An analysis of the Botanical Garden Munich-Nymphenburg's destination marketing strategy with picture postcards from 1914 to 2020

Abstract

Botanical gardens are important tourist destinations, but their destination marketing strategies have historically received little attention. Among the most recognizable effort of destination marketing, picture postcards and their motifs give insight into previous strategies. In this analysis, I analyzed the motifs and style of the postcards produced by the Botanical Garden Munich-Nymphenburg over the past hundred years, using a sample of 247 picture postcards. The most promotion was conducted between 1930 and 1945. The favored composition techniques were photographs from the eye-level perspective (93%), photographs set in an asymmetric frame (82%), photographs depicting a landscape orientation (59%), and black and white photographs (55%). Postcards featuring the greenhouses were the leading motif and focused on exotic flowers, such as orchids and cacti. Postcards from the outdoor part of the garden tended to focus on the alpinum and ornamental beds. Clear support was found that everybody-can-take motifs were preferred, best for word-of-mouth recommendation and tourism-for-everyone.