We talk a lot about the importance of shifting beyond asset-led place marketing. After all, if you’re relying on your beach or your mountain trails to bring in new audiences, you’re competing for attention with every other place with those assets. In contrast, a clear place brand – rooted in the values of your community – allows you to dodge the trap of homogenisation and guide your place development strategies to ensure a thriving, vibrant future for your place.

So who can we learn from? We asked out CNP Experts to share which places they believe are effectively differentiating their places, and what it is about their communications, placemaking strategies, or operational processes that is making them so successful.

Congress Heights, USA: Driving regeneration with community-centred growth

Congress Heights—one Washington, DC’s most marginalised neighborhoods—rallied to disrupt generations of neglect. Since 2017, the primarily African American community has proudly asserted its unique position within DC as “Soul of the City.”

It’s not bravado. Congress Heights has attracted $1 billion in public and private investments in less than a decade. How? “Residents demanded better, leaders organized, and partners across sectors listened,” according to local changemaker, Monica Ray. Funders see the impact of Congress Heights’ unique brand of community-centered growth: shared equity, culturally relevant retail, and business incubation projects. Ray credits her community’s tenacity, “They believed in a future many couldn’t yet see.” Trajectory collaborated with Congress Heights to create the Soul of the City brand in 2017. Its success, however, is all community driven.

Jeannette Hanna, Chief Strategist, Trajectory

Helsinki, Finland: Leading with values

Helsinki sets itself apart by grounding its strategies in core city values rather than purely marketing tactics, and by focusing on long-term, coherent planning. This approach brings the city’s initiatives—urban development, services, tourism, and sustainability—together under a single, integrated vision. Campaigns such as ‘A Helsinki We Can Be Proud Of’ and the earlier ‘The Most Functional City in the World’ demonstrate how strategies can benefit the city as a whole, not just residents or visitors. By embedding its core values into every aspect of city planning, Helsinki creates a consistent, credible approach that unites initiatives and gives the city a distinctive, enduring identity.

Mirko Lalli, CEO and Founder, The Data Appeal Company 

Toronto, Canada: Avoiding generic statements or claims

Toronto has done an exceptional job differentiating its place brand in a category where many global cities sound alike. Its "Toronto 100%" platform avoids generic claims about diversity or vibrancy by framing them as an attitude—bold, unapologetic, and grounded in lived multiculturalism. The campaign’s visual system, including the iconic Toronto Subway typeface and expressive "100%" illustrations, creates an instantly recognisable identity. Most importantly, Toronto unifies tourism, culture and economic development under one coherent narrative. The result is a place brand that feels confident, authentic and impossible to confuse with any other major city.

Detlef Freiherr von Weitershausen-Haner, EVP, Business Unit Central Europe, MMGY Global

Madrid, Spain: Prioritising humanity over assets

Madrid is a great example of a place that refuses to blur into the backdrop. It doesn’t sell landmarks, it sells a feeling. A city powered by social spirit - people, energy, late nights, openness. Its work leans younger, fresher, more alive than the usual “European heritage” playbook. And it puts inclusivity at the centre: diverse, globally minded, genuinely LGBTQ+ welcoming. Madrid shows that when you lead with humanity instead of features, you build a brand that feels lived-in, modern, and impossible to confuse with anywhere else.

Keli Pollock, Chief Creative Officer, Daughter Creative

Halifax, England: Becoming the ‘Happy Valley’

West Yorkshire is one of the UK’s most populated regions, rich in Victorian architecture, dramatic landscapes and towns nostalgic for past glory. Halifax chose to lean into its local icons and amplify the stories that set it apart, and has carved out a distinct identity. From Anne Lister and Shibden Hall to Sally Wainwright and Riot Women, Halifax has become “Happy Valley” — a place known for being inclusive, radical and proudly cultural. Queer couples are moving there in significant numbers, drawn by its welcome and its growing cultural offer, crowned by the restored Piece Hall, now one of the UK’s coolest gig venues. Local colleges are teaching screenwriting, Channel 4 has based its Northern Talent Network there, and Halifax has earned a new nickname: Brollywood.

Amy Lewis, Culture & Place Consultant, CTConsults

Boise, USA: Embedding your DNA at every touchpoint

In Boise, Idaho, every piece feels intentionally place branded. They are an artistic, fun, cultural hub in the mountains. Restored neon signage dots the roads. Refurbished mid-century motels offer room and board. They’ve recognised their Basque population, largest per capita in the US, with a dedicated, preserved downtown neighbourhood. The city celebrates local graffiti artists with blocks of city walls open to elaborate spray painted murals. And Jump Boise is a multiblock activity centre open for meetings, an amphitheatre, workshops, and a slide from the parking garage to the ground floor.

John Armstrong, Chief Creative Officer, Joy Riot

Edinburgh, Scotland: Spotlighting diverse, lesser-known facets of city-life

Places stand out when their branding reflects what they genuinely are, not what they wish to appear. Edinburgh is a strong example: a city where heritage, learning, and community well-being shape a real, recognisable experience. Through our past work on tourism strategy and heritage assets—and our current stakeholder engagement for the night-time economy—we’ve seen how these qualities are consistently lived, not just claimed. The Stay Different campaign (2025–2028) builds on this by rotating monthly themes that reveal diverse, lesser-known facets of the city and engage different audiences. It shows how authentic, evidence-led storytelling can help cities avoid homogenisation and stay competitive.

Pantazis Pastras, Senior Researcher & Analyst, TOPOSOPHY

Thompson Okanagan region, Canada: Providing real data to make a real difference

Many places look and sound the same: stock photos, generic slogans, and “live, work, play” copy. The fix is a story that’s real and proven. First, find what people actually do in your place that’s different: local rituals, routes, events, makers... and then turn those into clear, bookable experiences. Next, back it up with data. With Propulso, we show which visitor groups you attract, how long they stay, how far they travel, and which experiences bring them back. Finally, keep the voice community-led with real people, real sounds, no stock gloss. Owned experiences + verified behaviour + authentic voice = a brand competitors can’t copy. Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association do this really effectively through Symphony Tourism Services. This is a subsidiary of TOTA that functions as tourism agency to provide research and marketing support to tourism businesses and other destination marketing organisation to ensure they’re able to act authentically.

Nicolas Dessureault, Director of Sales, Propulso

Michigan, USA: Back your claims to leadership with clear data

Michigan is a standout example of place branding that truly differentiates rather than homogenises. Working with the MEDC, we built a data-driven campaign that aligned Michigan’s tech opportunity narrative with the lifestyle values of four distinct talent segments. Instead of competing on generic “quality of life” themes, Michigan leaned into its emerging leadership in semiconductors, EV, and advanced manufacturing, paired with a culture-forward message: You Can in Michigan. The results speak for themselves: increases in awareness, consideration, a 12X increase in MEDC's qualified-lead goals, and ultimately moving 6 places in the National Rankings to be top 10 state for business.

Matthew Kruchko, Head of Global Operations, Gravity Global