Campaigning Creativity Leisure & Tourism
2023
Hit the slopes for lunch? Take the evening walk by the crystal blue mountain lake? An interesting place to work? Yes, gladly. Graubünden is not only a great place to spend your vacation. It's also a great place to work and live. And that's exactly what more and more people want: A place where professional and private interests and needs can be combined. With targeted location marketing, the graubünden regional brand convinces professionals from Switzerland and abroad of a good life in the "NaturMetropole".
This is the question posed by our latest campaign, which promotes the canton of Graubünden as an attractive place to live under the label "NaturMetropole". The focus is on the diversity and exciting contrasts of Graubünden: the abundance of highly interesting jobs, the proximity to nature and the cultural diversity. All this is shown in various advertising films that tell of life in the largest canton and are shown on television as well as online and on various social media.
At the beginning of the collaboration with the graubünden regional brand, there was one question: How do you explain to people that they are best off in Switzerland's most popular vacation region, also in terms of their center of life and professional success? The decision to change job and location is emotional, complex and influenced by various factors. Is the content of the job right? Do the general conditions fit my needs? Can I imagine Graubünden as my new home, not only professionally but also privately? "Nature, skiing, hiking, the two ibexes Gian and Giachen... these are things that most people associate with Graubünden," says Gieri Spescha, managing director of the graubünden brand. "But with the Enavant communication offensive, we have been working for almost ten years to turn the tourism brand into a high-profile location brand. Because graubünden offers real added value with its total package of attractive living space and professional fulfillment."
One example of how this is communicated is the Innovation & Talent campaign launched in 2019 under Enavant. Here, resident companies talk about their goals, values and offerings. And show with stories from the companies what advantages a job change to Graubünden could bring. "What we want to trigger in people above all is this one thought: that could be me," says Cosima Lang, Director Storytelling, "because that can set a whole decision-making process in motion."
The willingness of companies from the Graubünden Rhine Valley or Prättigau to join forces in the fiercely competitive skilled labor market instead of competing against each other is one of the success factors. And while in the beginning it was mainly tech companies that joined in, over time more and more companies from other sectors joined in. All of them benefit from the appeal of the graubünden brand, under whose umbrella the campaigns take place. It's about keeping the needs of the workforce, the people, in mind.
"Technical expertise is important, but especially in companies like INTEGRA, you need people who want to make things happen and get involved," says Lukas Keller, Head of Global Marketing at INTEGRA Biosciences from Zizers. "And that is only possible by enabling contemporary and modern employment conditions." Combined with the diverse offerings in terms of nature, leisure, culture and education, Graubünden thus offers an attractive package for employees.
This is an offer that needs to be demonstrated and proven again and again. For example, a podcast was created with the Graubündner Kantonalbank. Or digital posters that draw attention to career opportunities on site at the universities. And of course spots with the ibexes Gian and Giachen on the much-discussed work-life balance. "In addition to classic text contributions, we are constantly finding new ideas together with WIRZ and the regional partners to position our canton for what it is: worth living in," says Gieri Spescha.
As one of the first alpine regions, the canton of Graubünden launched its regional brand in 2003 with the aim of making Graubünden attractive not only as a vacation destination, but also as a place to live and work. And this with success. Current surveys show: Among alpine destinations, Graubünden is now perceived as the most progressive, modern, innovative and sustainable region. And Graubünden is the only alpine tourism region among the top 10 most attractive places to work in Switzerland (source: Brand Tracking 2022, Brand Value Graubünden; MetaDesign/intervista). Perception is one thing, actual moves are another: Cantonal statistics from 2022 report slight population growth due to international and intercantonal influxes.