Your place brand exists in the mind of your audience. The challenge, then, is to understand how you are perceived so that you can take steps to shape those perceptions. Six place brand and marketing experts share their insight into what you should be doing to understand how external audiences perceive your place – and how you can effectively feed that into your ongoing reputation management.

Build a continuous awareness system by adopting a range of perception measurement techniques. 

For place leaders, perception isn't abstract; it's measurable and directly impacts competitiveness. Strong reputations attract visitors, talent, investment, and events, while weak ones hinder growth. Reputation is fragile, shaped by news, social media, or political shifts as much as by marketing. Leaders need a continuous feedback system, not just snapshots. Resident surveys gauge quality of life and trust. Visitor feedback and brand tracking reveal motivations. Liveability rankings and international studies offer peer context. Online reviews and social media expose everyday narratives. New tools like horizon scanning and generative AI widen the lens, processing vast media to uncover themes. The challenge is connecting this data. Leaders building a continuous awareness system can anticipate and shape reputation proactively.

Barry Rogers, Director of Destination Strategy, TOPOSOPHY

Develop a full picture of your place by balancing controlled research with online sources.

"Two ears, one mouth" was a saying often repeated in my household growing up, and it still guides how we advise clients today. Listening more than speaking is essential when navigating the evolving landscape of consumer sentiment. With so much noise and increasingly blurred lines between authentic feedback and misinformation, place leaders must balance controlled data like visitor surveys and commissioned research with uncontrolled sources like online reviews and social media. When thoughtfully analysed together, these inputs can inform messaging that stays agile when needed but remains consistent with the core identity of a place.

Beth Freedman, UK EVP and Managing Director, MMGY Global

Blend behavioural insights with qualitative data.

Understanding how external audiences perceive a place goes beyond listening to what they say — it also requires observing what they do. While surveys, social listening, and AI tools help capture sentiment and narratives, behavioural data offers a complementary lens. Tracking patterns like where visitors come from, how often they return, and how long they stay can serve as indirect indicators of perception.

For instance, steady growth in repeat visits from specific regions may reveal strong brand appeal, even if social media conversations are muted. On the other hand, declining dwell time or reduced diversity in visitor origins could signal issues before they surface publicly.

Combining qualitative and behavioural insights provides place leaders with a more complete understanding of how their destination is perceived — and how that perception evolves. This enables faster, more grounded decision-making and helps refine strategies to align with the real-world impact of their place brand efforts.

Mathieu Le Reste, Founder & CEO, Propulso

Listen today – and use AI to make predictions about tomorrow.

To stay on top of how external audiences perceive their place, destinations need to stop just looking both ways at what's around them and occasionally behind. Now, they must look ahead—and react, fast. Today’s fast-paced industry demands a proactive approach, and listening alone isn’t enough. Destinations must understand not just what’s happening now, but why. By looking deeper into how visitors perceive a place—even if they’re not fully aware of it—and feeding this data into generative AI, destinations can predict shifts in perception before they happen. This allows leaders to make more informed decisions, anticipate trends, and adapt strategies quickly, staying ahead of an ever-evolving landscape.

Mirko Lalli, CEO and Founder, The Data Appeal Company

Leverage audience insights to combat misconceptions of your place.

Understanding external audience perceptions can be done through social listening; regular perception studies including focus groups, interceptions, and surveys using recruitment methodologies that target your key external audiences; and regular AI searches. But what you do with that information is even more important. These tactics should inform how you combat misconceptions through your marketing, PR, social media, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Traditional SEO is no longer enough as traditional searches are being replaced with AI-generated answers. GEO of your website and other content helps you ensure your place is being accurately represented and prioritized in AI-driven search.

Jessica McCarthy, President, Joy Riot

Use audience insights to deliver consistent messaging across channels

AI-powered search is dramatically expanding the competitive landscape for travel brands. Leaders need to widen their focus from narrow keyword strategies to broad intent and omnichannel strategies. It's not enough to say you're the best—you need to deeply understand and embrace what visitors value about your brand and be the best version of that.

Tomorrow's marketing strategies will be about understanding your audience, setting the right expectations and then delivering on those expectations consistently across every touchpoint. To maintain and enhance visibility for your travel brand, you’ll need to deliver consistent messaging across as many channels and surfaces as possible.

C.A. Clark, Vice President of AI, Miles Partnership