Positioning the Kerkrade Corporate Strategy
In response to a clear demographic contraction, the Municipality of Kerkrade has been working tirelessly for a number of years to restructure the city, looking at physical aspects as well as the equally important social erosion (loss of common identity) associated with population shrinkage. The Municipal Council and Municipal Executive of Kerkrade have therefore decided to better position Kerkrade and to start a search for a shared experience of its current identity. In a “dream letter from the mayor”, an appeal was made for the help and involvement of the residents. This appeal turned out to be a great success, with more than 800 residents writing back and expressing their dreams for Kerkrade's future.
What did Kerkrade want to find out?
What is the current identity of Kerkrade and how can Kerkrade effectively engage in a dialogue with all its stakeholders about the challenges it faces?
Target group
The Municipal Council and the Municipal Executive of Kerkrade.
Insights
Using brand foundation workshops and a multi-sensory session, Altuïtion gathered knowledge and insights that formed the basis for the description of the identity and the Kerkrade Corporate Story. Despite the current challenges, Kerkrade remains a fantastic town in the Parkstad Limburg conurbation with a history that is as interesting as it is colorful. In 1900, more than half of the working population worked in the mines. This mining activity ensured economic prosperity and social cohesion and made the town what it is today: proud, hard-working, intransigent, brave, and social.
Elaboration
In response to Altuïtion's description of the identity and the Kerkrade Corporate Story, the Municipal Council and the Municipal Executive decided, in dialogue and co-creation with its residents, to start building a future for the city – a future that is rich in perspective, distinctive, and which can serve as an example for other municipalities. In consultation with the Mayor and the Court Clerk, Altuïtion came up with the character “Dr Joep”, based on the statue of a proud miner who looks out over Kerkrade's market and who serves as the link between the past, present, and future. This makes “Dr Joep” the ideal bearer of this dialogue and the central figure in Kerkrade's Corporate Story and the leitmotif “In Kerkrade you are never alone.” Kerkrade continued to deploy Altuïtion in the further positioning of the city and in facilitating the dialogue with its residents.
