Together With The Berlin Economic Development Corporation example essay topic

BERLIN REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: "THE NEW BERLIN" TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Write a mission statement for the Berlin EDC 3 Berlin Economic Development Corporation 3 2. What is Berlin's competitive advantage? Do the strategy efforts of the EDC exploit this competitive advantage?

Has this been a well thought out strategy? 3 3. What is the mission of the Partnership? 4 4. Describe the marketing strategy in terms of the 4 P's 5 5. The Partnership's slogan is Das Neue Berlin, which is translated as "The New Berlin".

Is this a good slogan? Why or why not? 7 6. What Micro environmental and Macro environmental influences have hindered or helped the creation of a positive image for Berlin? 7 1. Write a mission statement for the Berlin EDC Berlin Economic Development Corporation Mission Statement In a highly competitive Europe, we will effectively position Berlin as the first choice location for worldwide business enterprise in Europe, through effective use of our geographical location, and our unique knowledge and experience of Eastern and Western Europe.

As Europe's youngest capital city, we will continue to enhance our reputation as innovators in the fields of technology, education and culture. We will create a promising and conducive environment for the growth of our investors and the Federal Government, whilst balancing the needs and demands of society and our natural resources 2. Without a doubt, Berlin's main competitive advantage is it's geographical position relative to the rest of Europe. This unique advantage was brought about by the reunification of Germany, and the fall of the Iron Curtain. The Berlin wall, probably the most memorable icon of modern times in Germany fell on November 9th 1989. Europe had not experienced such a change in political geography since the end of the Second World War - it was the opportunity Germany needed to spark its economy, and to begin laying the ghosts of the past to rest.

Overnight, huge opportunities and challenges faced Berliner's from both sides. This change needed well-orchestrated control and direction in order to be exploited to its full potential. With the upgrading of the road and transport infrastructure, the EDC was able to fully exploit this advantage. Africa by contrast has many competitive advantages, but is unable to exploit them due to lack of investment, poor infrastructure, and the mechanisms and organisations to exploit them.

Berlin's plans to gain the maximum return from its central location are backed up by solid planning as well as pedantic German efficiency and follow through. The strategy of the EDC to partner the Federal Government, as well as tertiary institutions and big business tends towards an environment built around corporations rather than manufacturing. Inherent in this strategy is the retention of intellectual capital by creating strategic needs partnerships between tertiary education and business. Results are what count, especially in the corporate world. When considering whether or not the strategy of the EDC has been well though out, it is perhaps worthy to judge it based on the merits of its balance. All of the information available on Berlin continually points to 5 strategic areas of focus, namely: 1.

Berlin is an East / West metropolis, 2. Berlin is a capital city, 3. Berlin is innovative, 4. Berlin is a city of culture, 5. Berlin is a good place to live Therefore the natural conclusion is that the strategy is well thought out.

It is relatively simple at face value - more information and detail is revealed as required, allowing the uninitiated to gain an understanding from novice up to expert. The strategy acknowledges the strengths of Berlin and promotes the aspects which make Berlin attractive. It is targeted towards retention of intellectual capital, but not at areas such as manufacturing or farming which is not best suited to Berlin. The strategy shows balance in that it offers more than one reward.

This is achieved through culture and the arts as well as the " green " spaces and pleasant diversions to be found around Berlin, important considerations to modern companies who seek balance for their employees. 3. The information available on the web site shows clearly that the mission of the partnership is to promote Berlin and build it into the commerce hub of Europe. Excerpts from promotional material illustrate this clearly - (comments in parenthesis are not part of the original excerpt but are added to annotate the intention of the Partnership) - Eberhard Diepgen - Mayor of Berlin " The city's new areas (growth, expansion, new energy), Potsdam er Platz or Karo w for example, and the many construction sites (old making way for new), such as the one for the new main railway station (infrastructure improvement) show how rapidly Berlin is changing (fact) as it resumes it's role as a metropolis (there by rights) in the heart of a reunified continent (removing the negative legacy of the past - a fresh start)".

- " The structural changes, modernisation, and rapid development of Berlin (all positives) are made possible by creativity and innovative force of science and research (powerful foundations to build on) " The partnership touts an impressive list of corporations, industry associations, research groups and tertiary institutions located in Berlin, in order to convince others to relocate and invest. The mission can therefore be summed up as follows - to make Berlin the corporate capital of Europe through the strength of its economy and the diversity of its culture. 4. Describe the marketing strategy in terms of the 4 P's The marketing mix consists of Product, Price, Promotion and Place. The most obvious start point would therefore be place - Place - The Marketing 6 e textbook describes the 4 P's as seller orientated. The buyer views place in terms of convenience - one of the 4 C's.

Immediately the strategy of the mix becomes clearer. The promotional material shows Berlin to be centrally located with access to all major European centres. Much is made of the fact that scientific research facilities are available, as well as a wealth of banks and other financial institutions. Transport infrastructure and relative ease in terms of limited building beaurocracy further enhance the image of convenience. The Business Location Centre provides " virtual tours " of the city to allow investors to see potential locations. Price - clearly competitive, the Partnership shows that Berlin can be considered tremendous value for money.

The Partnership has easy to find sections on its web site to allow potential investors to make calculations and investigate possibilities relative to price. The Partnership also encompasses the Business Location Centre, which provides hard financial and economic data. The text on the web site sums it up " Together with the Berlin Economic Development Corporation, state, city and other public institutions have put together a dense network of information on Berlin. Within seconds you can have all the facts you need at your fingertips at the click of a mouse". Product - The product - in this case a whole city, can be expressed in its simplest form - land, and the opportunity to utilise it in an environment which harbours and encourages economic growth and development.

Of course the product is multi layered and comprises many different elements. As previously stated the 5 selling points broadly describe how the product fits into the mix. Again, in terms of the 4 C's, product is translated into customer solution. Relocate to Berlin - it's the solution. Promotion - What better way to promote than to tell prospective buyers who the current users are. The Partnership lists major corporations and institutions, most of which have posted articles on the Internet about their relocation in Berlin and their satisfaction with their choice.

In addition to this, the Partnership has employed a technological approach to promoting Berlin. The web site for the Business Location Centre is available in 21 languages, 2 of which are Chinese dialects, Japanese and Arabic as well as all European languages including Russian. With relative ease a vast amount of information can be supplied in a language comfortable to the user. Links to other sites with information on Berlin are readily available and all information supplied throughout the web site is punctuated with full contact details of service providers / agencies. 5. Why or why not?

The slogan chosen by the Partnership is very good. It is simple, yet it encompasses everything about Berlin that the Partnership is saying. The Berlin Wall and the divide between east and west signify Berlin's unfortunate recent history. Further back it was the Third Reich's seat of power - the city that nearly brought the world to its knees. The challenge facing the corporation is to remove these negatives whilst still retaining the history, and more importantly, the culture. Using icons from the past such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag as positive symbols of rebirth, the Partnership's slogan of "The New Berlin" shows us that new beginnings are possible from the depths of hopelessness.

The slogan suggests a fresh start; "new" is a positive word. Possible other slogans the Partnership could have settled on are "Business for Berlin,"Berlin - Europe's New Capital"Berlin - The Hub of Europe". It all comes down to one thing - a simple, effective, all encompassing slogan works best. Berlin in our opinion has achieved this.

6. Prior to unification, the then West Germany had the largest and strongest economy in Europe. This facilitated the process of integrating with the East, however the West paid a heavy price. Just as South Africa has undergone a stoic change in political ideology, East and West Germans had to learn to put their differences aside. The process of finding solutions nurtured entrepreneurial spirit and forced Germans to "make it work". Nowhere in Germany was this more prevalent than in Berlin.

Driven by the capitalist experience of the West, Berlin as a body corporate knew it's future lay in investment and upgrading the infrastructure of the previously disadvantaged east as well as improving the west. In addition to this, the geographical position of Germany, but particularly Berlin, relative to the rest of Europe shifted from far right on the map to "dead centre" almost overnight - a golden goose in the right hands. Seizing on this opportunity Berlin was re-engineered as a hub - a convenient location to base an organisation in with access to all major European destinations with relative ease. Land availability, both to construct on, as well as so-called green areas to round off aesthetics, further enhanced Berlin's marketability. Contrast this with Hong Kong for example, where land availability and real estate prices prohibit all but a select few from locating there. A government that understands business and assists wherever possible is also essential.

In building a positive image - investment by business and an influx of technology, manpower and knowledge is vital. Berlin has managed to achieve all of the above. In terms of the micro environment Berlin is blessed. Museums, theatres, decent schools, numerous tertiary institutions and research facilities and an efficient and well run transport infrastructure as well as "soft details" like shops, green areas and availability of housing all help to promote a well rounded image. The question posed at the end of the text states quite simply - "Would you locate your firm there?" With the amount of information available, the help and advice offered by the Partnership, and independent testimonials from major companies like Sony, Daimler Chrysler, Deutsche Telekom, KPMG and Vivendi to name a fraction, it would be hard to imagine, when thinking "Germany", not to think "Berlin".

Bibliography

1. Marketing - An introduction 6 e 2. web 3. web 4. web 5. web 6. web 7. web 8. web 9. web 10. web.