City Nation Place Global 2023

9th annual City Nation Place Global, London 

Digital Delegate Package

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    Morning: Optional extra opportunities to network and learn:

    • 09:30

      ThinkTank: Strategies for evaluating the effect of your work as a place brand and marketing organisation

      9.30am to 12.30pm

      Join this workshop morning to learn from new research carried out by City Nation Place and from peer-to-peer discussions. Working with our Advisory Group, the City Nation Place team has produced a benchmarking report to provide a better understanding of how place brand and marketing organisations around the world are investing in research and data to measure the impact and effectiveness of their work. Be the first to hear what this research has revealed and join your fellow delegates to share ideas and learn from other place’s approaches.

    • 10:00

      A two-hour walking tour of Elephant Park

      10am to 12noon

      Join a small group of delegates on an exclusive walking tour of Elephant Park – a transformation project in the heart of the Elephant & Castle district of South London, a short distance from our conference venue. Hosted by Lendlease, the developer working in partnership with Southwark Council, you will be provided with an insider’s guide to this mixed use residential and retail regeneration scheme, led by the project team leaders.

  • 13:00

    Lunch and registration for the conference and networking

  • 14:00
  • 14:10

    How a strong nation brand provides the foundation for international relations and public diplomacy

  • 14:30

    How Destination Abu Dhabi rebranded: Giving travellers a year-long destination experience that they can explore at their pace

    H E Nouf Al-Bushlaibi
    H E Nouf Al-Bushlaibi Executive Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi
  • 14:50

    Leveraging economic-sector strengths as a base for building the city brand Case study: Goyang City as the home of K-Culture

    As one of the largest satellite cities of Seoul, Goyang has the “edge city” challenge of creating a standout city brand. Hear how the brand planning team are building on existing infrastructure and leveraging connections with the K-culture phenomenon to build sectoral economic growth and a brand reputation.

    • Creating a digital broadcasting culture cluster
    • Working in collaboration with neighboring cities
  • 15:10

    Refreshments & networking

  • 15:45

    Roundtable discussions

    Join a small group of delegates for peer-to-peer learning and discussion on shared challenges and emerging opportunities – moderated by our expert partners.

    How do you measure the success of your marketing efforts? – hosted by Adara

    Sustainable travel demand generation - how the Netherlands does it utilising geolocation data - hosted by Amadeus

    Barriers to private sector engagement: engaging and activating your private sector stakeholders, partners and community - hosted by Brandkit

    How do you measure success? Setting strategic goals, evaluating outcomes, demonstrating impact – hosted by Brand Finance

    City brand architecture and managing your reputation - hosted by CivicBrand

    Small Budgets. Massive Impact. How Agile DMOs Showcase their Destination - hosted by CrowdRiff

    Immigration Nation: Balancing the attraction of internationals with existing populations for economic growth – hosted by C Studios

    Co-creation: how to build your narrative and brand together with the communities you serve - hosted by DNCO 

    People, places, and first-party data: where do places need to be investing for future success? - hosted by Epsilon 

    The role of sustainability in building nation brands + integrating digital signals and perception research to measure and manage performance - hosted by IPSOS

    Leveraging AI to seamlessly create on-brand content and automate full-funnel campaigns - hosted by KINESSO 

    Exhibit Like You Mean It: How to create trade shows and activations your destination can be proud of - hosted by Resonance Consultancy 

    The importance of being accessible – hosted by Simpleview

    Using data and insights for stakeholder advocacy - hosted by Zartico

  • 16:45

    Engaging your private sector in your place brand – leveraging and building the place of origin effect

    • Whether a legal designation, a licensed brand, or an export promotion platform, how can a place of origin program support your place brand strategy and build your place reputation?
    • Creating ambassadors for your brand: tips for engaging your private sector through a place of origin platform
    • How a place of origin platform can work more effectively for domestic and international audiences
  • 17:30

    Networking drinks reception

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    08:15

    Optional breakfast briefings

    • 08:15

      Define your destination’s difference

      How can destinations stand out and attract visitors, talent and investment?

      How can you attract the best of the best? Place marketers are crying out for an all-in-one strategy to bring visitors, investment and talent to their countries and cities, enticing them to all the incredible wonders and opportunities of the place they call home. How can destinations do it?

      Join BBC Studios at our breakfast briefing to find out how to define your difference. From expert storytellers at BBC StoryWorks, we can explore how countries and cities can pin their narrative and reach the right people, at the right time.

    • 08:15

      Continuing the digital transformation of place branding and place marketing: creating the right balance of touchpoints.

      All destinations have a unique and engaging story to tell. Within that story we are able to identify a range of different experiences that feed into a brand's positioning. But without  knowing your audience and not having a balanced and strategic distribution plan, that positioning and storytelling will fail to have its desired effect. 

      In this session we will identify how to deliver on destination storytelling through a balance of touchpoints within the transformation of digital distribution channels.


      Kgomotso Ramothea
      Kgomotso Ramothea Marketing and Communications Manager, South African Tourism
  • 08:30

    Registration for Day Two

  • 08:50
  • 09:00
  • 09:40

    Christchurch New Zealand: Rebuilding the city’s brand narrative to drive recognition and economic growth

    • The importance and success of engaging with Mana Whenua, other key stakeholders, and our wider community to help shape our brand
    • The importance of shifting a narrative from a city defined by earthquakes to the city we are today and, are in pursuit of in the future
    • Re-imagining the strong local connection to being a ‘’garden city’ and bringing it into the 21st century
    • Repositioning from being a gateway city to being a true destination
    Dan Terris
    Dan Terris Head of Marketing & Brand, ÅŒtautahi Christchurch
  • 10:00

    Measuring the success of tourism strategy against wealth and wellbeing KPIs Case study: Destination Canada

    Hear how Destination Canada have created and launched a more holistic yardstick to measure the success of tourism marketing

    • Socialising the key framework for the wealth and wellbeing index with all place stakeholders
    • Gathering data from stakeholders to measure the pulse of sentiment
    • Creating a reporting process to share success and provide direction
  • 10:20

    Refreshments & Networking

  • 10:50

    Leveraging your place brand as a guiding principle for a better city and to build civic pride: The Hague

    Hear how The Hague has shifted its understanding of the power of a place brand to be more than a platform for marketing to attract visitors and investment

    • Building better collaboration between organisations to focus on the guiding principles of the place brand 
    • Developing a data and research-led approach to planning and prioritising initiatives
    • Strengthening the focus on civic pride and social cohesion
    • Connecting citizens with your marketing as ambassadors for internal and external audiences
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    11:10

    Expert Led Sessions

    Your opportunity to choose from a wealth of expert-led sessions – learning from new research, strategic advice, and client case studies

    • 11:15

      Who gets to manage your place brand?

      • Empower your brand beyond marketing by bringing together a wide-range of regional partners
      • Discover best models for managing your place brand and the investment required
      • Identify the optimal governance and team structure to drive long-term brand performance for your destination
    • 11:15

      Using data and insights to advocate for the positive impact your organisation is having on your place economy

      • End the disconnect between research, insights and your place stakeholders and decision-makers. 
      • Understand the value of emerging and accessible destination information and the new tools available to tell the holistic effect on the visitor economy and the benefits it brings to citizens and residents 
      • Learn how to take the insights and tell a fantastic story to key stakeholders about the outcome and possibilities of place branding and marketing
    • 11:15

      The importance of being accessible

      • Accessibility is no longer a mere legal obligation – it’s a strategic imperative for destinations
      • Discover how you can prioritise accessibility and tap into a larger market segment, boost economic growth, and demonstrate your commitment to social responsibility
      • Explore the various dimensions of accessibility in travel, the role of technology, and the importance of collaboration to create truly inclusive destinations
      Richard Veal
      Richard Veal Managing Director, Europe, Simpleview
    • 11:55

      Strategic applications of place brand measurement

      • Hear from your peers about practical examples of how place brand measurement can inform your strategy and improve results
      • Discover how analysing perceptions data can help identify strategic priorities and build consensus internally
      • Learn how brand valuation can allow you to develop a licensing programme and to communicate the added value of your work to key stakeholders
    • 11:55

      What talent wants: improving talent’s path to purchase (and beyond)

      • Discover fresh insights from two recent talent studies - What Talent Wants (Europe-focused) and Talent Wars (U.S.-focused) – to map a path to purchase for international professionals considering relocation
      • Understand what’s triggering talent to move and quality of life means post-pandemic
      • Learn from world-wide examples of places winning the talent journey to inform your own future strategies
    • 11:55

      Social savvy leadership: A leader’s guide to navigating the ever-changing social media landscape

      • Delve into the latest social media trends that directly impact destination marketing to make sure that your marketing strategies and tactics are fit for purpose
      • Identify what it takes to be at the forefront of the industry and how to leverage social media as a powerful tool to elevate your destination brand
      • Explore actionable strategies and best practices to position your destination as a true industry leader and stand out for all the right reasons on social media
  • 12:30

    Lunch & Networking

  • 13:30

    Understanding the correlation between perception and reputation of place and economic performance

    Presenting the results of the industry “holy grail” study carried out by Bloom Consulting with the support of the City Nation Place community over the past two years

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    13:50

    Expert led sessions

    • 13:55

      The role of sustainability in building nation brands + integrating digital signals and perception research to measure and manage performance

      • Review the findings of the 16th Ipsos-Anholt Nation Brand Index and discover emerging trends and what it is that drives performance of the strongest nation brands
      • Deep dive into the role sustainability performance plays amongst top performers
      • Explore what tools nation brand leaders can and should be leveraging to diagnose and proactively manage nation brand performance
      • Understand how digital data can be leveraged to explore what and who drives perceptions on key topics associated with nation brand performance like travel and tourism or response to ESG issues
    • 13:55

      Shifting the narrative: how to get your place brand to stick when everyone is stuck on a different story

      • Hear the first-hand case study on how San Francisco is inspiring a national shift away from the doom-spiral headlines that have dominated post pandemic
      • Learn practical methods and tactics to turn the tide on an unhelpful reputation that doesn’t represent the full reality
      Joy Nazzari
      Joy Nazzari Founder and Executive Chair, DNCO
      Luis Mendoza
      Luis Mendoza North America Lead, DNCO
    • 13:55

      Pitching for investment: why no one cares about your brochure?

      • Recognise the monotony of investment attraction communication
      • Consider a different set of connection points to attract and retain investment  
      • Practice applying the new approach to your own place
    • 14:35

      Building your brand ecosystem

      • Join a rapid-fire workshop to hear from three successful place brand leaders and to unlock top techniques you can use to build engaged and active ecosystems
      • Integrate your place narrative throughout private sector activities to deliver a cohesive, compelling representation of your place that extends beyond the voice of government and your own city or nation brand organisation
      • Break down invisible barriers that prevent your community from using the resources you’ve built to further their own success and that of your place
      David Vaassen
      David Vaassen Founder & CEO, BrandKit
    • 14:35

      Using your place brand as a decision-making tool

      • Your place brand should set the vision for the entire community and inform every decision your place makes. Join this session to explore the importance of fully embedding your place brand into every aspect of your community.
      • Discover how your place brand both develops and impacts your community vision
      • Explore the nuance between a well-executed campaign and a true place brand strategy


    • 14:35

      Attribution & ROI: The unique challenge DMOs face and how to impress stakeholders

      • Gain visibility into your marketing efforts
      • Glean meaningful insights to better track the effectiveness and success of your strategies
      • Attribute success to your work as a DMO when many conversions happen outside your platform
      • Wow your stakeholders with an impressive ROI by knowing where to invest your marketing dollars
      BR
      Ben Russell UK Sales Lead, Adara
      JR
      Jordan Rumsby Sales Director, Adara
  • 15:10

    Refreshments & Networking

  • 15:40

    Panel discussion: People, Places… and Technology

    • How are places leveraging new technologies to engage with citizens, and potential visitors or investors
    • Which emerging tech do our panellists feel offer the most exciting opportunities for place brand marketing?
    • How do you balance tech and human touchpoints with your brand?
    Aleksandra Lipej
    Aleksandra Lipej Global Communications Manager, Slovenian Tourist Board
  • 16:20

    Be brave but don't be boring: Explaining the path to a more sustainable future in a city

    To quickly decrease our climate emissions, we need to stop shopping, eat less beef and sell the car. As true as that might be, it also sounds awfully boring. How do you explain the necessary future in a way that gets people excited about change? Four years ago, Viable Cities, the largest government-funded innovation program in Sweden, and an international pioneer helping cities become climate neutral, appointed a chief storyteller to develop a framework to use narratives as a strategic leadership tool. 

    The Swedish framework has been internationally recognized as a completely new way of thinking and talking about the much needed transition, discussed in parliament and media around the world. Unpack the ideas behind how you can develop a narrative for your place that is emotionally true, locally relevant and scientifically correct. 

  • 16:40

    City Nation Place Awards 2023

    Be the first to hear who has won the 2023 Awards and be inspired by these examples of best practice in use of data, design, placemaking, communication campaigns and, of course, place brand strategy.

  • 17:15

    Closing drinks