Costa Rica has been recognised as being one of the most sustainable countries in the world. But when the government set a ban prohibiting single-use plastic, the team at essential Costa Rica created a social media campaign to engage the community and push for faster change.

As the world went into collective pandemic lockdown, the last thing people stuck inside with their pent-up frustrations needed was a tourism campaign from somewhere they couldn’t go. But with Iceland’s tourism industry and much of the economy on the line, the team at Visit Iceland couldn’t afford to let that stop them. 

Over the years, we've been privileged to see some of the best and brightest of place branding and place marketing campaigns from around the world. As we gear up for the 2022 City Nation Place Awards, we wanted to revisit this list to share some of our personal favourites from the City Nation Place Awards archive and to update it with the campaigns from last year that we just can’t stop thinking about!

Emojis have revolutionized communications in a similar way that the text message did. Not forgetting that the text message was a Finnish invention – so why wouldn’t Finland be the first country to launch its own official emojis as well?

Cape Town and the Western Cape has space – lots of it. But they offer more than just beautiful wide-open spaces. There’s the experience of what it feels like to be here. Find out how they worked with Neverending Tourists to share the best of the region with the world.

What does an exploding whale have to do with COVID safety measures? Find out how Doncaster Council went viral with their history lessons on Twitter.

On the eve of Finland’s independence centenary in December 2017, the goal was to create a moment of togetherness - a low-threshold way for Finns to join in and tell the narrative of Finland - using the simple medium of a grocery conveyor belt.

There has been a monumental shift in the way that consumers engage with places. However, despite early commentators highlighting that this could be the end of the high street and the physical store, in fact the recovery has begun. What do places need to do to bring visitors back to their high streets?

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.

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.

Metal isn’t a subculture in Finland; it’s mainstream, and Finland's goal was to provide the metal community with a way to engage in discussion with the global audience. The metal community is about inclusivity, and fosters a spirit of togetherness, mirroring the aspects of Finnish society that they wanted to showcase.