What are you doing, David?
At the moment, I am organising data for one of Bloom Consulting’s rankings. It involves searching for statistics for each municipality as well as analysing the online searches and its changing tendencies from previous years.
Describe your typical workday.
As a Data Analyst my role consists mostly of gathering data, arranging it so it becomes intuitive to understand and then analysing its main tendencies and any differentiating factors. Depending on the needs of each project, I research statistics, analyse questionnaires and interviews and use Bloom Consulting’s tool Digital Demand – D2© to understand the digital searches for specific Countries, Regions or Cities. This tool is fundamental to have a deeper understanding of the perceptions of a place. Likewise, I help in writing reports that explain the conclusions drawn from the data analysed.
What do you like most about Place Branding?
I am currently undertaking a degree of management with a high focus on marketing and branding and it is interesting to comprehend how Countries, Regions and Cities can manage themselves and people’s perceptions about them with a well-structured Place Branding strategy. Countries, Regions and Cities are affected by a variety of unpredictable and independent factors, for instance, the global pandemic of Covid-19 or the actions of a specific stakeholder. Therefore, it is very compelling to realise that branding can help to solve and manage many of these problems.
To what extent do you consider your work to be important for Countries, Regions, and Cities?
Currently, we live in a data-driven world, where it is possible to characterize a person’s interests or the perceptions of a Country with data. Thus, it is crucial to collect data and analyse it in order to better understand each destination and how its brand should be built. It is in this part of the projects I mostly contribute. Understanding what people search and think about a Country is crucial to understand their perceptions and this is only possible by analysing data. I would say my work as Data Analyst is the base that allows to define the correct strategy for a place afterwards. A strategy that is based on data leads to more attraction of talent, investment, businesses and tourists. All-in-all it leads to development.
Which Nation or Place Brand do you appreciate the most?
Regarding international brands, I would say that I have a bigger connection with the Country Brand Essential Costa Rica because it is a Country with impressive concerns regarding sustainability and the environment while at the same time trying to promote its incredible fauna and flora.
