EBA Students in Amsterdam Explore City Marketing During Project Week

23.10.2025

EBA Students Apply City Marketing Strategies in Amsterdam

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences’ Amsterdam study location recently hosted an engaging Project Week on City Marketing, giving Bachelor of Entrepreneurial Business Administration (EBA) students the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-life challenge.

Under the coordination of Dadi Chen, Deputy Head of the School of Business, students worked in teams to design marketing strategies and campaigns promoting Amstel III, a district in Amsterdam Zuidoost undergoing major transformation. Their task was to showcase the area’s culture, food scene, local businesses, and community life, using both creative storytelling and professional marketing principles.

Professional Insights on City Branding

The week featured a guest workshop with Jelani Isaacs, a marketing professional with over 25 years of experience in film, brand management, and consultancy. Jelani shared insights on city marketing and destination promotion, highlighting campaigns such as Visit Denmark and 100% Pure New Zealand.

“Each city or country may start with the same marketing brief, but the makers interpret it in their own way… that’s part of the fun,” Jelani noted. “The challenge is to find your city’s voice, its own zen, and communicate that authentically.”

He was joined on the panel by Allegra Zazzaro, Digital Content & Community Administrator, who offered constructive feedback and guidance to the students:

“Project Week was a wonderful opportunity to witness creativity in action; a space where students explored ideas, expressed themselves, and grew through experience. I had a fun time helping them grow by giving feedback they can carry into their future careers.”

Student Spotlight

Among the standout projects was EBA student Illia Tarnopolskyi’s TikTok video highlighting FEBO, a popular Dutch fast-food chain. Targeting young audiences aged 16 to 25, Illia applied the AIDA marketing model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) to capture attention, tell a story, showcase visually appealing food and encourage viewers to visit the restaurant.

The video was watched over 70,000 times with 4,000 likes and 200 comments.

“My goal was to create a high-quality video that could go viral,” Illia said. “I learned that when you take inspiration from something successful and add your own twist, you can create something truly engaging.”

In addition to food-related campaigns, other teams explored sports promotion in the Amstel III area, producing presentations and creative concepts that highlighted certain facilities and activities.

“I am very proud of our project weeks at Wittenborg, as they consistently provide our students with hands-on experience in mobilising all they have learned in class while working in a truly international team,” Chen said.

“The task was not easy, and I truly appreciate the students’ creativity. I am confident that they gained a deeper understanding of the local culture and environment and were enriched with valuable knowledge and experience from working on the project and receiving professional feedback.”