Because if a place is not clear what sets it apart from the others and holds it together, it won’t be clear to any of its target audiences, including its own residents.

Most places can reasonably claim to have a great lifestyle and to be diverse, welcoming, and safe. All good and true, but so what? A place that has too generic a proposition that ticks the right boxes is like a speech that mentions everyone and inspires no one.

Instead of being all things to all people, a generic ‘we are great’, it is arguably better to take a stand and specify what we are great at, and what not so much.

For example, we have worked with places that were ‘scientists’, ‘artists’, ‘mothers’, ‘rebels’, ‘innocents’, and ‘good neighbours’. Knowledge of their place personality gave them, among other things, a clear tourism angle: the ‘science’ place prioritised MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions tourism), the ‘mother’ focused on creating an endless choice of tourism products and services, the ‘innocent’ offered some peace and quiet, and the ‘good neighbour’ welcomed lonely souls.

So, place personality points to your natural strengths and also to your organic target audiences. Place personality is also a common hymn sheet for various stakeholders to sing from – and achieve synergy between talent, investment, and visitor attraction.

As a result, the place gets a focus, a clear image – much easier to be noticed by the outsiders and to be appreciated by the residents.

People certainly have ideas what is special about them! Paradoxically, what they think is special is something out of the ordinary, something exceptional, hardest to do: introverts say they are open-hearted, or creatives say they are so organized. In fact, the real personality of a place lies in the realm of normal and mundane, the things that go without saying and hardly get noticed. So, if your residents have a certain self-perception, turn it 180 degrees and look at the opposite – you are much likely to find your place personality there.

Another difficulty with ‘self-diagnosis’ is that it may end up being very generic, as such things are often decided by a committee, and nobody wants to take risks. Having a qualified outsider who takes responsibility for defining the brand personality allows for more confident, and bolder, decisions.

I may be controversial, but I wouldn’t try and give a nod to every group; this wrong path leads to a ‘salad’ rather than a clear image: a bit of this, and also a bit of that, and we should not forget that either. This is a recipe for oblivion. Instead, we work very hard – and it is very hard – to find something in common among all the people who call this place home.

We believe that each place, with its specific climate, particular geography, own history dictates an optimal way of life for its residents. It encourages certain behaviours as effective for prosperity and discourages others as futile. This is deeper, more fundamental, visceral if you like, than ethnicity or religion. To see the connection between the place and the people is one of the most fascinating aspects of our work.

The short answer is that we seek common values and behavioural patterns among the diversity of residents, rather than simply acknowledging such diversity.

In an ideal world, if place personalities are properly defined, they should fit each other like Russian dolls: going from towns to regions and the nations. As you progress, the unifying values become more and more abstract. So a village personality can focus on a local tradition but a national personality will be in the realm of values and behavioural traits.

Regions are considered the hardest to ‘brand’ as they sit between cities and the country, but I find them most interesting!

Most places have at least a tourism destination ‘brand’, and a brand book, and in that brand book they have a list of values, and maybe even ‘the tone of voice’, or character. If you look at those values, they are often random, generic and easily forgettable. Why? Because they do not add up to one coherent image. But many would have ‘caring’ and ‘daring’ on the same page without a blink of an eyelid – whereas caring people do not tend to be daring, these are antonyms!

Human brains are systematic, therefore, your values must add up to a certain type that we already know: a carer, a darer, an inventor, an explorer – you can be any type, but it should be a clear type, not a mixture of 4 or 5 different types. Otherwise, your values are a random list, and they do nothing for creating a clear place image for your audiences.

We offer an ‘identity check up’ for DMOs who have their place values defined but are not sure if they add up to a clear focus.

One may think so, but interestingly, place brand values have come full circle from the early days of branding and are back on the agenda. Geerte Udo, who is in charge of Amsterdam's brand, said at the last PlacexNordics conference that values are top of her agenda, alongside data – this is after 20 years of leading one of the world's most successful place brands!

Place brands typically grow out of tourism, who have the most mandate to promote a place. As they mature, talent and investment attraction tend to either come up with their own ‘brand’, leading to discord, or stretch the tourism brand, which is insufficient. A unified brand value proposition, that works across and for different agencies, is very much in demand.

So, the place branding journey tends to need a constant value check and development.

Our own measure of success is to hear from the locals: ‘we have always felt this but did not know how to put it ourselves’… or ‘you have found something we can love ourselves for’.

Successful place branding can be measured not in clicks and visitor spend, although these are useful. Ultimately, working with place identity gives local residents confidence, the words to express their love for their place. Places that know themselves are happier, more peaceful, and more economically successful.

Assuming they are civil servants, first of all, be brave. It takes guts and commitment to create a place brand, involving extensive conversations across departments, but the results are profoundly rewarding both professionally and personally.

Second, if you have an anthropological interest, observe how your place affects people. Investigate the stories told to children, the values imparted, and the local role models. This can offer deep insights into your place's identity.

Third, get in touch. Even for a chat, especially if you're uncertain. Our experience with diverse place personalities could offer valuable advice or direction. Consider joining the women in place branding group on LinkedIn, or reach out directly. Remember, "She who dares connects!" It might be intimidating, but it's worth it.