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City Nation Place Awards 2021

7th annual place branding awards

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WINNERS 2021

Winner

FORT MCMURRAY WOOD BUFFALO, ALBERTA
The key to revealing our regional identity during a global pandemic: LISTENING.
Entered by Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Economic Development & Tourism

The judges were so impressed with the breadth and depth of engagement with their citizens and stakeholders achieved by the team at Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo. They felt that this “listen-first” approach represented best practice executed effectively and created a strong foundation for the success of the new place brand.



Best Communication Strategy - economic development

Winner

HELSINKI
Helsinki Freedom
Entered by Helsinki Marketing


Helsinki’s Freedom strategy responded to a very specific challenge with a strong creative direction that remained very consistent and connected to the city’s core brand values. The jury were also impressed by the media amplification strategy.






Winner

FINLAND
Hän Honours
Entered by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland


Finland’s Hän Awards strategy was chosen for its innovative and positive approach –promoting the nation’s values around the world through the embassy network, boldly selecting individuals of all nationalities who represent Finland’s values in terms of their work for greater equality, and gathering media attention for all the right reasons.


Highly Commended

THE NORDIC REGION
Nordic Talks: Inspire to act, Act to inspire
Entered by Nordic Council of Ministers [credits: LEAD Agency, The Lake Radio, 1508, Afton Halloran (podcast host)]


In this very closely contested category, the jury would like to have created an additional category for the Nordic Talks project – an ambitious strategy well executed, and a collaboration between nations to promote the region’s values and positive conversations around the world. The potential for the project to continue to build momentum was also recognised.





Winner

ICELAND
Looks Like You Need To Let It Out Campaign
Entered by Visit Iceland


This was a standout winner in the judges’ eyes. The team at Visit Iceland seized a moment, caught the media attention with a standout creative idea [that everyone wished they’d had] that also played to all of Iceland’s strengths in tourism and so felt authentic. All of that, and the implementation was really polished and well-executed.






Winner

CHILE
Chile's Comparative Perception Panel Study in Key Markets, for a more Data Driven and Multisectoral Strategy
Entered by Imagen de Chile

The Jury were impressed by Chile’s laser focus on building their brand strategy on data. They were particularly impressed by how the country brand team learned as they implemented the data gathering – adjusting their approach to newly understood cultural bias and building flexibility into the research to ensure that the strategy could respond to new circumstances that might impact on perceptions of the nation brand.




Winner

ZUIDOOST DISTRICT, AMSTERDAM
Zuidoost, Amsterdam's Fastest Changing City District: A New Visual Identity
Entered by Zuidoost City [credits: Studio Wesseling, amsterdam&partners]
 
Recognising the difficulty of creating a strong place brand for a city district, the jury were particularly impressed by the collaborative and cohesive nature of the design strategy for Zuidoost. The creative result projects a stand-out identity, whilst recognising the district’s connection with the Amsterdam brand and enabling individual citizens to celebrate their own heritage.





Winner

TASMANIA
Tasmanian
Entered by Brand Tasmania

The jury were inspired by the approach taken by this small team from the small island at the bottom of the world to developing an effective place brand strategy. The honesty and authenticity of their work shone through and the judges were so impressed by the successful, intelligent, and creative approach taken to bring stakeholders and citizens on board with the whole process of understanding what Tasmania stands for, why it’s valuable to recognise that, and why it’s important to tell that story.