30 March 2005
MetaDesign and J+K Are Awarded EUR0PARC Account

MetaDesign and Johanssen + Kretschmer have won the pitch for the EUROPARC Deutschland account. The agencies Pleon and Euro RSCG ABC also participated. MetaDesign and J+K will now continue a collaboration that began with their joint campaign for the “MoMA in Berlin” exhibition. In the coming years, they will develop and implement an umbrella brand, corporate design program and communication strategy for the 15 national parks, 14 biosphere reserves and over 90 regional parks unified under the roof of EUROPARC Deutschland.

Up to now these large natural sanctuaries have had no homogenous image and no common, overarching communication concept. This will change as a result of this project, which is supported by, among others, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (German Federal Foundation for the Environment), the German Federal Government and a number of individual German states. The project will make these valuable natural landscapes better known and enhance their appeal with the goal of sparking interest among the population, winning over more supporters and increasing the potential for regional value added.

An important focus of the collaboration will be the development of an umbrella brand for the large natural sanctuaries in Germany. “The public takes too little notice of our national parks, natural preserves and biosphere reserves. It is also too little aware of the functions they fulfill. We will change these percep-tions by developing a shared, distinct brand identity for all the areas,” emphasizes Uli Mayer-Johanssen, board member at MetaDesign.

“So far, people in Germany have not really understood the value of these large natural sanctuaries. As ideal excursion or travel destinations for anyone seeking recreation and relaxation, they not only play a vital role for the individual, but are catalysts for regional economic development,” adds Klaus-Peter Johanssen, managing director of the agency Johanssen + Kretschmer. These functions are now to be communicated more clearly. Yet both agencies want not only to interest more people in visiting the unique landscapes, but also to raise awareness levels and touch people emotionally.

The agencies and their client have set themselves ambitious goals for fall 2006: in addition to developing the umbrella brand, they are planning a multitude of communication measures, from traditional media work to the launch of an online portal. In the first major phase of the project, they will introduce a new umbrella brand in the second half of 2005.