Koblenz: Managing events strategically – and making the most of them

Events revitalize a city, they strengthen the city brand and promote trade and gastronomy. But what happens when residents increasingly complain because events in public spaces get out of hand or have negative effects (such as noise or litter)? And what does it do to the place brand strategy if events take place that do not fit the mission statement or brand essence? In such cases, events can also have a detrimental effect on a city.

Koblenz recognized precisely this problem and commissioned us to design an event strategy,

• which analyzes the status quo of the event landscape and event spaces in Koblenz,
• the needs of those involved (stakeholders) and
• clearly identifies which events in which public spaces fit the Koblenz brand – and which do not.

For us, the DNA of the city is at the heart of all place branding. This also applies in particular to the city’s event strategy. After all, events have the potential to become a city’s flagship and magnet of attraction and to positively reinforce its image. They celebrate the “city as a stage” and turn participants into ambassadors to the outside world (social media, press, images, videos). These findings make it clear: Events in public spaces need to be strategically managed and utilized – especially in a busy city like Koblenz.

The key results of the strategy development are therefore:

• Event strategy – as a decision-making basis for politics and administration
• Event criteria catalog – for matching events and brand
• transparent structures – for quick decisions and feedback with relevant stakeholders

We develop an event strategy neither on a greenfield site nor shielded from the facts and interests in the city. Instead, we take a close look at the conditions on site – inspecting event spaces, talking to those involved and examining the processes and structures involved in awarding and coordinating events. All of this flows into the results and leads to a sustainable and distinctive event strategy that recognizes the character of Koblenz and translates it into decision-making criteria.

Components of the strategy development in Koblenz include

• Stakeholder management incl. stakeholder map
• Addressing and involving all relevant interest groups
• Organization and moderation of coordination rounds and workshops
• Analysis and clustering of existing studies, concepts and plans
• Needs analysis: Which events strengthen the city brand? Which ones are missing?
• Qualification of the city’s squares / event areas
• Analysis and qualification of existing/traditional events
• Development of an organizational and control structure – for quality assurance

Structure follows strategy – this guiding principle applies to the event strategy in Koblenz. Based on the developed event strategy including a catalog of event criteria, those responsible for Koblenz-Touristik can now evaluate events transparently – and decide on the “fit” with the city brand. The clear organizational and control structure speeds up decision-making and also takes into account the interests of stakeholders.