Congratulations to all the 2025 Winners and Highly Commended entries!
To access all the winning case studies, as well as the case studies from the previous years of City Nation Place Awards, please subscribe to the Place Brand Portfolio where you can search by geography, strategic purpose, population size and more!
2025 WINNERS
THE CITY NATION PLACE LEADERSHIP AWARD
| WINNER DAVID GILBERT DESTINATION CLEVELAND David has demonstrated the value of adopting place brand thinking as the leader of a destination marketing organisation. Over his fourteen years as CEO of Destination Cleveland, he has led the organisation and the city on a transformative journey – delivering a measurable impact on civic pride that is at the heart of changing national and international perceptions of the city. He has demonstrated a bold community-first approach, creating a place brand platform that has engaged Clevelanders, building strong partnerships, and leading with a purpose and passion that inspires his team. |  |
THE CITY NATION PLACE FUTURE LEADER
| WINNER JULIE MADSEN VISIT VENTURA The jury could feel Julie’s passion for her city and for the work she’s doing - she shows strategic thinking, the bravery to propose new ideas, and excellent stakeholder engagement skills, all the ingredients for a future place brand leader. |  |
BEST CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
WINNER CHILE MADE BY CHILEANS PROGRAM - CHILE BRAND Entered by Fundación Imagen de Chile Our jury admired the ambition of this strategy – redefining the nation brand licensing programme as “Made by Chileans”, with a concerted push to open the programme up to more Chileans. The team created a human-centred, creative, and engaging approach with great results. |  |
BEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
WINNER DENMARK SHAPE THE FUTURE OF YOUR RESEARCH Entered by Copenhagen Capacity Copenhagen Capacity’s focus on the country’s brand values within all of its talent attraction work impressed the jury – with this campaign earning particular praise for the collaborative approach and speed of response to the changing international situation for academic researchers, and for the powerful results, outperforming quarterly KPIs in just two weeks. |  |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
THE 46TH WORLD CONGRESS OF VINE AND WINE IN CHIȘINĂU
Entered by Invest Moldova Agency
Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio
BEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: PLACE BRAND
WINNER ESTONIA ESTONIA: 100% DIGITAL, 0% BUREAUCRAZY Entered by Enterprise Estonia, Brand Estonia The jury loved this bold approach to celebrating a governance achievement in a campaign that reinforces the nation brand’s digital excellence pillar – achieving great results for the budget. Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio |  |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
LUXEMBOURG
OOPS I STAYED IN LUXEMBOURG
Entered by “Luxembourg – Let’s Make It Happen”, aka Luxembourg Brand Promotion Unit
Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio
BEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: TOURISM
WINNER YAAD LUV: A CAMPAIGN BY JAMAICANS, FOR JAMAICANSJAMAICA Entered by Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) The Yaad Luv initiative impressed the jury with its creative positioning, rooted in the island nation’s culture and identity, and its approach to developing a long-term sustainable strategy for ensuring that tourism delivers measurable community benefits. Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio |  |
HIGHLY COMMENDED CYMRU WALES FEEL THE HWYL, ONLY IN WALES Read the full case study here on the Place Brand PortfolioEntered by Visit Wales |
FAROE ISLANDS
SELF NAVIGATING CARS
Entered by Visit Faroe Islands
Entered by Visit Faroe Islands
Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio
SEATTLE SOUTHSIDE, USA
EXPLORE SEATTLE SOUTHSIDE - WELCOME BACK, ALIENS CAMPAIGN
Entered by Seattle Southside Regional Tourism
Entered by Seattle Southside Regional Tourism
Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio
BEST PLACEMAKING INITIATIVE
WINNER HASTINGS, NEW ZEALAND WAIAROHA: PLACING LIFE-GIVING WATER IN THE HEART OF HERETAUNGA HASTINGS Entered by Hastings District Council The jury applaud the remarkable achievement in Hastings – delivering a bold, meaningful project; demonstrating environmental leadership and community building connected to the city’s story. As one juror commented, “We should all be treating infrastructure projects as a placemaking activity” Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio |  |
BEST USE OF DATA
WINNER ESTONIA TURNING INSIGHTS INTO TOOLS FOR SMARTER NATION BRANDING Entered by Enterprise Estonia, Brand Estonia The jury were, frankly, envious of the Brand Estonia team’s ability to make data accessible and useable. This entry demonstrates a fantastic use of AI to deliver data-driven insights and communication tools to stakeholders, at the same time reflecting the nation brand’s values of digital excellence. Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio |  |
| HIGHLY COMMENDED PHILADELPHIA, USA A MOMENT TO A MOVEMENT: USING HYPER-LOCAL DATA TO FUEL PHILADELPHIA CIVIC PRIDE Entered by Visit Philadelphia Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio |
BEST USE OF DESIGN
WINNER SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA CELEBRATE THE SIMPLE PLEASURES Entered by South Australian Tourism Commission The jury felt that this bold, creative design work truly reflects the work put in to understand and define South Australia’s place brand – the detailed approach to colour, animation, and imagery; the collaboration with local creators; and the multi-platform output creates the sense of “more of the good”. Read the full case study here on the Place Brand Portfolio |  |
HIGHLY COMMENDED |
PLACE BRAND OF THE YEAR
WINNER SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND SHEFFIELD INSPIRES Entered by Marketing Sheffield The jury were unanimous in recognising the passion of the small Marketing Sheffield team and the value of the work they are delivering with their community. Our judges were particularly impressed by the growth in collaborative partnerships in the city, turbo-charged by the positive response to and pride in the evolved design identity. Every initiative feels rooted in Sheffield’s DNA and the clearly focused priorities are delivering results in improving perceptions of the city, nationally and internationally. |  |
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