NEWS
MARHER Multiplier Event in Zypliai, Lithuania.
The Erasmus+Strategic partnerships KA2 project MARHER (Heritage Marketing for Competition of Europe in the global market) multiplier event has been organized by Vytautas Magnus University on 22 June 2022 in Zypliai Manor, Šakiai district, Lithuania.
During the event, project implementation experiences, project activities and project results were shared with local cultural tourism developers and members of local communities, i.e. a unique heritage marketing program was presented, which was jointly developed by project coordinators from Danitacom (Denmark) and project partners: University of Syddansk (Denmark), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), I-Strategies (Italy), CBE (Belgium) and FVB (Italy).
During the event, the participants had the opportunity not only to get acquainted with the activities of the projects, to practice training course, but also to discuss the concept and challenges of heritage marketing and to participate in creative workshops, discussing the possibilities to use the stories linking companies to their origins as the creative tools for brand promotion and dissemination.
During the event heritage marketing was discussed as an important need of an organization of getting connected with its customers, generating empathic connections through the use of narrative universes, as well as discussing key competences of a new professional, innovative and creative figure, able to make the most out of values and stories: the heritage marketer.
Collection of best practices.
The MARHER project is coming to an end, but activities continue to spread all the possibilities that heritage marketing offers to companies.
In the Tool section you can download a template to collect further interesting cases to add to our Heritage Marketing Map!
Once collected, you can send to [email protected] or [email protected], the data will be used, in compliance with privacy regulations, to enrich the MARHER project’s archive of geolocalised best practices.
MARHER Meeting in Copenhagen.
It was time for the last in-person meeting for the MARHER partnership!
Hosted by the Danish-Italian Chamber of Commerce in Copenhagen, the meeting was the occasion to discuss about the results of the last series of event in the project.
First of all, the partner reported about the very positive experience of the Learning Activity hosted by i-strategies in Offida, that helped the partner focus better on what was needed to improve the tools for heritage marketing and storytelling. The contribution from all participant will help making the final improvement in Intellectual Output 3.
The Partnership then commented on the multiplier events that took place during the month of May ad June and of those that will be organized in the last stretch of the project.
After discussing the last minor details concerning reporting and project management the partnership discussed on how to capitalize on MARHER products and idea, paving the way for a new project, possibly coming in the next wave of Erasmus+ calls, to push innovation even further!
MARHER Multiplier Event in Camerino.
Spreading good practices among our start-up ecosystem is one of the goals FVB-The Hive has set itself over the years. An important part of the innovation of processes and knowledge comes from discussions with our European partners, who together with us participate in the production and development of innovative teaching materials to improve the ability of the entrepreneurs of the future to understand the market and act accordingly.
This is why we presented the results of the MARHER project at the Startup club festival organised at the Faculty of Engineering in Camerino.
We told how it is possible to use the stories that link companies to their territories, their origins and their founders as tools for brand promotion and dissemination.
We presented the training course devised by the MARHER project partnership, now available to everyone on the marher.eu website, to further explore this topic and help the entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow to use their company’s heritage for successful marketing.
Marher Project consortium visited Meletti family.
Thanks to the Meletti family, the students of the Marher project were able to visit the factory that produces the famous Anisetta, the typical aniseed-based liqueur of the Piceno region.
The visit allowed the participants to immerse themselves in the history of the Meletti family, from the beginnings of the company founder to the evolution of the company during the 20th century.
The students were able to experience first-hand the impact that the family’s heritage and tradition still has today in the promotion of the products and the brand around the world. Participants were also able to visit the production line and the machinery required for bottling.
Thanks to these testimonies we were able to see some of the principles of Heritage Marketing, which the Marher project has condensed into the educational materials produced, come into action in the life of a historic Italian company.
Marher Project consortium visited Gradara Castle.
The Marher project consortium visited Gradara Castle to study how a rich artistic and cultural heritage can be used to promote the brand and reputation of a small town in the world.
The students had the opportunity to hear directly from the voice of the mayor of Gradara, Filippo Gasperi, how the small town has become a key player in the region’s tourism landscape, becoming a point of attraction thanks to storytelling and heritage marketing.
The students visited the castle and the works of art inside, got to know Paolo and Francesca and the tragic tale of their love story, which make Gradara the city of love and fantastic storytelling.
Tasting experience with Ciù Ciù wines.
The heritage linked to wine and food is a fundamental element of the Piceno territory. The students of the Marher project were able to appreciate how the agricultural traditions of the region are fundamental elements of a story that helps to enhance products and brands, especially when it comes to wines.
Thanks to the expertise of Ukrainian sommelier Alona Tikhovska, the participants not only tasted the wines of the Ciù Ciù winery, one of the case studies of the MARHER project, but also listened to the stories linked to wine production and learned to appreciate its flavours and aromas.
Thanks to the skillful use of gamification and storytelling, the students were able to learn how to use gastronomic heritage, and in particular that linked to wine production, to promote the products of the land and local tourism.
MARHER project at Sonosphera.
A different experience for the students of the MARHER project at Sonosphera. The advanced technological installation at the civic museums of Pesaro allowed them to experience in a completely new dimension parts of the Italian artistic heritage such as the magnificent frescoes of the Stanza della Segnatura, by the painter Raffaello Sanzio from Urbino.
The technological installation fascinated the participants and also involved them in an innovative sound experience aimed at preserving the sounds of nature in the rainforests, which are threatened by climate change and the hand of man.
The use of the cultural heritage of a territory for its own tourist promotion also passes through innovative technologies and the intersection of art, history and technology.
MARHER Learning Activity in Offida, Italy.
The partnership of the MARHER project has just spent 5 wonderful and intense days in the beautiful town of Offida. I-strategies hosted the interactive workshop of Heritage Marketing, a learning activity aimed at testing the didactic materials produced by the project to train new professionals able to use the heritage of their territories and companies for the promotion of brands and products.
The educational activities proposed were many and varied: gamified lessons, guided tours, frontal lessons and interactive storytelling. Over the next few days, we will go into more detail about each activity.
Thanks to i-strategies for the hospitality and to all the students for actively contributing to the project activities. The project can now draw to a close, with so much teaching material produced not only on the basis of rigorous scientific knowledge but also on the basis of field tests.
Next stop in Copenhagen for the final meeting!
MARHER goes around the world!
Gianluca Vagnarelli (www.linkedin.com/in/gianluca-vagnarelli-1a84a458) CEO of I-strategies attended the international conference “Indian Craft and Heritage”, invited by the Dean of the School of Arts and Design of Woxen University, Adity Saxenaon (www.linkedin.com/in/aditysaxena).
Gianluca explained to an international audience the importance of Corporate Heritage for a contemporary company. He showed the importance of a project like Marher and how its products can also be used in contexts outside the European Union.
MARHER Meeting in Offida, Italy.
On 28 and 29 September 2020, the MARHER project partners gathered for the second transnational project meeting. The meeting was held partly in person at the I-Strategies headquarters in OFFIDA in Italy and partly online due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting immediately addressed the problems of managing all project activities in the light of the problems related to the current epidemic. Risks, delays, opportunities and risk management and mitigation strategies were analysed for each element of the project.
No particular critical issues were reported in the implementation of the main activities. The interactive map of heritage marketing best cases will soon be online and the production of Intellectual output 2, which has already had the publication of a scientific paper as a positive by-product, will not be significantly delayed despite the difficulties that the current situation is causing to the various organisations.
I-strategies has outlined the steps that need to be taken to finalise Intellectual Output 2 on time so that the next intellectual product can begin on a solid basis.
The discussion closed on a general review of the use of financial resources with no particular problems identified by the partnership.
The partnership decided to meet more often online in anticipation of meeting again in person at the next transnational meeting.
“Storytelling and Organizational Heritage Communication: towards a critical development of a new corporate-cultural profession” a new scientific paper from MARHER key partners.
During the process of creating intellectual output 2 – a skill profile for the professional figure of the Heritage Marketer – the three main experts in the partnership, Klarissa Lueg from the University of Southern Denmark, Gianluca Vagnarelli from I-strategy and Rasa Pranskuniene from the Vytautas Magnus University elaborated a scientific paper on the topic of Heritage Marketing in complex organisations.
“Storytelling and Organizational Heritage Communication: towards a critical development of a new corporate-cultural profession” is the title of the paper and can be found at
Thanks to this valuable work, the depth and level of detail of the scientific basis on which the production of all the intellectual products of the MARHER project will be based is greatly improved.
Best Cases of heritage Marketing in Europe
After collecting dozens of cases across Europe, the MarHer consortium has developed an interactive map where you can see the best examples of companies that are effectively using the story of their origins, the stories of their founders or their social fabric as a tool to promote their brand or products.
From the map it will be possible to download the most interesting cards or to analyse how a specific production sector is using this method of self-promotion.
The map will be gradually updated with more and more cases from the partnership, in the hope that it will be useful for all those who are interested in learning more about Heritage Marketing.
You can find the map here
MarHer project starts in Brussels
The partners of the MarHer project met for the first time in Brussels on 5 and 6 December 2019. The objective of the MARHER project is to identify key competences for a new professional figure that is innovative and creative, able to maximize the value of stories for tourism promotion and beyond: The Heritage Marketer.
After listening to the recommendations of the Danish National Agency, the partners revised the project in all its parts: management mode, output production, communication management, event organization.
The partners set the next project steps: the creation of a graphic and communicative identity for the project, the structuring of a basic template for the intellectual output 1, the identification and use of a specific online platform for project management.
The project started under the best auspices of the whole consortium, who agreed to meet at the next OFFIDA meeting in Italy.
