Reputation

A new study by Bloom Consulting revealed that 68% of people have changed their perceptions of a country based on public governance and their management of the COVID-19 crisis. But what does this mean for countries in Latin America?

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.

The 1992 Olympics were a turning point for Barcelona. 25 years on, the city wanted to identify a new value proposition. How did they leverage lessons from a successful Olympics to further transform the city's image?

While most of the world looks to domestic tourism to shore up their tourism economy, this simply isn’t a viable solution for many destinations that rely heavily on international travel. Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director at the Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation, explained how the islands prepared for their July opening and how they are anticipating their strategies evolving in  the wake of COVID-19.

If you’re looking for the City of Tomorrow, then you need look no further than Helsinki. Laura Aalto, CEO at Helsinki Marketing, shared with us how they built a brand on a foundation of innovation and openness, and what’s next for the trail blazing city.

Just as tourism teams are looking to “reset” with a more sustainable approach, place leaders and economic development teams are reconsidering approaches to placemaking. There is a need to reinvent our public spaces to rebuild the attractiveness of places – and to reconnect communities that have been living in isolation for upwards of three months.

In 2018, Discover Harlow were shortlisted at the City Nation Place Awards for their comprehensive place brand strategy that was overturning decades of negative perceptions. We caught up with Sharon Summerfield, Place Brand Manager at Discover Harlow, to understand how their strategy has evolved over the last years - and how it's underpinned their COVID-19 response.

In our recent survey looking at Place Branding for the 2020s, we asked our respondents whether their storytelling was rooted in place values or focused primarily on place assets – the answers suggested a slightly stronger focus on assets. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us an opportunity to pause and think about whether we want to continue on the same tracks we've been running along for the last five decades or if there's time for real change in the way that we think about what we are doing, and what our places stand for.

Design has never been more beautiful. Video has never been cheaper to produce. But if you don't understand the DNA of your place, you can't land a successful place branding strategy. Todd Babiak, CEO at Brand Tasmania, shares his thoughts for ensuring success.