In 2018, an Ipsos Mori study of UK visitors highlighted the fact that people were ambivalent about Norwich. Research revealed a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 0, in response to the question ‘how likely or unlikely is it that you would recommend Norwich as a UK city break or day trip destination?' People didn't have a perception of Norwich at all, and that needed to change in order for the team to compete with other UK honeypot destinations.

At the time, there wasn't one unifying brand for Norwich. City of Stories existed as VisitNorwich's blog, and it was a well-liked concept by visitors, local businesses and stakeholders, and so the team began to explore this avenue as the creative platform for the city brand.