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Creating promotional BSR products for tourists, talents and investors in the global markets (BaltMet Promo)
Start date: Nov 30, 2009, End date: Dec 15, 2012 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Baltic Sea Region (BSR) does not yet exist as a region with shared identity and recognized image. Neither is the region’s competitiveness potential as a common marketing area fully exploited. BaltMet Promo faces this challenge by a new and innovative approach by enforcing BSR-identity through doing collaborative promotion for BSR in the global markets. Project simultaneously strives for the advancement of interaction inside BSR and attraction of foreign investment in various fields. Project aims to form a wide transnational and multisectoral marketing community in attracting tourists, film-making talents and investors to BSR. This will further create greater visibility of BSR in the global markets and enhance BSR-identity within and outside BSR. Promo supports the objectives of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region by aligning its horizontal activities in the fields of identity building, marketing and branding.Project is led by City of Helsinki and coordinated by Aalto University/CEMAT. Project works from the metropolitan and transnational perspective in the framework of Baltic Metropoles Network (BaltMet) and Baltic Development Forum (BDF) which provide Project continuity and necessary synergy with other actors and existing frameworks in BSR. Project’s achievements for BSR’s global competitiveness and identity building are brought to a high-level network of stakeholders via Policy Dialogue and Policy Roundtables with high-level visibility offered at the BDF Summits. Political support is guaranteed through the BaltMet Mayors’ Meetings. Partners and Associated Organizations cover BSR in a comprehensive, transnational and triplehelix way by combining the public sector, businesses and universities, and represent the relevant organizations from tourism, film-making and investment sectors at local, regional and national level.Promo is based on two pillars: concrete promotional projects in remote markets, and identity building in BSR. New transnational and promotional BSR products and methods for doing collaborative promotion for European macro-region are produced. Various branding initiatives in BSR are mapped in order to develop a dynamic transnational and multisectoral marketing community for BSR. Entire promotional process is documented with aim to transfer promotional activities to other geographical and thematic areas. Three BSR Pilot products that are designed, executed and evaluated in global markets are tailored to highlight the strengths of BSR as tourism, filmmaking talent and investment destination. Product development is based on solid market research and business intelligence. Products induce economic activity by attracting more Japanese tourists to BSR; creating new forms of interaction between BSR and Japanese film experts, and improving competitiveness by attracting more investors to BSR. Achievements: BaltMet Promo aimed to increase the competitiveness of the BSR and strengthen the common regional identity. Joint regional marketing was done through creating 3 regional pilot product concepts in Tourism, Talent and Investment. Product Development combined bottom-up approach with top down support. Frame for BSR products was planned with partners and local subject matter experts. Research focused on demands of target markets and on supply of products and services in BSR. Researches provided essential information for the product development and tailored marketing communications supported the product launches. Policy dialogue supported the process. Local stakeholder meetings were organized in partner cities and Pilots’ results were taken to a higher policy level via Policy Roundtables organized at BDF Summits, EUSBSR and other meetings. Roundtables also served as discussion forums for regional identity building as part of the EUSBSR implementation.Tourism Pilot concept ‘Live like locals’ for Japanese tourists, business and incoming tour operators in BSR which was tested by 3 Japanese bloggers. With brochure in English and Japanese the concept was introduced to Japanese market in Tokyo at JATA Travel Showcase and prof. seminar. Talent Pilot organized BSR-Japan Coproduction Forum at Scanorama film festival for 9 Japanese and 12 BSR film talents and high-level speakers to network and collaborate. 3-day event consisted of master classes, panel discussions, pitching, film screenings and feedback session from experts.Virtual guidebook to provide information about coproduction possibilities in the BSR was also created. Investment Pilot produced an Investors’ Guide to present BSR as attractive investment location and raise awareness of the region’s competitive advantages - first of its kind to ever present BSR and its cities as one investment destination. Investor’s Panels at MIPIM and Hannover Messe were organized to introducethe region’s strengths to investors and Matchmaking event enabled investors to get in contact with enterprises in BSR.All Pilots organized trainings of the joint marketing products for local businesses and organizations to encourage businesses to adopt the concept of regional marketing. Policy Roundtables functioned as a link between the project and stakeholders and a coordinating group of the regional identity building within EUSBSR. Policy Action Plan was created based on Roundtable discussions and Pilot experiences to strengthen regional marketing and cooperation. Project experiences were compiled into the final publication “BaltMet Promo Story: Concrete steps towards joint regional marketing” serving as a timeless example of joint BSR-marketing efforts. Process is transferable to other thematic fields and geo areas. BaltMet Promo case serves as unique data in academic research and education carried out by project scholars in in place branding and tourism.www.baltmetpromo.net
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  • 78.1%   2 167 691,51
  • 2007 - 2013 Baltic Sea Region
  • Project on KEEP Platform
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8 Partners Participants