Soft power is the persuasive approach to international relations, typically involving the use of economic or cultural influence. But what does that mean for cities, nations, and places? If you can leverage your soft power effectively in your place marketing and place branding strategy, you can create far greater impact and leverage your reputation to meet your goals. Here, we’ve collated a wealth of resources to help you with your journey.


This Soft Power Topic Zone is sponsored by

Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand evaluation and strategy consultancy. We help place brands measure their marketing activities and develop successful strategies. Headquartered in the City of London, we are present in 25 countries worldwide.

We have published the Brand Finance Nation Brands study into the strength and value of the world’s top nation brands for 20 years. In 2020, we launched the Global Soft Power Index – the world’s most comprehensive research study on perceptions of nation brands, surveying opinions of 150,000+ respondents in 100+ markets and ranking all 193 member states of the United Nations. Our Brand Finance City Index – published for the first time in 2023 will be extended in the coming years to cover more city brands in regional rankings across all continents.

The Global Soft Power Summit is returning on February 28-29th, 2024. Learn more here.


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Konrad Jagodzinski Place Branding Director Brand Finance Bio

Six places that are living their sustainable values

People are getting more savvy and are quick to call out organisations who aren’t walking the talk. However, if you can embed your sustainable values throughout your organisation and ensure that your strategy is reflective of your community, it’s possible to make real impact with your approach. Here are some top examples of how cities and nations around the world are making sure that they’re living their sustainable values to lay the path for a more resilient future.

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Interview with Conrad Bird, Director of the GREAT Britain Campaign

Ahead of the inaugural City Nation Place UK conference, we asked Conrad Bird, Director of the GREAT Britain campaign, why he believed it was important for the key decision makers in UK place branding to share their insights and learn from each other's experiences, as well as what he considers to be the international perception of Brand Britain.

label_outline Citizen EngagementCultural HeritageDestination MarketingEconomic Development Investment PromotionPlace BrandingPrivate SectorReputationSoft PowerTourism