Marketing Groningen

What Marketing Groningen does

Groningen & Partners, formerly Marketing Groningen, is a regional development and marketing organization serving the city and province of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 2003 and rebranded in 2025, the entity consolidates expertise across three pillars: leisure economy (vrijetijdseconomie), knowledge economy (kenniseconomie), and brand management (merkmanagement). It serves three primary audiences — local entrepreneurs seeking regional marketing reach, tourists and visitors to Groningen, and HealthTech/talent cohorts — through coordinated campaigns such as 'Ontdek wat je hebt' (Discover what you have), 'Er gaat niets boven jou' (Nothing beats you), 'Love, Groningen', 'Sounds like Groningen', 'Groningen: weer open', and the 2026 national HealthTech Groningen talent campaign.

The product portfolio is operational rather than technology-driven. Core offerings include free online business listings on the Visit Groningen platform (visitgroningen.nl), entrepreneur toolkits with branding assets, a digital beeldbank (image library), the 321GRO-kompas strategic brand compass, and the Huisstijl Groningen visual identity system. The organization operates three complementary digital properties — visitgroningen.nl, groningen.nl, and business.groningen.nl — covering tourism, general regional information, and economic development respectively. No proprietary software, APIs, mobile applications, or technology integrations are disclosed; core technology is explicitly marked not applicable.

The business model is publicly funded rather than commercially transacted. Services to entrepreneurs (listings, toolkits, image assets) are provided at no charge, and pricing is explicitly not applicable. Revenue derives from government support mechanisms for broad regional development and profiling, classifying it as professional-services revenue rather than product or subscription revenue. The organization has no parent company, no venture or private equity backing, no funding rounds, and no M&A history. Headcount sits at 11-50 employees and leadership rests with directeur-bestuurder Willem de Kok, who succeeded Elsa Weelink coincident with the 2025 rebrand.

Name

Marketing Groningen

Legal name

Groningen & Partners

Website

https://marketinggroningen.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Groningen & Partners (formerly Marketing Groningen) is a publicly-funded regional development and marketing organization for the city and province of Groningen, Netherlands. It delivers campaigns, brand management, and digital platforms across leisure economy, knowledge economy, and brand management pillars.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Marketing and Development Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sales Promotion Campaign Design & Management (BPAFAMAC)

Keywords

• Destination marketing
• Regional development
• Brand management
• Leisure economy
• Knowledge economy

Headquarters

HQ city

Groningen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public funding and government support: As a regional development and marketing organization, Groningen & Partners operates through public funding mechanisms, serving the broad development and profiling of the Groningen region rather than commercial product revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Marketing Groningen (now Groningen & Partners) is a regional marketing and development organization that promotes destination marketing, content creation, and digital campaigns for the Groningen city and province in the Netherlands. It delivers services across three pillars: leisure economy (tourism promotion), knowledge economy (regional economic development and talent attraction), and brand management (regional identity, visual identity, and toolkits). It supports local entrepreneurs with free online business listings, marketing toolkits, and an image bank, while running campaigns such as HealthTech Groningen, "Ontdek wat je hebt", and "Love, Groningen".

Product overview

Marketing Groningen operates as a regional marketing and development organization (recently rebranded to Groningen & Partners) offering a portfolio of interconnected services organized around three pillars: leisure economy, knowledge economy, and brand management. Core offerings include Vrijetijdseconomie services promoting tourism, Kenniseconomie services for economic development, and Merkmanagement for brand identity. The organization supports entrepreneurs through Visit Groningen business listings, marketing toolkits, and an image bank. The 321GRO-kompas provides strategic brand guidance, while the Huisstijl system offers visual identity standards for the Groningen region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vrijetijdseconomie (Leisure Economy Services) Tourism and leisure economy services promoting Groningen as a travel and experience destination, including campaigns such as 'Ontdek wat je hebt' (Discover what you have) and 'Love, Groningen'. Targeted at domestic tourists and visitors to the Groningen region.
• Kenniseconomie (Knowledge Economy Services) Services focused on economic development and knowledge economy, positioning Groningen as 'Home of Talent' and supporting business growth in the region, including the HealthTech Groningen talent attraction campaign. Targeted at regional businesses, talent, and the HealthTech sector.
• Merkmanagement (Brand Management) Brand management services for the Groningen region including brand strategy, visual identity (huisstijl), brand toolkit, and narrative development to strengthen regional identity. Targeted at organizations, public entities, and stakeholders that need to apply the regional brand consistently.
• Visit Groningen Business Listing Free online business listing platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses on the Visit Groningen website, part of the tourism and leisure ecosystem. Targeted at local entrepreneurs and SMBs in the Groningen region.
• Toolkits voor Ondernemers (Entrepreneur Toolkits) Marketing toolkits enabling entrepreneurs to promote Groningen, including branding assets and promotional materials. Targeted at local entrepreneurs and SMBs who want to leverage the regional brand in their own marketing.
• Beeldbank (Image Bank) Digital image library providing visual assets for marketing and promotional use related to Groningen. Targeted at entrepreneurs, organizations, and media needing approved regional imagery.
• 321GRO-kompas A strategic compass tool for the Groningen brand, supporting brand positioning and regional identity development. Targeted at organizations and stakeholders applying the regional brand.
• Huisstijl Groningen (Groningen Visual Identity) Official visual identity system for Groningen based on regional character and aspirations, providing guidelines for consistent brand expression. Targeted at organizations, municipalities, and stakeholders that need to apply the regional visual identity.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design consultancy with dedicated place-branding and destination practice. Comparable to Groningen & Partners' merkenmanagement work as an external supplier of similar services.
• Interbrand: Global brand consulting firm that develops brand strategy, identity systems and campaign work for corporate and place clients. Comparable to the brand-management pillar of Groningen & Partners (Huisstijl, 321GRO-kompas) but as an external commercial agency.

Broad incumbents

• VisitBritain: National tourism agency for the UK running destination campaigns and brand work. Comparable in mandate (destination promotion and brand management) and public-private structure, though at national scale.
• Tourism Toronto: Major municipal DMO running tourism, talent and economic marketing for the Toronto region. Comparable mandate (visitor + business + brand) and not-for-profit/public-private funding, but at significantly larger scale.
• Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC): National tourism marketing organization for the Netherlands. Operates at the country level with the same DMO logic as Groningen & Partners but at much greater scale and budget, making it a broader incumbent that the regional DMO both feeds and competes with for visibility.

Direct peers

• Rotterdam Partners: Regional marketing and acquisition organization for Rotterdam, combining tourism promotion with talent attraction and business development. Same triple-pillar playbook (leisure, knowledge economy, brand) as Groningen & Partners, making the operating model and service portfolio directly comparable.
• Utrecht Marketing: DMO for the Utrecht province running visitor, resident and business marketing. Comparable Dutch regional DMO with similar mandate around leisure, brand and economic development.
• The Hague Marketing: Destination and economic marketing organization for The Hague region. Comparable as a Dutch city-level DMO running visitor campaigns and business/talent attraction in a similar public-funded structure.
• Amsterdam & Partners: Public-private destination marketing and economic development organization for Amsterdam, Netherlands. Highly comparable to Groningen & Partners in structure, mission (regional profiling across tourism, economy, and brand), and public-private funding model, but operating at a much larger urban scale.
• Eindhoven Partners (Brainport): Regional development organization for the Brainport Eindhoven region. Closely comparable to Groningen & Partners in combining brand management with talent attraction and economic development, with a stronger tech-industry vertical focus (similar to Groningen's HealthTech positioning).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marketing-groningen
• Xx.com/Marketing_Gro
• Facebookfacebook.com/visitgroningen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marketing Groningen