The Malmö City brand
A brand never stands still, but must move with the times to stay relevant. Malmö City's logo has undergone changes since its inception over 25 years ago. With the exception of the very first logo, there has been recognition over the years and our heart is a well-known symbol. A more comprehensive brand manual, including a graphic profile with an updated logo, was produced in 2014. Seven years later, in 2021, it was time for a major overhaul of the graphic profile into a clean and modern yet playful personality with lots of bright colours. The aim was to retain the elements that have characterised Malmö Citysamverkan for decades to preserve the recognition factor. The heart now has a completely new shape, the fonts are updated and graphic elements in the communication have been added. The logo is now also more relevant in various digital media, which is in line with one of Malmö Citysamverkan's strategies. The development work has not only made the graphic profile much easier to work with, but also strengthens Malmö Citysamverkan's image as a company with a modern and professional expression. With the help of new programmes, routines and working methods within the company, this has also strengthened the identity internally. In connection with the update, the gift card and all associated material were redesigned, which gave the product a major overall boost. The material made for members was made more stylish for greater use and customisability.
Core values
The company's core values are an important cornerstone of the brand platform and should, at an overall level, capture the core or soul of the brand. By communicating the core values, visually, verbally and visionally, the Malmö City brand becomes clear and strong. Malmö City's core values are:
Variety - Malmö City's offer is like the best of sweet bags, a pleasurable mix that has something for everyone. There are shops, squares, restaurants, pedestrianised streets, parks and culture. There are small, unique shops as well as large city centres. There are antiques and second hand, there are exciting new designs. We hold on to traditions, but are also innovative. Malmö City surprises with its range; who knows what's around the corner?
Atmosphere - The atmosphere in Malmö City is unique, it is genuine, safe, vibrant and curious. You can spend a couple of hours or a whole day here. You can just be here. At the same time, there is a drive and a spirit of progress. It's a place to be inspired, find gems and enjoy everyday luxury. The atmosphere is the very soul of Malmö City - it's always cosy to walk around town!
Hosting - Malmö City can do a lot, and wants more. We want to be the best at everything that is close to our heart: service, comfort, sustainability and quality. Our city centre is a simmering cauldron of events and there are constantly different encounters going on: people meet people, travellers meet bus drivers. Coffee meets cake, buyers meet sellers. In all these encounters, Malmö City needs to be engaged and give a piece of itself. This makes it a place you want to be part of and return to. See you in town!
Internal communication
Chains
In 2019, we replaced our internal app, newsletter programme and our old CRM with the Chainels communication platform. The aim was to gather everything in one place to streamline communication. Since the launch, the system has been continuously developed and we collaborate with other cities in Sweden that have Chainels, so that we can get more solutions adapted to Sweden. In Chainels, members can access news, invitations, statistics, marketing tips and other information. Over the years, we have added new channels so that, for example, the City of Malmö can make its own posts, as well as a dedicated channel for the restaurant industry. In 2022, more links have been made between Chainels and the website, thereby also facilitating external marketing. Here, members can also update their profiles and thus be visible on Malmö City's website.
Newsletters
In 2022, consistent newsletter mailings started at the same time every Friday and this has been much appreciated. The newsletters are generated with the posts already in Chainels.
Major meetings
In addition to area meetings, larger meetings are organised for all members. In the past, these have always been breakfast meetings, but in autumn 2022 an AW was tested with good results. External guests are invited to these meetings to talk about redevelopment projects, major events, urban environment issues, development of tourism, surveys, marketing and trade figures, to name a few. At the meetings, the latest news from Malmö Citysamverkan is also presented. The meetings take place at least twice in the spring and twice in the autumn.
Malmö City Awards
What was previously known as the Autumn Festival was renamed the Malmö City Awards in 2019 to put more focus on the Shop, Café and Restaurant of the Year competition. The gala is organised in collaboration with Sydsvenskan and Lokaltidningen, which are the main partners. Bonnier recorded films for all nine finalists in both 2019 and 2021. In 2021, a pandemic-adapted Malmö City Awards was made. Instead of a physical gala, it became a digital version where the public could be much more involved. The jury, which consisted of owner partners, food writers, previous winners, visual merchandising specialists and main partners, had digital jury meetings. The award ceremony for the three winning categories plus the Leading Star of the Year and Service Star of the Year was done physically with representatives from Malmö City and main partners, these surprise visits were shared on social media, press release and in the media.
The 2022 gala was the first physical one since the pandemic. As Malmö City turned 25 in 2020, it was a combined celebration with a 25th anniversary party and awards ceremony at the historic City Hall with a seated dinner hosted by the City of Malmö. Due to the anniversary, important key people had been invited such as the founder of MCS, former CEO and current CEO of Svenska Stadskärnor, politicians and a total of 200 guests consisting of members, property owners, the City of Malmö and partners. The awards were presented together with Sydsvenskan and Lokaltidningen and to raise the atmosphere, a local comedian, Lisa Dahlin, was in charge of part of the conference. Members helped to set the mood by sponsoring clothes, shoes and flower arrangements on stage.
The awards have evolved over the years. Shop of the Year was launched in 2006, Restaurant of the Year and Café of the Year came in 2011 and Service Star of the Year and Guiding Star of the Year were added in 2014.
Photo: Joe Miller
Training programmes
Digital Academy, Google
Digitalakademin #försverige, was a collaboration between Google, the South Swedish Chamber of Commerce, Malmö Citysamverkan and a number of other actors. The collaboration was to run free training programmes in digital tools in Skåne to inspire small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim was to strengthen the digital development of local businesses during the pandemic. The project helped by providing tangible methods and tools to help businesses and individuals grow during and after the pandemic. Google received tips on members to conduct direct interviews, which were also carried out.
Big Media Days
As part of the collaboration with Sydsvenskan, members were invited to a half-day in September 2022 consisting of lectures by experts focusing on different types of media, how they work and how they should be used. This included social media and news media in a changing media landscape. The Media Day has also been organised in previous years.
Photo: Jonas Persson
CityAcademy
Malmö has a long history of offering training programmes funded by the European Social Fund. The first projects were in the early 2000s. These then continued in different application periods 2009-2011, 2012 and 2017-2020. In total, Malmö Citysamverkans members have taken part in training projects worth over SEK 30 million over the years. The projects have covered business development, leadership, signage, marketing, business economics, sustainability, equality and much more.
City Expertise
During the pandemic, five cities, of which Malmö City was one, started a digital training concept, mainly in social media, as this was important as the physical meeting had become more difficult. The project ended in the summer of 2022, but Malmö was once again involved in applying for funding for a continuation. This time the grant came from the Swedish Trade Foundation. A national working group with other representatives was appointed and a physical training programme was procured. The first stage took place on 1 February and stage 2 will take place in April. The training covers Service & Handling and is open to all member organisations. It is a live digital lecture, which is viewed together with the participants at a physical location. After the lecture, there is a workshop prepared by the lecturer. Between steps 1 and 2, participants are given homework. All cities participate digitally from their common physical location, creating a sense of national belonging.
External marketing
Social media
Ahead of the 2022 business plan, the City of Malmö's social media guidelines and strategies were revisited. These had not been updated for a few years and in a changing digital landscape, they were converted into a more structured format so that they could be systematically updated for future years. The clear document is easy to work with so that any reader can understand which guidelines, terms and policies to follow. The document's strategies were then implemented in the action plan for Strategy 4: Digital communication. With experience from 2022 and to follow social media algorithms, the guidelines and strategies have been updated again for 2023.
Photo: Jonas Persson
New website
With a new graphic profile, launching a new website was a natural step in the branding process. In the spring of 2022, malmocity.se not only got a completely new look, but the site was updated with a focus on improving for visitors, while giving the city's businesses increased visibility. We created a bigger and better link between Chainels and the website, allowing us to reflect relevant information. User-friendliness was improved through the new menus and clear sub-menus, as well as increased searchability. At the same time, the site offers more information, tips and inspiration - all to make visiting the city centre easier. Existing members can log in directly via the website and interested parties can find information on how to become members. The link to Google Analytics makes it possible to track how the site is used, who the visitor is and quickly adapt it to what the visitor is interested in. Generally, when you rebuild websites, visitor statistics tend to drop, but despite the new website, we have managed to maintain all top three rankings on Google with the search term "Malmö City Gift Card".
The plan going forward for the website is to get professional help from an agency that specialises in SEO to optimise the website and be able to grab even more placements on Google's first pages and thus increase the number of visitors. Review which keywords are relevant to us and create relevant content for these, combined with Google Ads. We will continue to focus on popular events on the website such as Christmas where we created different subpages for what happened during this period, as we see that it has given a clear increase in visitors. We will also continue to drive traffic from social media to the website to increase the number of returning visitors.
Support your local
As an effort during the pandemic to attract visitors to the activities, the campaign was created 'Support your local'. The campaign highlighted not only the organisation, but the people behind it. This was done in collaboration with Malmö photographer Jonas Persson, who took photos that represented the business and the people. This was complemented with in-depth texts that made the follower really "get behind the counter". The first campaign, which focused on the areas of Hamngatan and Davidshall, was very well received and liked, which resulted in another campaign focusing on Kv. Caroli and the surrounding area. The 35 businesses that were highlighted were given full image rights to continue to market their businesses with quality material in their own channels. Images that are still seen being used in the businesses' marketing. The hashtag #supportyourlocal was used in connection with the campaign and is still alive today, it was also implemented in the marketing for Malmö City Gift Card. It was also quickly picked up by the organisations
Photo: Jonas Persson
Malmö City Gift Card
In fact, an important channel for promoting the city centre is our Malmö City Gift Card. It is valid in over 400 places and often generates return visits. The gift card is a fast-growing product that continuously connects a large group of customers to our members in the city centre in a concrete and measurable way. We have overcome several major challenges in the growth phase both during and after the coronavirus. On average, 117 gift cards worth SEK 50,000 are sold daily and at least as many purchases are made with the gift cards at our members' premises. Twelve per cent of Malmö residents received a gift card from us last year. The card business is profitable and makes a strong contribution to the financing of our activities. We were the first city centre in the country to sign a reseller agreement with Pressbyrån back in 2017. Since then, all Pressbyrån stores in Malmö sell our gift card. 82 % of sales are made directly from our office, against invoice. We handled 2,000 gift card orders from the office in 2022 and delivered just over half of these by bike courier and the other half by PostNord. We also sell from vending machines in town and in 2022 we invested in a new gift card machine. We are also building a new webshop to improve service to our online customers.
Photo: Jonas Persson
Gift voucher campaign
Four new gift card films were produced together with local film-makers. The different films showcase the many different uses of the gift card. The films are adapted to different target groups and needs to create recognition and to make the gift card appeal to more people. The films enabled interaction with more than ten members in the city. In connection with the filming, a photographer was also brought in to take pictures at the various film locations. The images were then used for marketing purposes to link the card more closely to local businesses. The images have also been used by the organisations themselves.
Homestay and Hotel Campaign
During the pandemic year 2020, hotels were particularly hard hit by the drop in visitor numbers. Two campaigns were developed to convey the message of holidaying at home. Travel away - travel short, was a social media campaign showing how to travel around the world in Malmö City. Followers were taken to places such as Greece, Spain and Italy in the form of visits to various businesses in the city. In parallel with this campaign, there was also a hotel campaign with the message 'This year it will be a home holiday'. All member hotels were contacted and asked to submit their USPs, based on these we joined forces with local film company Coyote Productions and created six different films that highlighted the hotels' different characteristics. These were sponsored on both Instagram and Facebook. The hotel films, which were still relevant the following year due to the location, were reused and the message of staying at home and staying in hotels in the summer of 2021 continued in Malmö City's social media.
Influencer Emelie Walles
In collaboration with Scandic Triangeln and influencer Emelie Walles, Malmö City recommended activities for a weekend in the city centre for Emelie and her family. Her more than 90,000 followers got to visit cafés, shops, restaurants and Scandic Hotels through both posts and stories on Instagram. She has also collaborated with other influencers over the years.
Pandemic films
When the pandemic hit, a collaboration with the agency PCG led to the production of five films showing six different businesses. The aim of the films was mainly to highlight small entrepreneurs during a vulnerable period and in one of the films, one of the cafés thanked people for continuing to come and visit them. These were posted on social media and also sent to the businesses concerned to share on their own channels.
The Öresund Bridge and marketing towards Denmark
Over the years, there has been a close dialogue and cooperation with Öresundsbron, which has received information and material for various events and happenings in Malmö City. This is to be able to target Denmark and attract Danes here. The information has been published on the Öresundsbron website, in newsletters to Bropas customers on the Danish side and on social media.
Road signs throughout Malmö
For four weeks in December 2020, 700 road signs in Malmö were booked to advertise the Malmö City Gift Card. During this period, all gift card material had been changed to a red colour to feel more Christmassy, instead of the regular purple colour that was on all advertising material. In 2022, the road signs were booked again to be used in 2023.
Christmas calendar
The 2020 pandemic Christmas was different from previous Christmases. To follow the guidelines that existed but at the same time attract people to the city's activities, Malmö City's Christmas calendar was created. A phygital pandemic activity where one business per day was showcased on Malmö City's instagram and which distributed Christmas gifts to the three who were first to find the packages that were placed outdoors near the business. The parcels contained a voucher that was redeemed at the respective business, which generated visits to city members.
Best Christmas environment
Together with a local photographer, they took photos of businesses that had registered to take part in the Best Christmas Environment competition. The aim was to raise awareness of city centre businesses in a positive context. The photos were posted in collages and the followers/public had to vote for their top candidates based on the environmental photos. The engagement was high and this effort led to record reach on Malmö City's Facebook. The finalists were visited by a jury consisting of visual merchandising specialists, the City of Malmö and property owners. The prize was sponsored in collaboration with Sydsvenskan and Lokaltidningen so that the winning organisation could continue to promote its business in other media.
Photo: Jonas Persson
No pulse without yours
The idea for what would become a national awareness-raising campaign came from a local business in Malmö, where the shopkeeper was looking for an action with more depth than the usual marketing campaigns, with a local focus. The shopkeeper contacted Malmö City and shared his ideas. The ideas were taken on board and passed on to the Key Cities Group and soon a working group was set up with representatives from both major cities and smaller towns, including Malmö. The result was No pulse without yours. The aim of the initiative is to make clear, in an engaging way, the responsibility and impact that residents and visitors have on our city centres. The campaign, which has been run in two rounds, has involved over 40 cities throughout Sweden on both occasions. In the working group for campaign three, Malmö is once again in the role of project manager and the campaign now has over 50 cities involved.
City Guides
An updated City Guide is produced at least once a year. This is a map of what the city has to offer, with all the businesses in the city labelled by category. InfoPoints, city transport, public toilets and other important places are also marked. The map is in English as it is mainly aimed at tourists. The map is distributed to hotels, InfoPoints and other tourist-orientated businesses.
Skånetrafiken
An annual agreement has been signed with Skånetrafiken. This involves a minimum of ten campaign weeks per year on optional sums and messages, with the aim of highlighting services and events in Malmö City. The material is shown on both city buses, regional buses and local trains at selected locations in Skåne. The first three campaign weeks already took place in December 2022 to highlight the Christmas Market on Gustav Adolfs torg and the Malmö City Gift Card with the message "This year's Christmas gift is local!".
Davidshall magazine
The old police station at Davidshallstorg underwent a major refurbishment to turn it into housing. Together with the developer Riksbyggen and the businesses in and around the square, meetings were held on how the new residents could be integrated and welcomed to their new neighbourhood. This resulted in the production of a magazine describing the area and the businesses. The magazine invited people to get to know their new neighbours and find out what was on offer where they had moved. Riksbyggen distributed this magazine to all residents and Malmö Citysamverkan distributed the other magazines to the businesses mentioned in the magazine.
Opening of the new Davidshallsgatan
The second major construction project in a short period of time in the Davidshall area was the remodelling of the Davidshall Street bus lane. During the construction, close dialogue was maintained with the municipality and the businesses to keep everyone up to date. As the businesses on the street were still open, a suggestion was made to the municipality to put up signs communicating this, which was also implemented. This was also repeatedly communicated on social media. When the street was completed, an inauguration was held along the entire street, in collaboration with the City of Malmö and the businesses on and around the street. Postcards were sent out to the residents, who were informed and invited to a party. It became a street party where the businesses could move out, benches and decorations went up, live music, child-friendly activities and free ice cream and coffee for all visitors. It was a really successful event that benefited residents, visitors and businesses alike and brought the street back to life. With people dancing, singing out of their windows and playing in the street despite the rain. Graphic material was produced to promote the opening, but also stickers without expiry dates were made to strengthen the Davidshall identity. The material was developed in collaboration with a business to make it as representative of the area as possible.
Photo: Emma Larsson
Destination Malmö
Malmö is also visible through the channels of Visit Malmö, Malmö Town and Malmö Convention Bureau (destination company and municipality).
Communication with residents and visitors
Communication with residents and visitors is done on several levels for different purposes. Social media and websites are the main sources of information about services and events. Information is also available at thirteen physical locations, seven of which are InfoPoints in the city centre. The printed magazine Vårt Malmö, which is also available digitally, is sent to residents and Malmö's business owners. It is printed in just over 168,000 copies and distributed six times a year. There is also the Malmöinitiativet, which is for people who have an idea for politicians about how Malmö can be developed. In the Malmöinitiativets e-service, people of all ages who are registered in Malmö can submit initiatives (proposals) and comment or vote on other people's initiatives. For the evaluation of specific initiatives, interviews are conducted with citizens and visitors (e.g. the Christmas market, summer streets, the remodelling of Davidshallsgatan to name a few). For safety and security, there is a cooperation agreement between the police and the City of Malmö with citizens' pledges, as research shows that quality cooperation between the police and the local community can help to increase confidence in the police, have positive effects on perceived safety and lead to a reduction in crime. As part of this, citizen dialogue also takes place on a number of occasions, where direct contact is made with residents precisely in order to hear their voices about the challenges they experience in their local area. Finally, feedback is given to residents on the actions taken over the past year.
Allow us to be bold
Although awards are not an end in themselves, we are proud that outsiders also see the results of our work in Malmö. The collaboration between several different parties, administrations and businesses has given Malmö a little extra marketing when our work has been recognised with an award. Here is a selection:
- Student City of the Year 2021/2022
- Tree city of the world award 2022. Malmö receives the award for the third year in a row
- Malmö Garden Show nominated for Event of the Year by Magasin Skåne 2022
- Malmö Festival wins the award for Event of the Year 2022 at Sweden Live / Live Apan
- Greenest municipality 2021 and 2022
- EU City for Fair and Ethical Trade 2021
- Circular Procurement of the Year by ICLEI European Procura+ Awards
- Digital Workplace of the Year Award 2020
- Climate Co-Prize 2022, for the second year in a row
- Malmö Central Station honoured as Station of the Year 2022
Media
The City of Malmö is often featured in various media, from local to international. Here is a small selection, to read some of the articles in full you need a subscription to the relevant magazine.
independent.co.uk/malmo-city-guide-sweden-hotels
schueco.com/malmoe-saluhall-tegelruinen-som-foervandlades-till-matmecka
market.se/handelsplatser/cityhandel/fler-besokare-i-malmo-city-april-och-maj-ar-de-basta-sedan-matningarna-borjade
market.se/handelsplatser/cityorganisations-attack-after-weak-loft-from-lofven-dalig-forstaelse/
dagenshandel.se/weak_krona_favours_cross_trade
dagenshandel.se/hon_ar_arets_centrumutvecklare
dagenshandel.se/critical_of_the_government's_actions
dagenshandel.se/citykarnor_in_new_cooperation
lokaltidningen.se/citysamverkan
fastighetstidningen.se/government's-stod-is-cranky-and-doesn't-punish
tt.omni.se/danish-krona-currency-favours-scandinavian-trade
aftonbladet.se/lugnare-black-friday-i-malmo
newsoresund.se/malmo-shops-experience-more-copenhagen-tourists-coming-to-malmo-for-shopping
lokalguiden.se/magasinet/article
svenskbyggtidning.se/design-board-for-lighting-of-malmo-city
skaneplus.se/malmo-city-ready-to-fight-stockholm-and-goteborg-during-pandemic-2020
thatsup.se/sommargatorna-i-malmo-creates-space-in-centre
sverigesradio.se/article
tv4play.se/programme/news
lokalguiden.se/magasinet/article
nordombord.dk/day-trip-to-malmoe-from-koebenhavn
English (UK) 
Svenska 
Dansk 
Deutsch 
