Through the European Cities Marketing* network, 43 cities from 23 countries launched a new common brand to market their City Cards: We Love City Cards!
This end of the year means time of renewal for City Cards and the arrival of exciting new tools developed by European Cities Marketing. Earlier in 2014, the City Cards Knowledge Group* chaired by Olivier Occelli (Lyon Tourism & Congress) decided to go on with a new marketing approach to refresh its City Cards website and associated promotional means.
What are City Cards?
City Cards offer great value, convenience and variety. They are the essential tool when experiencing a city on a city break. Most City Cards offer free public transport, free entrances, free sightseeing and discounts in restaurants, shops and entertainment. They are easy to purchase and easy to use. As well as saving money, city card holders can often jump the queues.
Why travellers need City Cards?
A report from ECM and TCI research on the value for money perception in European Cities shows that besides key elements in the visitors’ budget (accommodation and food), non-paying and intangible experience also strongly impacts visitors’ value for money satisfaction. Safety feeling, local people hospitality and value for money are secondary but key elements since visitors associate value to the whole experience, and not only to price related specific items. And this is exactly what City Cards aim to offer travellers.
Creation of a common City Cards brand: We Love City Cards
The new strategy includes a new common branding around 43 City Cards in Europe to enhance communication to the travellers with more interaction on social media, to increase consumer awareness, and lastly to encourage purchase of City Cards when travelling.
With the new branding We Love City Cards, its new website www.welovecitycards.com, a new visual approach, advertising tools and information on social media www.facebook.com/weekendsineurope,
Olivier Occelli, Knowledge Group chairperson, explained: “Last year, more than 2.7 million cards were sold among the leading cities in Europe. City Cards are an important tool within the City Hospitality mix since they can enhance the visitors experience in a City. It was essential for us to remodel the City Cards marketing strategy to stick with travellers’ habits of planning more and more their city travels through the Internet and social media.”travellers are now able to optimally use their City Cards and boost their visitor’s experience.
Cities participating in the City Cards Project: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Belfast, Bergen, Berlin, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Bruges, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dijon, Dublin, Geneva, Ghent, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Innsbruck, Krakow, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Nuremberg, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Reykjavík, Saint Petersburg, Split, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Turku, Valencia, Vienna, Zagreb, Zaragoza, and Zurich.
Discover the new branding of the City Cards Project; visit the new website www.welovecitycards.com and like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/weekendsineurope where you can take part in a contest to win 2 pairs of City Cards every day!
*European Cities Marketing is a non-profit organisation improving the competitiveness and performance of leading cities of Europe by providing a platform for convention, leisure and city marketing professionals to exchange knowledge, best practice and widen their network to build new business. European Cities Marketing is promoting and linking the interests of 110 members from more than 100 major cities in 36 countries.
*ECM Knowledge Groups are expert teams focusing on specific aspects of city marketing and urban tourism development. They discuss issues, share best practices, prepare reports, conduct surveys and, in certain cases, undertake joint marketing activities.
*City Cards Knowledge Group aims at promoting and improving the City Card product in Europe. Promotion is made with the new branded tools above mentioned. The Group also brings together experts working in the field to exchange on best practices within the City Cards Expert Meeting held once a year.
For more information and pictures, please contact:
Flavie Baudot, press@europeancitiesmarketing.com, +33 380 56 02 00
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