The need for strategic positioning of regions is more important than ever. Shifting policies and economic conditions are having wide-reaching effects on communities of all sizes – reshaping the very competitive landscape of place marketing. It’s crucial that executives at economic development organizations (EDOs) and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in those communities concisely articulate their own unique advantages as those shifts continue. 

In late-spring, City Nation Place, a global organization, community and resource hub for place marketing, branding and leadership, held its annual CNP Americas conference in Ottawa, Canada, assembling a group of leaders who are facing these challenges head on. Even in the midst of today’s policy tumult, these leaders are charged with, on a daily basis, communicating ‘why their locations are prime areas to live, work, invest in, and visit.’ 

As an organization, City Nation Place also collects award submissions helmed by these place-branding leaders from around the world. The goal: sharing workable tactics and strategies that can be inspiring for other communities. This “brand library” showcases some of the best examples of how sites have promoted themselves. 

We’ve closely reviewed CNP’s robust library – and have identified the three factors that connect some of the most powerful and effective city-level and regional campaigns: 

1. Limit Messaging to A Few Key Strengths 

The most effective campaigns zero in on a region’s core strengths – highlighting only those – rather than diluting their message across multiple areas. 

Take Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark: the city aimed to brand itself as a global life sciences hub, an uphill battle against established leaders in the U.S., Ireland, the U.K., Germany, and Switzerland. Beyond Novo Nordisk, few Danish pharmaceutical names resonate internationally. 

To combat this, the city formed multiple public-private partnerships between universities, pharma companies, researchers and others, to focus on elevating the city’s life science bona fides, highlighting its strengths through a series of testimonial videos and weekly events on social media. The theme became: “Copenhagen is a capital of both ‘life’ and ‘science.’” City leaders didn’t need to discuss multiple sectors or disparate strengths, but simply why it’s a great place to do business in health. 

Many regions boast dozens of unique qualities. Yet, trying to pack all of those strengths into a single message almost always backfires – the more cluttered the message, the less it sticks. A clear, consistent theme from start to finish ensures your audience remembers what matters most. 

2. Narrowing Down Your Target Audiences 

Many marketers get a bit too ambitious when it comes to identifying a target audience at the outset of a campaign. It’s not uncommon to hear them list “everybody” or “the entire U.S.” as suggestions.  

The most successful communicators, however, understand that if you’re targeting “everybody,” you’re actually targeting nobody. Different audiences require different approaches. The most effective campaigns pinpoint their key groups and tailor outreach methods to reach each one with maximum impact. 

This tailored approach has benefited the state of Wisconsin, which aimed to boost the depth of its workforce, but struggled with brand recognition outside the state. Understanding the realities of geography and economic factors, it developed messaging wholly focused on recruitment from Chicago. The city offered the talented younger generations that Wisconsin was looking to attract. These were professionals that might also be turned off by higher prices in the big city.  

This hyper-focused approach led to creative installations on Chicago’s L Train system and in fitness areas across the city – emphasizing the outdoor activities available in Wisconsin. The state also took out geo-targeted ads in mobile apps that invited users to calculate their commute time and cost of living (displayed alongside Wisconsin’s appealing offerings). 

Narrowing their focus to Chicago-area workers didn’t shrink their talent pool – it gave them a clearer, stronger message. The result? In just four months, 5% more people in the target market said they’d consider moving to Wisconsin. 

In considering earned media placements alone, the same process can be also replicated, and with equally impressive results: That is, PR teams can geographically target key media in a specific market, whether it’s Chicago or elsewhere, to promote benefits such as improved cost-of-living. This could generate coverage that captures the attention of an important demographic. 

3. Clear-Cut Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

It can often be difficult to measure the value of a communications campaign, but having clear targets laid out in advance helps to truly define success and gives stakeholders something concrete to work towards. 

Each of the successful location promotion campaigns in the CNP brand library were able to point to a handful of KPIs that clearly measured their efforts. 

KPIs can (and should) go beyond media impressions. Take Costa Rica: in a campaign to promote its tourism, investment, exports and culture, the country measured not just broader social engagement, but exactly what percentage of its population contributed user-generated content – an even stronger impact metric. 

The Common Throughline 

While the success of other campaigns can sometimes be daunting to analyze or even attempt to replicate, there is a common throughline: concise, carefully targeted messaging can move the needle. 

EDOs and tourism boards struggling to find a foothold can be encouraged by the model campaigns featured in the CNP library (which can be subscribed to here). While each locale has completely different strengths, these examples all found some level of success. 

Ultimately, breakthrough campaigns are built on bold thinking, clear messaging and precise measurement. Know your goal, know your audience, and the results will follow. 

Interested in advancing the story of your place and increasing the credibility of your own place marketing messages? Earned media might be the very best approach. Reach out to hello@violetpr.com and let’s talk!