When you hear the word ‘marketing,’ your mind probably jumps straight to digital. The internet is woven into our life, and the internet offers an unparalleled opportunity to scale and personalise your outreach to prospective visitors, residents, or investors.

However, the digital world isn’t the be all and end all, and the more advertising is ingrained into our digital experience, the more we learn to gloss over it. In the face of this learned blindness, cities, regions, and nations need to rethink how they engage their audiences – and how they can connect to people beyond digital.

To get you thinking outside the box, our expert partners have shared a selection of their favourite non-digital place marketing activations…

Japan: Eki-stamps

In Japan, “Eki-stamps” turn train stations into genuine touchpoints with local identity. Far from digital, these collectible stamps, each uniquely representing the place where it is found, invite travellers to wander off the obvious path, sparking curiosity and emotional connection. They embody Japan’s balance between “tech” and “touch” in Society 5.0: an analogue, tactile, and memorable experience that strengthens place branding and forges deep emotional bonds, reminding us that place branding happens not only in what is seen, but, above all, in what is lived.

Caio Esteves, Managing Partner, N/LF

Finland: Rent a Finn

One campaign that really stuck with me is Visit Finland’s "Rent a Finn." While it does involve digital elements, the core of the campaign is deeply nondigital, offering visitors the chance to connect face-to-face with locals in a truly authentic way. Finland, consistently ranked among the happiest countries in the world, cleverly used this reputation by letting tourists "rent" a local happiness guide. What I love about this campaign is that it moves away from overused clichés, focusing instead on the country's true essence. Even though it’s from 2019, it’s never felt more timely, as more people seek immersive, outdoor-focused trips that connect them to local culture.

Mirko Lalli, CEO, The Data Appeal Company

Tasmania: Tasmania Scent

Tasmania ran a campaign inviting healthcare professionals to relocate. Their place brand focused far beyond industry selling points. Recognising their state is Australia's healthiest—net-zero, running on 100% renewable electricity, with beautiful beaches and serene bushwhacking—they launched their Health Attraction campaign. Their most creative and evocative brand activation was Tasmanian Scent. They worked with a local perfumer to bottle a room mist that smells of Tasmanian leatherwood honey, Huon pine, gum trees, and seacoast. It’s available at a local luxury fragrance retailer and online. The inspiration came from travellers who posted about the engaging smells that greeted them upon arrival in Tasmania.

John Armstrong, Chief Creative Office, Joy Riot

Helsinki: Innovation Economy activations

We’ve always been impressed by Helsinki Partners’ dedicated programming for their innovation economy. Initiatives like 90 Day Finn, Founders to Finland, and Venture Nordics pull global talent, entrepreneurs, and investors into Helsinki’s orbit with immersive, curated experiences. With every detail handled, participants get an insider’s view of the city’s strengths from day one. These programs offer an early, tangible introduction to Helsinki’s robust ecosystem—creating authentic connections that go beyond any digital touchpoint.

Steve Duncan, Managing Director, C Studios

Lexington: An interstellar invitation

VisitLEX’s interstellar invitation campaign for Lexington, KY stands out as a brilliant nondigital activation. By literally beaming a message to space from the Kentucky Horse Park, they turned a small city into a global—and galactic—conversation starter. The campaign blended humour, science, and pride of place, supported by stunning photography and real-world activations like billboards and visitor centre experiences. It was bold, unexpected, and deeply place-rooted—earning national press and millions in coverage. In a world of digital overload, VisitLEX proved physical storytelling and imagination still spark wonder.

Matthew Kruchko, Head of Global Operations, Gravity Global

Nashville: Let Freedom Sing

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp is a master at using live events to embody place branding. This summer’s “Let Freedom Sing!” July 4th activation broke records, drawing huge crowds, generating $23.8 million in visitor spending and selling 30,788 hotel room nights — the most ever on that date. What makes the event so powerful is how it goes beyond entertainment. From sensory rooms and sober spaces to food and non-profit donations supporting those in need within the events industry, every touchpoint reflected Nashville’s inclusive, community-minded spirit. These values are woven into the city’s identity as Music City, ensuring that visitors don’t just see it marketed — they live it, creating authentic memories that reinforce Nashville’s global reputation.

Anna Hobbs, VP, Sales & Marketing Campaigns, MMGY Global

Lake Charles: As Much JOY as You Can Pack In

Lake Charles, Louisiana, sought to redefine itself as a haven of year-round playful experiences with its “As Much JOY as You Can Pack In” activation at Austin's Pecan Street Festival—with a Mini Cooper wrapped in their “JOY” campaign logo, beach balls, inflatable dice and other toys to let visitors joyfully play and enter to win swag and win-a-trip contests. A VIP event offered cocktails, craft beer, local cuisine, casino games and zydeco music. This activation event received coverage across the festival’s TV, radio and web advertising, with news coverage reaching 1.64M. It brought in twice its goal of e-news subscriptions, gave out six trips and brought tons of laughter and joy to everyone who visited the booth.

Emily Dixon, Account Director, Miles Partnership

Hong Kong: PMQ

One place that has branded itself beautifully is PMQ in Hong Kong. Originally built as a dormitory for Chinese students in the late 1800s, the site was later redeveloped into the Police Married Quarters — housing for junior police officers and their families — before being decommissioned. Today, it has been reinvented as a hub for designers, makers, and creatives.

Walking through, you don’t just see shops — you encounter design studios, exhibitions, and pop-up installations tucked into the former apartments. Corridors are lined with murals and playful graphics, rooftop gardens have been carved out of former service areas, and the central courtyard often comes alive with night markets, film screenings, or food festivals. Even stairwells and balconies are reimagined as spaces for art displays, so the building itself becomes a backdrop for experimentation.

What impressed me most was how the signage program extended the sense of creativity. Instead of generic markers, the program uses bold typography, colours, and playful icons to guide visitors through – presented almost like design pieces themselves, inviting you to wander rather than rush. The architecture, programming, and even these small design details worked together to tell a story of Hong Kong’s ingenuity and reinvention.

Jacqueline Tang, Creative Director, Entro

Yerevan: Collaborative artistry

In Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, our place branding campaign helped overcome rivalries within its strong creative community. 7 influential artists straw polled for one colour each, and worked on a giant canvass to draw the city in 7 colours together. The warmth, fun and dedication this exercise produced had a long-lasting effect on the city’s bohemian community.

Another great non-digital campaign is Finland’s 100^th anniversary celebration, which put a live camera on a supermarket conveyor belt, showcasing foods Finns eat every day. Alongside, local volunteers were online to chat with international viewers about unfamiliar products but also Finnish way of life overall. This extremely low-key approach from 2017 precluded the popular TikTok grocery tourism trend that has become salient in 2020s. It is easy to do, easy to scale, and takes your audience right to the heart of a place – its kitchen table.

Dr Natasha Norman, Co-Founder, INSTID (Institute for Identity)

Turkey: Drone footage of hidden treasures

A friend recently returned from stunning Marmaris, Turkey, raving not just about the crystal-clear beaches and breathtaking scenery, but also a clever piece of local marketing by Visit Turkey. Hotels throughout the resort town featured reception screens playing captivating drone footage of the local region's coastline, ancient castles, and hidden villages. This simple yet striking activation caught visitors’ attention in the moment, inspiring real-time exploration and encouraging discovery beyond the usual tourist spots. Far more impactful than the typical lobby brochures, it subtly guided footfall to lesser-known treasures, proving that smart, in-market visuals can elevate both the visitor experience and place branding effectiveness.

Sophie Hewitt, Senior Marketing Manager, Go to Places (Including Visit Kent and Visit Herts)

Placemaking activations around the world

When we talk about non-digital marketing activations, I think of projects that meet people where they are, in real life, and make the place brand tangible. Four come to mind.

Lisbon’s A Rua é Sua closed neighbourhood streets to cars, turning them into pop-up public spaces full of greenery, seating, and cultural activity — literally giving the streets back to the people. Copenhagen’s CopenPay rewarded climate-friendly actions like cycling or collecting litter with free cultural experiences, linking behaviour to brand values in a way you could see and feel. Melbourne’s Urban Blooms transformed laneways into living gardens, slowing people down and sparking conversation. Medellín’s Murals for Peace turned walls into canvases for stories of resilience, building pride and dialogue. And Glasgow’s You Make Glasgow plastered subway, train stations, and streets with playful thank-you messages to residents, following its title as “Friendliest City in the World” — turning civic pride into an everyday sight.

These work because they’re lived experiences, not just messages — people don’t just see the brand, they inhabit it.

Pantazis Pastras, Senior Researcher & Analyst, TOPOSOPHY