PARTNERSHIP | Organization of the second edition of Africa Place Marketing

Towards Casablanca for the second edition of the Africa Place Marketing symposium

The Attractiveness and New Territorial Marketing Chair took part in the second edition of the Africa Place Marketing (APM) symposium, organized on November 24 and 25, 2021, by Casablanca Events & Animation (CEA), pilot of the "WeCasablanca" attractiveness initiative. All the conferences and workshops were organized around the theme of "All players in hospitality and regional attractiveness".

Conferences, think tanks and university competitions

Over 35 speakers shared their expertise on the themes of territorial marketing and attractiveness. The conferences provided an opportunity for consultants and experts from the academic and professional worlds to define the concepts and broad outlines of territorial marketing, and the issues involved. Against a backdrop of health crises, the notion of hospitality is at the heart of the reflections of territories, and even more so for African territories, whose attractiveness initiatives are still in their infancy. The Chair was able to contribute its point of view through the intervention of Christophe ALAUX, in particular on questions of hospitality, and the valorization of assets already established on the territory.

The importance of taking into consideration the specificities of our emerging territories in terms of territorial resilience strategy, but also the value embodied by the territorial identity and personality in the success of the territorial marketing approach.
Source: APM 2021 report

This partnership with the Chair enabled us to highlight a number of inspiring initiatives, notably with the participation of four of the prizewinners at the Place Marketing Forum 2021: Todd Babiak (Brand Tasmania), Moa Björnson (Tenk Traena), Frédéric Raymond (Place aux jeunes en région) and Jane Brady (Devon - Bioregion). Several members of the Chair network and founding partner territories also took part in the conferences: Paul-Vincent Marchand (Attitude Manche), Jean Philippe Gold (CRT Hauts-de-France), Marc Marynower (MMAP), Lionel Flasseur (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourisme), Soumia D'anna (Ville de Vitrolles) and Vincent Gollain (Institut Paris Region).

The Think Thank was an opportunity for participants and speakers to launch the first reflections on a territorial marketing strategy, adapted to the specificities of African territories. The objective for the WeCasa brand is to perpetuate the new momentum generated by these exchanges, and to put the resulting initiatives into practice. The Africa Place Marketing Competition was also a highlight, particularly for young Moroccans. The challenged students had the opportunity to present the results of their university projects, and highlight their solutions adapted to the characteristics of the Moroccan territory. Three schools were represented: ENCG Casablanca, HEM Casablanca and ESCA Casablanca.

A word about the WeCasablanca approach

Casablanca is the first African city to adopt an attractiveness approach, which has given rise to its WeCasablanca brand. Casablanca Events et Animation has opted for a unifying brand to structure and strengthen the appeal of the Moroccan business capital. The primary ambition of the players gathered at the APM is to make Casablanca a hub for development and reflection in the field of territorial attractiveness and marketing in Africa.