Behind every great place brand is a team of amazing place branders hard at work. As we turned ten years old, we wanted to put the spotlight on the individuals leading the way in place brand storytelling – and to celebrate the next generation of place leaders rising through the ranks.

We sat down with Samantha Crawford, Senior Marketing Manager at Brand Scotland and winner of the CNP Future Leader Award, to understand what led her to place branding, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and what she thinks is the most exciting opportunity facing place brand teams.

Congratulations on winning our first ever City Nation Place Future Leader Award!

Thank you so much! That moment was truly incredible, and I feel deeply proud of the achievement. City Nation Place is such a unique event, and I always look forward to being part of it. Every time I leave, I’m bursting with new ideas - so much so that I pity the poor soul who ends up sitting next to me on the train back to Scotland! It’s a chatty train ride home.

Looking back over the past few years, what are the most important lessons you learned from mentors and advisors in place branding?

That is not an easy question as there are a lot of mentors, and a lot of wisdom bestowed open me regularly. A couple would be…

Why does it matter?
One of my first mentors, Pete, at a PR agency, taught me a simple but powerful lesson: always ask, “Who cares?” It shifted my focus from what I was saying and how I was saying it, to why it matters—to the media, the audience, and the wider context. It’s a question that keeps communication purposeful and impactful.

Simple isn’t bad.
Claire Prentice, Head of Marketing & Brand at the Scottish Government often challenges us to not overcomplicate and be focussed on our use of resources. In marketing, there’s a temptation to constantly create new assets or strategies, but she encourages us to focus on the opportunity in building on what’s already working. Our strategy remains clear, sustainable, and easy to communicate, even amidst complexity. Even if that means I don’t always get to create new things!

What will the audience feel?
Kim and Karin, joint Heads of Brand Scotland Marketing, constantly reinforce the importance of an audience-first approach. Whenever I go to them with creative, I know the work needs to reflect the insight that has guided our approach first. But, then I know it will be interrogated on how it will make people feel and in some cases how the audience are being enabled. So much about behavioural change happens at an emotional level and so I think they teach me to move that ‘WHY’ I learned early on in my career, even further. And I think this comes from our Deputy Director Marketing, Insight, Brand Scotland & Internal Communications, Pauline. Audience first – all day every day.

What does a typical day look like for you?

One of the best parts about my job is it is rarely the same, so I will go with today. There is a lot going on this January so it’s pretty varied.

I started at 8am with a hike up Arthur’s Seat alongside a film crew. We’re working on a project with BBC StoryWorks to share an inspiring story about an American woman who moved to Scotland to work in renewable energy. We want to share her unique story which moves from coming for opportunity to a real belonging - how Scotland not only gave her a career but also a community that feels like home. Now, it’s also where she’s raising her two daughters, which makes it all the more special to share.

Later, I reviewed some copy for three films we’re launching that were created with our Creative Agency. These will be part of a paid media campaign kicking off early this year. The concept behind the films is something our agency calls ‘The Trojan Horse’ - we draw the audience in with something familiar and then surprise them with something unexpected about Scotland. For example, we bring people in talking about how windy Scotland is, but then show them how we use that wind to make positive change via offshore windfarms.

It’s a fun and creative way to show what Scotland has to offer—you’ll see what I mean when you watch the films. When you watch the wind one, remember that we filmed that ahead of two storms. Committed to the cause! We found those windows for shooting and used them.

Given your experience working in more ‘traditional’ marketing roles, how do you think your work for Brand Scotland differs? What was the attraction of taking the leap into place branding?

I joined the Scottish Government because I was drawn to the idea of working on behavioural change campaigns. It’s incredibly fulfilling to play an active role in what I would reference as empowering the people of Scotland with the information they need to thrive, take care of themselves —whether it’s about cancer prevention, road safety, or navigating the challenges of parenthood. That sense of purpose was a big motivator for me.

Then, an opportunity arose to transition into nation branding, which felt like a natural fit given my international background.

For me, celebrating national pride isn’t about saying, “We’re better than anyone else.” It’s about saying, “Here’s what we do really well, and we’re excited to share it.” It’s an invitation—come work with us, learn with us, experience what makes Scotland special. At the same time, it’s about recognising and celebrating the amazing things other countries are doing too – and how we can work together, particularly on our shared challenges.

Ultimately, what makes this job so exciting is that it’s all about storytelling—sharing extraordinary stories about ordinary people and shining a light on what makes Scotland stand out. It’s dynamic, inspiring, and endlessly rewarding. You’re never bored because there’s always another story to tell, another perspective to uncover.

As a future place brand leader, what do you think is the most exciting opportunity facing place brand teams – and what do we need to be cautious about?

For me, the most exciting aspect of nation branding is how we measure success. What does it all mean, and how do we ensure our efforts make a tangible impact? There’s already incredible work happening in this space, and it’s fascinating to explore.

Most of us in nation branding understand that the way a nation, city, or place is perceived - by people both domestic and internationally - has a direct impact on its businesses, trade, tourism, and even its diplomatic and cultural relationships with other countries. Measuring these perceptions and their real-world outcomes is key to driving meaningful progress.

Several global organisations are leading the charge in this area—the Anholt Nation Brands Index, City Nation Place, Brand Finance, Bloom Consulting, to name a few. They’re pioneering ways to identify robust metrics for assessing the impact of nation branding. For instance, recent data from Bloom Consulting shows that perceptions alone account for 26% of all international tourism receipts, foreign direct investment, and talent migration. That’s a huge insight into how deeply perception shapes economic and social outcomes.

In answer to your question, the caution is also in this space. The challenge—and the opportunity—lies in refining how we measure success using this kind of data. Over the next few years, we’ll have even more tools and methodologies to understand the connection between perceptions and outcomes. It’s an evolving space. It’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how these advancements shape the future of nation branding, while acknowledging that perceptions of a nation come from many aspects from the strategy, to substantive policies and the actions of a society as a whole. We need to be realistic about our important role as brand guardians and of our limitations.

What skills or traits do you think will be essential for a place brand or marketing leader to be successful given this new landscape we’re operating in?

Honestly, I’d say passion and adaptability are absolutely key. Communication roles—whether you’re focused on PR, events, social media, websites, or digital marketing—are constantly evolving. The way audiences prefer to consume information shifts all the time, and businesses are always finding new ways to commercialise those changes—algorithms being a prime example.

What you can and can’t do changes quickly, and can of course vary from one country to the next. It’s one of the things that makes this line of work so exciting, at least for me! But let’s be real—it’s not for everyone. Loving a world of regular, rapid change takes a certain mindset.

Are there any exciting new initiatives you’re working on that we should be keeping an eye out for?

Everything we do – only kidding.

I’d say something I’m excited about this year is domestic advocacy. Tasmania is a really great example of inspiring work in this space. We want to get into different communities that are connected to Scotland, find their stories, listen to how they feel about being part of Scotland, show them what we are doing, and find ways of working with them to celebrate how we promote Scotland on an international stage. The people who call Scotland home are one of our key clients for want of a better explanation.

I think this year a lot of us are excited about connecting with domestic audiences, sharing our work and the tools we have available on Scotland.org and seeing how we can make sure they feel a part of what we do. Our everyday ambassadors.

No matter how hard we work, we don’t have all the answers about Scotland or the diverse people, businesses, and communities that make it thrive. That’s why listening is so important. We engage with people by hearing their stories—what they’re doing, how they’re doing it—and then share our vision. We showcase examples where we’ve added value to others and let the collaboration grow naturally from there.

It’s not about control or telling people how to sell Scotland. Instead, we want to show how the brand marque and story - grounded in insight - both reflects and can develop how people feel about Scotland and what makes them most proud of it. We really believe as a team in the potential to unify our voices and amplify our impact.

If you could go back to give your younger self a piece of advice on starting your work with Brand Scotland, what would it be?

Don’t try and paint a perfect picture. The weather isn’t always perfect but that can be a sell. Our weather is part of what makes us resilient, adventurous, part of our good humour in making the best out of situations, plays a part in renewable energy. I think we are trying more to not shy away from some things we think are off putting and reflect on how these elements may have shaped us as people.

Indeed! Thank you very much for chatting with us, Sam.