At the Optimaal Digitaal event on October 11, Auke Boersma presented to over 100 city marketers, shopping district and city center managers how a smart use of location-based advertising helped promote the city of Utrecht and attract 124,000 physical visitors. This innovative approach, targeting the right audience at the right time, once again proved how important it is to advertise relevantly and specifically in today’s digital world. But how exactly was this success story achieved?
In an era where cities and brands increasingly compete for consumer attention, it’s becoming more important to advertise relevantly and personally. Traditional methods like broadly distributed advertisements no longer suffice; consumers want a message that aligns with their needs, location, and timing. The municipality of Utrecht approached this cleverly using location-based advertising. Together with Mobile Journey, a strategy was set up to attract more visitors to the city. The result? An impressive 124,000 in footfall, exceeding the target of 117,000.
The challenge: more visitors to Utrecht
Utrecht wanted to strengthen its position as a major destination for visitors while stimulating the local economy. With this in mind, the city set a concrete goal: attracting 117,000 physical visitors through a targeted marketing campaign. The question was how to reach people from all over the Netherlands and convince them to visit Utrecht in a cost-effective manner.
Location-based advertising uses technology to determine consumers’ locations and reach them with relevant advertisements at the right moment. The power of location data was used to attract travelers to Utrecht.
