The Place Brand ObserverAbout Us
The Place Brand Observer is at the forefront of showcasing the evolution of place branding, emphasizing its role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We connect a network of visionary thinkers, location advocates, and change agents, celebrating achievements that focus on community identity and reputation.
Our Place Brand Leaders Yearbooks spotlight cities, regions, and countries pioneering in impactful, sustainable place branding.
Impact Stories
Our 'Impact Stories' series offers in-depth insights into the commitment of cities, regions and countries to community-focused development, showcasing how these places are making a tangible impact through their place branding work, both locally and globally.Our Place Brand Impact Story Competition highlights best practice in aligning responsible place branding with sustainable development.
Benchmarking
Our Observatories offer in-depth profiles of place brand performance and reputation, profiling cities and countries around the world. A rare opportunity to get a snapshot on a place's brand performance and reputation that includes all relevant indices.Who is Who
Through our in-depth interviews and professional profiles, we feature individuals leading the way in 21st century place branding. Their insights and strategies offer guidance for integrating sustainability into place branding.And we put world's most respected place branders on the map. Those with three or more independent peer nominations enter our Hall of Fame.
Resource Hub
Your go-to place for insights and guidance, including How To articles, success strategies and how to avoid common pitfalls. Expert insights reflecting the combined wisdom of our panel of experts, which brings together leading researchers and practitioners.
In 2014, Florian Kaefer founded The Place Brand Observer with a vision to bridge the gap between academic research and practical application in place branding. TPBO quickly emerged as a crucial hub for sharing knowledge, providing a much needed link between researchers and practitioners.
As we celebrate our tenth anniversary in 2024, TPBO has grown significantly. While Florian (who, after many years of globetrotting now lives with his young family in Eastern Switzerland) remains the publisher and principal developer, the platform thrives thanks to a dedicated team of collaborators worldwide. Together, we've expanded our network and content, continuing our foundational mission: connecting place branding champions across disciplines and geographies.
A word about place branding
A place brand can significantly impact economic development, talent attraction, and community identity. It brings focus and discipline to governmental actions, from urban design to poverty alleviation.Places are complex and often contradictory, making place branding a challenging task. Effective branding reinforces a community’s identity in all its actions, whereas ineffective branding leads to disjointed strategies and missed opportunities.
Place branding affects residents, visitors, investors, and business owners alike. That’s why we keep a close eye on its development as a research and practice field, while at the same time showcasing exemplary place brand impact stories from regions, cities and countries.
There’s a feeling of dynamism about The Place Brand Observer. It is comprehensive and diverse in the topics it covers. It’s just very impressive and, let’s face it, the fact it exists is a good sign for our industry and therefore our communities.
Andrew Hoyne
CEO Hoyne Design, AustraliaWhat I like the most about The Place Brand Observer is that is it not simply a collection of copy-paste material but that it is built on the editor's curiosity to understand more about place branding, from which we can all benefit.