Local Marketing for Bremen
A greater sense of community through identity marketing for residents
“My Bremen is real”
City marketing starts from within. Only when residents are convinced of the quality of life in their city will they communicate this to the outside world. The aim of our local and identity-based marketing is therefore to strengthen the sense of community, raise awareness of Bremen’s quality of life and experiences, increase resident satisfaction, and turn Bremen’s citizens into committed brand ambassadors.
“My Bremen is real” is the title of our major identity campaign, which gives residents an authentic voice. (The campaign itself is available in German only, but can be explored in its original version.)
To achieve this, WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen uses a variety of marketing tools, is involved in numerous projects, and supports cultural and sporting events.
In the following sections, we present examples of the marketing instruments and projects we manage, organise, and support.
Our themed years
Since 2018, the Hanseatic city has focused on a new theme each year to highlight Bremen’s diversity and uniqueness. We have compiled an overview of all themed years and the associated marketing activities.
Discover, explore, experience – 2026 will be phenomenal in Bremen!
Under the motto “Phenomenal 2026. Discover Bremen. Experience knowledge,” the Hanseatic City invites you to be curious and see the world through different eyes. Whether exciting interactive experiences, hands-on activities, lectures, or mobile mini-experiments—the program inspires with surprising perspectives, fascinating insights, creative ideas, and amazing everyday wonders, showcasing the city’s international significance as a hub of science. From research and science to art and technology to culture. Phenomenal 2026 makes complex topics understandable, awakens a spirit of discovery, and fills people with wonder. For young and old, indoors and outdoors, to participate, learn, and experience.
All events related to the theme year and further information can be found on the city portal bremen.de. (Please note that this page is available in German only. You can use your browser’s translation feature to access the content.)
In 2025, Bremen invites you to rediscover the city’s natural side! With the theme year “NATURlich Bremen 2025,” Bremen is heading “Out into the Green.” A wide variety of events, activities, and offerings centered on nature will inspire you to discover Bremen’s green side.
With its green oases, local recreation areas, and diverse green spaces, Bremen is the perfect place to enjoy nature. Bremen is one of the federal states with an above-average proportion of nature reserves* and thus combines nature with urban life. In 2025, we’re focusing on events and activities that highlight the theme of nature—from outdoor activities and sports to art, culture, and environmental awareness. The goal is to strengthen respect for our environment and rediscover the natural treasures right on our doorstep.
Under our leadership, numerous event organizers, institutions, and organizations are developing a diverse program that includes recreation, outdoor exhibitions, and sustainable activities, all under the motto “NATURlich Bremen 2025. Off to the Green!”
*Source: Federal and State Statistical Offices, Germany, 2023, data as of 12/2021
Land use survey by type of actual use. (2021). Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
In 2024, Bremen gets on its bike: during the themed year “BIKE it! 2024. Bremen moves you.”, a wide range of events, festivals and activities will revolve around cycling.
Short distances, flat terrain, green routes and plenty to see – it’s no surprise that the Hanseatic city of Bremen is so popular with cyclists. With a cycling modal share of 25 percent, Bremen ranks higher than any other German city with more than 500,000 inhabitants. Across Europe, the city ranks third among the most bicycle-friendly cities.
To further highlight Bremen’s strengths as a cycling city, dozens of organisers, tourism partners and many others are developing a “bike-tastic” programme under our lead: cycling festivals, tours and exhibitions, as well as well-known Bremen formats such as the open-air festival Breminale (“Bikinale”), the poetry festival Poetry on the Road (“Poetry on the Bike”), and the GEWOBA City Triathlon are just some of the planned events.
The themed year also puts a stronger focus on the established marketing project Bike It!, including events such as the indoor cycling race Bremer Sixdays and the Cargo Bike It! Festival, showcasing Bremen’s strong cycling infrastructure and culture.
The marketing activities include outdoor advertising such as large-scale billboards and city lights, as well as a range of give-aways. Online marketing measures include social media posts and a dedicated website with all programme information. In addition, promotional campaigns will once again be carried out.
The theme for 2023 was “Genussufer 2023: Experience Bremen by the Water.” Bremen showcased the diverse range of experiences available along its waterfront. Together with dozens of event organizers, restaurants, and tourism organizations in the city, we developed a varied program.
The events ranged from established formats such as the Breminale on the Osterdeich, La Strada in the Wallanlagen, and the Seebühne, to stand-up paddling on Lake Werdersee with “Ins Blaue,” the cardboard boat regatta in Vegesack, and events at Lankenauer Höft, all the way to new events at the Schlachte. In addition, guided tours, harbor cruises, and bike tours were offered, among other activities.
In total, there were over 60 events at selected waterfront locations.
Marketing Projects for Bremen
Cultural Marketing for the People of Bremen
WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH promotes and communicates cultural events and cultural offerings across all sectors.
All activities are based on a defined hierarchy of objectives: WFB primarily aims to attract visitors to Bremen, increase the city’s visibility, and strengthen its image. Pure image advertising is not pursued. Satisfied visitors to events and cultural offerings generate the most sustainable impact on the city’s image. The guiding principle of the communication strategy can be summarised as: umbrella brand plus value proposition. As many offerings associated with Bremen as possible are labelled with a visual-verbal mark from the brand architecture. This type of branding enhances the cultural value of the Bremen brand, while the brand in turn radiates onto the offerings and functions as a kind of quality seal for culture and the city.
For cultural institutions and event organisers, WFB’s marketing activities mean supra-regional visibility and the challenge of gaining recognition beyond Bremen with their productions.
High-circulation supra-regional newspaper supplement “Experience Magazine"
A flagship medium for implementing the communication strategy is a designed newspaper supplement, currently published twice a year in regional daily newspapers across large parts of Lower Saxony, as well as in Hamburg and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a circulation of 2.83 million copies. Based on a traditional definition of culture, an average of 43.5 percent of the supplement’s pages over the last seven issues has been dedicated to cultural offerings. When including popular culture and science centres, the share of cultural content rises to well over 50 percent.
Bremen museums in DIE ZEIT
Once a month, Bremen’s museums are featured in DIE ZEIT (Newspaper) in the “Museums and Galleries” section, highlighted with colour and Bremen branding. In addition, the website of Bremen’s museums is promoted. Due to the high visibility of this section, many museums concentrate their advertisements around these publication dates.
Bremen culture online
Cultural highlights, as well as the diverse offerings of the cultural scene, are presented in detail on the city portal through editorial articles. Image carousels on the homepage continuously feature cultural content.
On Bremen’s Facebook page, the editorial team of Bremen Online regularly posts information about cultural events, reaching nearly 50,000 followers.
Cycling culture is urban culture: Bremen and Bremerhaven BIKE IT!
The WFB project BIKE IT! brings cycling culture into cultural institutions and major events in Bremen and Bremerhaven, continuously developing new partnerships. It connects cycling-related offers to events and provides event layers with information on locations and programmes in the Bike Citizens app, a specialised cycling navigation app available free of charge in the state of Bremen. It also organises its own cycling-related cultural events and regularly hosts a two-day cycling culture festival in cooperation with partners from Bremen and Bremerhaven. Cycling route offers, including a cultural cycling network, invite people to explore Bremen along attractive bike routes.
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