Who is Who
Florian Kaefer
Dr. Florian Kaefer is the founder and publisher of TPBO, an independent editorial platform covering how places build reputation, shape their positioning and compete for attention, talent, visitors and investment. His work sits at the intersection of place branding, destination leadership and sustainable development.
For more than a decade, Florian has used interviews, editorial research and comparative observation to understand how cities, regions, countries and destinations position themselves and how those positions evolve. He has spoken with more than 500 policymakers, place leaders, destination executives and researchers around the world.
Florian founded and led Sustainability Leaders United, an international interview series on sustainable tourism and leadership. He holds a PhD in Management Communication, as well as degrees in sustainable development, tourism management and journalism.
Talks & Input Sessions
Florian gives keynotes and focused input sessions on place branding, destination positioning and how places build reputation and competitiveness. His work draws on what he sees across cities, regions and destinations internationally, and on more than a decade of conversations with the people shaping them.
Keynotes are suited to conferences and larger audiences, while input sessions are designed for smaller teams that want to explore a particular question, challenge or development in more depth. Both formats are built around a clear international perspective and leave room for discussion.
Recent topics include:
- The State of Place Branding: What is changing in how cities, regions and destinations position themselves internationally.
- From Global Trends to Local Practice: What developments in place branding and destination positioning elsewhere can tell us about a specific market.
- Place Positioning in Context: How places are perceived and positioned alongside comparable cities, regions or destinations.
For speaking engagements or a focused input session for your team, contact Florian directly with the topic and format you have in mind.
Recent engagements include an input session for the place brand team of Graubünden region in Switzerland, a keynote for the association of place promoters in Switzerland, panel moderations at Global Soft Power Summit and various online contributions to courses and events around the world.Publications
An Insider’s Guide to Place Branding
(Springer International, 2021) brings together interviews with practitioners and research on how cities, regions, countries and destinations develop and manage their brands. The book reflects Florian’s long-standing interest in how places understand, shape and communicate their position. Explore the book
Sustainability Leadership in Tourism
Published by Springer International in 2022, Sustainability Leadership in Tourism brings together interviews with tourism leaders and practitioners from around the world to examine how sustainability is understood and put into practice across the sector. Explore the book
Selected Feedback
Incheon City invited Florian Kaefer as a keynote speaker for the Incheon World City Brand Forum. At a time when strategies and priorities for city branding after Corona change, his experience and access to a global network of specialists have greatly inspired not only Incheon but cities around the world.
Jinwoo KIM
Incheon World City Brand ForumFlorian has helped shape the conversation around place identity internationally, bringing perspectives from cities and regions around the world into the discussion.
Ryan Short
CivicBrand (USA)Florian represents new thinking and approaches to some complex issues. He can step outside-the-box, explore and continually learn from global perspectives.
Steve Noakes
Pacific Asia TourismPlanning a conference, team session or strategy discussion?
Florian brings an international perspective on place branding, destination positioning and how places build reputation and competitiveness.