Shaping the Future of Place Branding: Key Trends & Insights for 2024

Welcome to the tenth edition of the Place Brand Insider here on LinkedIn. Just back from a few busy days in London at the Global Soft Power Summit by Brand Finance (here's a summary of their latest Global Soft Power Index - I'll write about the event separately). So much to share with you!

Today, we explore how city brands are being developed taking into consideration diverse stakeholder viewpoints, how to combine various cultural elements into a coherent brand, and ways to brand small towns.

We also bring you the latest trends in place branding, recent interview portraits and additions to our Global Atlas of Place Brand Impact Makers. And we highlight why you should check out our professional profile option.

?? Need to Know: Place Branding Trends in 2024

Place branding in 2024 is all about change. New factors are coming into play this year. Our panel of place brand experts foresees personalized experiences with AI, stronger calls for authenticity, inclusivity, sustainability, and shifts in personal life decisions, among other factors likely to impact our work.

Read the full Trends article here.

??? In the Spotlight

• What is the secret behind the 'I amsterdam’ brand success? Geerte Udo, CEO of amsterdam&partners, reveals how this iconic brand came into being, and how diverse stakeholders were considered in crafting one of Europe's best known city brands.
• In a world dominated by globalization, how can places cultivate authenticity? Join Alia El Banna, Professor of Business Analytics at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid, Spain, as she explores the intangible elements that shape unique and strong place brands - in our interview here.
• How do architecture and cultural identity shape city brands? Join our conversation with Salma Ghanem, a Teacher Assistant at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Egypt as she talks about district branding challenges and her vision for sustainable community development.
• How different is the branding of tourist destinations from that of mid-sized towns and neighbourhoods? We caught up with Chris Wade FIPM of The People & Places Partnership Ltd. to find out. Chris, in his interview answers also covers success strategies for communicating small town identity and how to integrate sustainability into place branding.

?? Compare: Country and City Brand Performance

How do countries balance economic competitiveness, soft power, and reputation while contributing to global well-being? These are some of the questions we tackle in our Country Observatory, which includes profiles of leading nations with detailed summaries of how they perform in relevant rankings that measure and monitor country performance, brand strength, and global reputation.

More interested in cities? Head to our City Observatory.

Both our country and city profiles help you make sense of the different rankings, in terms of changes over time (so you see if a country or city is on the right track) and to compare across geographies. Look beyond single rankings for a comprehensive assessment!

?? Meet: Place Brand Impact Makers

We often hear the question: What sets TPBO’s Professional Profiles apart from our interview portraits?

The simple answer: Our Professional Profiles provide a much more comprehensive overview of an individual's career achievements, research endeavors, consulting practice details, speaking engagements, testimonials, publications,... And, of course, they also include the interview. These profiles offer a deep dive into the impact a person has been making.

To access these profiles on our website, simply look for the golden markers on our Global Atlas of Place Brand Professionals.

You too can get a Professional Profile! All you need is a nomination from someone who is already on the map. Small creation fee applies for full profiles similar to those of Natasha Grand Norman, Stu Speirs, Robert Govers or Simon Anholt.

??Join the Conversation

Do you have a place brand impact story that you'd like to share with our community? Looking for expert guidance? Let's connect!

Thanks for reading,

Florian

Dr Florian Kaefer

Publisher, The Place Brand Observer