Collaboration

International relations are at a crossroad. With so much upheaval comes an intense international scrutiny on how countries are managing their reputations.

Nation Branding architects face great adversity in getting the ball rolling and even more so as they fight an uphill battle. It is our hope that this guide will be used as a supportive reference for brand builders throughout the long and arduous process of strategizing a resilient nation brand.

Instead of collaborating together, the smaller municipalities tend to interpret the city of Utrecht as an authority. In order to make a change on the international playing field, the local marketing teams need to team up and form a strong alliance and form a cohesive design identity for the region.

Globally, FDI inflows are expected to decrease up to 40% according to the UN and competition is fierce as places look to shore up shaken economies and the pressure on governments to create employment increases. Now more than ever, investment destinations need to stand out.

Is collaboration the key to recovery, and in the even longer-term, to being a good global citizen? We spoke to Ivan Eskildsen, Minister of Tourism for Panama, to understand how their new strategy connects tourism with conservation and how Panama is planning to work with their neighbours to create a cohesive cultural heritage strategy.

Metal isn’t a subculture in Finland; it’s mainstream, and Finland's goal was to provide the metal community with a way to engage in discussion with the global audience. The metal community is about inclusivity, and fosters a spirit of togetherness, mirroring the aspects of Finnish society that they wanted to showcase.

We’re facing one of the greatest global health challenges of the last one hundred years – but how can we promote social and mental wellbeing during a year of uncertainty? We spoke to Dana Young, CEO and President at Visit Florida, to understand how lessons learned from their continued fight for survival allowed the organisation not only to thrive during the pandemic, but to support the wellbeing of their employees throughout the stress of the last six months.

Pittsburgh is revolutionising their talent attraction strategy – and having the hard conversations about racism and inequality. Alison Treaster, Senior Director of Talent, at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, shared how the Pittsburgh Passport initiative is connecting to talented individuals around the world and helping the region move towards a more equitable future.

If you’re reliant on government funding, getting your local politicians on board with your strategies is essential. As places re-evaluate their budgets following the pandemic, how can you ensure that you’re speaking your government’s language?

There's a fine line between soft power and sharp power. How can we reconnect our values into our soft power approaches in a post-COVID-19 world? Can cities, regions and nations, promote a more global mindset in their citizens?

Most of Denmark’s business regions have developed independent branding strategies to attract (the same) group of international companies and talent – and in the end, this is a zero-sum game with more losers than winners. To counter this, a new strategic branding adventure was embarked upon to support the ability of all of Denmark to attract international talent and companies.

In late 2017, Cape Town announced that the city was facing ‘Day Zero’ – or the day when Cape Town would become the first major world city to have to turn off the taps. We reached out to Tim Harris, CEO at Wesgro, the trade and tourism promotion body for the Western Cape, to discover how the region is responding to the pandemic and to understand how their experience of the drought has influenced their response to COVID-19.