In the face of increasing economic uncertainty, place brand and marketing teams are under pressure to demonstrate their value. But as scope expands beyond visitor and investment attraction, it’s increasingly difficult to account for the impact beyond economic indicators. Great place brand and marketing strategies deliver social returns that extend far beyond heads in beds or how much FDI has been bought to your place.

Measuring the impact of place branding or place marketing requires a nuanced approach. We reached out to our Expert partners to discover what you should be considering in order to measure the true value that you add to your place.

What does value look like for your place?

First, let’s define value, and for whom. What matters to your place sets the focus for where to add value. What problem(s) is your regeneration, tourism, culture etc. trying to solve? Ask your citizens/stakeholders/investors what they actually want, then act in a balanced manner. You might avoid costly missteps. True value must surely be a balance of economic, socio-cultural and environmental imperatives – securing the hard, tangible and less tangible impacts that make your place better for the longer-term. Value is building wealth as a place, across its sector and in its communities. Now, let’s define ‘wealth’!

Andrew Palmer, Director, CTConsults

Capturing resident sentiment is essential to measuring value

If you’re not asking your communities how they feel about tourism, then your definition of “value” is incomplete. While it’s important to measure what tourism adds, like tax revenue and cultural exchange, it’s equally important to measure what it takes, like housing pressure, environmental strain or cultural commodification. The equation for measuring value must include tourism’s regenerative contributions and extractive impacts.

Starting conversations with residents can feel uncomfortable as your social license develops. However, understanding what influences sentiment is essential to both building trust and making informed decisions that sustain a positive and resilient host community. When you measure what the community values, not only what the industry has told us to value, it provides a more comprehensive and accurate picture of your impact.

Rachel Brown, Destination Stewardship Director, North America, Destination Wayfinder – powered by Miles Partnership

Don’t shy away from your challenges – be transparent.

Many DMO’s have been moving beyond simply measuring the economic impact of their work. Increasingly, residential sentiment monitoring—to assess how content or discontent locals are with tourism in their area—is regarded as a truer measure of tourism’s value, as explored in our Redefining Success report. Approaches vary from visualising the data (warts and all), giving locals and visitors alike full transparency on how tourism impacts their place, to embedding thoughtful objectives and measurable indicators into strategy plans—as proven in our work with cities like Belfast—adding value to the measurement process by enabling unique dialogue between the DMO, the visitor and the local.

Barry Rogers, Destination Strategy Director, TOPOSOPHY

Understand what you really stand for. 

Places should not shy away from being clear about what their town or city stands for, and is thus supposed to offer - and then be brutally honest in measuring performance against “best in class” comparable places. This should be done with a clear and robust set of metrics and impact assessments. Not only will this provide evidence, but done with a mindset to make their town or city a better place, it will raise aspiration, raise the quality of actions, the marketing of them and give an understanding of what piss poor, bog standard, good, and great looks like.

Wayne Hemingway MBE, Partner, HemingwayDesign

Your greatest value-add happens early on.

Many place marketing organisations fixate on late-stage, bottom-funnel metrics like leads generated, investment secured, or talent relocated. The challenge? By that time of the selection process, people have already formed strong opinions, made critical decisions and settled on a short list. Any help offered is really about facilitating an outcome, not influencing one. Instead, we advise locations to track impact across the entire decision journey; this rewards a broader view of marketing where activities are not concentrated only at the cycle’s end. While outcomes are essential, your greatest value-add happens early on: building emotional connections during discovery, shaping perceptions during exploration, and providing critical insights during analysis.

Steve Duncan, Managing Director, C Studios

Measure impact across the full customer journey.

If you're aiming to attract talent to move to your place, track your interactions and keep in touch. From the first touchpoint to relocation to long-term retention. Don’t stop at clicks or job applications! Track what happens after someone says “yes.” The more you can make human connections that help them feel a sense of belonging in your community, the longer they'll stay. And don't forget to ask people how it's going. Take feedback and help people feel heard in the process.

Monica Hershberger, Chief Strategy Officer, RoleCall

Develop a standardised framework to demonstrate impact across multiple dimensions.

Destination organisations should develop standardised KPIs that measure more than economic impact to demonstrate their comprehensive value. By establishing a unified measurement framework that quantifies community well-being, environmental sustainability, employment quality, visitor experience and social engagement alongside financial metrics, DMOs can demonstrate the multidimensional contributions of tourism. This holistic approach enables destinations to effectively communicate their full impact to stakeholders through data-driven insights that resonate beyond traditional economic arguments. When government officials and cross-industry leaders recognise the tangible benefits of tourism to quality of life, cultural preservation, and sustainability goals, they naturally evolve from passive observers into passionate advocates who champion the industry's vital role in creating thriving, resilient communities.

Jé-Vonna Sampson, Director, Destination Development, MMGY NextFactor

Look beyond your economic return.

In today’s tourism landscape, it is essential that places measure value not only in terms of economic return, but also through their wider contribution to placemaking and social impact. Our Residents Study explores how tourism impacts local communities—socially, culturally, and environmentally, capturing sentiment and identifying both opportunities and challenges, from infrastructure pressures to investment potential, to ensure tourism enhances quality of life and pride in place. Truly successful places are those that measure value beyond footfall and spend, where tourism acts as a catalyst for positive change, helping to create vibrant places and communities that are not only great to visit, but to live and belong.

Ruby Russ, Senior Insights and Research Manager, Go To Places (including Visit Kent & Visit Herts)

Track the engagement of your stakeholders.

When places adopt a place brand approach, they are often driven into adopting KPI’s most of which they can’t fully control. To create an environment for success in your place the key is to LISTEN to and WATCH your stakeholders; are they helping create a buzz about the place, do they turn up for meetings, are they vocal with ideas, will they help welcome potential investors, are they active on place social media, do they provide quotes when needed, are they your place salesforce? Active and engaged stakeholders are the sustainable key to doing things differently that make your place successful.

John Till, Founding Director, thinkingplace

Conduct regular perception surveys to see how the needle has moved.

An adage to live by is that all great marketing is rooted in research. With that in mind, one way places can measure the true value of their marketing efforts is to consider conducting regular perception studies. Perception survey research enables you to garner input directly from your target audience (ex. talent, corporate executives, visitors) and understand the effectiveness of your strategies. The quantitative data collected serves as a benchmark metric against which to measure activities and refine marketing tactics. Communities should replicate perception surveys every three years to see how the needle has moved and pinpoint program successes.

According to Bloom Consulting, small perception changes can, on average, lead to substantial economic benefits. A 0.1 increase in a country's perception is projected to result in an average 12% rise in tourism receipts, while cities can expect a larger boost of 17% on average.

Rachel Deloffre, VP – Creative Services, Development Counsellors International

Cover all bases, including qualitative and quantitative, and internal and external perceptions.

Places should adopt a pluralistic approach that involves both quantitative and qualitative criteria. This plurality should address external perception, traditionally used as the main indicator of a place brand, but also internal perception, with indicators such as quality of life, environmental impact, and regeneration.

Especially from the internal perspective, it is essential to create continuous feedback mechanisms that not only keep the community engaged but also allow for the proper adjustment and adaptation of place brand strategies. It is also important to emphasise the need for engagement from diverse community groups that broadly address local plurality. This diversity of participation helps to enrich the understanding, maintenance, and dissemination of the identity and values of the place brand.

Caio Esteves, Managing Partner, N/LF

Develop a clear communication strategy around your data to show impact to stakeholders.

It’s essential for economic development organisations to effectively communicate their mission, positive outcomes, and future plans to key stakeholders – including the media, residents, visitors, and local businesses. Through a thoughtful public relations plan – tactics such as press outreach, website updates, e-blasts and social media – can also help share this message. Leads can then be concisely monitored through web analytics, engagement rates, clicks, coverage tracking, etc. This data helps share the value of economic development investment and can then help stakeholders better understand the value in engagement and partnership.

               Alexa Cangialosi, Account Manager, Violet PR

Transform tourism strategy with real-time geolocation data.

Real-time geolocation data is transforming how destination marketing organisations (DMOs) understand and engage with visitors. Instead of relying solely on clicks and website traffic, destinations are now tapping into richer market insights, particularly in-destination arrival data to track visitor volume and interest. By linking geolocation signals to advertising campaigns, they can uncover exactly where tourists are spending their time, identify high-traffic hotspots, and fine-tune marketing strategies to optimise visitor flow. This game-changing approach not only helps manage overtourism but also ensures a more balanced and enjoyable experience across different regions.

Sol Freixa, Vice President of Commercial, Global Destinations, Hospitality, Amadeus