For fourteen years, the GREAT Campaign has been telling Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s story on the international stage. We caught up with Danesha Connolly, Senior Brand Manager at the GREAT Campaign and one of our 2026 Awards jurors, to understand what’s driving the team’s success, how they collaborate with private sector partners, and what new initiatives are in the works.

Thank you for joining us, Danesha. The GREAT Campaign was initially launched in the run-up to the London Olympics in 2012. Can you give us a quick overview of your mission and structure?

The aim of GREAT has remained the same since its inception: to drive economic growth and enhance the UK’s reputation internationally. This strategic objective has remained constant, and we’ve been able to adapt our focus depending on target markets and sector priorities. Central strategic direction across trade, tourism, study, and soft power has been governed through the Programme Board, which is chaired by ministers. In addition, we have had the GREAT Challenge Fund for a number of years that provides crucial funding to our network of embassies and consulates across 164 countries to deliver GREAT branded activity.

From our view, one of the most impressive facets of the GREAT Campaign is the way you collaborate with private sector partners to amplify your place brand narrative. Do you have any advice for other countries who are looking to engage businesses in their nation brand strategy?

Our partners are central to GREAT’s success. Last year alone, their support provided £30 million value-in-kind. My advice is:

Consider achieving a strategic partnership with a long-term outlook. As the UK’s flag carrier, British Airways has a special relationship with VisitBritain and GREAT. Alongside tourism, BA has contributed immensely to high-profile events and recently provided a chartered flight for Greater Together LA - noted as a major highlight by delegates. We have a shared vision for a modern UK that generates fresh perspectives, which drives the emotional connection of why people choose to visit, travel and live here as seen through their ‘A British Original’ ad campaign.

Have private sector partners at the heart of your operation. Our Private Sector Council has been running for over a decade, with the aim of advising on GREAT's strategy, bringing private sector insight and supporting the campaign's success. Each member reflects UK leadership across a range of sectors such as music, culture, media, education and technology, providing invaluable expertise to our campaigns.

Since launch, the GREAT Campaign has generated a staggering £8.4 billion in returns to the UK economy. How do you track this performance?

GREAT has a robust monitoring and evaluation framework that has been scrutinised and approved by the joint Cabinet Office and HM Treasury Evaluation Task Force, the National Audit Office, Ipsos and Deloitte. It measures UK economic returns directly influenced by campaign activities: international tourist expenditure, international student expenditure, UK export deals and foreign direct investment.

Beyond economic performance, what do you think are the most impactful performance indicators for a place brand or marketing team?

I believe a key indicator is whether the image we are promoting of the UK is resonating with international audiences. We measure this in the short-term as perception uplift post-campaign as well as assessing consideration after exposure to GREAT. When I look at long-term brand building there are several factors to review including whether our positioning is understood by our network and credible to our audiences.

What are you most excited about in terms of new projects or initiatives in the pipeline? Why?

GREAT has built significant brand equity since its launch in 2012. Last year, we did a body of work to define our distinctive brand assets and positioning, See Things Differently, as brand training materials to help our network understand what they are and why consistently applying them matters. Now, we need to ensure our internal network is trained and equipped with tools to deliver the brand with confidence and coherence. That may seem business as usual, but the real opportunity is to deepen and strengthen our positioning for long-term growth, moving beyond communication to ensure it is genuinely experienced across all of GREAT's work.

As one of our City Nation Place Awards jurors, what do you think will be the hallmarks of a winning entry?

For me, it will be those that have strong positioning that is applied consistently into execution, and importantly, demonstrated in impact. A combination of knowing what a place/nation stands for and showing that it’s working.

Thanks, Danesha, we appreciate you sharing that with us!

The City Nation Place Awards are open for entry! Submit your entry by September 10th for your chance to wow our jury of international place brand and marketing leaders.