Given the breadth of fantastic work we see from places around the world, we started asking ourselves – could we name a city, region, or nation with a standout place brand strategy or place marketing campaign for each letter of the alphabet?

Unfortunately not – but only because ‘X’ is a tricky little devil. But aside from that alphabetical hiccup, the accidental exercise reinforced what we already knew: that place branding excellence exists in every corner of the globe.

To inspire your next big idea, we’ve collated an A-Z of best practice from the Place Brand Portfolio, the world’s largest collection of place branding and marketing case studies.

Aarhus: Your Local Love

A Tinder-branded profile for VisitAarhus allowed the team to engage with their prospective audience on an equal footing with flirtatious communication in search of a perfect holiday match.

The Bahamas: People-To-People Experience

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Aviation, and Investment connected tourists with residents through a People-to-People programme that saw over 300 people volunteer to become ambassadors and showcase the real culture of the islands.

Costa Rica: Bringing their place brand to life through passport design

Costa Rica had a particular challenge: to transmit the essence and values of Costa Rica to every corner of the world, through the design of a new biometric passport. Discover how the team brought their nation brand strategy to life in their new passport design.

Denver: The Elevation Effect

Colorado has traditionally spent millions each year selling the state as a place to play – yet very little on promoting itself as a place to do business. A complex research initiative helped them talk about the people and the spirit of life and work in the region.

Estonia: Turning insights into tools for smarter nation branding

Enterprise Estonia transformed dense datasets into quick, adaptable, data-backed messaging tools that can easily scale, including a custom-trained AI chatbot capable of tailoring context-rich talking points instantly, and an Estonian Facts Dashboard that converts dense spreadsheets into a multilingual, presentation-ready resource.

Faroe Islands: SheepView 360

When Google Street View wouldn’t come to the Faroe Islands, the Visit Faroe Islands team knew they had to get created. By mounting 360-degree cameras on to the bac of some sheep, they created a unique view of the islands and generated world-wide interest.

Glasgow: Using data storytelling

Data-driven insights provided greater visibility of Glasgow’s technology ecosystem and attracted further investment to local startups and scaleups, cementing the region as fast-growing tech hub. Learn more here.

Helsinki: Helsinki Freedom

For Helsinki, one of the biggest challenges in attracting foreign talent has been rather low awareness of the city globally. To showcase the best of their city and to attract the talent they need, they launched a new values-driven campaign: 'Helsinki Freedom.'

Iceland: The hardest karaoke song in the world

Discover how Iceland wowed the world with a catchy karaoke song that challenged people to speak Icelandic and to dig a little deeper into their culture

Jamaica: Yaad Luv -  A campaign by Jamaicans, for Jamaicans

In Jamaican patois, ‘Yaad’ mean ‘home’ and ‘luv’ means ‘love’ – creating the perfect hook for a campaign that had the twin goals of encouraging Jamaicans to travel domestically and getting ‘hidden gems’ on traveller itineraries. The campaign surpassed targets, with many Jamaicans expressing pride and ‘yaad luv’ for their culture.

Kapfenberg: Reviving civic pride

With a rich industrial heritage, Kapfenberg had a perception of being a male-dominated, backward-looking “worker’s village.” The team launched a comprehensive strategy to redefine their identity and foster a renewed sense of pride and ownership amongst residents, positioning Kapfenberg as a city of the future.

Luxembourg: Oops I stayed in Luxembourg

Luxembourg is underestimated, seen as a place where people come ‘just for a while.’ The truth though is that Luxembourg quickly becomes home. The team amplified the ‘Oops, I Stayed’ stories from citizens and expats, giving these residents a voice and making them co-authors of the Luxembourg story.

Moldova: Hosting the World Congress of Vine and Wine

As host of the 46^th World Congress of Vine and Wine, Moldova seized the once-in-a-generation opportunity to present the country as an innovative, credible hub for wine and economic development. The strategy has led to tangible economic impact, long-term brand positioning, and establishing Moldova as a contributor to global standards.

New Zealand: Defining a country’s values

Stakeholders in New Zealand understood and resonated with the nation brand values, yet stakeholder feedback showed hesitation in adopting them due to the fear of cultural appropriation and misunderstanding. New Zealand Story needed to ensure that the values could be embraced by all New Zealanders in a way that felt inclusive and true to the nation’s identity

Ottawa: The Unofficial Museums Campaign

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Ottawa was ready for a cultural refuel. Enter the Unofficial Museums campaign, an initiative to celebrate the hidden gems within the city. In total, 76 ‘museums’ were opened in a single day as special status was granted to festivals, restaurants, concert venues, attractions, and more.

Puerto Rico: How Puerto Rico Tourism defied two hurricanes and major misconceptions

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the team had to communicate the steady, fast-paced recovery of the Island in a realistic, believable way. Here’s how they turned around the perception that Puerto Rico was not ready to welcome travellers and countered negative coverage anticipated in the anniversary of the disaster.

Quebec City: I have Quebec in mind

Québec International reached out to newcomers to the region to share their story as part of a web series, creating a credible message based on actual experience to encourage others to relocate.

Reşiţa: Reinventing a post-industrial city

Reşiţa's place brand narrative has been developed alongside forward-thinking investment in placeshaping. With the two brand pillars of Flame – symbolising pride in their industrial legacy, and Oxygen – representing green landscapes and new opportunities, the narrative embodies Reșița’s reinvention and provides a platform for sharing this journey.

Sheffield: Sheffield Inspires

Sheffield aims to demonstrate how it impacts the world outside its boundaries and in order to boost awareness, they are collaborating with local talent and stakeholders to inspire residents, grab attention, and change perceptions. The new brand platform has injected enthusiasm in the city, fostering new opportunities to tell Sheffield’s story

Tasmania: Tasmanian Youth Story

Tasmanians worry about the prospects for the next generation, but what was causing these challenges? Interviews with young people aimed to understand their sources of pride, and where and why Tasmania was letting them down, ultimately leading to an action plan that gives young people a voice in the

Ukraine: #WhatWeAreFightingFor

#WhatWeAreFightingFor showed the world over 600,000 reasons to fight, presenting each region of Ukraine to the world and explaining why each square kilometre of their land is essential.

Vilnius: Amazing wherever you think it is

On average, only 5% of Vilnius's target market knew where the city was located. But Go Vilnius re-imagined this disadvantage as a way to capture people's imagination and put Vilnius on the map - literally!

Williamsburg: Future Festivals

A series of public input sessions called Future Festivals gave residents the chance to play larger-than-life games to gather feedback that would inform the development of the city’s two-year workplan.

Yanchep: The Lagoon Master Plan

Recognising that Yanchep Lagoon is an important economic and environmental asset beloved by the local community, the city launched an interactive planning and design forum to determine the future of the lagoon.

Zuidoost: Developing an inclusive design identity

Zuidoost’s residents have roots all over the world. All those cultures together in one neighbourhood ensures Zuidoost has become its own city with its own stories - so any place brand design and strategy needed to be able to embrace the diverse character of the community.