Rabo band THE NETHERLANDS Rotterdam: the world's foremost port. :ïïS£IE|I| E3Z3Z3S&9S ■lïiïïïiHÏIi J'Tf ITRITn 'Tm Clear choice of sponsoring projects in Holland: horses and music The Netherlands: Rabobank land Issue 5/December 13, 1989 Wlth more than 575,000 inhabitants Rotterdam Is the second largest city In the Netherlands. During the past hundred years Rotterdam has developed from a small port to the world's no. 1 harbour town. In World War II most of the city was destroyed by se- vere bombing. After the war, Rotterdam was rebuilt and ex- panded into an industrial cen- tre and dlstribution polnt of great importance to the West European markets. For Rabo bank Nederland thls was rea- son enough to establlsh an of fice there. Some 32,000 ocean-going ships are good for an annual total goods transhipment of 250 million tons, 32 per cent of which consists of crude oil that finds its way to Rotter- dam's industrial area for pro cessing. The engineering in- dustry also occupies an impor tant position both in and around Rotterdam. In the oid city there is a new centre with modern architec ture. Between cube-shaped houses a passage leads to the oid harbour with its histori- fir* Sf .s-w n i "T' cal inland waterway barges, a slipway and pubs, cafés and restaurants all around. Rotter dam has shopping prome nades, interesting museums and art galleries, the Gothic St. Laurens Church and a large zoo, calied 'Blijdorp'. Close to Rotterdam there are several beaches and outstand- ing watersport centres. A part of the Rotterdam harbour area where memories of the old days are still to be found, is the his- torical town 'Delfs- haven'. In 1620 the Pilgrims met here at the Pilgrim Father's Church before sailing for the New World. This was also the birthplace of one of Hoiland's na- tional heroes, Piet Heyn, who became Lord Admirai of the Dutch Fleet. One of Rotterdam's major attractions is 'The Euromast', a gigantic tower of 185 m, the high- est point of the Low Countries. An elevator spirals its way up to the top, affording the visi- tor a fantastic view of the city and its outlying areas, or as Rotterdam is often calied: the port with a city attached to it. Rabobank Nederland has had its own office (photo) in Rotter dam since 1981. This is not a member bank, but an outpost of the head office which han dles business for the very large customers in the Rotter dam region. These include goods merchants specialising Over the years, Rabobank Nederland has sponsored a varlety of projects. Recently, however, an important con- centratlon has taken place. Careful thought has also been glven to the choice of pro jects. Sponsoring by Rabo bank Nederland is now fo- cused on two areas: horses and music. For Rabobank, sponsoring pri- marily presents an opportunity to influence its image. But marketing objectives are be- coming more important too. The possibilities for sponsor ing are selected in relation to the target groups. As a Dutch- based organization, Rabobank has been involved for many years in equestrian events and the breeding of Dutch horses. This involvement largely sterns from the fact that many of Rabobank's members and customers are active in the horse-riding world. If the bank sponsors equestrian sports, that sup port ultimateiy benefits its members and customers. Last summer a four-year sponsor ing contract was signed with the largest Dutch stud organ ization, the Koninklijk Neder lands Warmbloed Paarden stamboek (KNWP). A second spearhead sponsor ing activity is music. A great many concerts were spon sored this year, a very special event being the Second Inter national Franz Liszt Piano Competition held in Utrecht. The winner of this contest, the Italian Enrico Pace, went on a tour of the Netherlands at Rabobank's request. He gave concerts in the towns where the nine regional offices of Rabobank Nederland are io- cated. In addition, attention was paid to the Holland Festi val of Ancient Music which is also international in character. Music and horses are the re- sult of a clear-cut choice. Why these themes? Wim Louwerse, Public Relations Department, says: 'It was obvious to us that a choice had to be made. The problem of sponsoring by the Rabobank Group was that it was not recognizable be- cause of the wide variety of projects. As an organization, you want to present a clearly identifiable image to the out- side world and be recognized through an association with something. That explains why we are now concentrating ex- clusively on some main lines.' The offices outside the Nether lands are also already spon soring several activities. Con- tinuing the Dutch policy, atten tion is paid to music and horses there too. The New York office, for example, con- tributed to the National Horse Show held in New Jersey in November. Although still in its infancy, sponsoring will devel- op into an important instru ment for image-building of the organisation for the foreign- based offices as well. in the field of cereals and raw materials for cattle feed, and the large companies whose fi- nancing requirements exceed the facilities of the local banks. Financing in a meta context - in other words, to- gether with a member bank - is also a regular occurrence in Rotterdam. The Rotterdam branch also plays an impor tant part in relation to the Rabobank branches outside the Netherlands. For, of course, a substantial propor- tion of world trade flows be tween Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, New York, London and the Far East. In the Netherlands there is one bank for every 1,600 in habitants. By way of compari- son: in Spain, every 1,200 in habitants have a bank, in France every 2,100, in the UK there is a bank for every 2,700 inhabitants and in Por tugal 5,400 people have to make do with one single bank office. The Netherlands has 14.8 mil lion inhabitants - who together own 6 million cars - and about 9,250 bank branches. The Netherlands is primarily a Rabobank country. 900 Rabo- banks have a combined total of 2,200 branches. 90% of Dutch farmers bank with Rabobank. 40% of Dutchmen save with Rabobank and 25% have a Rabobank mortgage. To complete the picture, 30% of small and medium-sized businesses in the Nether lands are Rabobank cus tomers. Old: The local bank in Oudewater. And new: The local bank in De Bilt.

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'Raboband International' (EN) | 1989 | | pagina 6