Many economic development advertising campaigns follow the same predictable formula, serving up a laundry list of forgettable facts, features, and financial incentives. Find out how Mount Pearl broke away from the formula by creating an attention grabbing rap video to tell the city’s story in an irresistibly funny, but honest way.

What do the polar explorer, Roald Amundsen, and Greenland’s new tourism strategy have in common? Answer: They both built their success around Inuit knowledge and the spirit of exploration. We caught up with Hjörtur Smárason, CEO of Visit Greenland & one of our 2021 CNP Awards Judges, to understand how Greenland is forging a path to recovery.

Promoting a place is a hugely complex task, and collaborating with the other local players creates much firmer foundation for your place brand strategy. But what do you need to do to ensure that you’re collaborating effectively?

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

The City of Helsinki took home our 2020 Award for Best Citizen Engagement for their creative approach that invited citizens to enjoy the May Day celebrations from home by joining a virtual concert. A year on - and with another virtual concert planned for this year's May Day celebrations - we wanted to throw back to the original campaign that wowed our judges last November.

The pandemic has altered the way that we live and work – perhaps irrevocably – and with it, cities, regions, and nations need to re-think what it is that makes their place attractive. How can places adapt and evolve their strategies to respond to these changes?

Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo was facing an unusual challenge in early 2020 – how to create and launch a place brand during a global pandemic. We reached out to Andrea Haley, Director of Brand and Corporate Services for Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Economic Development & Tourism, to understand how they turned lockdown into an opportunity to build community support for the place brand strategy.

Berlin is arguably one of the cultural powerhouses of the world. With the global cultural sector devastated after a year of lockdown, we reached out to Burkhard Kieker, CEO of Visit Berlin, to discover what the city’s plans were for recovery, and how they have reframed their approach from ‘attracting tourists’ to ‘having guests’.

What learnings from the past year will continue to shape and evolve place branding and marketing strategies as we plan for the future? We reached out to our Expert partners to understand what they considered essential lessons for destination marketing and economic development teams around the world.

Achieving cut-through and investment in a crowded and competitive global marketplace requires delivering complex narratives in a compelling way. Citizens of Manchester achieves that by providing a powerful platform for The People Who Make Manchester The Place That Shapes The World. 

Sri Lanka had so much to offer - but it struggled to compete with more established neighbouring competitors. A new campaign showcased the diversity and beauty of Sri Lanka through the eyes of some of their greatest assets: the wildlife that make experiencing Sri Lanka so magical.

It's critical that a place brand strategy is representative of your community - and that your community is engaged with your approach. Al Hutchinson, President & CEO at Visit Baltimore, joined us to share the story behind Visit Baltimore's brand re-design, and how they put community voices in the spotlight with their messaging.

In this new state of a displaced workforce, how can leaders of place brand teams foster innovationand creative thinking?

Whether this new visitor economy will be “better” – more resilient, more equitable and creating more value for communities - will depend on how we recover. Here are some of the common challenges facing destinations in recovery, and some of the opportunities it creates to build back better.

What can we learn from New York City, the cultural melting pot of the world? Nancy Mammana, Chief Marketing Officer for NYC & Company joined us to share how they’re giving a platform to marginalised voices and ensuring that the recovery is equitable.