“be open, be free, be berlin” Campaign: Analysis of a branding campaign

In March 2008, the Berlin Senate launched the new be Berlin campaign promoting the city of Berlin both locally and internationally. As we traveled around the city, exploring its abundant locations, a variety of different pieces of this campaign appeared. Under the slogan “the place to be”, a single message is sent out to both the local and international publics: “Berlin is like a magnet attracting people from all over the world – and just not letting go! You can’t resist Berlin’s charms!” (1). Now, a year into the campaign, Berlin is officially going global as the campaign expands to New York.



Discussion:

Although this campaign consisted primarily of events around the city (including a scavenger hunt, Berlin Festival of Lights, and the Longest Love Letter to Berlin located along the lines of the S-Bahn), walking around one could find the signature of the campaign, the red boxes, located sporadically in many locations. The boxes were available for residents and tourists to pose behind as they enjoy their stay in Berlin. Another great promotional activity was a random set of stairs placed outside of an S-Bahn station where visitors could climb up and take a look at the city from the top. Around the stairs were also red boxes with pictures of Berlin to remind people of the many sites around the city.

Highlights:

- The city of Berlin attracts 17 million tourists a year, although only 7 million of them are foreigners of countries such as Great Britain, Netherlands and USA. Over half of the visitors are German natives and that is why it was so important to create a campaign to promote the city as a location for tourism as well as living.
- The campaign consisted of outdoor advertising, primarily billboards, a be Berlin Sound and Campaign Film, a variety of activities around the city many that involve the participation of locals.
- Campaign was a success in Berlin and is now going international making its first stop in New York.


Check out: http://www.be.berlin.de/

Source:

1. http://www.be.berlin.de/
2. http://www.visitberlin.de/english/ueber-uns/e_uu_entwicklung.php