Warsaw

Fall in love with Warsaw

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ANAGGLOMERATIONOF1.6MILLON,CAPITALOFPOLAND

WarsawisthecapitalofPolandandalsothebiggestPolishcity(1,600,000inhabitantsin2011).As
such,itplaysanimportantpolitical,administrative,culturalandeconomicrolenotonlyinPoland,
butalsoinEurope,inacontextofincreasinginfluenceofthecountryinEuropeanaffairs.Thecityis
the seat of the majority of Polands national government bodies, national institutions, diplomatic
missions,leadingnationalmedia,financialentities,etc.Manybigcompaniesareheadquarteredin
Warsawaswellasmanynationalinstitutions,e.g.NationalMuseum,NationalStadiumorWarsaw
University.Thecityisalsohometotheprovincialauthoritiesandregionalinstitutions.

Warsawisalsostrongofawelldevelopedservicessectorandthehighestconcentrationofresearch
capacities in Poland. It is also the most attractive labour market in the country, with the highest
numberofpeoplewithuniversitydegree.

Drivenbythenationalprocessofintegrationintheclubofdemocracyandfreemarketcountries
andtheaccesstoEuropeanUnionmembership,Warsawhasconvertedintoacitythatisconstantly
changing, growing in every way, drawing people and capital from Poland and abroad. It has the
opportunitytobeamajor,recognizedEuropeancapital.

Another important feature of Warsaw is the destruction of the city at 80% during World War II.
Consequently,ithasalimitedhistoricalbuiltheritageincomparisonwithotherEuropeancapitals.
In this situation, and according to city branding practitioners from the municipality, heritage is
concentredonitsfamouspeople.WarsawisthecityofChopin,andalsotheplaceofbirthofNoble
PricewinnerMarieCurie,whosefamilyhomestillexistsinWarsaw.

CITYBRANDINGINTHELOCALAGENDAFORNEARLY10YEARS

ThedevelopmentofacitybrandingstrategyofWarsawemergedinthiscontextofraisinginfluence,
with the principal objective to help the city catch up with other European capitals and become a
globalplayer.TheMunicipalityisawarethatglobalvisibilitymeansthenecessityforastrongbrand,
with a consistent management of the citys identity and consciousness of its reputation and
perception.In2004waslaunchedthecityslogo,takingasvisualreferencetheworldfamousPolish
schoolofposter.Thelogoshowsamermaid,thesymbolofWarsaw,andcontainsthesloganofthe
city:FallinlovewithWarsaw.Thedesignandlaunchingofthelogowasaccompaniedbyabrand
manual,whichcontainsguidelinesforitsuse.

Sincethen,theactivitiesofcitybrandingcarriedoutbytheWarsawMunicipalityhaveconcentrated
onthefollowingdeliverychannels:

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Useofbigventstopromotethecity:UEFA
EURO2012,PolishPresidencyoftheEU
Council,CelebrationoftheChopinYear
2010,YearofChemistryortheapplication
totheEuropeanCapitalofCulture2016.

Advertisinginthemedia:spotsonTV,radio,
pressandalsoonlineadvertising.

Warsawswebsiteandcityprofilesinsocial
media.

Outdooradvertisinginthecity:billboard,
infoscreens,posters.

Promotionalstandsininvestmentfairs.

Designofspecialtouristroutes,liketheone
onChopin,includingkeyplaces,audio
guides,appsforsmartphones,streetart,etc

Since the creation of the logo, the City of Warsaw has done a lot of research about image and
perceptionofthecitybyitstargetgroups(annualsurveys).Onefindingisthatthereisawidespread
andgrowingrecognitionofthecitylogoamongtheinhabitantsofWarsaw(currentlyaround80%
knowthelogo).

Thecityisalsoactiveintransnationalprojectsandforumsdealingwiththeissueofcitybranding,
namely:

ParticipationinINTERREGIVBsBaltMetPromoandONEBSRprojects,alongwithmembersof
the Baltic Metropoles Network (Warsaw is member since 2002). The BaltMet project was
aimedatattractingtourists,talentsandmajorinternationalinvestmentprojectstotheBaltic
SeaRegion.

Participation in the EUROCITIES Branding Management and City Attractiveness Working

Group.

ADRESSINGANINTEGRATEDCITYBRANDINGSTRATEGY

Inspiteoftheseefforts,thegeneralopinionintheMunicipalityisthatthecityisnotwellknown
internationally. The AnholtGfK Roper City Brands IndexSM 2009 report describes a Warsaws

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internationalimagewhichdoesnotmakeflatteringreading.Thisisacitythatpeoplehavegenerally
heardofandwhosequalitiesandimportanceareperhapsbeginningtobeunderstoodintherestof
the EU, but is still a very long way from enjoying any accurate, detailed, nuanced, uptodate or
positiveassociationsinmostpeoplesminds.

It is one of the factors that have led the Municipality to consider revising the achievements and
elaboratinganintegratedbrandstrategy.ThepresentchallengefortheCityofWarsawistoprepare
thebrandmanagementstrategywiththeperspectiveofyear2020.Targetgroupsforthisstrategy
are basically native and influx residents, tourists, foreign investors, public opinion (Polish general
publicandopinionleaders)andstudents.

Tothatend,ithascontractedabrandconsultancyfirmtheelaborationofadraftbrandingstrategy.
Thedocumentconsistsof2parts.Onedealswithissueslikebrandconcept,brandhandbook,brand
positioning,trainingforofficials,imagebank,etc.Theotherpartdealswithpromotionalcampaigns,
differentforthevarioustargetgroups.

Thisworkhasbeenbasedonthemanymarketingresearchesandstudieswhichhavebeendonein
past three years. In addition to the annual surveys on perceive image of the city, a brand asset
valuatorresearchwascarriedoutatnationallevel,aswellasauditsofthebrandhandbook.
A draft strategy is currently well advanced, and some concrete activities and programmes have
alreadybeenpredefined:

Warsaw Varieties: promotional campaign on foreign markets, especially in the capitals

of European countries, focused on overcoming negative stereotypes and build a new
image of Warsaw, based on a new identity as a city with an interesting history,
authentic and inspiring, giving the opportunity to meet in many areas, also a very
attractivecity,trendyforbusiness(acityofmanypossibilities).

Inspiriada:weeklyEuropeanfestivalofcreativedisciplinesinthearts,science,andeven
theindustryforamateurs.

GetKnowMe!:programmeofcooperationwiththeworld'smajormedia.Itincludesthe
organizationofpresstripsandpresstoursforPolishandforeignjournalists.

PopUpStoreWarsaw:wherepeoplecouldbuysouvenirsanddesigngadgetsofthecity.

Ambassadors Warsaw: longterm cooperation with wellknown Varsovians, for

promotional(e.g.PR,presenceinmedia,etc.)andlobbyingpurposes.

Joint Motion Warsaw: programme engaging people in exploring and creating the
identityofWarsaw,includingtroughaseriesofquestsandgamesindifferentdistrictsof
thecity.

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Finally, it is worth adding that the Warsaw Municipality is preparing a Tourism Development
Strategy, with the same time frame. The basic idea is to transfer strategic goals of the brand
strategy to this tourism strategy, as far as tourism branding is concerned. Last year, it was
established the Warsaw Tourist Organization, together with a dozen of cultural, arts, science and
business organizations. It develops activities (funded by the members fees) which are rather
focusedonbusinesstourism.

DEALINGWITHFRAGMENTATIONANDSTAKEHOLDERENGAGEMENT

Fragmentation of citybranding activities (a complex local administrative division generates

problemsforeffectivepromotionandbranding)andtheneedforbroaderstakeholderengagement
areatthisstagemainchallengesfortheforthcomingstrategy,mainlyagovernanceissue.

Although the draft city branding strategy is going to include propositions regarding stakeholder
involvement,theMunicipalityisalreadyworkingonfindingsolutions.TheCityLogoprojectcomes
timely with regard to this important stage of the strategy elaboration, along with submitting the
contents of the draft strategy to consultation. Warsaw needs a particular management and

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planningapproachtomeetthegreatvarietyofstakeholdersinacountrycapital,soastomaximize
coordinationofpromotionalactivitiesandenhancingthebrandappropriation.
This challenge of stakeholder engagement and management has two dimensions: internal (within
the Municipalitys organization) and external (with the related stakeholders). Thus, there are
currentlyawiderangeofmunicipalitydepartmentsinvolvedinmarketingandpromotionactivities:

CityPromotionBureau:themainunitofthecitymarketingmanagementstructure.Itconsists
oftheBrandManagementDepartment,theOutdoorPromotionDepartmentandtheInternet
Projects Department and City Projects Department. There are about 40 employees and 3
directorsworkinginthisunit.CPBactivitiesare:Warsawbrandbuilding,implementationof
citys promotion policy, preparation and coordination of the citys participation in national
and international fairs, management of the Municipalitys official website, economic
promotionofWarsaw.

Public Communications Centre: it deals with projects focused on the citys inhabitants, for
instance information and promotion activities in the field of social policy, cooperation with
NGOs,etc.

Culture Bureau: organization and promotion of cultural events and activities, collaboration
withthecitydistrictsonculturalinitiatives.

Sports&RecreationBureau:promotionofWarsawthroughsport.

WarsawTouristOffice:promotionofWarsawasatouristdestinationunderthesupervisionof
the City Promotion Bureau. It has about 47 employees and 2 directors. WTOs activities
include implementing the tourism development strategy, promoting business and congress
tourism, participating in tourism fairs and other promotional events, dissemination of
information and promotional materials, cooperation with public and private entities to
improvetheattractivenessofWarsaw.

18localdistrictswiththeirownMayors,andownpromotionandcommunicationpolicies.The
CPB is in charge of coordinating and overseeing the implementation of the promotion
activities by districts in order to ensure consistent city promotion policy. However, this
administrativeorganizationissourceofdifficulties,whichmayharmtheimplementationofa
common approach to brand identity and discipline, because districts may claim their own
identity.

Asfortheexternaldimensionofstakeholdermanagement,theMunicipalitystillneedstoprecisely
definetherelevantentitiesinrelationwitheachofthetargetgroupsofthebrandingstrategy.In
this sense, the Municipality is currently working on the idea of two governance entities for it s
brandingstrategy:

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ACoordinationTeamoncitypromotion,whichshouldconsistofthevariousdepartments
ofthemunicipalitywhichhavearelationwithcitypromotionandmarketing,andalsothe
financialdepartmentofthecity.

ABrandCouncil,whichwouldbasicallybringtogetheropinionleadersandrepresentatives
of the various entities that have the greatest impact on branding in the context of the
differenttargetgroups.

Inthiscontext,theURBACTLocalSupportGrouptobeestablishedwithintheCityLogoprojectcould
consist of the members of the Coordination Team on City Promotion, along with representatives
fromtheBrandCouncil(withatleastonerepresentativefromeachcategorydealingwithaspecific
targetgroup):

RelevantdepartmentsoftheWarsawsmunicipality,inlinewiththePromotionCoordination
Bureau.

Tourismandvisitoreconomy:MazovianRegionalTouristOrganization(coordinationwiththe
regionallevelinthisfieldwillbeanimportantissue);WarsawTouristOrganization,Warsaw
ChopinAirport.

Researchandknowledge:UniversityofSocialSciencesandHumanities,etc.

Business and industry: representatives of business associations and main clusters (currently
membersofthesocalledSMEteam)alongwithrepresentativesoftheMunicipality,Warsaw
StockExchange,etc.

Marketingandcommunication:SARMarketingCommunicationAssociation.

Othervaluablerepresentativesofthecivilsociety.

Warsawsnationalstadium

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SYTHESIS

Strengths/contributions

Gaps/demands

mainchallenges/LAP

AscapitalofPoland,witha
populationof1.6million,thecity
hostsawiderangeofassetsand
highconcentrationofpotential
prescribers.

Existingcitylogosince2004,with
highrecognitionamongthelocal
population.

Clearinstitutionalizationofcity
brandingintheMunicipality:Brand
ManagementDepartment
belongingtotheCityPromotion
Bureau.

Acitybrandstrategynowin
progress.

Consistentresearchonperceived
imageofthecity.

Managementofbigeventsas
channelforcitypromotion.

Workalreadydoneinvolving
stakeholdersinrelationtotourism
promotion:WarsawTourist
Organization.

Lowlevelofinterdepartment
cooperationwithintheMunicipality
aroundcitybrandingissues.
Administrativebarriersandlow
leadershipforasoundcitybranding
policy.

Lackofplatformsforstakeholder
involvementandmanagementin
integratedcitybranding.

Poorengagementoftheprivate
sectorinthepromotionalinitiatives.

Unbalancedcitybranddevelopment,
morefocusedontourismandlessin
brandingthecityasbusinessplace.

Neworganizationalsystem
forintegratedcitybranding
inWarsaw,basedoninternal
cooperationandeffective
stakeholderinvolvement
clusteredbytargetgroups.

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