Amsterdam drops out of top 5 strongest Dutch municipal brands
After many years of being number 1 among the most valued Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam has dropped out of the top 5 this year, according to an annual study into the strongest municipal brands by brand expert Hendrik Beerda. The Dutch capital’s image has tipped from “self-confident” into “arrogant,” Parool reports.
Since the first ranking in 2011, Amsterdam has almost always been in 1st place. The capital lost some ground during the pandemic, when people complained that it was too quiet in the city. And last year, Utrecht crept past it into first place.
This year, Amsterdam has dropped to sixth place. Maastricht, always a good scorer, took first place, followed by Utrecht, Rotterdam, Texel, and Den Bosch. The ranking is based on a model Beerda developed with the University of Amsterdam in which 136,00 respondents are surveyed about 342 Dutch municipalities.
“Amsterdam has always been the city,” Beerda told Parool. “But that also has a downside. Amsterdam really prides itself on that. Amsterdam combines self-confidence with arrogance and rudeness. Self-confidence scores very high. That’s fine, but it does require a sympathetic attitude.” In terms of sympathy, Amsterdam ranks 155th of the 342 municipalities. “We have never seen that feeling be so negative before. The love-hate relationship that may have been felt for the capital for years now is coming to the surface. Amsterdam used to be smart, now it is rude.”
Beerda compared Amsterdam to top brands like Ajax and Albert Heijn. “They are the intended numbers 1 and, according to many Dutch people, humility is part of that. That is lacking in the capital,” Beerda said. “With brands, you often see that the experience sometimes nags for years and then suddenly goes completely overboard. That seems to be happening with Amsterdam now. Years of grumbling turn into general negativity.”
Rotterdam also scores high on self-confidence, but combined with a high sympathy score. “Rotterdam is seen as the friendly big city. The toughness of Amsterdam is seen as unfriendly,” Beerda said. “Everyone agrees that Rotterdam is a surprisingly nice city, sympathetic, friendly, and with international allure.”
According to Beerda, Amsterdam needs to work on its image. “Amsterdam should be a good example. In the area of tolerance, connection, embracing people. That message is now getting lost. If you want to be successful, you have to build a strong reputation and know which direction you want to go with it. That is missing.”
Top 10 Dutch municipal brands
Maastricht
Utrecht
Rotterdam
Texel
's-Hertogenbosch
Amsterdam
Terschelling
Nijmegen
The Hague
Breda
