Marketing the Hanse experience : Hanseatic cultural heritage in the marketing of German towns

Abstract

Hanzesteden Marketing, part of MarketingOost located in Zwolle, conduct a joint placemarketing operation for the Hanseatic towns along the IJssel: Hasselt, Kampen, Zwolle, Hattem, Deventer, Zutphen and Doesburg. These places are offered as a package, advertising their shared Hanseatic past and atmosphere, or a Hanseatic formula. The assumption in this research is that the concept of the Hanse, is more established and animate in German society, as Germany is its place of origin. This research sets out to get a clearer view on the role of Hanseatic heritage in the marketing of German cities, and the perception of the Hanse in Germany. The methodology incorporates a qualitative case study using semi-structured in-depth interviews with a strategic sampling of experts in both placemarketing and historical background. Additional methods that were used are short interviews with respondents on location who interact with historic heritage, observational methods, and analysis of documents such as promotional materials