Erik de Roos, CMO for the South Australian Tourism Commission, sat down with us to explain how they landed on ‘simple pleasures’ as the cornerstone for their place brand strategy, as well as how and why they partnered with local creatives to bring the approach to life.

When is civic infrastructure actually a placemaking masterpiece? Nigel Bickle, CEO of Hastings District Council, outlined water contamination led to the creation of a water treatment plant that functions as a core pillar of community life. 

Larisa McBean, Tourism Specialist at the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, took us behind-the-scenes of this award-winning “Yaad Luv” campaign – including how they structured the partnership to ensure success, what they learned throughout the process, and how it’s providing a foundation for recovery after Hurricane Melissa.

The new challenge for place brand and marketing teams is this: How do you make sure that the information surfaced about your place by AI is accurate and on brand? Here are the areas you should be prioritising to adapt to the new era of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).

Yes, place websites still matter in an AI-driven discovery environment. But not in the way many place leaders expect. Here's what you need to know in 2026 and beyond.

With AI search results becoming commonplace, your website is no longer the first port of call for prospective investors. Switzerland Global Enterprise’s Sirpa Tsimal explores how you can future-proof your strategy to ensure your place narrative survives AI summarisation.

Tourism is no longer driven by desire alone, but by policy, geopolitics, access, and alignment. BRASH’s Tom Miller unpacks the trends shaping the future of travel in 2026 and beyond.

Over the past five years, the world has seen an unprecedented acceleration of geopolitical tension, technological disruption, and societal transformation. Bloom Consulting’s Jose Torres looks ahead to 2030 to identify how place brand teams can effectively shape how nations and cities are perceived in the new world order.

The most successful mega-developments don’t apply the brand at the end. They build with it from the start. BRASH's Guillaume Cocken shares what the new era of city-making means for place branding, and how cities across Saudi Arabia are embodying these new principles.

When is it valuable for a city, region, or nation to go one step further and launch their own event or festival to meet specific community needs? Four place branding experts highlighted cities who have invested in events that have put their community on the map and highlighted the unique ‘here-ness’ of their home.

To inspire your next big idea, we’ve collated an A-Z of best practice from the Place Brand Portfolio, the world’s largest collection of place branding and marketing case studies.

WorldPride is a celebration and a protest - and the team bringing the event to Washington DC needed to align hundreds of moving parts, whilst navigating political tensions across the U.S. Joy Riot's Jessica McCarthy takes us behind the scenes of what it takes to plan and deliver such a major event.