Concise.pdf - Brugge Plus

© ANIMOTIONS
Concertgebouw
the cultural year. Preliminary research had indicated that these crowd-pullers represented
an enormous potential for overnight tourist stays.
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION
The international canvassing for a project like BRUGGE 2002 cannot be disassociated
from general city marketing. Therefore it was decided to strengthen the image of
Bruges as a city to stay in. The major exhibitions were to act as major “draws” here.
The promotion abroad concentrated on the neighbouring countries, plus Italy, Spain,
Austria, the USA and Japan – important markets for hotel-based tourism in Bruges.
There were three main target groups: the professional travel sector (the “trade”), the
public and the press. The campaigns set in train for these respective target groups
were each given a different slant in terns of the technical marketing approach adopted.
Thus, the promotion aimed at the public included as a leitmotif the message “take
your time to visit Bruges”, with the aim of fostering city trips or short breaks. In the
communication targeting the trade, which was aimed primarily at tour operators running
cultural tours, the emphasis was placed on the availability and affordability of
the accommodation. The press action, meanwhile, focused on the creation of an overall
image of Bruges and BRUGGE 2002.
The WES study indicates that there was very great appreciation for the communication
by and about BRUGGE 2002, which was regarded as strategically well thought-out
and innovative.
COMMERCIAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
BRUGGE 2002 offered the professional travel sector various “building blocks” that
could be offered as part and parcel of specific holiday packages. The sector eagerly
took advantage of these.
The most innovative of these was the BRUGGE 2002 Pass. For a democratic price visitors
could do justice to what the Cultural Capital had to offer, for three days. The
BRUGGE 2002 Pass was intrinsically a good idea, but it did not properly get off the
ground. The reasons for this were the fact that the price advantages obtained by the
pass-holder were too small, the handling was too complex, and the range of extras on
offer was relatively limited. As regards the latter, for example, the permanent offer in
terms of museums in Bruges was not included. The period of use (three days) also
prevented the customer from making optimal use of this special pass. Nonetheless