Copenhagen is known around the world for its openness and accessibility. Copenhagen’s new brand, “cOPENhagen – open for you”, expresses a vision of being the most open capital city in the world.We say that Copenhagen is “Open for You”. This statement applies whether you are seeking experiences, business or a place to live…
Here are just a few examples of why Copenhagen is “Open”:
Open for Business
Copenhagen has one of the best business environments in the world. Factors such as high creditworthiness, low corporation tax, a strong balance between work and leisure, a global mindset, equality and a highly educated workforce combine to ensure good conditions for companies and investments.
Open for Visits
Copenhagen is a very tourist-friendly city. Residents’ English skills are significantly higher than in other major European cities, the city is easy to get around in, and there is something for everybody: Colourful Copenhagen features everything from Michelin restaurants, opera and jet-set night clubs to free museums, underground culture and film festivals.
Open for Living
Copenhagen is one of the world’s most comfortable and safe cities to live in. The quality of life is high and social inequality, crime and corruption are significantly lower than in most other large cities.
Open for Shopping
Copenhagen offers all the best in clothing, fashion, design and art. In addition to the good shopping opportunities in the city centre and surrounding boroughs, a host of fashion events and design fairs give Copenhagen the right to boast of being a true shopping Mecca.
Open for Events
Copenhagen is a popular city for holding large congresses, fashion shows, design and architecture fairs, as well as other cultural and sporting events. Copenhagen Fashion Week is held twice annually and in 2009 the city will host the
World Outgames, the UN Climate Change Conference, COP15, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) congress.
Open for Alternatives
Broad-mindedness and tolerance are important values in Copenhagen, and the city has a long tradition of being an open and inclusive environment with room for all. For example, the free town of Christiania has been able to develop positively, to the enjoyment of more and more Copenhageners and tourists, who have made it Copenhagen’s second most popular tourist attraction!
Open for Connections
Copenhagen features one of the world’s most flexible and modern infrastructures. Copenhagen Airport serves as the Scandinavian hub of international air traffic, and it takes just 15 minutes to travel from the airport to the city centre with the Metro, which runs 24 hours a day. And the Oresund Bridge provides a cheap and quick connection to Sweden.
Open for Sustainability
Copenhagen aims to be a leading green city and has allocated DKK 150 million to climate related initiatives in 2008-2009 alone. These efforts have led to results: Copenhagen’s harbour is now so clean that it is possible to swim in one of its many public swimming areas. In addition, windmills have been erected as a green alternative for the city’s power supply.
Open for Innovation
Copenhagen is at the centre of Denmark’s efforts to create one of the world’s best environments for innovation and entrepreneurship. Significant growth and employment have been established in both Copenhagen and the Oresund region in industries such as Medico/biotech, food, logistics, design, and IT. Copenhagen is also home to a number of leading international educational institutions that cooperate closely with the business community – and which are also free!
Open for Dialogue
Freedom of expression and democracy are valued highly in Copenhagen and contribute to the city’s unique social cohesion. Dialogue between all social groups – majorities and minorities – has long been high on the political agenda and has resulted in a high degree of tolerance and understanding in the city, e.g. in relation to Christiania, the immigrant community, homosexuals and various youth and sub-cultures.
See http://www.opencopenhagen.com/open-brand/about-cph-brand
Ik moet eerlijk zeggen dat ik als geboren kopenhagenaar, en ook nog betrokken geweest bij bovenstaande project – het resultaat uiterst teleurstellend en on-Deens vind.
We wouden juist weg van de slogan’s en logo’s en kijken naar de kern van een marketing- en brandingstrategie. Dat wouden zij ook – tot dat ze het grafische ontwerp zagen…
Hoe kunnen men een professionele opdracht vervullen wanneer de opdrachtgever vaak geen kaas heb gegeten van waar het over gaat?
I don’t dislike the Copenhagen ‘OPEN’ campaign as such… but I have an uncomfortable feeling that it is born not from compelling and authentic truths about the city, but from the convenient fact that the name contains the word OPEN.
In that sense it may be a campaign in which the cart and the horse are the wrong way around: that is, the creative idea is driving and the strategy is trying to catch up.
The descriptions of all the things that make Copenhagen ‘open’ read like a list of post-rationalisations. They may well be true. But are they genuinely distinct and compelling? Are they unique to Copenhagen in other words. I’m not convinced that they are.
Here’s a test: give the list of things which make Copenhagen ‘open’ to an individual or a group… but removing the city name. Can they, will they identify Copenhagen from the campaign descriptions alone? I doubt it.
There must be many, many reasons to visit or indeed to move to Copenhagen… but is ‘OPEN’ the most powerful? I’m not convinced.