From a viral karaoke song to a tongue-in-cheek take on the Metaverse, Iceland’s campaigns regularly catch the attention of the world. But what happens behind the scenes to create this success? Sveinn Birkir Björnsson, Director of Global Marketing Communications at Business Iceland, shares his expertise – and gives an insight into what he’d be looking for as a member of our 2022 City Nation Place Awards jury.

Before he joins us in Pittsburgh for City Nation Place Americas on May 11-12^th, Adam Burke, CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, shares how they’re collaborating with stakeholders across the city to deliver a greater quality of life for their residents.

What’s the key to creating a successful data strategy that measures the impact of your communications and allows you to refine your long-term strategic plan? We reached out to Constanza Cea, CEO, & Guadalupe Zegers, Head of Research at Imagen de Chile, to get the behind-the-scenes information on the strategy that won our 2021 Best Use of Data Award.

For a smaller city or region, it can be hard to make an impact on the international stage. You need to identify a really strong, authentic impetus for your place brand strategy to stand out from the crowd. John Fogde, Head of the Struer City of Sound Department, explains how they developed the positioning for the Danish city and how being known as the City of Sound gives them the edge in their activities.

Getting stakeholders to understand your vision can be a challenge at the best of times. Sweden’s solution to engaging stakeholders in your sustainability strategy? Storytelling. Per Grankvist, Chief Storyteller for the government-funded initiative, Viable Cities, explained to us how they’re pioneering a new approach to driving more sustainable change and how a local-centric approach is key to successfully changing behaviour.

With COP 26 top of the agenda worldwide, we reached out to Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence and President of Eurocities, to understand what role cities are taking on in the recovery and how collaboration and clear values are paving the path to success for cities around the world.

How is UNBOXED - formerly known as Festival UK - aiming to bring creativity and optimism to the forefront in the UK? Before he joins us at City Nation Place UK on November 3, we caught up with Phil Batty, Executive Director of UNBOXED, to understand what the festival hopes to achieve and what the opportunities are for cities, regions, and countries across the UK.

How can you create a brand that works for your city and your region? And what's the key to leveraging a nation brand to work for all levels of place within a country? Ahead of his presentation at City Nation Place Global, we reached out to Cor Jansen, Director at Utrecht Marketing, to understand how they have worked to create a complementary place brand strategy that works for all levels.

Ukraine's narrative has been fragmented by the political and social turmoil of their past. Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General at the Ukrainian Institute, explains how the country is using cultural diplomacy to project a more accurate portrayal of life in Ukraine - and how taking a slower approach is helping them to create impact in an ever-changing, fast-paced digital world.

Hot on the heels of being voted in for a second term, Cardiff’s BID is aiming to position the Welsh Capital as the UK’s first Equality City. Before she joins us at City Nation Place UK this November, Carolyn Brownell, Head of Marketing and Communications at FOR Cardiff, explains how the city has taken it’s first steps towards realising this ambitious vision.