Participants Required to Develop Strategic Marketing Plan for Dutch National Heritage Site

One of Apeldoorn’s most iconic historic, cultural and tourist sites, Het Loo Palace (Paleis Het Loo), was the theme of Wittenborg’s September block project week at the school’s Apeldoorn study location. Conducted from 18 to 22 September, the activity involved almost 140 bachelor’s students from three programmes: Hospitality Business Administration (HBA), International Business Administration (IBA) and Marketing, Communication and Information (MCI).

During the project week, participants were required to come up with a strategic marketing plan to promote the museum and increase its brand awareness abroad, making it look diverse and attractive to the international market. To do so, the participants were divided in groups consisting of between four and six students.

The project week kick-off on Monday, 18 September, included a detailed introduction to the assignment and was attended by two staff members of the Het Loo Palace. The following day, students had the opportunity to visit the National Heritage Site and learn more about its rich history, facilities and operational aspects.

According to senior lecturer and Project Week Coordinator Lucy Omwoha, in offering this activity Wittenborg is living up to its mission statement of contributing to society in Apeldoorn. “Paleis Het Loo, a long-standing National Heritage Site, was chosen for this project week to help in marketing both the city of Apeldoorn and the museum. Our goal is to attract potential investors, visitors or residents to the city.”

Real-world Business Challenges

The assignment required Phase 1 students to create a functional, active and interactive social media page for the palace, as well as a marketing brochure and recorded group presentations. Additionally, they were tasked with writing a self-evaluation.

For Phase 2 students, the activities encompassed the creation of an advertising video and a management brief on how to best market the Het Loo Palace and increase its brand awareness. These participants were also required to create a video group presentation and write an individual self-evaluation.

HBA student Ranen Thomas, specialising in Sports Business Management in Hospitality, said that this project week was extremely exciting as it brought real-world business challenges for participants to try and solve.

“This is important as it not only gives us experience in the field but also trains us to deal with various situations that may arise in the process. During this project week, I had the opportunity to be a student representative. It taught me several different things, including leadership, communication management and so much more. I definitely liked visiting Paleis Het Loo the most, as we learned a lot about the rich history it holds. Moreover, the vivid pictures we imagined through the audio tour were fantastic. Overall, it was a great learning experience while having loads of fun.”

Elaheh Mosallanejad, pursuing an IBA diploma in Economics & Management in International Business, pointed out that she has always loved projects involving visits to companies because they offer the opportunity to enhance one’s analytic and problem-solving skills. “But this project was so enjoyable and different, since it was a journey into the past, and it made me feel more connected to the Netherlands. The fact that I had to look for a solution in an environment as huge as Paleis Het Loo helped me to improve my observation skills. It was a great experience not only in terms of the development of skills, but also because we were having fun with our friends.”

Babjan Syed, who is also studying for a degree in Economics & Management in International Business, highlighted that he really appreciates collaborating with fellow students in real-world projects that promote practical learning. 

“The most interesting aspect of these project weeks is that we get the chance to visit new companies every time, learn about real businesses and understand the problems they are facing. The project week at Paleis Het Loo was an enriching experience, given the ample focus on Dutch history and culture, as well as on the architecture and ingenuity that produced the beautiful grounds of the palace. What I found to be most interesting was the possibility to effortlessly explore the rich history of the Netherlands dating back to the 17th century, and that experience will stay with me,” he concluded.

WUP 20/10/2023
by Ulisses Sawczuk
©WUAS Press