A new image for Berlin
Berlin, 4 October 2024 – “If it doesn’t matter where you come from, then you belong here”. As one of 16 different motifs, the memorable message is part of the new, nationwide image campaign for Berlin. The various motifs, which get by entirely without images and instead use strong texts, self-deprecatingly showcase the challenges of life in the capital and at the same time skilfully and charmingly present the advantages of the internationally renowned location for culture, business and science. The motifs address various facets of city life: from neighbourhood to culture, education, mobility and major events to diversity. Something like this: “1,100 voluntary positions. As if we are beyond help.” The messages have been visible at 1,500 locations in Berlin since 5 September 2024 and are being displayed both in print ads and through online media.
Some of the motifs in English, Turkish and Arabic address the city’s numerous foreign-language communities. Additional motifs in Polish, Russian and Ukrainian are also distributed via the @wir.berlin-Kanal channel. That is what Berlin is: diverse, versatile, colourful. Characteristics that, however, are still (too) often overshadowed by outdated clichés in our own country.“Berlin is a strong brand. But a brand also needs to be continuously maintained. Berlin has a great deal of appeal internationally, but unfortunately there are still reservations or clichés about Berlin nationally. We therefore want to use the campaign to promote Berlin as a city of freedom, internationality, diversity and solidarity. We are dispelling some clichés, radiating confidence and strengthening cohesion in our city, which is so important in these challenging times”, confirms Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner. As a result, the campaign is also represented in ten other German cities and is intended to strengthen Berlin’s reputation with its own messages, some of which are also self-deprecating. In Munich, for example, you can read: “This is where the Bavarians take off their lederhosen”, while in Stuttgart it says: “Real Swabians move there.”
The image campaign is being implemented by the Berlin Senate Chancellery together with Berlin Partner. The Berlin agency Dojo is responsible for developing the campaign. In addition, a total of 33 companies from the Berlin Partner Network are contributing additional media services and are thus helping to make the campaign motifs even more visible. Dr. Stefan Franzke, Managing Director of Berlin Partner, emphasises: “Thanks to the support of the strong Berlin Partner network, resources could also be pooled and almost 100 percent doubled through in-kind contributions."
The campaign kick-off is also self-deprecating and a little cheeky at the same time. In a so-called mockumentary (a fictional documentary made up of the English words “mock” and “documentary”), the protagonists Luise and Jannik are accompanied as they try to create “a better Berlin” in the Brandenburg town of Wittstock/Dessau and more precisely in its tranquil district of Berlinchen. A few challenges, difficulties and problems later, however, they have to realise: Berlin is only Berlin in Berlin. A successful punchline that humorously reflects the core of the campaign. This aims both to improve the image of the capital city and to strengthen the sense of community among Berliners, while also reminding everyone that life in the city is best made liveable together. Or as one of the campaign messages puts it in a nutshell: “You already know how we feel about walls."
