Treasure or legend

Story writer Frank Jonker was tasked with developing the concepts. He explored different regions in search of suitable locations for exciting stories. Felderhof: “Everywhere has a treasure or a legend that you can link to a Duck character. For example, Scrooge McDuck and the treasure of Amsterdam, or Magica De Spell and the witches of the Green Heart.”

Once completed, the editorial team submitted the story to Disney for approval, as is standard practice. This was often accompanied by additional explanations and photos, as not everything is self-explanatory internationally. “We would explain, for instance, that a ‘bolus’ is a local delicacy popular in Zeeland. We also worked with regional fact-checkers for dialect words. Everything had to be accurate.”

Regional coverage

In the regions themselves, the strength of the Donald Duck brand became clear once again. Each edition received coverage in local media, and mayors welcomed Felderhof at city hall to receive the first copy. “Municipalities are now approaching us themselves asking if we can create a story about them. But the initiative always starts with us. That is what makes it so special: it began as an editorial idea that really took off. We will definitely continue with this in 2026.”

For the editorial team, the regional editions were the unexpected highlight of the year and delivered significant results. “Not only in terms of additional sales and brand visibility, but also because people became more engaged with Donald Duck again. Many adults who hadn’t read the magazine for a long time bought a copy because their own city or region was featured. That is a large group that could ultimately take out a subscription again, for themselves or for their children or grandchildren.”