UP Goes Dutch

In January 2013 the UP Netherlands team organized a master class on one of UP’s focus areas: Destination Branding. Julian Stubbs was the designated guide, taking the audience through the exciting journey of the what, why and how of destination branding.

The master class was fittingly held at a destination, namely the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem (which is celebrating its centenary birthday in 2013). Participants of the event comprised of marketers, politicians and advisors of various municipalities and major Dutch cities – including The Hague and Amsterdam – as well as Dutch journalists for major trade magazines and websites (article in Dutch).

Julian took the audience through the process of what destination branding entails, how a strategy is developed and what it takes to execute and ensure a continuous and solid branding strategy. Drawing on his years of branding experience, including the re-branding of Stockholm, Sigtuna, Arlanda Airport and Oslo, Julian managed to dial in on relevant issues people face when destination branding gets serious. In doing so he offered tangible and clear insights to help the audience define the steps they need to take in order to successfully market their city or municipality.

The success of the master class has gotten the UP team in the Netherlands thinking of organizing a series of master classes focusing on different topics. Social media is currently a strong contender for UP Master Class #2. To be continued…