Ahead of their session at the City Nation Place Global conference on 8 November, we asked Jose Torres & Malcolm Allan of Bloom Consulting, and Daniel Valverde, the Country Brand Director of Essential Costa Rica, to share their thinking around Nation Brand management structure 

In the lead up to the City Nation Place Awards 2018, we asked our judges to outline what they believe is essential to a good place branding strategy. Their insights should be invaluable to anyone involved in place branding and, throughout their responses, there were key ideas that continued to resurface: community engagement, authenticity, creativity and demonstrable results.

Home is a reflection of who we are, at our best, and who we hope to be. There is always a deep, meaningful reason why we choose to live where we live. We want to express our pride in an authentic way, celebrate what makes us unique, and reinforce it in the way we plan and build together. What gets in the way of powerful place-branding?

Investment promotion agencies and economic development teams are increasingly adept at attracting international companies and growing their locations. We see sector specific segmentation and an understanding that “liveability” and the values behind your place brand are as important as tax incentives. However, relatively few locations have developed the policies, processes and mindsets necessary to help the businesses they have worked so hard to attract actually thrive. This blog discusses the basic principles of Aftercare, and, with a couple of examples, shows the value Aftercare can deliver.