Joining the Place Brand Impact Story Competition is a great opportunity for cities, regions and countries looking to gain international recognition for their place branding initiatives. Our comprehensive assessment, aligned with the principles of the IPBA Place Branding Manifesto and the UNSDGs, offers a unique opportunity to showcase your place branding achievements and benchmark your efforts against global standards in sustainable and ethical place branding.

The Place Brand Impact Story Competition is open to a wide array of organizations and entities that play a key role in place branding. This includes:

This inclusive approach ensures that the Place Brand Impact Story Competition captures a diverse range of perspectives and initiatives in place branding, aligned with the UNSDGs, reflecting the multifaceted nature of this field.

In our search for compelling submissions, we aim for stories that are not only narrative-driven but also deeply resonate on an emotional level, capturing the essence of place branding initiatives. A well-crafted story should take the reader on a meaningful journey, showcasing the unique journey of your place branding effort.

• Compelling: Your story should captivate from the start, keeping readers engaged with a clear narrative that unfolds logically and engagingly.
• Emotionally Resonant: It should strike a chord with readers, making your place's journey relatable and memorable through genuine emotional connections.
• Meaningful: Beyond telling an engaging tale, your story should offer insights and lessons that contribute to the broader discourse on sustainable place branding, encouraging reflection and inspiring action.

March 2024: We will make our official announcement and open the registration form.

Submission Phase (March - 30 June): Our story submission portal will be open during this period, available to anyone eligible who has filled the registration form (needed to get access to the submission form which you can preview here).

Evaluation Period (1 July - 31 August): TPBO Impact Story Advisory Board (the judges) will review and rank eligible submissions. This evaluation will be based on the below set of criteria. Each impact story will be independently assessed by three judges.

Public Vote for Readers’ Favorite (Opens September): Allowing readers to vote their favorite story for a Readers’ Choice award, through the TPBO LinkedIn page.

TOP Place Brand Impact Stories Announced (Early October): We will officially announce the TOP Place Brand Impact Stories, sharing the news on our website, LinkedIn, and other platforms. We are currently looking into the possibility of an event for networking and celebration, stay tuned.

Selected stories will be published in the Impact Story Collection of TPBO website, and in the Place Brand Leaders Yearbook. Basic showcases will be free of charge, with more comprehensive options available upon request.

1. Initial Eligibility Check and Submission Process:

When registering for the Place Brand Impact Story Competition, participants are asked to affirm their commitment to responsible place branding by the symbolic action of signing the IPBA Place Branding Manifesto, developed by the world's leading place branding scholars. We consider this step crucial for ensuring adherence to best practices in place branding and to make sure submitted stories actually represent a place branding initiative.

Once registration form has been received and eligibility checked, participants will receive access to our story submission portal. We encourage narrative-driven entries that highlight the initiative's impact, supported by concrete evidence and aligned with one or more specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).

A detailed guide and structured submission form will be provided to facilitate story submissions.

2. Judging and Evaluation:

Our judges evaluate submissions based on a scale from 1 (non-existent) to 10 (outstanding), focusing on five key areas:

1. Completeness of Documentation (20%): Assesses the evidence support for the submission, such as images, web references, and data, showcasing impact on specific UNSDG targets. Scores range from inadequate to comprehensive evidence that convincingly demonstrates significant impact.
2. Originality (20%): Evaluates the uniqueness and innovation of integrating sustainable development challenges within place branding efforts. Scores range from basic innovation to highly original and inventive strategies.
3. Effectiveness (30%): Measures tangible outcomes and benefits of the initiative, including impact on community identity, involvement of multiple actors, and measurable results. Scores range from limited to high effectiveness in solving sustainability challenges.
4. Transferability (20%): Examines the potential for the initiative's strategy to be adapted and applied in other contexts with similar effectiveness. Scores range from limited adaptability to high potential for universal application.
5. Longevity (10%): Considers how well the initiative aligns with and supports the long-term place branding strategy. Scores range from weak to excellent fit in developing and maintaining the place's brand identity, reputation, and core values.

Each aspect is crucial in demonstrating how place branding initiatives can effectively contribute to sustainable development goals, emphasizing the importance of well-documented, original, effective, transferable, and long-term strategies.

We suggest you focus on one or more UNSDGs when preparing your story submission. The following might be particularly relevant (it is also possible to focus on others). Find an overview of all UNSDGs here