Most Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) today rely to some degree – if not a great extent – on traditional survey research. Surveys enable DMOs to ask tailored questions to a targeted demographic, resulting in meaningful insights. Surveys are, and will continue to be, an important component of marketing and branding strategies.

When countries are trying to create a Country Brand strategy, they frequently do it without a strategic approach in mind and often lack a proven methodology or model for doing so. In practice, these countries learn the process as they progress and consequentially make unforeseen mistakes. As they lack comprehension of this task’s complex nature, they don't manage the process effectively.

With just two weeks to go until City Nation Place Global 2019 kicks off in London, we gathered some of the best quotes from our speakers to give you a little preview of the wonderful work that destinations around the world have been undertaking...

Digital presence, search results and online reputation. In today’s fast-paced world there’s no way around the growing importance of this correlated pyramid. Countries, regions and cities already know that their Place Brand needs to be strategically managed in terms of having a strong digital presence to achieve great search results, based on a positive online reputation.

Eindhoven have taken the world stage by storm, winning the 2018 City Nation Place Award for Place Brand of the Year. Peter Kentie, Managing Director at Eindhoven 365, took the time to share the thinking behind their repositioning, and to explore their innovative approaches to funding and stakeholder engagement.

Among the many tantalizing tropes trotted out by diplomats and China watchers is one popularized in the late fifties by John F. Kennedy: that the Chinese word for “crisis” 危机 weiji is a combination of two characters for “danger” and “opportunity.''

Weiji sure does seem timely. Global turmoil inspires caution and deliberation, but also resolve and visionary action.

For the first time, the City Nation Place Global conference will be in Shoreditch, London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’ and the third largest hub for tech start-ups in the world. With talent attraction a major focus for much of the world, we began to wonder what makes a destination the perfect incubator for successful tech start-ups. What are the magic ingredients you need in place?

We can all agree that tourism promotion is an essential component of a city, nation or place’s economy, right alongside a solid economic development strategy. In 2018, travel and tourism generated 10.4% of all global economy and created 319 million jobs – that works out as a global average of 1 in every 10 people whose daily income is reliant on tourism.  And yet for some reason, when the going gets get tough and budgets need to be cut, everyone seems to turn their eyes to the place promotion budget.