City. People. River.
How We Brought the European Heritage Seal to Paderborn
A highly complex, academic application doesn't win hearts. That is why we stripped down the scientific foundation for the City of Paderborn to its emotional core: How do people live in harmony with nature along Europe’s shortest river? Through a playful new corporate design, a strictly multilingual approach in all EU languages, and authentic video portraits on Instagram, we transformed local citizens into passionate brand ambassadors.
Defying initial doubts and bureaucratic hesitation, we relied on true internationality and radical warmth. The success speaks for itself: Victory in the national pre-selection, official designation in 2025, and the ceremonial presentation of the European Heritage Seal in 2026. The EU jury explicitly praised the honest charm and the welcoming, multilingual communication of our campaign. A milestone for Paderborn – and for DRIVE.
Looking to successfully position your city or project on a European stage?
Results
- 2024: The city of Paderborn wins the call for proposals in Germany for the nomination
- 2026: Paderborn is awarded the European Heritage Label with the campaign “The Pader for Europe.” The rationale explicitly highlights how crucial Drive’s communication measures and design elements were to this decision, particularly the involvement of Paderborn’s residents and the multilingual nature of the messaging as an expression of the city’s and its residents’ positive openness to the world.
Link to the Website: www.pader-europe.eu
Your contact
pole-position[at]drive.eu. We look forward to seeing you.