Back in 2013, Robert Govers published an interesting blog post on the now inactive Placebrandz website, in which he reflected on an exchange of ideas and arguments regarding social media and place branding that followed a conference. The post offered valuable insights, well worth sharing.

City brands and the making, management and communication of a city's strongest assets in the eyes of potential residents, visitors, investors and students, has been a key occupation of economic development professionals all over the world. Richard Florida explains why the Creative Classes are so important in achieving city strength and a competitive position.

To flag or not to flag? Amelia Green investigates how city flags are used for place branding in cities such as Chicago (USA) and Gold Coast, Australia.

Brazil place brand expert Caio Esteves reflects on stereotypical media representations, the country image of Brazil and the country's unconsolidated national identity.

Caio Esteves introduces us to place branding in Brazil and explains how his MBA program integrates different disciplines and approaches. He also reveals which place branding examples in Latin America inspire his work and why the brand and reputation of Brazil has not been able to benefit as much as it could from the nation's global exposure linked to the Soccer World Cup and the Olympic games.

India nation brand expert Aparna Sharma discusses how Indian states have begun to develop their own brands and to position themselves internationally as business hubs, leading to representations of state and nation next to each other at important events, such as Davos.