From Placebrand to Citywide Movement

The assignment

In 2023, Heerlen reached a pivotal crossroads. Following the development of its new placebrand, the need for an independent and professional city marketing organisation became increasingly urgent. The Municipality of Heerlen and the Heerlen Entrepreneurs’ Fund were ready to take the next step together: establishing a structural city marketing approach with a clear mandate, well-defined roles and a public-private foundation tailored to Heerlen’s character and community.

BRAND The Urban Agency was commissioned to guide this transition. As quartermaster, our task was to translate the placebrand into a future-proof organisational model while securing stakeholder support, enabling decision-making and overseeing implementation.

The challenge

The assignment extended well beyond designing an organisational structure. The process required an independent party capable of operating above individual interests while earning the trust of public leaders, entrepreneurs and policymakers.

Until then, city marketing in Heerlen had been fragmented. Tasks, roles and expectations overlapped, and there was no shared vision of what the new organisation should look like. The challenge was therefore twofold: to create clarity within a complex stakeholder landscape and to develop a model aligned with the scale, culture and ambitions of the city.

Heerlen was not seeking a replica of solutions used elsewhere, but an approach tailored to its specific context that would be realistic, broadly supported and sustainable over time.

Our approach

The first step was to untangle the existing situation and create a clear overview. Through in-depth conversations with municipal leaders, civil servants, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, we built a shared understanding of what city marketing in Heerlen should stand for, where the current bottlenecks lay and which direction offered the strongest prospects. This groundwork paved the way for the next phase: building broad support.

Acting as connector and facilitator, we brought the founding partners, the Municipality of Heerlen and the Heerlen Entrepreneurs’ Fund, together to agree on roles, mandate, responsibilities, budget and governance. Through a series of individual meetings and joint working sessions, the process steadily moved towards consensus. A carefully prepared partner session proved decisive, with the key decisions on organisational form, financing and collaboration confirmed.

Based on these outcomes, we developed the organisational design: an independent foundation supported jointly by the municipality and the city’s business community, underpinned by a clear governance structure, defined roles and responsibilities, a realistic budget framework and well-considered job profiles. A critical decision was to organise an independent recruitment process for both the managing director and the Supervisory Board, ensuring transparency, credibility and professional quality.

In the final phase, we guided the practical realisation. The required budget was secured, the foundation was formally established and the recruitment and selection processes were carried out with care. Heerlen thus gained not only a structure on paper, but a fully functioning organisation with direction, mandate and leadership: Heerlen Partners.

“Rinske brought the substantive sharpness needed to professionalise the conversation. In a context shaped by different perspectives and interests, she ensured objectivity, clear frameworks and an equal basis for decision-making. This has demonstrably strengthened the foundation of the new organisation.”

Natali Palmtak, Municipality of Heerlen

Impact

Within a matter of months, a solid foundation for Heerlen’s renewed city marketing approach was in place. The founding partners reached full alignment, the necessary funding was secured and the new foundation was formally established. The appointment of the managing director and Supervisory Board completed the organisation and marked the beginning of a new chapter for the city.

Where fragmentation had previously dominated, clarity, focus and confidence emerged. Collaboration between the municipality and the entrepreneurs’ fund strengthened significantly, and decision-making became more streamlined and decisive.