Rotterdam. Make It Happen.

What Rotterdam. Make It Happen. does

Rotterdam. Make It Happen. is a city marketing brand alliance operated by Stichting Rotterdam Partners, a Dutch non-profit foundation established in 2014 to promote Rotterdam internationally, nationally, and locally. The alliance coordinates more than 40 partner organizations under seven core leading institutions — the Municipality of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Partners, the Port of Rotterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam Festivals, Rotterdam Topsport, and Erasmus MC — to deliver a unified city narrative around four thematic pillars: Smart City, Circular City, Healthy City, and Vibrant City.

The initiative's core products include the Mediabank (a free digital library of professional photos, videos, and the Soundtrack010 music catalog), the Rotterdam City Card tourist pass, a corporate newsletter and travel magazine, the Rotterdam International Center one-stop-shop for expat registration (BSN numbers, residence permits, biometric data), and a Request for Proposals service for congress and event acquisition. Technology infrastructure is conventional: a WordPress-based website, Hubspot for B2B/B2C marketing automation, Hoppinger for digital presence, Tribe/Spotler/eFormity for newsletter distribution, and City Card Solutions/Nuvei for payment processing. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities are evident.

The business model is non-profit, with operating capacity sustained primarily through partner contributions from the alliance's government, education, port, healthcare, and cultural institutions. Direct commercial revenue is limited to transaction fees on Rotterdam City Card sales and fees for B2B/B2C marketing communication services. The end "customers" served are tourists and visitors, internationals and expats, students, event and congress organizers, and the brand partner network itself — distributed across a long tail of individual consumers rather than concentrated in commercial accounts.

Name

Rotterdam. Make It Happen.

Legal name

Stichting Rotterdam Partners

Website

https://rotterdammakeithappen.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rotterdam. Make It Happen. is a non-profit city marketing brand alliance operated by Stichting Rotterdam Partners, coordinating 40+ partners across seven core institutions to promote Rotterdam through thematic campaigns, a media bank, the Rotterdam City Card, and expat services for tourists, internationals, and event organizers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

City Marketing and Destination Promotion

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Conference Communications, Marketing & Community Engagement (THAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK), Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• City marketing
• Destination promotion
• Tourist information
• Brand alliance
• Convention promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Rotterdam City Card Sales: Rotterdam Partners sells the Rotterdam City Card through their website, which provides access to attractions and is used to analyze visitor patterns to Rotterdam.
2. Marketing Campaign Services: Rotterdam Partners provides B2B and B2C marketing communication services including personalized emails and content tailored to website visitors, with tracking across online channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rotterdam. Make It Happen. is a city marketing brand alliance that promotes Rotterdam through coordinated campaigns, storytelling, and a free Mediabank of visual assets, while also operating the Rotterdam City Card tourist pass, the Travel Magazine Rotterdam, a corporate newsletter, and the Rotterdam International Center one-stop-shop service for expats. The initiative is delivered through a network of more than 40 partner organizations led by 7 core organizations (Municipality, Rotterdam Partners, Port of Rotterdam, Erasmus University, Rotterdam Festivals, Rotterdam Topsport, Erasmus MC) around the themes of Smart City, Circular City, Healthy City, and Vibrant City.

Product overview

Rotterdam. Make It Happen is a city marketing brand alliance of over 40 partners (with 7 core organizations: Municipality Rotterdam, Rotterdam Partners, Port of Rotterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam Festivals, Rotterdam Topsport, and Erasmus MC) focused on promoting Rotterdam internationally, nationally, and locally. The core offerings include a free-to-use Mediabank for promotional media assets, the Rotterdam City Card tourist pass, newsletters and travel publications, and the Rotterdam International Center service for expats. The organization organizes around four thematic pillars: Smart City, Circular City, Healthy City, and Vibrant City. Soundtrack010 provides Rotterdam-themed music for promotional use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Slimme stad (Smart City): Theme focusing on smart technology and innovation to make Rotterdam safer, more sustainable, and more efficient.
• Circulaire stad (Circular City)
• Gezonde stad (Healthy City)
• Levendige stad (Vibrant City)
• Mediabank (Media Library)

Quantifiable outcome

• 170+ nationalities represented in Rotterdam demonstrating diversity
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gemeente Rotterdam (Municipality of Rotterdam)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore alliance partner in the Merkalliantie, providing municipal support and strategic direction for Rotterdam's city marketing initiatives.
• Rotterdam PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe operating organization behind Rotterdam Make It Happen, giving direction and implementation to the city's city marketing to attract international companies, congresses and visitors.
• Havenbedrijf Rotterdam (Port Authority Rotterdam)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore alliance partner representing Rotterdam's port operations, contributing to the city's economic and industrial identity.
• Erasmus Universiteit RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore alliance partner representing higher education and research, contributing to Rotterdam's knowledge economy and talent attraction.
• Rotterdam FestivalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore alliance partner organizing major cultural events including the Gigantic Staircase, contributing to Rotterdam's vibrant cultural identity.
• Rotterdam TopsportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore alliance partner focused on acquiring and organizing major sports events including NN Marathon Rotterdam, Tour de France Grand Départ, and supporting elite sports clubs.
• Erasmus MCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore alliance partner representing healthcare and medical research, contributing to Rotterdam's healthy city positioning.
• Rotterdam WoonpartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner category supporting residential promotion and housing market positioning for Rotterdam as an attractive place to live.
• Rotterdam Convention & Tourism PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner category focused on convention and tourism marketing to attract conferences and visitors.
• Rotterdam Knowledge PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner category representing knowledge institutions and educational organizations.
• Rotterdam Economic PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner category representing economic development and business interests in Rotterdam.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Copenhagen Capacity: Copenhagen's investment and talent promotion agency, comparable as a city-level DMO focused on attracting international companies, conferences, and skilled migrants through partnership-based campaigns.
• visitBerlin: Berlin's city marketing organization promoting tourism, meetings, and events; directly comparable as a European capital-city DMO that runs destination campaigns, conventions bureau functions, and content platforms for partners.
• Amsterdam & Partners: Amsterdam's city marketing and investment promotion organization, directly comparable as a Dutch city marketing DMO pursuing international visitors, congresses, talent, and FDI on behalf of a single municipality with public and private partners.
• Barcelona Tourism Convention Bureau: Barcelona's municipal tourism and conventions bureau, directly comparable as a Mediterranean European city DMO competing for international congresses and leisure visitors via coordinated city marketing.

Broad incumbents

• NBTC Holland Marketing: The Netherlands' national tourism board promoting the country internationally; Rotterdam Make It Happen operates as a city-level peer within the same Dutch destination-marketing ecosystem, often co-funding or aligning campaigns.
• London & Partners: London's mayor-led business growth and destination agency; comparable as a large, publicly-funded DMO pursuing visitors, students, events, and FDI with a broader portfolio of services than a single city.
• Brand USA: USA's national destination marketing organization; comparable in mission and operating model as a public-private partnership running coordinated international marketing campaigns, though at a much larger country scale.
• Brand Singapore: Singapore's national brand and marketing initiative, comparable in scope and methodology to Rotterdam Make It Happen as a country/city brand alliance built around partnership-driven storytelling and promotional content.

Emerging players

• Tourism New Zealand: National tourism board running the '100% Pure New Zealand' brand platform, comparable in methodology (storytelling, content library, partnership network) but operating at country scale.

Regional players

• Visit Flanders: Flanders' regional tourism organization; comparable as a destination marketing organization operating in the Benelux region with overlapping target audiences in conventions, leisure travel, and storytelling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOjCIfNnSXZNZSyeIDsx5vw
• Instagraminstagram.com/rotterdam_makeithappen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rotterdam-make-it-happen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 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 Rotterdam. Make It Happen.