Building on the future of Breda with leisure

Author: Peter van der Aalst is degree programme manager and lecturer of Leisure and Events Management at Breda University of Applied Sciences.

With its more than 186,000 residents, Breda is the ninth largest city in the Netherlands. A beautiful city with a rich past. People from Breda are generally known as bon vivants, who are proud of their historic city. But Breda does not stand still and has the ambition to move forward. Breda as a historic and liveable city, where life is wonderful and where dynamism has no boundaries. A vibrant meeting place where creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators have the space to pioneer. Their ambition is to build a city for future generations. Leisure, technology and creativity play an important role in this.

Since 2019, it has been up to Hildegard Winnubst-Assies, director of Breda Marketing, to give direction to the branding of Breda and to channel the pride and drive of the city, its inhabitants and administrators in a clear and appealing story for residents, visitors, companies, and talents.

That seems like quite a job to me. How do you reduce so many ideas and enthusiasm to a clearly communicable positioning that is understood and supported?
By choosing direction together with the city and connect and shape that direction in policy, content and marketing. Preferably, in a joint strategic agenda. In 2016, the city expressed its ambitions; Breda is a city where quality of life is paramount, an open and hospitable city where we celebrate life. Cordiality and fun are important values. We cherish that, as well as its location, the historic scene, and the green living environment. Economically speaking, Breda has a strong SME profile. To put Breda on the map as a business and student city in the future, the city chose to strengthen its international profile and build on applied technology and creativity. Not an illogical choice in view of its history, the growing number of tech start-ups and quality education in Breda.

In 2022, Breda Marketing took a more in-depth approach on the basis of many conversations with a wide variety of city partners. To build a solid basis for the city, with one sustainable story and clear identity. We developed the visual identity together with the Design Team, an open collective of Breda designers. We launched the honed brand in 2022. Anyone can use that brand. In this way, we are building an unambiguous positioning of the city together with partners.

That is quite a lot; that goes far beyond launching a marketing campaign.
Our challenge is to build a strong brand. That is what we are taking control of, and we manifest it, among other things, through our own channels, such as explorebreda.com and in the city. The Breda Marketing team builds on this every day. We retrieve local Breda stories; they make the city. Together with several partners, we spread the brand to various target groups and inform, inspire and activate them with the right resources at the right time. Finally, we also encourage innovation and new pride. So we are literally ‘making a city’. Think of product and programme development, new events, interventions in public space, and strengthening area profiles.

Breda is on the eve of a metropolitan challenge and will grow to some 230,000 inhabitants in the coming years. That transition will face complex social challenges and have a major impact on the city. A leap in scale offering opportunities to create new icons, increase the pride of residents, increase the attractiveness of the city for new residents, visitors, entrepreneurs and students, and put Breda on the map even more strongly. If Breda wants to be meaningful in the future, we must get to work and think and act differently. Therefore, Breda Marketing has honed the brand story and added the Breda mentality. To be able to work on the urban challenges in a more creative and intensive way and thus the image of the city.

What role do you see for leisure in this process?
Growth is not a goal in itself, but it is an opportunity to innovate and improve quality and at the same time safeguard the city's identity. Leisure is one of the preconditions for a good balance between living, working and relaxing. It contributes to the Quality of Life that is so praised inside and outside Breda. We can use the expertise and imagination of leisure to engage residents in complex social challenges, so they can contribute to a better world in their own direct living environment. In  this way, we set a valuable movement in motion together, and increase the attractiveness of Breda. After all, a nice city to live in is also a nice city to visit, work or study in. Look at cities such as Oslo, Hamburg or Helsinki, the happiest city in the world. They are really at the forefront in a number of areas.

Leisure is a part of the local economy not to be underestimated, in which mostly events play an important role. The professionalism of organisational agencies, a rich variety of suppliers, and certainly important, targeted education at both mbo (senior secondary vocational education) and hbo (higher professional education) level; it is all there in Breda. Furthermore, there is an opportunity ahead of us to make the city better known as a multiday travel destination. Breda has it all, even a beautiful history. Creativity connects this history with the present and future and makes it attractive to a wide audience.

Breda has always been a leisure city and that offers a lot of potential. This profile, which has a strong history, could be manifested more strongly. Breda can become more playful, and can make better use of public space in a more creative way, as if it were a playground. That fits Breda perfectly. Through storytelling, events or sustainable forms of leisure, such as cycling, boating and walking. And think of course of new technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. For example, a project like the Mark, bringing back water into the city, can be made accessible and more meaningful. If you tackle things well, you will foster engagement, increase the pride of inhabitants and create a surprising experience for visitors. In addition, leisure, technology and greening can strengthen each other well conceptually. Developments in the field of data analytics and AI enable us to create more personalised leisure experiences and stimulate social interaction. Finally, leisure can play an important role in promoting people’s health and well-being. In a world in which people move less and less, offerings of more physical and challenging leisure activities can make a positive contribution. So, plenty of opportunities. 

Do you see an important role for leisure in the transition to a more beautiful world and a future-proof and attractive Breda. What will Breda look like shortly if your dreams come true?
Leisure will have been entrenched in the major development projects and public space. It will have a vibrant network of young, international talents, incubators, start-ups and companies that will make optimal use of the participation of Breda residents. A city that will have made a leap in scale and will be considered an international, creative and innovative city. It will have a recognisable profile, attracting young talents within the serious gaming and robotisation domains. Those who believe in a better future consciously avoid the rat race in big cities and go for a life full of quality. The city will feel and move like a big ‘playground’ and ‘living lab’, where technology, creativity and leisure will have been integrated into public space. A playground and a stage where working together on social challenges will be the standard. Old and new pride and icons will go side by side.

These are very wonderful dreams, but what are you already proud of from the perspective of Breda Marketing?
Our brand essence is ‘Breda Brings it Together’. The Together concept is at the core and heart of our brand. The number of surprising partnerships is rapidly increasing, offering us many valuable initiatives which set the city in motion. The water, the Mark, is coming back to the city again; an unprecedented ambitious development perspective has been developed for ‘t Zoet; heritage is being given a new meaning; the city becomes greener and more accessible for everybody and inhabitants every day; education and businesses are getting more and more engaged in social and sustainable initiatives. 

With BUas, Breda has the institute of the Netherlands in the field of leisure and the third best game programme of the world within its city boundaries. This has resulted in impactful events and initiatives such as Breda Game Hub and Breda Robotics, and the World Leisure Congress will take place in Breda and Rotterdam in 2025.

We are already building on the future of the city together step by step. So, our slogan ‘Breda Brings it Together’ is anything but an empty promise. Breda is on the move and a very interesting city to keep an eye on, now and in the future. 

Read more Uncover articles about the Future of Leisure via this link. 

Pictures: Grote Kerk - Floris Oosterveld