The City of Helsinki took home our 2020 Award for Best Citizen Engagement for their creative approach that invited citizens to enjoy the May Day celebrations from home by joining a virtual concert. A year on - and with another virtual concert planned for this year's May Day celebrations - we wanted to throw back to the original campaign that wowed our judges last November.

The smartest response isn’t to just recreate the same processes as we were used to pre-pandemic, but to understand how we can refine and improve our everyday ‘normal’. The pandemic has exposed our weaknesses and now we need to ensure that we address these in order to be more resilient against future shocks.

What is the most important factor for a smart city  project or organisation to be successful in the long-run?

What does digital transformation actually look like in the destination marketing and investment promotion space? Emma Håkansson, Head of Destination Development for the City of Helsingborg, Sweden, explained how they transitioned from tourist information centres to a digital-first approach.

In many ways, cities are living, breathing entities – and they’re evolving just as we are. We reached out to Jonathan Woetzel, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, to understand how the crises of the 21^st century are shaping the development of our cities.

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.

5G has been in the pipeline since as early as 2008. Today, 5G is nearly in our grasp and 2020 will see the first roll out of commercially viable 5G in consumer devices. But what does it really mean for cities? For businesses? Will 5G herald the next wave of digital transformation or will we just be living in a faster version of our current society?

Effective digital transformation is key for the future success of place brands, destination marketing organisations and investment promotion agencies. So what lessons can we learn from the place brands that have implemented effective – and ingenious – digital reforms?

Last week, two hundred place branding practitioners gathered in London for the fifth annual City Nation Place Global conference. It has been fascinating to see the conversations at City Nation Place evolve over the last five years, but these were the five ideas that really got us thinking.