Which priorities are driving corporate investment decisions? How do executives in decision-making roles formulate perceptions about places that influence those decisions? And what information are companies needing help with from investment promotion agencies during the site selection process? We surveyed corporate executives in five major European economies who are responsible for influencing location decisions. This report details those findings to help cities and countries more effectively position themselves for attracting corporate investment. Read More

What are today’s talent prioritising when evaluating jobs, work environments, lifestyles and places? How do they research new employment opportunities and explore new communities to relocate to? How can cities and countries more effectively reach globally mobile workforces? This report by C Studios answers those questions by providing firsthand insight from 650 European professionals who have moved more than 100 kms within the last three years. Download the study to better understand the emotional motivations, behaviours, and preferences among talent during their relocation journey. Read More

Place marketing for FDI has long been a paradox. The industry uses the phrase “investment promotion” to describe much of its activities, but few organisations actually track metrics that would be considered to the outside world an accurate assessment of “promotion.” We propose a more holistic approach. By bridging the gap between brand-building activities and tangible outcomes, this whitepaper provides a roadmap for IPAs to demonstrate the value of their marketing initiatives to stakeholders. Read More

Steve Duncan, Managing Director

With over two decades of expertise in place marketing, Steve has collaborated with cities, regions, countries, research parks, and real estate developments across virtually every major world region to reach executives and skilled talents.

A vocal advocate for digital place promotion, Steve has authored multiple studies on investment promotion, talent attraction, and digital marketing. These include "What Talent Wants: Capturing What Europe's Workforce Seeks in Jobs & Locations," "Winning Strategies in Investment Promotion Marketing," "ROI in FDI: Measuring Place Marketing Success in Investment Attraction," and "The State of Digital Advertising in Economic Development." His speaking roles on these core topics have featured at City Nation Place Global, FDI Leaders Network, IEDC Annual & Leadership Conferences, MIPIM, and various client stakeholder events.

At C Studios, Steve leads a team specializing in elevating place brands globally, focusing on strategy and implementation for international talent attraction, investment promotion, and trade promotion initiatives. Previously, he spent nearly 20 years with Development Counsellors International (DCI), the New York-based leader in marketing places. His strategic approach and innovative thinking have made him a trusted advisor to organizations like Costa Rica's CINDE, Austrian Business Agency, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, Luxembourg Let's Make It Happen, EDB Singapore, Invest Alberta, and Invest Puerto Rico.

Marius Ohl, Director, DACH Region

Marius brings deep international marketing expertise to C Studios from his location in Frankfurt, where he leads the agency’s DACH region efforts. He has more than 13 years of marketing experience across consumer, tech, SaaS, consulting, and professional service industries in both B2C and B2B contexts. During his career, he has conceptualized and executed go-to-market strategies for both domestic and overseas companies, covering Mainland China, Southeast Asia, North America, and Central Europe.

Most recently, he was based in Shanghai as co-founder of Marketing Collective Asia, a Singapore-based agency where he led marketing strategy and operations. He assisted clients with market entry and go-to-market strategies for various tech, hospitality, and service industry clients in China and APAC. He also provided digital marketing and social media strategy focused on lead generation and brand awareness, along with end-to-end project management in collaboration with in-house teams, vendors, and freelancers.

After more than a dozen years in Asia-Pacific, Marius returns to his home country of Germany, where he focuses on delivering campaigns in the DACH region as well as servicing C Studios’ DACH-area clients in investment promotion and talent attraction. He speaks fluent English and German, with limited proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.

Julie Curtin, Strategic Advisor, North America

Julie is a strategic advisor to C Studios with a focus on the North American market. For more than two decades, Julie has been connecting the leaders, the storytellers, the assets, and the themes of destinations with media, site selection consultants, prospects, and peers to elevate the economic development and talent attraction success of communities around the globe.

As an agency partner for New York-based Development Counsellors International (DCI), Julie has played an impactful role in advancing the tools, talent, and tactics that have helped to position DCI as the Leader in Marketing Places. She founded and launched The DCI Marketing Summit, a peer-led annual gathering of senior-level economic development marketing minds from around the continent, and serves on the board of directors for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), a non-profit membership organization serving economic developers.

She also co-teaches a “Marketing Cities” course with author, demographer, and futurist Joel Kotkin at Chapman University.

Joachim Arnold, Strategic Advisor, EMEA & APAC

Joachim is a strategic advisor to C Studios with a focus on the European and Asia markets. As Deputy CEO of Belfast-based OCO Global, Joachim heads up the Investment Attraction practice from his base in Frankfurt. He works with clients across the globe to position themselves in international markets, develop strategic partnerships, and attract investment.

Joachim blends extensive knowledge of the global foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape with expertise in business intelligence, proposition development, and program management to deliver successful long-term outcomes for our clients.