Citymarketing Collectief

What Citymarketing Collectief does

Citymarketing Collectief is a privately-held Dutch network organization founded in 2017 and headquartered in Leusden, Netherlands, comprising five independent founding partners — Marco van Hoek, Emiel Kuijpers, Michiel van der Schaaf, Richard Stomp, and Roeland Tameling — who collectively offer more than 50 years of specialized citymarketing and place branding experience. The firm sells structured advisory services to Dutch municipalities and regional development organizations, delivered through a codified three-phase methodology (inventarisatie, uitwerking, implementatie en overdracht) and seven named products including DNA jutten (a trademarked four-step stakeholder-driven city DNA mapping process), the eight-step city branding plan, Expeditie Citymarketing, Werving en selectie, Verkiezingsproof, Evaluatie Citymarketing, and the CMC Event Academy. The collective explicitly markets its low-overhead network structure as a differentiator versus traditional consultancies and has accumulated documented engagements across approximately 60 Dutch cities and regions, plus multiple Dutch Citymarketing Awards.

The business operates on a project-based professional services model with no disclosed recurring contracts and no publicly available pricing, generating revenue through customized advisory, strategy, workshop, recruitment, event organization, and evaluation engagements led directly by the partners themselves. Distribution is entirely sales-led and direct, targeting enterprise buyers in the government and regional development segment — primarily Dutch municipalities, citymarketing organizations, and tourism bureaus — with reach referenced at both Netherlands and Benelux level. GTM leverages the partners' personal brands on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, complemented by speaking engagements and direct email/WhatsApp contact. The company has no external investment, no parent entity, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed AI, software, or data products; competitive advantage is grounded in the partners' individual track records, codified methodologies, and the trademarked DNA jutten brand rather than in technology assets or scale economics.

Name

Citymarketing Collectief

Legal name

Citymarketing Collectief

Website

https://citymarketingcollectief.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leusden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting and advisory services: Professional services revenue from providing citymarketing and place branding expertise to municipalities and regions. Services include advisory, strategy development, workshops, recruitment, and project management. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements rather than recurring contracts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Citymarketing Collectief is a network organization of five independent experts delivering city marketing, place branding, and strategic urban development consulting to Dutch municipalities and regional organizations. The collective provides structured advisory services, workshops, recruitment, event professionalization, and proprietary methodologies (such as DNA jutten) on a project basis. Services span the full engagement cycle, from initial city DNA mapping through strategy development to execution support and knowledge transfer.

Product overview

Citymarketing Collectief is a network organization of five independent city marketing and place branding experts offering advisory services, workshops, and training programs. Their structured approach follows three phases (Inventarisatiefase, Uitwerkingsfase, and Implementatie- en overdrachtsfase) supported by seven named products: DNA jutten for city DNA mapping, Expeditie Citymarketing for strategic planning expeditions, Werving en selectie for recruitment, Workshop Verkiezingsproof for election-proof planning, Evaluatie Citymarketing for program evaluation, Event Academy for event professionalization, and an eight-step city branding methodology. The company emphasizes custom solutions over standard approaches, with over 50 years of combined experience across 60 Dutch cities and regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DNA jutten: A technique to map the DNA of a city together with stakeholders, resulting in a strong basis for distinctive positioning with broad support in the city.
• CMC Event Academy
• Verkiezingsproof

Products and services

• DNA jutten A four-step methodology to map a city's DNA together with key stakeholders, combining historian sessions, street photography (straatjutten), future-makers sessions, and an integration session. Delivered to Dutch municipalities to produce a complete DNA-map connecting past, present, and future plus a sharp selection of distinguishing elements for city-brand positioning.
• Expeditie Citymarketing A three-day discovery journey for city marketers, policy staff, and stakeholders to co-create a city marketing plan under expert guidance, visiting six locations across three cities with practical examples and virtual study trips.
• Werving en selectie A seven-step recruitment and selection service for city marketing organizations, from profile development to contract signing, finding candidates who can bridge government and business stakeholders.
• Workshop Verkiezingsproof A three-session workshop helping teams create an impactful annual plan that survives political changes, designed to demonstrate ambition during coalition formation after municipal elections.
• Evaluatie Citymarketing A quick yet thorough evaluation service assessing city marketing investments, stakeholder satisfaction, and collaboration effectiveness, delivered in up to five steps with actionable recommendations for Dutch municipalities.
• Event Academy A custom program of four free seminars and a celebratory closing evening providing event organizers with knowledge on safety regulations, subsidy applications, logistics, and marketing, with participants competing for a €2,500 marketing prize.
• In 8 stappen naar city branding An eight-step place branding methodology covering objective definition, audience understanding, current brand assessment, ambition setting, positioning development, value proposition creation, strategy execution, and success measurement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully completed projects in 60+ locations across the Netherlands
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Berenschot: Berenschot is one of the largest Dutch management consultancies serving the public sector, including municipalities. It is a broad incumbent that addresses some of the same municipal advisory needs (strategy, organization, marketing) but as part of a much wider portfolio rather than specializing in city marketing.
• BMC: BMC is a Dutch consulting firm with a strong public sector focus, providing advisory, interim management, and implementation support to municipalities and government agencies. Comparable in serving Dutch public-sector clients on strategy and organizational projects, but as a broad HR/management consultancy rather than city-marketing specialist.
• TwynstraGudde: TwynstraGudde is a major Dutch consulting firm with strong public sector and area development practices, advising municipalities on strategy, transitions, and regional development. Comparable in working with Dutch municipalities on strategy projects, though broader in scope than city marketing specifically.
• Kantar Public: Kantar Public is the global public-sector research and consulting arm of Kantar, advising governments and public bodies on communications, evaluation, and policy. Comparable in providing research, evaluation, and strategic advice to public sector clients, though much larger and broader than a specialist city marketing firm.

Direct peers

• FutureBrand: FutureBrand is a global brand consultancy with an active place branding practice that advises cities and countries on brand positioning, identity systems, and reputation. Comparable in delivering strategic place branding frameworks to public-sector clients, but at a larger international scale.
• Brand Finance: Brand Finance is a brand valuation and strategy consultancy that publishes the City Brand Index and advises cities and nations on brand strategy. Its service portfolio overlaps directly with Citymarketing Collectief's place branding and city positioning work.
• Bloom Consulting: Bloom Consulting is an international place branding and nation/city branding consultancy that develops country, region, and city brand strategies. It directly competes in the same niche of place branding methodology, with comparable deliverables like brand strategy, positioning, and stakeholder engagement.
• Res Publica: Res Publica is a Dutch consulting firm specialized in place branding, city marketing, and area branding for municipalities and regions. It is the closest direct peer in the Netherlands, competing for the same municipal clients with overlapping service lines around city positioning and stakeholder engagement.
• Saffron Brand Consultants: Saffron is an independent brand consultancy that has delivered country and city branding engagements (including country brand strategy work). Comparable methodology around brand positioning and stakeholder-led strategy for public-sector place clients.

Emerging players

• Place Brand Observer: Place Brand Observer is a research-driven platform and consultancy covering place branding best practices, country/city brand strategies, and the industry ecosystem. Comparable as a thought-leadership and analysis provider in the place branding niche, though operating more as a media/insights platform than a delivery consultancy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Citymarketingcollectief
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citymarketingcollectief

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Citymarketing Collectief