historically unique city whose success to date has depended largely on its position as a natural focus within a relatively wealthy region comprising West Cheshire, South Wirral plus North Wales. Chesters key economic drivers have been high quality retail, tourism and, more recently, financial services. However warning signs were already emerging that Chesters competitive position was weakening. These were particularly evident in the following areas: fewer specialist and independent shops; Cheshires slippage down the UK Gross Value Added (GVA) league which measures economic output; limited investment in new tourism product development compared to its main competitors, and an ageing and therefore less economically active - population. A vision, behind which all stakeholders could unite, to stem Chesters competitive decline was called for. This was about defining the type of place Chester wanted to become. It was also about clarifying Chesters role within the economic subregion, which was changing rapidly both in terms of population and business growth, but also in terms of increasing competition (particularly retail) for the services that Chester used to provide to regional residents. And it was about communicating Chesters strengths, and where it was going, to key potential customers.

Place-making Strategy

Chester set out a vision that would influence perceptions of its sense of place across five key sectors: - Chester mini city region - a great place to work, invest and do business - Tourism/visitor economy - a great place to visit - Retail - a great place to shop - Education - a great place to study - Chester as home - a great place to live

The vision for Chester in 2015 was for Chester to become a boutique city that would be: - a "must-see" European destination; - an "energy centre" for the economic sub-region; - a beacon of retail quality, range and distinctiveness; - recognised as a leader in applying world-class solutions to the development of small historic cities. This was based on a positioning statement that articulated how Chester would want to be seen in 2015: Chesters unique historic environment, compact size and range of quality shops and markets offer an accessible and enjoyable experience - somewhere people will want to live, work and visit because it is an intriguing, romantic, culturally vibrant and stylish city. Chesters future was seen as lying in the development of its visitor economy, retail, business and professional services and knowledge industries and, critically, on its role within the economic sub-region, and doing so in a way that would give it a sustainable competitive edge. The place-making strategy (PMS) identified the need for Chester to differentiate itself from other historic cities in Europe by claiming the title of Britains (and probably the worlds) first historic boutique city4 This would provide a guide to future development and the type of investment Chester wanted to attract. It meant building on Chesters existing assets, developing under-utilised assets such as the river, canal and old port, and attracting the type of retail, and leisure businesses that reinforce this sense of place, such as signature restaurants and boutique hotels in particular. It also meant improving the range and quality of its cultural and entertainment offer.

Chester a must see Boutique City

Approach
SPAA Projects Chester undertook three SPAA demonstration projects aimed at addressing this challenge: Development of a place-making strategy Extension of a loyalty card scheme (Charisma) Tactical direct marketing campaign 17

Physical space limitations constrain the potential for business expansion and new housing within Chester. Chesters future prosperity will therefore depend on the economic success of its wider sub-region, particularly North East Wales, Liverpool and Cheshire, with whom Chester must work to stimulate economic growth. The PMS therefore recommended that Chester, as a mini city-region, should also focus on its role as

The term boutique evokes an appealing combination of heritage, design-driven quality and cotemory facilities in an environment that is compact, accessible and manageable from the perspective of both visiors and residents.

an energy centre and service hub for the sub-region, whereby regional residents look to Chester to service many of their shopping, cultural and entertainment needs. Chesters future was also seen to depend on maintaining a reputation for high quality retail and a range of choice in a unique historic environment, to differentiate it from other regional shopping centres. Maintaining a competitive edge in terms of the retail offer alone will become increasingly harder, as market trends and commercial realities threaten smaller independent and specialist shops and increasingly favour the multiple retail store model, which is tending to increase city centre homogeneity and reduce retail distinctiveness. The PMS noted that Chester was fortunate in terms of both the wealth of its hinterland and its unique historic infrastructure. It therefore stressed the need to recognise its heritage as the platform upon which to build its distinctiveness. This is where the seeds of Chesters competitive edge have been sown. It was therefore critical for Chester to preserve, polish and promote its historical and architectural assets in a way that would appeal to visitors and engender pride amongst residents.

would be valid in all four partner cities was also mooted.

Tactical Direct Marketing Campaign

A tactical marketing campaign was developed to encourage regional residents to visit Chester to shop. Residents within 1.5 hours drive were targeted, using regional radio, regional press, PR, billboards, mailshots and street animation in NovDec 2005 and 2006. Street animation included a festive giftwrapping service, Bavarian market, busking competitions in Chesters historic centre and a Christmas fairy who selected a limited number of people at random and paid their shopping bills. The theme reflected one of Chesters place brand values, indulgence, promoting shopping in Chester as a relaxing, indulgent experience.

Extension of Loyalty Card Scheme

Chester has operated a smart card programme for local residents since 2004. This provides discounts in shops, restaurants and parking. It is generally considered successful by both residents and businesses, with over 30,000 residents registered and 300 participating businesses. Under the SPAA project the Charisma card was extended to visitors to Chester, focussing primarily on regional day visitors and weekend short-breakers. The aim was to encourage regional residents and visitors to shop in Chester, to add value to visitors Chester experience and increase revenue for Chester businesses. It was promoted and sold (@ 5.99 per card) through Chesters two tourist information centres, email and telephone. The primary target market was day-trippers living within a two hour journey of Chester. They come to Chester regularly as it is their favourite place to shop, eat out and seek entertainment. It is seen as a somewhat special day out. This group is characterised by Empty Nesters and WOOFs (Well Off Older Folk). The secondary target market was people on weekend breaks especially those who live in the North West or Wales and might come to Chester for repeat short breaks. This group was characterised by Empty Nesters, WOOFs and DINKs (Dual Income no Kids) In addition business visitors, who make repeat visits to the city, and people staying with friends or family were targeted. The idea of developing a discount/added value card that 18

Impact Place-making Strategy

Chesters place-making strategy was developed as foundation for the future. By identifying the type of place Chester wanted to become it aimed to unite key stakeholders behind its vision, guide the type of investment that Chester would seek to attract in keeping with the citys sense of place, and define its relationship within the wider economic sub-region. 69 actions were proposed that would move Chester forward towards achieving this vision. These were categorised as primary, strategic management, and transformational actions. The PMS was accepted by key stakeholders in the public and private sectors as a roadmap for Chesters future. They adopted the aspiration to become Britains (if not the worlds) first boutique city and agreed the actions required to achieve this. Discussions are now underway regarding funding and phasing of these actions as well as accountability for delivering them. Strong leadership, from both the public and private sectors, was identified as critical to the success of the placemaking strategy.

Extension of Loyalty Card Scheme

Firstly, it was rapidly concluded that there would be no synergy between a card that offered discounts/added value in all four partner cities, which would also be administratively

complex. Secondly, the take-up of the extended Charisma card by regional, UK and overseas visitors to Chester was relatively low: of 20,000 promotional e-mails sent to prospective users and 8,000 leaflets printed, 700 cards were sold. Generally restaurants appeared to welcome the card more than retailers, many of whom already had their own UK-wide loyalty cards. Nevertheless the number of businesses participating in the scheme increased by 20% and they confirmed that the scheme had increased footfall and transactions during off peak trading. However, the card was not perceived as adding significant value for visitors, and certainly had little or no impact on visitors decisions to choose Chester. The cost of marketing the card to visitors before arrival was high. And the opportunities to market it to them after they arrived in Chester were quite limited. It was therefore decided that the most cost-effective way of promoting the card to visitors was through a tactical marketing campaign aimed at regional residents, which was already planned (another SPAA project see below). This would focus primarily on local residents, who would both derive the most benefit from the card and provide the greatest opportunity for local businesses. Gross project cost: 85,000 Income (sponsorship/card sales): 25,000 Net project cost: 60,000

experience in keeping with the citys sense of place A clear strategic focus Strong partnerships between stakeholders, particularly between the public and private sectors and between different local authorities Good communications between all stakeholders Alignment of all policies, strategies and structures behind the vision SMART targets for each stakeholder (SMART = specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timed)

Loyalty cards are most valuable to local residents and local businesses. Their perceived value diminishes beyond the city limits Loyalty cards play little, if any, role in attracting visitors. The costs of marketing a loyalty card beyond the immediate city region is not justified by the extra business generated A loyalty card needs to be easily accessible through purchase points with indicators to remind people where and when to use it. Tactical marketing: Regional advertising is most effective within 1.5 hours drive time in attracting shoppers to Chester

See more: www.chester.gov.uk www.chester.gov.uk/main.asp?page=281 (for PlaceMaking Strategy) www.visitchester.com

Tactical Direct Marketing Campaign

Over 11m additional expenditure was generated in Chester by the tactical marketing campaign in 2005: people who considered their visit to Chester to have been strongly influenced by the Chester Christmas advertising spent 3,468,883 and people who considered their visit to have been somewhat influenced by the Chester Christmas advertising spent a further 7,813,532. 80% of people interviewed in the city centre during December 2005 were not Chester residents: 21% from other parts of Cheshire, 19% from other parts of the Northwest, 10% from other parts of England, 28% from Wales, and 2% from overseas

Insights
Critical success factors in delivering a place-making strategy are: - A clear vision behind which all stakeholders can unite - A clear understanding of the citys vision by all stakeholders - Buy-in from key stakeholders in all sectors - Strong leadership: by the public sector as a champion of the vision and in the development of infrastructure in keeping with the citys sense of place; - by the private sector in delivering a visitor 19

Ourense, Spain
Challenge
The province of Ourense is located in the autonomous region of Galicia in the north of Spain. Though important in size (it covers nearly 25% of the Galicia territory), it is landlocked and, in tourism terms, overshadowed by the coastal region and the fame of Santiago de Compostela, a major pilgrimage site on the UN World Heritage list. Santiago is just over 100kms from Ourense. In addition, and in parallel to other provinces throughout Galicia and Spain, Ourense experienced considerable emigration throughout the last century, as the agricultural sector declined. Ourenses place-making therefore addresses the need to profile the region and to create an attractive image that can help to develop tourism, but also to invite Galician emigrants back to the land of their forefathers and to attract inward investment.

nationally, through the sponsorship of high profile sporting events. Inorde aimed to reach the highest possible audience numbers indirectly through different media at a reasonable cost. Disseminating tourism specific information to potential travellers to the area (through public tourism fairs and a widely broadcast TV programme) and to visitors in the area (through touch screens at strategic locations).

Activities
Inordes place-making activities in both the locally organised and sponsored events consistently covered the following: Strong Ourense branding of promotional support material Establishment of an exhibition stand on which it is possible to obtain tourism material about the province Promotion to appropriately targeted media.

To ensure maximum recognition of the name Ourense, a logo was designed for the purpose, composed of the name of the province and all available resources, identified by colours blue (water), green (nature).

Approach
SPAA Projects Ourense undertook 3 SPAA demonstration projects: Locally organised events Sponsorship of sporting events Tourism information distribution

Locally Organised Events

Strategy Inorde is an autonomous organisation created in 1987 by the Diputacin Provincial de Ourense, the County Council of Ourense. As one of Spains UPDs (Unidad de Promocin y Desarrollo) it is responsible for the economic development within the province and offers support, advice and subvention for business investors as well as assistance in promoting Ourense businesses through presence at trade fairs and at missions. Inorde is also the official Destination Management Organisation for Ourense. Inordes strategy for Ourenses place-making comprised 3 elements: Organising sporting events with a broad appeal and substantial power to attract diverse audiences. As well as promoting the province, these events were also intended to energise the provinces residents. Promoting the name of Ourense locally and 20

In 2005, Ourense became one of only 6 destinations for the highly popular Rally de Tierra championship in Spain. Held for the first time on 12-13 November in 2005, the event was repeated in May 2006, when its duration was doubled from 1 to 2 days. 54 cars and 20 motorbikes took part, with top national and international participants. Sponsored by the Royal Automobil Club of Spain (RACE) and a host of important corporates such as Repsol, Movistar and Michelin, the event has high PR value. Inordes specific promotional activities included the following: Organisation of a press conference at the beginning of the event, giving detailed information on the province to the assembled media, which underlined Ourenses brand message Posters and flyers on Ourense, which were distributed throughout the province and available to visitors at key points Tierra and Ourense websites Enhanced PR efforts to achieve coverage in specialised national sporting and car magazines, as well as in local media (newspapers and radio)

The promotional campaign for the event in media, through posters etc. began a month before the event and the activities intensified in the final weeks.

Sponsors were also locally recruited: both the Caixa Galicia and the Escuderia Ourense (the main provincial motor club responsible for the development of motor sport in Ourense) both offered in-kind support: trophies and administrative and stewarding support. There was also considerable local stakeholder buy-in from hospitality and shopping outlets in the area.

Sponsorship of Sporting Events

While Inorde was highly involved in the bidding for, and organisation of, the Rally de Tierra, their place-making activity in 2005 and 2006 also included selecting high profile local and national sporting events for financial sponsorship. The First Interceltic Rugby Tournament was held in Ourense from 30th March to1st April 2006 and brought together 4 teams from Ireland, the North of Portugal, Galicia and Asturias. Over and above the general brand marketing activities described on the top of page 2, Inorde also organised a press conference on 29th April, in which journalists received information on the SPAA project in general as well as on the event itself. The province was further promoted through a trip on a catamaran on the Ribeira Sacra and wine tasting. From 20th-30th April 2006, Inorde took a stand at the Conde de Godo Spanish Tennis Open in Barcelona, the only Spanish province to be present. The Trofeo Conde de God, which celebrated 50 years in 2002, is the most important event for Spanish tennis and one of the most prestigious clay court tournaments in the world. Since 1968, the tournament is considered as the major international championship in Spain. Continuing its profiling in the motor sport arena, Inorde also sponsors other prominent rallies throughout Spain, in order to maintain visibility of its brand to this particular sporting audience. In September/October 2006 sponsorship activity covered the rallies of Ferrol, Llanes and Costa Brava.

Dissemination of Tourism Information

Pre-visit The TV programme Desde Galicia para el mundo featured a special edition on Ourense that was broadcast on 1 October 2005 on TV2. Inorde welcomed the initiative and assisted the broadcaster in their information gathering. A repeat broadcast is likely on the international Radio Televisin Espaola channel. Inorde developed a new Ourense branded exhibition stand for its calendar of public tourism fairs in Spain. The SPAA support budget also paid for their participation at the regional Expolugo public tourism fair from 5th to 19th October 2005. Stand personnel distributed brochures and gave information on the tourism products and services in Ourense. During visit Inorde installed 3 interactive touch screens, displaying information about the provinces vast tourism offer quickly and simply. The aim is to allow visitors to take better advantage of their stay, to enjoy it and to wish to return. A web link to the SPAA site will be made available. New screens are planned for 2007. Touch screens were put in strategic locations: in a reconstructed castle in Castro Caldelas, the town hall in Nogueira de Ramuin (close to the historic Hotel Monumento de Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil) and in an interpretation centre in Trives.

Impact Locally organised events

Direct impact: The rallies in Ourense attracted a high level of public support within a large local and regional audience in the 20 to 40-year age bracket. The areas hotel occupancy 21

rose before, during and after the event. Anecdotal evidence points to high satisfaction level among partners and tourism suppliers. The 2005 rally saw a 100%+ occupancy rise in A Gudia, where the rally was held, in comparison to same period the previous year. Other hospitality and shopping outlets also reported significant growth in business over the duration of both rallies. Indirect impact: A wider, national, audience was also reached through rally reports in specialised weekly sporting magazines and dedicated slots on state and independent televison broadcasting media.

which is felt by visitors and residents alike. Inorde gained insights from the first years activities, which enabled its approach to be fine-tuned over the period of the project, thereby improving the next event and increasing its media impact.

Practical Ourense Rally After organising the inaugural rally in November 05, Inorde made some changes to the event for 2006: Duration: In order to maximise economic impact, the rally was extended from one to 2 days. Visitors were encouraged to stay longer and therefore spent more in Ourenses hotels and shops Time of year: To take advantage of more clement weather, the event date was moved to spring Location: while the first rally took place in the countryside, the rally headquarters were moved to the city of Ourense for the repeat in 2006. Again, Inorde felt that this would stimulate economic benefit, by allowing partners of rally-goers to take advantage of the attractions and retail outlets in Ourense.

Sponsorship of sporting events

While the inter-Celtic rugby tournament sponsorship was more specifically aimed at enhancing the socio-cultural ties linking Celtic communities, the Ourense stand at other sporting events created a visual impact on the visiting public, which was futher reinforced by the provision of promotional brochures on the region. At the Conde de God tennis championships in particular, Ourense was the only Spanish province with a promotional stand. The booth was visited by 100-150 people on weekdays and up to 250 during weekend days, including some well known tennis players. Presence at these events allowed Inorde to raise awareness of the Ourense brand - its natural environment and outdoor activities, which underpin its tourism product.

See more http://www.inorde.es http://www.turismourense.com/ http://www.rallysdetierra.com http://openseatbarcelona.com

Rallye de Tierra: Ourense branded car

Insights
Strategic Inordes experience illustrates the important role of sport in regeneration, sense of place and tourism marketing. The identification of the destination with high profile sporting events, especially such high adrenalin sports such as the Rally de Tierra, creates a sense of buzz and energy for the place, 22

Valimar, Portugal
Challenge The region of Valimar consists of 6 independent municipalities in the North of Portugal: Arcos de Valdevez, Caminha, Esposende, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima and Viana do Castelo. Its 221,000 residents live on a total area of just over 1500 sq km, stretching from the Atlantic shores and its beaches to the valleys of the Lima river in the interior. Although highly attractive in terms of history, architecture and natural attributes, statistics show that, some honeypots aside (such as Ponte de Lima during the Feiras Novas festival), the area experiences issues of short stay and high seasonality. In particular, there appears to be a low level of awareness of the tourism resources on offer in the wider region, away from its main urban areas. Valimars main challenge was to pull several sub-regions together behind the Valimar brand and to increase awareness of a geographically diverse and large region in order to put it on the map for visitors.

establishment of interpretation centres within the municipalities tourist information offices (promotional stands offering information on the region and its products) At the time of writing, both the signposting and tourist trail projects were at the end of their consultation period and about to be implemented. The third project has been postponed, awaiting the outcome of potential regional restructuring along new European Union guidelines. Objectives Reinforce the Valimar brand/image Extend length of stay and encourage regional spread Enrich the tourism experience in the region to encourage repeat visits Raise awareness of the regions rich heritage among its residents The place-making strategy is aimed at Day trippers Walkers and independent travellers Residents

Approach SPAA Projects Valimar undertook 3 SPAA demonstration projects: Thematic routes Signposting of tourism resources Interpretation centres

Valimars markets are (in order of priority): Portugal Spain UK

Strategy The place-making for the region is co-ordinated by the Comunidade Urbana Valimar (Valimar ComUrb), founded on March 11, 2004. This supra-municipal body encourages positive collaboration between the 6 municipal councils in the areas of tourism as well as investment, the environment, health, education, nature conservation, health and safety, access to transport and culture and leisure. It is also involved in social, economic and territory planning for the Valimar region. The ComUrb replaced the Valima Association of Municipalities that had worked on behalf of 4 of the town councils since 1994. The overall vision of the Valimar ComUrb team was to centre its place-making on the wealth and variety of its cultural, natural, historical and religious features. Valimar aimed to define its overall tourism product more clearly and to create awareness of the wealth of its tourism assets through: strategic signposting of tourism resources creation of new tourist trails (thematic routes) 23

Thematic Routes leaflets

Thematic Routes In the past, thematic routes have proven to be a useful marketing tool for Portuguese regions. Existing routes in the Valimar region range from Mountain Villages to Walks in the Valley of the River Lima. No such routes have yet been pulled together specifically for Valimar ComUrb, but they are applied successfully by other organisations, such as the Regio de Turismo do Alto Minho (RTAM, Alto Minho Regional Tourist Board). They consist of grouping together products of a similar nature or within a specific geographical area to encourage tourists to visit more than one attraction. They also help raise the brand image of the area as cultural, natural,

historic etc. Thematic routes could be walking trails or car touring routes. What is important is that they enhance the appeal of the area and present a number of different attractions, even if visitors dont want to follow an entire trail. Following the audit of available tourism assets, the consultants defined 5 thematic categories: Theme Religious Resource category Sanctuaries; Monasteries and convents; Churches Theme Natural spaces and cultural identity Resource category Protected areas; Natural landscapes Theme Views over the rural landscape Resource category Viewpoints; Rural landscapes (valleys) Theme Cultural Valimar Resource category Historical centres; Museums; Castles/fortresses; Palaces/mansions Theme The Iron Age Resource category Iron age castles, ruined settlements, dolmens (Information taken and translated from the consultants 2nd project report, November 2006) At the time of writing, the consultants recommend 10 new routes to be created, 2 per theme (one on the coast, the other in the interior, for reasons of geographical distance). 2 pedestrian route maps have been produced (for the municipalities of Esposende and Caminha). Following Valimar ComUrbs board official approval, relevant tourism products will be selected from the resource audit for each new route and route-related signposting will be undertaken. It is envisaged that information brochures will be produced in several languages to promote the new routes to visitors.

Signposting of Tourism Resources

The overall project objective was to identify and clearly signpost those assets that could be considered of strategic importance. Consultants were appointed to conduct an audit of tourism products within the region. Sources included the Inventrio dos Recursos Tursticos em Portugal (Inventory of Tourism Resources in Portugal), published by the Direcco Geral do Turismo (National Government Department of Tourism), as well as local and regional tourist brochures and guide books such as the Lonely Planet guide. The final database consists of a total of 693 resources; all classified and weighted according to their importance on the local, regional, national or international level and their visitor facilities (parking, information provision, catering, toilets and, in the case of beaches, lifeguards and first aid). It is expected that Valimar ComUrb will ask for the signposting of some 130 assets to be reviewed more fully, seeking answers to the following questions: Is the product signposted at present? If so, is the existing signposting sufficient and does it meet IEP (Instituto das Estradas de Portugal, Portugals road network agency) standards for tourist attractions? If not, how should it be signposted?

Improved signposting will then be put in place.

Interpretation centres

The third SPAA project involves the creation of information spaces within the tourist offices of the 6 municipalities, 2 of which are directly financed by the SPAA project. The information points are dedicated to the promotion of ecotourism and of the natural landscapes of the region. Specifically, visitors will dedicated areas within each of the cities information offices with brochures, an audiovisual presentation and information panels on pedestrian trails, paths along the river Lima, water activities and active tourism.. It is planned that the tourist office staff be given product training on the Valimar region in order to allow for wider information dissemination and a degree of cross-selling to visitors, in order to encourage greater regional spread of visits. The project is in the design phase as at March 07, while the next steps will be the production of the structures and panels. Resources were switched from an early Tourism Passport proposal (in the form of a printed booklet offering discounts and added value extras for visitors) to strengthen the other visitor information projects (thematic routes, signage and interpretation centres).

Regional thematic routes - riverside walkway

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Thematic Routes: Eco/histirical trail for Pia Viana

Impact
As none of the activities have as yet taken place it is difficult to assess their impact. However, the following measures of evaluation could be considered: Number of distributed thematic tour brochures Number of visitors at attractions (pre-and post signposting) Length of stay, geographical dispersal and spend by visitors pre and post SPAA projects

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Internatonal Place-making Practise This section aims to provide place makers with insights into the process of place-making by looking at international examples of good place-making practice. These range from cities through a region to nations. They cover a wide spectrum of place-making issues: from tourism and events to regeneration and image change. In each case the challenge that the place faced is set out, followed by the approach taken to resolve the challenge. The subsequent impact is then assessed, along with key insights gained. Sources for place makers to obtain further information are included at the end of each example. This mix of places - cities, regions, nations - has been selected for the specific lessons that can be learnt from each place in terms of place-making. Often the concept of place branding and image change is more starkly demonstrable at the level of nations; while place regeneration and the value of events are more evident at the city level. In all cases the insights gained are transferable to all places. Places selected are: The City Dimension Newcastle / Gateshead Glasgow Barcelona The Regional Dimension Scottish Borders The Event Dimension London Olympic and Paralympic Games The National Dimension Lichtenstein Sweden Poland Costa Rica Ireland New Zealand

Case Studies

Approach
Newcastle and Gateshead city councils came together, despite their political differences and competitive relationship, to work on the regeneration of both their cities. They created and funded, with the private sector, The NewcastleGateshead Initiative to build a new brand - NewcastleGateshead - as a vibrant European regional capital. The place is promoted nationally and internationally as at the forefront of innovative, culture-led regeneration and a world-class place to live, learn, work and visit. Alongside the promotion came major investment in the cultural infrastructure of the cities. The semiderelict quayside of Gateshead is now home to the Sage Gateshead, a new live music venue (of striking design by Norman Foster), the BALTIC centre for contemporary art in a former flour mill and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge with its winking eye design to allow boats to pass, linking the quaysides of Gateshead and Newcastle. This bridge was particularly significant as a physical and symbolic connection between the two cities. This effectively repositioned the river at the heart of NewcastleGateshead, rather than acting as a boundary between the two cities, as it had done for years. Within Newcastle the quayside was refurbished for walking and public space and investment made in cultural venues throughout the city, new facilities such as the Centre for Life, and in the fabric of city. Private sector investment followed in hotel developments (2,500 new beds), retail and restaurants. Whilst NewcastleGateshead missed out narrowly as the European Capital of Culture 2008, it has subsequently developed an ambitious events programme, Culture 10.

Impact
The visual regeneration of the cities is plain to see. A transformation in the city landscape, capitalises on the outstanding Georgian and Victorian architecture, with outstanding contemporary design. Media interest has focused on NewcastleGateshead as a cool destination. Short leisure breaks based on shopping and nightlife have grown; hotel occupancy, despite the expansion in rooms is high, with strong growth in conference and business tourism. The place has a buzz around it and the legendary pride of the people in their cities is now reinforced by increasingly positive perceptions of NewcastleGateshead throughout the UK. NewcastleGateshead has become one of the UKs most popular weekend break destinations.

Newcastle/Gateshead The City Dimension

Challenge
Newcastle and Gateshead are independent cities, which lie to the north and south respectively of the River Tyne in North East England. Newcastle is the better known of the two; Gateshead is frequently perceived as an area of Newcastle (much to the annoyance of residents). The cities comprised the historic industrial heartland of the North East and have suffered economic decline in the latter part of the 20th century. The challenge has been to regenerate the cities in a sustainable way that was true to their roots and yet fit for the 21st century. 27

Insights
The role of culture in regeneration, sense of place and tourism Seeing beyond narrow political differences Being bold and ambitious Turning a competitive divide between two cities into a dynamic partnership The character of people as a positive asset in branding a place

See more www.visitNewcastleGateshead.com www.newcastle.gov.uk www.gateshead.gov.uk

Glasgow The City Dimension

Challenge
In the 1970s Glasgow was facing a grim economic future. Levels of unemployment, poverty and deprivation were high. In the early 1980s the City Council and the regional local authority began to support and fund a range of urban regeneration initiatives to tackle this, whilst Scotlands economic development agency started undertaking major redevelopment work, site clearance and re-development, and business support. Much of this work was invisible to those outside Glasgow and perceptions of a deprived, dangerous city prevailed.

The need to keep branding and positioning under review but give it a chance to work before changing it too soon The impact of winning major national and international flagship events in transforming a citys image and the way it feels about itself

See more www.seeglasgow.com

Barcelona The City Dimension

Challenge
From the 1960s onwards Spain was the worlds first mass tourism destination. However towards the end of the century the attractions of mass tourism had begun to pale and Spain was keen to reposition itself as much more than sun, sea and sangria. During the 1990s a new brand and promotional approach was pursued based on culture and heritage. Barcelona, an industrial centre, was never one of Spains mass destinations and the new national approach provided a more appropriate platform on which to promote the city. More significantly, the 1992 Olympics, held in Barcelona, provided the spur to transform the city from an industrial port into one of Europes coolest cities, a leading conference and incentive destination, aspirational place to live and own a second home.

Approach
Glasgow was one of the first UK cities to appreciate the importance of place-making in regeneration. The first campaign Glasgows Miles Better using Mr. Happy (a cartoon characters from childrens books) initiated by Glasgow City Council put over the message of change and improvement in a simple, light-hearted way. This was as important for stimulating a sense of pride within Glasgows communities as it was for changing views elsewhere. The investment in infrastructure (including major venues such as Glasgow Concert Hall, a Museum of Modern Art and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre) continued alongside flagship events, such as the hosting of the National Garden Festival in 1988 and the City of Culture in 1990, which transformed the city. Glasgow has continued to stay ahead with its most recent rebranding exercise in its repositioning as Glasgow Scotland with Style launched in 2004. The campaign worth 1.8 million and funded by the City Council and European Regional Development Fund runs from 2005 to 2007 and is aimed both at tourism and business investment.

Approach
Barcelona is in the province of Catalonia (which also markets eight destination brands within the province internationally, one of which is Barcelona). Two major factors turned Barcelonas image around; the 1992 Olympics and a concerted drive to establish Barcelonas cultural credentials on the European map. Culture Barcelona has its own dedicated tourism marketing body Turisme de Barcelona, responsible for promoting Barcelona overseas and within Spain. By the turn of the century Barcelona was attracting over 3 million leisure visitors a year. This success led to Turisme de Barcelona turning its attention to cultural tourism and business tourism in particular, both of which are high yield. A long term cultural strategy was developed with the Insitut de Cultura (created by the City Council in 1996) which focused on annual themes to promote the rich culture of the city leading up to Barcelona hosting the Universal Forum of Cultures in 2004. 2000 was the Year of Contemporary Art. The following year - Gaudi 2002 was a landmark celebrating the 150th anniversary of the famous architects birth and showcasing his considerable legacy of 15 outstanding buildings including his Sagrada Familia cathedral, which is Barcelonas most visited building. 2003 was the Year of Design. Supported by the Institut de Cultura, Barcelona runs a variety of regular festivals (the most prominent of which is La Merce held in September each year) as well as special events. It is also fortunate in having over 50 museums, including two dedicated to the work of Picasso and Miro, to confirm its cultural credentials. 28

Impact
The long running efforts to challenge perceptions about Glasgow have paid off it is now one of the UKs prime city break destinations The editor of Frommers travel guides has chosen Glasgow as one of her top ten must-see destinations for 2006 and the only one selected in Europe In 2005 readers of Conde Nast Travel voted Glasgow as runner up in the Best UK City category, second only to London The campaigns have also been powerful vehicles for community engagement Glasgows most recent brand campaign Scotland with Style has claimed an additional 181,000 tourists visiting the city between March 2005 and June 2006 bringing an estimated 21 million in economic benefit

Insights
The importance of internal marketing in changing perceptions and attitudes The importance of marketing in boosting civic pride The role culture can play in regeneration The close relationship between tourism and economic regeneration and the need to invest in the product first

Business tourism was limited by suitable hotel accommodation and small convention facilities and major development was approved at two key sites in the city, one of which was the Barcelona Trade Centre. Olympics Massive redevelopment took place between 1989 - 1992 to prepare Barcelona to host the 1992 Olympics. The airport was redeveloped; new housing was built, including the Olympic village, which remained after the Games as affordable housing; new ring roads were built to ease congestion and traffic flows; roads were increased by 15%, sewage systems by 17 %, green zones and beaches by 78% and public ponds and fountains by 268%. A major part was played in Barcelonas transformation by moving the railway tracks that separated the city from the port, so that the city began to face the sea: a boardwalk was constructed, the old port was redeveloped as a housing, restaurant and entertainment quarter that injected new life into the area and Barcelona truly became a city whose sense of place was in large part defined by the sea, rather than a city with industrial port that was avoided by all but those in the maritime business.

The Scottish Borders The Regional Dimension

Challenge
The Scottish Borders sits in the south of Scotland on the border with England. It stretches from the coast in the east, taking up two-thirds of the land towards the west. Despite having lovely scenery, with rolling hills and river valleys, woodlands and attractive small towns, it had an image problem as a tourism destination. The Scottish Borders does not fit the perception of Scotland as a county of dramatic mountain scenery, coastlines or dynamic, nor does it have vibrant cities. The Borders was largely seen as somewhere to pass through on the way to the real Scotland. It lacked distinctiveness.

Impact
Barcelona is now one of Europes top city break destinations It is one of Europes top conference and incentive destinations It is perceived as one of Europes top cultural destinations It is perceived as one of Europes most desirable cities in which to live Tourism increased by 40% after the Olympics Between 1886 1992 Barcelonas unemployment rate halved (from 18.4 9.6%) ata time when the Spanish national average unemployment rate was 15.5%

Approach
In the late 1990s the Scottish Borders Tourist Board made a bold decision to focus its marketing, getting to know its market better and undertaking a realistic appraisal of its product. It knew the growth trend in leisure tourism was for short breaks. It knew it would have a hard job attracting visitors from overseas or from more than two hours drive away (public transport not being an option). It knew that it could offer a gentle, rural escape to city dwellers. This intelligence was shared with its local authority, which was a key funding partner, the economic development agency for the area, and its key stakeholders its member businesses. The Scottish Borders Tourist Board also identified and sold a rather bold solution: it re-branded itself as Scotlands Leading Short Break Destination. It developed marketing campaigns promoting short breaks, aimed at two specific market segments young professional couples and empty-nesters. It focused campaigns on markets within a two hour drive: firstly on Edinburgh, rolling out to Glasgow and then Newcastle in the north of England. It worked with its businesses to develop short break packages based on escape, gentle outdoor activities and cultural events, such as folk music. All of these showcased the best of the area and thereby reinforced its sense of place. Having decided on the strategy it has pursued this singlemindedly since.

Insights:
Cultural tourism is getting increasing attention from visitors and destinations but you have to have the product (because others do) The legacy of major sporting events in transforming physical infrastructure and civic pride, as well as encouraging municipal ambition The importance of water (the sea) in defining a citys sense of place The potential to transform a citys sense of place through imaginative and committed effort

See more www.barcelonaturisme.com www.bcn.es/turisme/english/turisme/welcome.htm

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Impact
Despite early misgivings from businesses, they have bought into the strategy and have restructured their product towards the short break domestic market. The Scottish Borders has established a distinctive tourism offer, which helps it stand out in a crowded market place. Through effective campaigns and follow up customer relationship management they have built business to the area and laid the foundations of a sustainable tourism industry.

sport. These were run through all events from the bid launch onwards through a series of presentations to the final presentation in Singapore just prior to the bid decision. Extensive use was made of innovative films making a creative use of vox pops with Londoners and visitors and ambassadors from David Beckham to Sir Steve Redgrave. The Prime Minister and even the Queen were called upon to participate and support. A critical element was the legacy that the Games would leave behind, not just in terms of physical regeneration, but perhaps more importantly, in how London used the opportunity to inspire young people across all communities to participate in sport in the run up to, and after, the Games. This was creatively and imaginatively communicated in a highly emotive film that demonstrated the intent and potential to use the Games to inspire not just Londons communities, but young people worldwide.

Insights
Be honest about the product and its appeal Be brave - make the case and stick to it Be focused better to be one (or two) things to one (or two) types of people and make an impact. Know your markets and be honest about your product appeal Develop local markets first, where they are sufficiently large Develop attractions, events and activities that reinforce a sense of place

Impact
London will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Insights:
The emotional is as important as the rational A well thought out strategy, precisely targeted and executed, has more impact Never underestimate the time and dedicated effort needed The legacy of major events can be more important than the event itself Cross-cutting agendas (e.g. sport, health, regeneration) can be mutually reinforcing The value of appropriate celebrities in endorsing a major international bid

See more www.scot-borders.co.uk

London: Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 The Event Dimension

Challenge
London had declared its intention to bid for the Olympics in 2012, entering the process as an outsider to Paris as the favourite. The bid team clearly had to provide the evidence that London could provide the infrastructure to run a successful games but it also had to challenge perceptions, persuade and influence the 115 voters on the Olympic committee to convince them of Londons case. The emotional sell was just as important as the technical and rational one over the two year campaign.

See more www.london2012.org

Lichtenstein The National Dimension

Challenge

Approach
The bid team appointed communications experts to help them, who developed a strategy based on a series of special events and a repositioning of the London brand to appeal to the International Olympic Committee. Events were chosen as a vehicle because they gave the opportunity for personal contact and communications. However the opportunities were scarce and had to be exploited to the full as set-pieces, with key messages well thought-out and presented. The key messages were Londons assets; its status as a world city; its popularity with young people; the opportunity the Olympics would present for regeneration; diversity; and passion for

Lichtenstein is a tiny principality of 34,000 inhabitants positioned between Austria and Switzerland. In 2001 its role as a financial centre was facing difficulties and it was engaged in a major constitutional debate. It had a growing image problem internally and externally with a sense of insecurity about what it was and where it was going.

Approach
Lichtenstein embarked on an internal debate among politicians and business people resulting in an action plan and a new way of presenting the principality both to internal and external audiences. It developed a new logo for use by government and business, key messages and a toolkit for its ambassadors, 30

international PR activity, a web portal for Lichtenstein and establishment of Foundation Image Lichtenstein to manage what was in effect a place-making strategy. Its six core messages were based on it being a principality, a successful and safe financial centre, well- connected internationally, a strong cultural life and a great place for recreation, covered all aspects of its people, its state, and its economy. And its new logo encompassed these. Consultation was undertaken within Lichtenstein relatively easy with only 34,000 inhabitants holding a series of brand events.

how it promotes itself to make sure that, although it has a relatively small population, it has a strong international presence based on its strengths rather than its perceived weaknesses or negative stereotypes (cold and dark; expensive with high taxes; unexciting, unemotional people with a tendency towards being internally focussed and complacent).

Approach
The Council for the Promotion of Sweden is an advisory body to the government, which provides a forum for discussion between the government and businesses. Its membership comprises various bodies with an interest in external promotion including The Swedish Institute, Visit Sweden, and the Swedish Trade Council. It took on the job of providing a common platform to present Sweden as a forward-looking, new thinking and open country. A significant pillar underpinning this forward-looking, new thinking and open country image lies in Swedens long-term position with regard to international human rights, symbolised by its hosting of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. A Sweden web portal, which provides a wealth of information and resources on all aspects of Swedish life, culture, infrastructure and economy, is an important tool in projecting this new image .

Impact
The strategy is a long term one with realism about the timescales taken to identify the brand values of a country, get buy-in from all stakeholders, roll out activity and then see an impact in terms of perceptions and behaviour. Lichtenstein is 5 years into a 10 year strategy, and has so far focused on developing the tools and materials and embedding the brand internally. The next stages are to take more overt external promotion to specific stakeholders and then more generally.

Insights
Internal agreement on core values and buy-in to the strategy Working from the inside out The need to make it someones job to make things happen Strong leadership and a place-making champion See more http://www.liechtenstein.li/en

Impact
UNESCO Sweden no. 1 in science and innovation OECD Sweden leads the way in sustainability UN Sweden tops global innovation league World Economic Forum Sweden is the worlds most equal society The Economist Sweden ranked no. 5 in global quality of life Newsweek Sweden best in biotech research Image always lags behind reality Even the successful need to take their image seriously Business efficiency, good governance and wellmannered people are positive from a business perspective. But a place needs an emotional flavour to widen its appeal and overcome disinterest that may have arisen through unhelpful media stereotyping

Insights

Sweden The National Dimension

See more www.sweden.se

Poland The National Dimension

Challenge Challenge
Sweden is a country with considerable international prestige its way of life, its culture, its environment and economy are admired as stable, safe and civilised. Yet in 2005 it undertook a review of how it was perceived internationally, its strengths and weaknesses. Lying behind this was a view that Sweden should not simply rest on its laurels but should be proactive in 31 Emerging from forty years of communism and isolation from the rest of the world, Poland has had to rediscover its sense of self within the country and establish its identity externally. There was a desire to show the world what its personality was, and could become.

Approach
The process of branding Poland was as much a journey back

to normality for Poland as a marketing exercise. The Institute for Polish Brand was established in 1995 to lead the process and establish a consistency in how Poland was presented. A priority was to tackle what was felt to be a much more negative perception than was the reality. Co-operation within the country was identified as a keystone in this new approach, recognising the need for a wide debate to get agreement on the way forward and establish Polands brand values and brand positioning. In addition there was a wider agenda to reestablish the worth of brands and trademarks in the economy and culture generally. Polish goods had to be differentiated in order to compete successfully in domestic and foreign markets. The Institute for Polish Brands first tasks were to gather resources and run initiatives and events to bring together Polands biggest brands into their Academy, and to restore the system of brand names and trademarks. Since 2004 attention has been focused on developing a brand identity for Poland with the help of international advertising agency Wolff Ollins. The development of the core idea took a year, involving research at home and abroad, interviews with opinion leaders, case studies and a lot of analysis. Four creative ideas were developed, but none entirely worked. From this evolved the idea of creative tension as the defining characteristic of Poland, based around its dualities. This core idea worked for all aspects of nation branding: foreign direct investment (vitality, growth and entrepreneurialism); tourism (interesting, unusual and, above all, an experience); exports (passion and practicality in products and service); public diplomacy (a challenging but constructive approach). This core idea was taken through to creative development of the Poland brand marque and a national brand tool-kit produced and promoted.

Ricas challenge was how to stand out in the market place and say something other than weve got great beaches.

Approach
Costa Rica has taken a focused approach to its tourism marketing. It adopted a highly single minded approach to promoting itself as an eco tourism destination. It positions itself not only on the quality of its environment and biodiversity but also in its sustainable and green policies and sustainable developments. This is reinforced by its quality accreditation scheme based on sustainable certification for businesses. This has given Costa Rica a highly differentiated offer that is based on a solid and substantiated foundation which is therefore credible in consumers eyes: the country lives and delivers what it promises as a truly sustainable tourism experience. Significantly, Costa Ricas products that are more widely associated with the Caribbean (and not always considered to reflect a sustainable tourism product) beaches, activities, culture have been imbued with this stamp of environmental sustainability that reflects Costa Ricas sense of place.

Impact
1.5 million visitors each year A sustainable tourism industry in sympathy with environment and culture Costa Rica is recognised as one of the worlds leading exponents - if not the leading exponent - of sustainable eco-tourism development

Insights Insights
Nation (or place) branding as the new patriotism (or civic pride) The need for wide engagement in debate in order to reach a conclusion, even if full consensus is not achieved amongst all stakeholders The need for co-operation Changing an image and developing a place brand takes time To be noticed you need to be focused be well known for one thing, rather than attempt to offer something for everyone Product development must be part of marketing and each reinforce a sense of place Niche is good, particularly for small destinations

See more www.visitcostarica.com

See more www.imp.org.pl (Institute for Polish Brand website- in Polish) www.poland.pl

Ireland The National Dimension

Challenge

Costa Rica The National Dimension

Challenge
Costa Rica is a small country of just 51,000 sq.km. in the heart of Central America competing with various tropical idylls elsewhere in the world from the Maldives to Mauritius. Costa 32

In the 1980s and 1990s Ireland was a country with ambition. It had joined the European Union and saw this as a major opportunity, not only for funding but an opportunity to play on a larger stage. Substantial European funding and high domestic taxation produced significant funds to invest in Irelands economic development and the government was determined to make these funds work hard. Economically Ireland had no major industry and still relied heavily on agriculture. So where was economic growth to come from?

Approach
Ireland does however have a beautiful country and is famous for the friendliness and charm of its people. Therefore tourism was an obvious sector in which to invest. It also fitted well with a focus on culture that the government was keen to support and encourage, believing that a strong sense of identity and self-worth is inextricably linked with culture and creativity. The Irish government had a department dedicated to tourism, a dedicated Tourism Minister, and Bord Failte, the Irish Tourist Board. Through this infrastructure it invested heavily in promotion and product development. It appointed marketing professionals from outside the tourism sector, who applied marketing approaches more usual in the fast moving consumer goods sector. The advertising campaigns undertaken by Ireland throughout the late 1990s were outstanding with high production values and a clear focus on the friendly, warm, welcoming Irish people within a beautifully filmed and photographed Ireland. Massive media spend, outstripping most of its competitor destinations, ensured extensive coverage in Irelands priority markets of the UK, the USA and several other countries. Dedicated offices were established in around a dozen countries. Ireland was also one of the first countries to develop a national logo to use in its marketing communications across all major export sectors (although this was subsequently changed back by an incoming Tourism Minister to a more traditional, but creatively designed national symbol - the shamrock). Meanwhile investment in the product was underway particularly in accommodation, attractions and activities to ensure the tourism product was fit for market demand. During the 1990s and 2000s Ireland developed its promotional approach while keeping true to its brand values. And with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement bringing political reconciliation between Northern Irelands divided communities and the Republic, collaboration over the support and promotion of tourism was seen as a major opportunity to show how both the North and South could benefit economically by working together. This resulted in the establishment of Tourism Ireland to lead the overseas promotion of tourism on behalf of the whole island of Ireland.

economic impacts (e.g. civic pride, international image, conflict resolution) Tourism as a potential vehicle for helping consolidate peace between divided communities Tourism as a force for bringing divided communities together by delivering demonstrable economic benefit Destination marketing can learn from other sectors Creating a place brand requires significant investment The job is never done Discarding traditional values or long-standing national symbols is not a prerequisite for modernising a places image. They can be modified through creative design to refresh the places image, while retaining their longheld brand equity and powerful symbolism

See more www.tourismireland.com www.discoverireland.com www.tourismireland.com//corporate

New Zealand The National Dimension

Impact
Visitors 7.7 m visitors spending 3.7b Euros Ireland seen as a major tourism destination and competitor for the UK Dublin is one of Europes top city break destinations Ireland seen as a bench mark in destination marketing the current TV advert is one of the UKs top 20 most recalled by viewers Spin-off benefits to Irelands creative industries and sense of creativity Spin-off benefits to sense of pride

Challenge
New Zealand is a long way from anywhere else. This was both the perception and the reality and was a major disincentive to potential visitors. It was perceived to be remote, rural and green with a great landscape, few people and somewhat old-fashioned. These perceptions affected tourism in particular, but also New Zealand products and exports generally. Additionally, for many years New Zealand had relied very heavily on the UK as a major export market for its produce, which was dominated by agricultural products. This changed dramatically as the UK began looking increasingly to the European single market for farming and food products and turned its back on New Zealand. In the early 1990s this was compounded by a severe recession ion New Zealand and a couple of years of drought. New Zealand was struggling to find markets for its main export products. And, as a 33

Insights
Indirect benefits can be as important as direct

destination, it lacked a strong enough appeal to attract enough visitors to replace the decline in agricultural export earnings.

Approach
Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) is the body charged with marketing New Zealand as a destination internationally. In the early 1990s, based on research it had undertaken on perceptions, it undertook a ground-breaking campaign in its key markets (English speaking and Asia Pacific) profiling New Zealand as the ultimate escape from urban stress. Media was selected on the basis of its ability to show the landscape of to its best advantage (e.g. TV, outdoor posters, full colour double page spreads in quality magazines). This campaign developed into the current positioning of New Zealand 100% Pure launched in 1999 based on New Zealands stunning natural landscape which is now a key motivator for visits. The campaign is still running. It targets what Tourism New Zealand calls Interactive Travellers which they define as regular travelers, looking for a wide range of tourism experiences, actively participating in the natural environment, environmentally and culturally aware, and seeking authentic and new experiences. They are also highly competent users of technology and so ideally reached through the internet. The web has been a key plank of Tourism New Zealands activity as it is an ideal vehicle for providing the depth of information and planning necessary to convert interest to action. Their web site is an excellent example of a destination web site. New Zealand has extended its offer beyond beautiful landscape becoming a major destination for activities and extreme sports in particular. Much of this was driven by the youth market, particularly the growing trend in the UK for gap years amongst prospective students. These people demanded outdoor activities and adrenalin sports, which a number of enterprising and outdoor- skilled New Zealanders were well equipped to provide. Furthermore, new outdoor skills were developed in response to this demand, increasing employment opportunities for young New Zealanders. At a similar time, as New Zealand was experiencing problems in exporting its produce, a number of chief executives of major exporting companies got together and pledged between 1-5% of their European marketing budgets behind a national effort to reposition New Zealand produce as premium produce and drive sales. This became a major international export-marketing vehicle known as the New Zealand Way. It was a pioneering place branding exercise that remains a textbook example to this day of how to unite a nation behind a vision for the place. The indigenous New Zealand silver fern, which embodied the natural environment, was selected as a national logo that was used ubiquitously across different sectors. The association between tourism and business development continues too on Tourism New Zealands web site where there is a button on the home page leading anyone thinking of doing business with New Zealand into a range of information and support.

Over 2m visitors spending $7b amounting to around 16% of total export earnings New Zealand is widely recognised as a leader in destination marketing TNZ won the 'Webby' award for best tourism website twice, most recently in 2006 2001: 100% Pure campaign beat 600 entries to win gold medal winner at the Fdration Nationale des Offices de Tourisme et Syndicats dInitiative (F.N.O.T.S.I) awards 2004: The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International awards overall platinum award to the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign 2005: NZ voted in worlds top five tourism destinations by the readers of Lonely Planet 2005: CondeNast Traveller (UK ) Best Country and best overall winner New Zealand produce from lamb to oysters, dairy and fruit products to wine - have positioned themselves at the premium end of the market, thereby conferring an aspirational value to all things associated with New Zealand from tourism to

Insights
New Zealand is one of the worlds most successful examples of true place branding where there was productive cooperation and mutual reinforcement between different sectors in branding and promoting the place significantly tourism, food and agricultural produce Crisis can give birth to innovative thinking and unite disparate interests, from different sectors, behind a common goal The importance of strong leadership and private sector champions in getting things done A place brand must be built on a truly sustainable proposition that has credibility Good campaigns will last a long time you will get bored before your customers Major films shot in your destination, which showcase your landscape, help (Lord of the Rings trilogy), as long as their content is in keeping with the sense of place Constant reinforcement of the countrys brand values (natural, pure,) by all sectors enhances the countrys image This has far greater impact than the sum of individual sectors own marketing efforts How all sectors can use a places brand values (i.e. natural, pure) to promote their own products. The importance of youth tourism, which many destinations disregard as low-spending, in both generating revenue and leading travel trends A natural fit between food products and a destination with regard to consumer marketing The importance of linking products that reinforce a sense of place to the destination (website)

Impact
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