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.

Four years after the launch of Brand Scotland, they're leading the way in sustainable development. We're excited to have Claire Prentice, Head of Brand Scotland Marketing, at City Nation Place Global to share her experience of putting SDGs at the centre of their strategy and balancing the challenges of collaboration and competition. Get a sneak preview of where it all began here with their 2018 City Nation Place Awards entry.

With COP 26 on the horizon, sustainability is perhaps the biggest challenge for place brands. How can you ensure that your strategy delivers against your economic, social, and environmental sustainability ambitions? We reached out to our panel of Experts for their top tips for places looking to authentically embed sustainability at the heart of their place values and strategies…

What can places do to foster better collaborative relationships - both internally and with like-minded places around the world?

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.

After over 400 interviews, the team at Brand Tasmania distilled the Tasmanian spirit into six words: the quiet pursuit of the extraordinary. But how do you express that identity through design?

It starts by understanding your customer – who you want to reach, why and what would make them engage with your place brand - and then acting based on that information. That hasn’t changed but it has got a lot smarter.

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.

As Charles Landry - the renowned pioneer of the “creative cities” concept - notes, “the stories we tell ourselves are a big part of how we become us.” At a most basic level, Landry asserts, places can say “yes” or “no.” In other words, is this locale open to change and possibility or not?

How does place branding evolving during a pandemic? Mark Thomas, President of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance - and one of our jurors for the upcoming City Nation Place Awards - joined us to explain the thinking behind Pittsburgh's re-brand and how they're putting the focus on inclusive recovery. 

 A 2019 SWOT analysis of Gastronomy Tourism showed that Lithuanians – unlike Georgians or Italians – don’t have a unified and shared vision of their national cuisine. But Lithuania Travel saw an opportunity to unearth a new culinary identity for the nation....

What if we could conclusively demonstrate the link between place branding and the growth of your economy?

It’s the holy grail of place branding. Which is why we’re delighted to be partnering with Bloom Consulting on a ground-breaking research project to do just that – and we’re inviting place brand, destination marketing, and investment promotion organisations to join the study.

We talk about the key ingredients for a successful place brand strategy, but what about the reverse? Here are the six roadblocks to watch out for if you’re launching or managing a place brand strategy…