Two giants for an XXL brand launch
Calais, April 20, 2024
This Thursday, April 18, 2024, under the eyes of the Dragon of Calais and the Giant Francisco the reporter gathered for the first time, more than 200 actors and professionals of the attractiveness of our territory met to officially launch Calais XXL, the new name of the tourist destination of the 14 municipalities of the agglomeration and the Tourist Office. New tourist guide, new positioning and therefore new campaign were presented on the occasion of the start of the tourist season.
New ambition, a new destination brand
This brand launch comes at the end of a year of cross-functional work initiated by Ms. President of the agglomeration Natacha Bouchart. A vast attractiveness approach in which all the professionals of the territory participated. Together, they then worked to identify the personality, the meaning, the values that characterize us. The observation is unanimous: Here we live everything on a grand scale, we do everything on a grand scale!
The 14 communes of Calais XXL can boast of numerous riches which have shaped not only the territory, but also the culture of its inhabitants..
Land of challenges on a grand scale: The Channel Tunnel construction site, which we are about to celebrate its 30th anniversary, the monumental port of Calais recently inaugurated. The culture of life-size street theatre, as evidenced by our two symbols brought together for this launch: the Giant Francisco and the Dragon of Calais, but also the City of Lace and Fashion, the Museums of Fine Arts and Memory, the Street Art Festival… The wealth of the Great Natural Spaces: Cap Blanc-Nez, the beaches of Escalles, Sangatte and Hemmes de Marck, the Site des Deux Mers (because we have two!), the Calais Canal to the foreshore… Not forgetting a monumental heritage: the UNESCO-listed Belfry and Calais lighthouse, the Church of Notre-Dame, fortifications, typical villages of the North of France and their bell towers in a green hinterland between meadows and marshes.
An XXL campaign and launch
©Nohcab 
©Stephane Ribeiro Da Ascencao A major media plan opens on April 18 with the installation of the largest device: the glass roof of the Lille Flandres station, gateway to the territory of the North of France: the generosity and authenticity of the territory are displayed on 176m2 : an XXL choice that reflects the promise of the destination. The campaign covers the North of France and Belgium with displays and event-based devices such as the trams in Valenciennes, the Belgian Coast and Brussels.
Finally, to open this new page of the attractiveness of our agglomeration in style, an XXL launch evening allowed the meeting of two giants: The Dragon of Calais and the Giant Francisco Reporter of Calais, symbols of our reinvention between tradition and modernity. It is also an opportunity to highlight the great involvement of the professionals who responded, there were 200 of them in the Nave of the Dragon of Calais to discover the new supports freshly unveiled.
New media for visitors
Routes and detours between land and sea
The ambition is to put these spaces, as varied as they are exciting, at the forefront. To promote a natural, preserved territory, but which has everything to offer in a few kilometers and particularly 4 zones, like 4 destinations in one:
- The family seaside resort with abundant leisure activities in Calais LA Plage
- On the infinite horizon the sea, with gigantic chalk cliffs
- From the Calais Canal to the foreshores and natural spaces of Fort Vert
- In the meadows and marshes of the hinterland and its typical villages of northern France.
A new guide published in 4 languages (French, English, German and Dutch) covers all the features using new original and detailed maps of all the points of interest in the urban area. The tourist map also has a new formula: entirely designed by the teams, this process has allowed the results of the collective work approach to be finely incorporated and to remain faithful to the philosophy shared by the territory.
Stephane Ribeiro Da Ascencao
Marketing & Communications Director
SPL Grand Calais Tourism & Culture — Calais XXL+33 (0)6 42 92 42 35 — sribeiro@calaisxxl.com