The Dutch city of Leiden is steeped in history – and is home to the country’s oldest university, founded in 1574. Fast forward some five hundred years, the city is leaning into its long heritage of scientific innovation to create an impactful place brand strategy that is engaging residents, businesses, and government alike in celebrating their proud history.

Fiji’s stunning landscape has never been in question – but you need more than beautiful beaches to stand out from the crowd in an era of overwhelming competition for attention. Recognising that tourists were looking for more authentic travel experiences and that the Fijian need for storytelling was deeply rooted in their culture, Tourism Fiji set out to overhaul their strategy – and in the process, were named winners at the City Nation Place Awards for their efforts.

At the 2023 City Nation Place Awards, Glasgow became the first city to take home the trophy for Best Use of Data, in recognition of the comprehensive and innovative work undertaken to map out the city’s tech ecosystem and create a foundation for data-driven storytelling around the sector. We sat down with Glasgow City Council's Gavin Smyth to understand precisely what it is that led to this data-driven triumph.

Investment promotion agencies have a huge role in shaping the future of their place. Instead of chasing growth for growth’s sake, economic development agencies can shape a more resilient and equitable future by targeting the businesses they attract and support. ApexBrasil's Ana Paula L. A. Repezza talked to us about how her team are making a clear commitment to gender parity, as well as steps they’re taking to develop a positive working environment within the organisation.

In June 2023, Brussels launched their new international city brand to address the fragmentation of their international reputation. visit.brussels' Annemie Verschueren explains how they developed and launched a place brand that shows Brussels as perfectly imperfect and how they’re working with residents and stakeholders to tell the story of Brussels with one voice.

If you want to use an event to create a longer-lasting legacy, you have to be strategic. Tampere's Iina Ojala explores how they built on being named hosts of the 2022 IIHG Ice Hockey World Championship to build civic pride and engage the community in their place marketing and branding.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova saw thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing across their border. As a former Soviet republic, the country was facing a communication crisis. Invest Moldova's Irina Tolstousov explains how they launched the 'Moldova for Peace' campaign and what this means for their citizen engagement and soft power one year on.

Brand Tasmania’s mission is to inspire and encourage Tasmanians in their quiet pursuit of the extraordinary – a mission that the team have seen huge success with. Jess Radford, Director of Place Branding at Brand Tasmania and one of our 2023 CNP Awards jurors, outlined what it is that contributed to the success of their place brand strategy.

Cleveland, Ohio, has the same challenge as many places – they want more people to love Cleveland the way that their residents do. Before she joins us as a judge at the CNP Awards this year, Hannah Belsito, Chief Experience Officer for Destination Cleveland, caught us up on how they’re providing residents with a platform to showcase their passion for Cleveland.

When we ask our audience which place brand they admire most, New Zealand is regularly right up there at the top of the list. But what makes their nation branding so successful? David Downs, CEO of New Zealand Story – and one of our CNP Awards judges – shares the inside scoop on how they collaborate with key stakeholders to deliver such a strong and effective place branding strategy.