The essential marketing opportunities place leaders can’t afford to ignore

The marketing game has changed radically. Reaching your target audience with the right message at the right time has got much more challenging – but at the same time, new technologies allow personalised marketing delivered at scale like never before.So, the million-dollar question is, what does successful place promotion look like in 2025 and beyond? We reached out to our CNP Experts to discover what are the biggest emerging media or marketing opportunities that you should be taking note of. Together, they identified the essential areas you should be focusing on to maximise the return on your investment, spanning from generative AI to digital twins, and from location intelligence to short-form video.Let’s dive right in. Develop a multi-channel search strategy to ensure you reach your audienceWhile it’s still critical for your website to rank well on traditional search engines like Google and Bing, audiences are also increasingly turning to AI chatbots, social media, and video platforms throughout their travel and location decision-making journeys. So your place brand content needs to be reaching them there too.Rather than optimising for each channel in isolation, develop a cohesive, multi-channel search strategy based around your audience’s research habits and search terms. Then build an action plan to help your place brand show up -- and stand out -- across each research touchpoint.Brianna Vetrano, Digital Marketing Consultant, Vetrano Digital Marketing Be ‘promptable’ in an era of AIWith the increasing use of AI and the accelerated shift from traditional search tools to platforms like ChatGPT, it's essential for place brands to be "promptable." Places need to be prepared for this new reality. Consistency in messaging and digital structures optimised for algorithmic comprehension are among the possibilities. Once again, it becomes necessary to understand the dynamic and adaptable nature of place brands, since—just like everything around us—algorithms and our digital behaviour are in constant flux.Caio Esteves, Managing Partner, N/LF Make sure your voice is heard in the AI conversationDestination leaders, marketers, and place promoters have been exploring Generative AI’s practical uses since the launch of GPT 1.0. For destinations with strong brands to protect, the risk-benefit analysis of adopting AI can often lean toward caution—even though research shows one-third of visitors now use AI tools to plan trips. However, there are practical ways for destinations and brands to ensure their voice is still heard in the AI conversation, similar to the advent of SEO for destination websites. Ensuring your website and brand channels are easily navigable, structured, labelled, secure, and free from pop-up clutter and log-ins helps AI agents easily digest and amplify your trusted destination information.Barry Rogers, Destination Strategy Director, TOPOSOPHY Adapting to the Great Search MigrationAs marketing channels splintered across social media, at least there was always reliable Google. Until now. The shift to search "everywhere" marketing is changing how places are discovered. While search volume remains healthy, Google's share of traffic is plummeting while executives and talent increasingly seek answers on social media and AI. This creates a number of challenges, but also generates new opportunities for places to be found (and better understood) earlier in a relocation process. How do you take advantage? It is still about the fundamentals: create intentional content with genuine insight or emotional resonance. In fact, consider a "less, but better" approach that prioritises quality content on fewer channels rather than creating more volume.Steve Duncan, Managing Director, C Studios Quality content is still a winner in an era of generative AIWhile generative AI search engines like Google's SGE, Perplexity, and Bing AI transform how we find information—providing direct answers instead of just links—SEO remains crucial for destination discovery. Don't underestimate blogs in this new landscape. They still effectively build search visibility and share compelling stories about places. Rather than abandoning your blog, refine your skills to prepare for search's evolution, where quality content that clearly answers specific questions will matter more than ever.Sigvard Alarcon, Director of Digital Campaigns, Trove Tourism Development Advisors Integrate augmented reality into your place storytelling to reach journalistsJournalists are often working with limited budgets - especially in today’s news client - so it’s important to get creative to really showcase your location. Immersive storytelling through augmented reality (AR) is emerging as an asset for place promotion because it enables destinations to craft interactive authentic content that resonates with audiences while maximizing budgets. AR (in addition to standout video/photography) allows reporters to truly see the story without the expense or time commitment of travel. With many journalists transitioning to platforms such as Substack and podcasts to share content/stories, embracing new tools will be vital to amplify your narrative and credibility.Christina Forrest, Vice President, Violet PR Cross-pollinate your marketingPlaces and destinations promote their offer – venues, events, tours, where to eat, stay etc. But they can cross-promote each other much more. Connecting by ‘experience’ opens up new ways to promote, connecting culture, heritage, food, attractions, etc with inward investment thinking. In the West Midlands they use a platform (CultureHosts) to connect a dozen websites through one central data portal. Each destination promotes its neighbours with ‘discovery’ panels to highlight the depth of the offer. This place-based collaboration is proving a more efficient way of working, cutting costs, boosting revenues, and adding value for visitors looking for new experiences.Ryan Nevin, Digital Product Manager, CTConsults Leverage predictive analytics to deliver highly personalised messagingAdvanced AI-driven audience segmentation and predictive analytics are transforming place promotion, yet personalisation remains a relatively untapped marketing opportunity. Despite its potential, only 15% of DMOs report using advanced personalisation techniques, and fewer than 2% employ hyper-personalisation. By leveraging predictive analytics, places can anticipate traveller demand, tailor messaging in real time, and allocate budgets more effectively. From identifying high-value visitors to optimising media placements based on dynamic intent signals, AI ensures that every marketing dollar is spent reaching the right audience at the right time. Destinations that embrace these technologies will gain a competitive edge, unlocking the full potential of their place promotion investment and driving greater attention and engagement from travellers.Luca Romozzi, Commercial Director, Europe, SojernPublish LLM-friendly data setsOne emerging opportunity places shouldn’t overlook is making their place data accessible to large language models (LLMs) and chatbots. As more travellers and investors turn to AI for discovery and decision-making, ensuring your place or destination shows up in those conversations is key. Places can do this by publishing high-quality, structured, and up-to-date content (e.g. on websites, Wikidata, and open datasets) that LLMs can learn from. The better your digital presence, the more likely AI will recommend your place—unlocking more value from your promotion efforts.David Vaassen, Founder, BrandkitAdopt precision-based targeting strategiesIn the fierce competition for talent, business and visitors, today's forward-thinking places are abandoning broad-spectrum promotional methods for precision-targeted approaches. Technologies like Demand-Side Platform (DSP) allow places to deliver hyper-personalized messages to defined audiences, eliminating waste. A billboard or print ad might impress your board, but it won’t necessarily reach your target audience and, importantly, it won’t allow you to track ROI. Instead, use your resources wisely by investing in the critical research you need to understand who your core target audiences are and then target them with AI-driven technologies like DSP.Patience Fairbrother, SVP, Talent Attraction, Development Counsellors International Target the highest-value visitors and optimise for measurable ROIThe ability to track and understand the right traveller is vital. Once we identify which audiences drive the most economic impact in a place, we can focus our media and channels precisely. Through technology and key data partners, we now track visitors in-destination, understand spending habits and monitor regional dispersal. With this rich data intelligence, destinations can identify and target their highest-value visitors with precision while optimising marketing spend for measurable ROI across the traveller journey—turning place promotion from an art into a science.Samuel Hancock, Deputy Managing Director/SVP of Creative and Media, MMGY UK Harnessing location intelligence for smarter place promotionAn emerging opportunity for cities and economic development organisations is leveraging location intelligence to refine place promotion strategies. Traditional marketing often relies on assumptions, but real-world movement data offers a clearer picture of visitor behaviour, foot traffic patterns, and trade areas.By understanding how people interact with a place—where they come from, how long they stay, and what attracts them—cities can target investments more effectively, measure the impact of campaigns, and optimize visitor experiences. As ethical data practices evolve, integrating mobility insights into place promotion will be key to driving sustainable growth and engagement.Jean-Sébastien Prénovost, VP Revenue & Operations, Propulso Use digital twins to simulate the visitor flow and optimise your place experienceMaximising the investment in place promotion isn’t just about running creative campaigns—it’s about making sure they actually work and don’t turn into another “lesson learned.” Digital twins are becoming a valuable tool for this. These virtual replicas of real-world places allow destinations to simulate visitor flows, test how events or promotions will impact resources, and manage crowd movement and transportation. By predicting peak times, improving city planning, and optimising infrastructure, digital twins help ensure that campaigns are effective, sustainable, and avoid costly mistakes. This also helps keep sentiment high, not just among visitors but also locals—a balance that’s becoming increasingly urgent.Mirko Lalli, CEO, The Data Appeal Company The rise of video as the premier medium for consumer engagementVideo has become the dominant force in digital marketing, and social platforms are evolving into dynamic discovery engines—places where users search for inspiration, reviews and how-tos. Vertical video now reigns across platforms, offering full-screen, immersive experiences tailored to smartphone users. Short-form video, propelled by TikTok’s rise, caters to short attention spans, making it ideal for storytelling and product highlights. Meanwhile, influencer-driven content and behind-the-scenes videos offer the authenticity today’s consumers crave. The most effective brands blend organic and paid strategies—building trust through real content while boosting reach with paid promotion. The boundaries of what video can achieve in marketing continue to expand, making it an indispensable tool in reaching and engaging consumers effectively.Rachael Root, VP of Programmatic Media, Ad+Genuity (A Miles Partnership Company) Don’t underestimate the impact of a newsletter to build audiences independent of algorithmic shiftsIt's not exactly new, but certainly under-utilized, increasingly cost-effective and streamlined: A frequent, consistent, value-packed destination email newsletters (twice a month at least) as a way to build owned audience that's not dependent on increasingly unpredictable algorithms. This workflow can easily be streamlined into the LinkedIn newsletter feature for additional distribution and audience-building surface area. (LinkedIn allows you to see who subscribes, allowing you to reach out directly, just like within your own database.)Tom Gierasimczuk, VP, Communications, Resonance Use social platforms to tell an authentic story of your placeSocial media is redefining travel inspiration, especially for Gen Z travelers, with 45% turning to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram for ideas. These aren’t just social hubs; they’re search engines for the modern traveler. Influencers play a major role, with 42% of Gen Z drawing insights from travel creators and 25% from celebrities. For destination marketers looking to get the most out of their place promotion efforts, the focus should be on crafting visually stunning, shareable content to drive profitable demand and fuel the experience-driven mindset of today’s explorers. Engaging, authentic storytelling on social platforms is key.Sol Freixa, Vice President of Commercial, Global Destinations, Hospitality, AmadeusEvolve your LinkedIn strategy to interact with users in the ways they want to engageThe marketing opportunity that we see rising under a new light is not emerging… at all… But rather our good old LinkedIn has shifted (and continues to), from the professional network for job seekers and business promoters to a brand awareness platform that allows businesses to target their customers in a non-aggressive way and directly approaching their audience based on location, background and income. It has also become a place where people connect based on common values and interests: hobbies, brands and locations / cities / places / neighbourhoods they live in.Albano DeJesus, Director of Business Development, Wireframe

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