A unique story

Hildegard Assies is a member of the Advisory Board, director of Breda Marketing and chair of the Association for City Marketing Netherlands. In that capacity, she emphasises the importance of a powerful and distinctive story — a story that Breda has to tell.

“In the Innovation District, you should immediately feel that you have arrived. The Story of Breda and the physical place should form one whole. In keeping with our brand values – green, welcoming and boundless – and with the ambition to position ourselves as an international TT&C hotspot. We have everything we need, but we are too modest. We need to show much more of what we have, and that calls for powerful branding and visible places where innovation and experience come together.

We have some catching up to do with other cities in terms of profile. Yet, with gaming and robotics, we have a truly distinctive story to tell. As a knowledge partner and brand orchestrator, we are happy to contribute to this. The enticing prospect is within reach: a city that offers not only jobs and education, but also an attractive range of living and leisure opportunities. In that respect, leisure may well be the greatest opportunity.

Through a year-round programme of networking drinks and festivals, as well as open and lively ground floors, accessible buildings and meeting places in public spaces, we make innovation tangible.

The Innovation District should not be an isolated area, but an artery of the city, connected to its neighbourhoods and visible in everyday life. This calls for courage, choices and concrete projects. Start experimenting, start doing. And harness the power of marketing to spread the story. Then Breda will grow into a city people want to be part of.”