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PROJECT
Transylvania Region: Branding & Campaigns
CATEGORY
Branding, Strategy, Web Development, Campaign, Experiential Marketing, Community, Place Marketing, Region Branding
CONTEXT
One of the most exotic regions in the EU, Transylvania was still a mystery for most European and American travelers.
Voted “The #1 Region To Visit In The World” by Lonely Planet that year, the region was lacking a powerful brand identity, a place branding strategy and the guerrilla marketing campaigns to use this fantastic opportunity and make the region famous worldwide.
IDEA
One of our most successful stunts in the Heraldist Handbook of Awesome, “We have a plan” was our response to what was happening in the UK, after the Brexit referendum.
It was also the perfect moment to news-hack this historic event and launch “Transylvania Beyond”, the brand of the region of Transylvania, Romania.
With a referendum that (literally) divided the UK in two, when no one in the (business) world was thinking about Romania as a destination to open a business, we thought it was the perfect time to bravely say ‘Hey British startup founders, why don’t you move to Transylvania”. The campaign made it to the international media and brought millions of views in unpaid media.
EXECUTION
We didn’t stop there. It was the best opportunity to launch the new regional brand, come up with new guerrilla campaigns, create a major international conference and a new line of branded merchandise.
This entire project was created and managed by Heraldist & Wondermarks, and it continues to run as a not-for-profit project.
It is probably the first regional brand in the world that is not owned by a public institution, but a private company, supported by the community.
⬆ Transylvania, a fascinating region in the Eastern side of the European Union, largely unknown to tourists. Voted “The #1 Region To Visit In The World” by Lonely Planet
⬆ The opportunity to promote the region came with the Brexit referendum. Many British startup founders were looking to open an office in the EU. A great opportunity to tell them about Transylvania
⬆ We built a simple website and 24 hours later, we were in The Guardian and other international media outlets, and more than 100.000 people were visiting the website, learning new things about this fascinating European region
⬆ The campaign made it to the global media
⬇ The following year, a new guerrilla marketing campaign created by Heraldist & Wondermarks was ready to hit the news: “What if Prince Charles, who already claimed Transylvania was his second home, was on his way to become the new Prince of Transylvania?
⬆ Global media instantly shared the rumor. Another great opportunity to tell the world about Transylvania, with 0 media budget spent and millions of views
⬆ Transylvanian t-shirts collection, created by Heraldist & Wondermarks
⬆ Transylvania Beyond, the new brand of Transylvania
⬆ “Beyond” became the key element of the regional brand
⬆ The new website, promoting Transylvania as a destination for travelers, startups and investors
⬆ Transylvania Awards, the region’s first multi-disciplinary conference, created and organized by Heraldist & Wondermarks, with Raiffeisen Bank and Forbes as main partners
