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.

Sustainability is increasingly seen as an intrinsic element of a place brand strategy - both in terms of managing your environmental impact and the longer-term impact of policies and strategies on your community. With the deadline for the #CNPAwards approaching, we asked Leigh Dawber, Chief Marketing Officer for Cape Town Tourism, how she feels that places should work to embed a more sustainable approach into their place brand vision.

Creating your place brand strategy is complex at best - and implementing it is no easier. Given the challenges that place branders face, we asked Cat Leaver, Director at Brand Scotland to share her insights around what makes an award-winning campaign in 2019.

With just two weeks until our inaugural City Nation Place Latin America & Caribbean conference and with a line-up of place branding leaders set to share their expertise, we’ve gathered eight of the best quotes to give you a quick sneak preview of the ground-breaking discussion planned for Costa Rica. Of course, many of the issues they raise will be relevant around the world….

June 6th saw nearly 200 dedicated place branders arriving in West Hollywood for the third annual City Nation Place Americas conference. As always, the debates were honest, the conversations cutting-edge, and it was an insightful and inspiring experience to exchange ideas with the top minds in destination marketing and economic development. However, in a day packed with perceptive commentary, there were five key ideas that particularly stood out to us.