Investment Special: German state launches Shanghai charm offensive

Shanghai: As part of his trip to China, Jrgen Rttgers, minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany most-economically powerful state, presented a destination marketing campaign on behalf of his home region. The presentation took place in Shanghai on November 19.

Using "We love the new..." as its positioning statement, the campaign aims to convince investors of the advantages of North Rhine-Westphalia's as a business location. Rttgers said: "North Rhine-Westphalia is situated at the very heart of Europe. With 18 million people, our innovative strengths, creative environment and high quality of life all serve to distinguish us as a business location."

The focus of the campaign has been to introduce North Rhine-Westphalia through two new advertisements, developed specifically for the Chinese market. The first features Werner Wenning, chairman of the management board of Bayer AG, based in Leverkusen in North Rhine-Wesphalia. In 1899, Bayer invented the Aspirin, the world's most popular painkiller.