Destination Marketing

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.

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.

Launched amidst the pandemic and the BLM protests, the goal of Baltimore's new brand wasn’t to sugar coat any of Baltimore’s challenges, but to tell a holistic story that differentiates the city, while celebrating the people committed to making a better Baltimore. But how did they achieve this?

For this International Women’s Day, we wanted to put the spotlight on just a few of the incredible women who are rethinking what’s possible and paving the road to a more resilient, sustainable future for theair places and their organisations…

As an iconic city and region, Bergen naturally comes with an inheritance of many clichés and tired symbols – and so did the former Visit Bergen profile, created in 2000. The identity wasn’t made for digital surfaces, and the positioning of ‘Gateway to the Fjords’ could communicate that it was only as a stop-over destination on the way to somewhere else.

Research shows that once a visitor does decide to come to The Hague they are positively surprised. It was this gap between image and actual experience that launched the international campaign 'Dive into The Hague'.

What role does sound play in recreating the experience of another location? How are places leveraging the uniqueness of their soundscapes to drive their place marketing and place branding?

How can tourism destinations develop regenerative tourism solutions after COVID-19? Aradhana Khowala, the Chair of the Red Sea Development Company's advisory board, shares why it's so important for luxury tourism to bounce back greener, and what learnings there are for smaller destinations looking to improve their own sustainable approaches.

How do you market a destination to people who are not allowed to visit and keep an industry alive when it is not allowed to operate? The answer: You get them to keep dreaming of the one day that they can. Discover more about the Western Cape's award-winning strategy here.