Christmas promotion campaign in Goldstadt Pforzheim

The annual Christmas promotion campaign organised by Pforzheim city marketing is oriented towards the long-term marketing of the unique features of Goldstadt Pforzheim. The high quality implementation specifically exploits the synergy existing between the jewellery and watchmaking industries and places the festive season in the forefront. The strategic organisation of a brand event with a clear reference to the Goldstadt communicates reliability and quality. Over a period of 4 to 5 weeks the Christmas campaign is continually accompanied by advertising initiatives and press releases. This intensive external representation enables Pforzheim to win customers and shoppers from a wider area.

In order to attract visitors and shoppers to the Pforzheim city centre, the theme of the Goldstadt is redefined every year with a clear, meaningful headline. Current actions such as the investment in new Christmas lighting for the Pforzheim city centre or the implementation of late night shopping are integrated in the Christmas campaign along with the range of services and merchandising products. The main component of the Christmas campaign is the active involvement of shoppers with a raffle. Raffle prizes are drawn on a weekly basis with participants able to win prizes in the form of high value gastronomy vouchers and entry tickets to cultural events (e.g. Pforzheim city theatre, Pforzheim Schmuckwelten jewellery arcade) with the top prize always being a high quality jewellery piece from a traditional Pforzheim jewellery or watchmaking company. The raffle tickets for the competition are exclusively available from members of Pforzheim city marketing. Businesses which do not contribute therefore benefit less from the campaign and the members are actively highlighted through advertising.

The Christmas promotion campaign integrates the retailing trade, gastronomy trade, service companies, cultural and tourism facilities, jewellery and watchmaking industry and the city itself with the Christmas market. In co-operation with the churches in the city, invitations go out to the people to enable them to reflect on the nativity season and therefore Christmas is not just limited to commercial objectives. The bundling of forces from these different areas enables a credible and focussed marketing of the city centre during the advent period.

Motive and objective of the Christmas promotion campaign

In recent years the German retail trade has undergone a tremendous structural upheaval. This has come about over a period of time resulting from changes on the supply and demand side. In particular, the area of fun shopping is increasingly important. Fun shopping expresses an individual living style, increases the willingness of shoppers to spend and creates price elasticity which the retail trade can exploit through appropriate strategies.

The time before Christmas is the most important period in the year for the retail trade. Depending on the field and range of products, up to 30% of the annual turnover is made in November and December. In view of the competitive pressure from other locations, it is all the more important at this time to win the purchasing power of customers for Pforzheim and to market the city through innovative and attractive concepts linked to quality. The traditional jewellery and watchmaking industry is especially closely linked to the important Christmas period, the time for emotion, celebrations and extraordinary presents. Customers searching for something special at Christmas time are able to benefit from the range of high quality jewellery on offer. The communication of the advantages of Pforzheim as a fun place to shop is therefore considerably important for the retail trade at the time of the year with the highest turnover.

In respect of brand building, the Christmas promotion campaign has firmly established the reputation of the Pforzheim city centre. The campaign signals high quality to visitors and strengthens the recognition value of the city centre as the campaign only exists in this form in Goldstadt Pforzheim. The opening of the Schmuckwelten jewellery shopping arcade as the only shopping platform of its kind in Europe for jewellery and watches in 2005 and the re-opening and expansion of the Pforzheim jewellery museum in 2006, worldwide the only collection concerning the development and history of jewellery, illustrate the international value of Goldstadt Pforzheim as a centre for jewellery and watches.

Therefore the Pforzheim city marketing division has developed a concept for the long-term based Christmas campaign which especially pursues the following objectives:

• Establish identification to Pforzheim population.
• Positioning of "Goldstadt Pforzheim" distinctly from Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and other medium-sized centres.
• Creation of incentives to visit and shop in Pforzheim city (develop and increase purchasing power retention).
• Increase brand awareness and strengthen the image of Goldstadt Pforzheim in and outside the immediate region.
• Focussed and networked marketing of local potential for the retail trade, jewellery and watch industry, gastronomy, services, culture, churches, tourism and city (Christmas market).
• Continuous positive marketing of the city centre over a time period of five weeks with radio spots, advertisements, posters and accompanying editorial reporting.
• Build-up of interest and excitement during the whole period of the event.
• Conscious theme-based marketing of the "Goldstadt" as unique feature.
• Active participation of visitors and customers with a raffle.
• Control of frequency of visitors to the city centre in front of shop windows of participating businesses.