Welcome to Bloom Consulting Conversations. A podcast series hosted by Clare Dewhirst, the Director of City Nation Place. Each episode highlights one of 14 steps that Bloom Consulting has identified as being crucial to building an effective Nation Branding strategy. This episode is joined by Gonzalo Vilar, managing partner of Bloom Consulting and global director of Nation and Place Brand analytics. Another important guest today is Jose Fernandez Cavia, who is an associate professor with the Department of Communication at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
The focus of this episode is on Step Eleven: Monitor and Measure. It is going to reflect on the learnings of recent research, carried out in collaboration with City Nation Place and guided by an Advisory Board for Scientific Supervision, which includes experts from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Universidad de Salamanca. Over 100 countries and cities participated in this study. Learn more about the study here: The Impact of Nation and Place Brands on the Local and Global Economy.
Clare: Hello, Gonzalo. Lovely to see you.
Gonzalo: Hello.
Clare: Welcome Jose, lovely to have you with us.
Jose: Thank you very much, Clare.
Clare: So, we’re going to get straight into it. Gonzalo, I think City Nation Place is aware of the need for places to demonstrate the value of what they do, for place marketing teams to demonstrate the value of what they do. Why do you think that this has been such a hard question to answer before?
Gonzalo: Yeah, let me first say that it has been a fascinating journey. This is a study with incredible partners along the way. And as you were saying, this is the most important question to answer, right? Interestingly, we have been asking ourselves this question for the last 20 years. I remember these conversations in London: “Is it impossible to measure or is it not impossible to measure?”.
The challenge here is that perception is intangible. What’s interesting is that in other industries — like consumer goods, electronics, any other industry — this is not questioned. And there are plenty of studies that measure the impact that strong brands have on sales. We dug into research, we looked at it, and we didn’t find any academic papers, any studies that showed this. At the end, no one dared to challenge and make that study — and there are several reasons for that.
There is a common belief that this cannot be measured, which we strongly disagree with, and we have proved that this is wrong. However, in the end, this means that until today, no one really wanted to tackle this challenge, because it is extremely expensive. You have to put a lot of resources in terms of people and money to develop this Ad hoc study through searches and understanding the perceptions. There is no guarantee on the return. Private companies who might be interested in funding these types of projects need to see a return. It takes a lot of time to do this project from inception until publishing the technical paper. Even now we’re working on the academic papers, it is taking a journey of two years. It is difficult.
Clare: Feels like it was three.
Gonzalo: Yeah, two and a half years, and then we stopped. But this is difficult. We need Nation and City Branding professionals. We need academics to validate and to give this rigor. We also need to welcome City and Nation Branding officials. We need different profiles: from econometrics, statistics, branding, and so on. And on top of that, there’s no data available. That’s why the data partners, which are the nation and city officials, are key to bringing in this project. To summarize this initial statement: it’s going to be polemic. It’s going to be criticized, no matter what you do, how much rigor you put in, or how good the result is. This study is a game-changer for the industry, and it’s going to challenge the existing beliefs that have been around for the last 20 years.
Clare: Yeah, absolutely. Just to clarify for everybody listening, there are different kinds of roles in Bloom Consulting, you really set the framework for the study and at City Nation Place, we brought the places together to get the data for you. Jose, from your side, providing that academic rigor, what did you think would be the biggest challenge when Bloom Consulting first approached you?
Jose: Yes, sure. Let me remind the listeners that Place Branding is not only a professional field, but also an emerging academic discipline within the social sciences. It is also complex and interdisciplinary as it brings together experts from fields such as geography, marketing, sociology, political science, business, and communication.
But from a different perspective, I’m always happy to point out that Place Branding has a direct impact on everyone’s life. Every single person’s present and future are linked to the image and reputation of the place where they live. In this sense, for example, I consider myself fortunate to live in Barcelona. When you mention Barcelona abroad, the reactions are always positive and warm. Whether you are a guest, a speaker, or just a part of a conversation, this gives you a small advantage right from the start. We are talking about perceptions, and often superficial first impressions of a place, but this can be instrumental in our decision-making process.
My initial reaction when Jose and Gonzalo explained their research plans to me was one of surprise. First, because private companies typically are not interested in research, unless it’s the kind of research that can be directly monetized, and this was not the case here. Second, because the scope of the survey they were planning was really ambitious. And third, because they were transparent and honest in asking academics from the university to help refine and supervise the methodology. These circumstances are not very common when it comes to collaboration between industry and academia. And that’s why I agreed to collaborate and decided to invite a couple of colleagues from other universities to join.
I want to mention Sara Vinyals-Mirabent from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, an expert in Place Branding, and Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval, an expert on statistical analysis in the communication field from Universidad de Salamanca. They both are excellent researchers, and thanks to their contributions, the study is now even stronger and more scientifically sound.
Clare: Yes, thank you. And I mean, perhaps Gonzalo, in simple terms, given that the audience of this podcast will probably be a mix of academics, but also practitioners, because they’re at the sharp end, for them It’s so important to have this argument for the impact of what they do. Can you describe the process that we went through?
Gonzalo: Bloom Consulting role was to conduct the research, and that involved several areas and pillars. The first one was, as Jose was saying, ensuring a robust methodology — making sure that we didn’t skip any step, so that later it could become an academic paper suitable for publication in academic journals.
When we were discussing the approach, it was very important that the study had a global representativity. That’s why incorporating, for the first time in a study like this, Nation and City Branding officials was key. We have more than 115 government officials that were participating in the process. This is a very important part, because the first challenge we approached was to define perception. We were challenging the existing belief of what is general perception, and thanks to their contribution through a very thorough Delphi process, we were able to crack the case, develop this taxonomy model, and define 13 perception elements that contribute and constitute the perception a country or city has.
Just a side note, for the ones that don’t know what a Delphi study is: It is a scientific approach to define the unknown. Thanks to different iterations and opinions of a group of experts we were able to describe something that is the closest to reality as possible, without being very technical about it.
The second part, which is very important, was the survey. We wanted to gather the global perceptions of as many countries and cities as possible. To do that we conducted Ad hoc research that ensured representativity — from the subjects of study and from the countries of origin of the subjects answering the perception. This has been, I would say, scrutinized also by the academic committee. And we believe that, for the first time, there’s a study that talks about truly global perception — not just about Europeans or G20 countries. That is very important. This was our role: cracking the data, accessing data and partnering with the academics to see if the initial conclusions we were presenting had the rigor that it needed.
Clare: Do you have anything to add, Jose, on that process?
Jose: Yeah, I would like to briefly explain what our role as a scientific advisory board was. It was especially important in three different steps, I think.
First, generally speaking, it was to provide advice and insights on the research challenges and obstacles that need to be addressed before the research even began, because we were in the research from the various spots, thanks to Bloom Consulting and City Nation Place.
Then, in a second step, we discussed the results and implications of the data with Gonzalo and Jose to ensure that we interpreted the findings correctly and distinguished between what we can confidently affirm and what remains hypothetical. This was a very delicate, interesting discussion: what can we affirm with data, and what still remains hypothetical.
Lastly, as Gonzalo was mentioning before, we are to this day involved in publishing the results in academic journals, aiming to share them not only with practitioners, but also with the academic community.
Clare: I think that’s so important. In fact, it was something I was going to say to you, Gonzalo. I was having a call the other day with our advisory group of places, and we were having a chat about how places might be using the research results that we have at this point. And then somebody on the call said, “I’d really like to see this research peer-reviewed by other academics.” It’s good to hear that’s the next stage of the process because that will really give the authority that some of the places are looking for.
So, let’s have a look at the results. What did we find out? Gonzalo, top-line. And for both of you, what was surprising about what you found out?
Gonzalo: The main finding, if I had to say one, is that there is no doubt for the first time that perception matters, and that countries and cities with better perception than others have higher returns in attracting tourists, investment, and talent. In other words, if you have a good perception, you will have an easier job attracting talent, investment, and tourism compared to those with a worse perception. This is very important because, again, for the first time, it has been scientifically demonstrated that there is a moderate to strong correlation between the perception a country or city has — which is, in the end, the Nation and City Brand, and its economic performance.
And when I say economic performance, I mean the direct impact on tourist revenues, FDI inflows, and talent attraction. This is, I would say, one of the top lines of the study. But we can go further because once we know it’s moderately to strongly correlated, for the first time too, we can understand how much one factor, which is the perception of a country or city, affects this economic performance.
The study shows that on average, depending on the city and the industry, whether it’s tourism, investment, or talent, perception explains a 24% incidence. In other words, perception accounts for 24% of the economic impact. And this is one of the surprising things, at least for us: wow, this is a lot. There’s only one variable that accounts for almost 25% of the decision. This is incredible.
We know that perception is almost 80% of the willingness, but one step forward is also this 24%, which is very important. Let’s not be naïve, there are other factors that impact foreign direct investment, such as business taxation, culture, and many other factors, and for tourism, talent, and reasons to relocate. But these alone explain 24% on average, even more in some cases, and this, for us, is incredible and really fascinating to start talking about in this way.
The second part, which was also very important for us, is that since it is statistically valid, we were able to create a statistical model, to understand the rules and how things can behave in future scenarios. As you improve perception, the model shows how much better countries with improved perception perform. Hence, we can say that a small improvement in perception can bring around a 12% improvement in tourist receipts, a 15% increase in FDI, or even more in talent attraction.
This is incredible because the interesting thing is that there is a lot of money at stake, and the impact is huge. Can you imagine if you improve your perception by one decimal point, you could aspire to improve your international tourist receipts by 12%? That is, for us again, game-changing data that puts the conversation on a different level.
Clare: And Jose, were you surprised that it came through with such a strong impact?
Jose: Yeah, from an academic point of view, the results are not extremely surprising in the sense that perception has a clear correlation with economic performance. But the value of the study is in putting this into figures, quantifying the relationship. Saying, for example, that perception accounts for 24% of a country’s tourism receipts is important, especially when this is based not on estimates but on empirical data.
The study proves that the better the global perception of a country or city, the better its performance in tourism, talent attraction, or foreign direct investment. So the consequence, in my view, for policymakers is clear: investing in improving your place’s perception has a real influence on results. Or in other words, if you want to improve the performance of your place, then you should invest in branding. This is very important from my point of view.
But this is also the basic definition of brand equity — the positive effect a brand has on a customer’s perception of a product or service. It’s the added value a brand brings beyond the functional benefit. Replacing “product or service” with “place” is not easy or automatic, but the principle still works, and this, in general terms, is what the study has proven.
Clare: Yeah, and it’s interesting to think about how those teams who are asking for a budget to manage place reputation can use this research. We’ve recently seen that the city of Sheffield in the UK has evolved and launched a new place narrative. We were chatting with Mark Mobs, who is the Place Brand manager for Sheffield, and who ensured that Sheffield was a participant in this study. And certainly, using this research helped convince his stakeholders that the investment was needed to deliver this new narrative. So that’s a really positive thing to see.
I don’t know if you’ve had any other feedback from any of the other participants, Gonzalo, that you’re able to share?
Gonzalo: Yeah, actually, there are a couple of applications of the study that places can start using right away. The first one is the taxonomy model, which is a model that everyone can use. And the second one, and we’ve been talking to Mark about this, is the untapped potential that the research has.
It’s very important to understand that all the participants in the study got the data. They were able to see what the global perceptions were for their country or city, in this case, a city, from 13 different points of view. These 13 perception elements range from foreign affairs, governance, and mitigation of global causes to products and services, sports, urban and rural environment, society and values, educational level, safety and crime, natural assets and scenery, and a couple more.
That is very important because, for the first time, this allows a strategic approach to overall perception. You can drill down to a specific level and start to understand which of these 13 perception elements you should focus on from a strategic point of view. The data we have can be correlated, and we can understand the weight of each perception element. We can understand the status quo — where we are and where we want to go or, more importantly, where we believe the potential of the city or country is, and stakeholders know about this.
We can start working with this data to define priority areas — perception elements that, if approached well, have a higher value or greater upside in terms of impacting the overall perception. In other words, if you’re a country or city looking at the data and deciding whether to invest in improving your perception of sports, global causes, or products and services, this data helps you understand where your biggest gains lie. It shows which perception element, if improved, will likely have the most impact on your overall perception.
This, for us, represents a new level of conversation with country and city officials, using data to inform strategy and guide the development of the country or city.
Jose: Can I ask a question n to Gonzalo? Do you think it will be a challenge for you if this study raises the expectations of policymakers?
Gonzalo: I hope so. I prefer to manage with that rather than if no one cares about it, to be honest. But we have continued playing with numbers, and we’ve seen the weight of all these variables. In some countries and cities, you can really see that there’s clearly a place to point to, a place where improving perceptions can have exponential benefits on the overall image.
As we always say, perception is intangible, but a small improvement in perception can have a huge impact. What we’re doing is providing a new way of looking at it, a canvas to make informed decisions. And it’s not because I say so, or a city or country official says so. There is data behind it, and now you can understand how perception is being shaped in a different way than was possible before this.
Clare: I think it was a really good question. I was about to say that we have often talked about how it’s such a long-term challenge to change the perception of a place and reputation, particularly at the national level. There are so many inbuilt prejudices or perceptions about a place, and that has often led to voices in our industry saying, “You can’t just have an ad campaign”.
Which I agree with — it’s not just an ad campaign. It’s about your culture, and how your people feel about it, all of this can impact perception. Trying to get people to move away from just thinking that an ad campaign is going to sort it out, and that it needs a lot more. I think this data gives weight to that argument but also gives direction for places to have a much more strategic approach to managing their place’s reputation, rather than simply thinking we need a new logo, or we need a new ad campaign.
From your perspective, Jose, you are an academic and you work with many students and academics trying to provide practitioners with a better understanding of Place Branding. How do you see this being used in the academic world?
Jose: Well, just a small clarification. We have already published one paper about the relationship between perceptions and tourism in a country, in four countries, actually. And we’ve just had another submission accepted in the Journal of Global Mobility; a journal focused on the relationship between perceptions and talent attraction.
This is a field in which students are increasingly interested. For example, right now I’m head of a coordinated master’s program in communication. And out of 25 students, we’ve had four final projects that are related to Place Branding in some way. So, the field is becoming more interesting for both students and academics.
Clare: Yes, thank you. One of the key things we haven’t said is that this report is available for anybody listening to this podcast to download for free, to read the results, and to understand how it can be applied. The report is available for free download either from the Bloom Consulting website or from the City Nation Place website. And if you’ve got any questions about the details of the report or how you might apply it in your place, then it’s Gonzalo and the team at Bloom Consulting that you need to get in touch with.
But before we sign off and thank everybody for listening, is there anything that we’ve not said that you would like to share? A last thought you’d like to leave our listeners with.
Gonzalo: Again, going back to how countries and cities can use it, I think it has another benefit that hasn’t been spoken about as much as it should: you can now answer the classic questions related to why we should be working on perception. What is the benefit that improving perception gives to a city?
We all know that when we talk with higher government officials, they have other priorities: roads to build, and hospitals to build. There’s often not much responsibility placed on this, and sometimes there isn’t even a brand department.
And that’s very important because now we can show that this is important. This research can help sustain Place Branding initiatives over the years. And that is key, because you need time to change perception, and you need a budget to change perception.
And remember — branding is not the same as marketing. The industry has always been driven by marketing KPIs such as tourism, investment, and talent. But branding is about perception.
Clare: That’s connecting the two. Anything Jose that you would like to leave everybody with?
Jose: Yeah, the only thing I can think of is just to congratulate Bloom Consulting and City Nation Place for being so brave to start this journey. It’s a difficult one but rewarding in the end.
Clare: Thank you. Yeah, I agree. We’ve certainly had a very positive response to it from people who return to City Nation Place conferences and visit our website—and I’ve heard you have as well.
Gonzalo: As I said at the beginning, it has been a fascinating journey, incredible challenges, and incredible learnings. And this is always easier and much better with incredible partners along the way.
Clare: All of us have learned something from it, which is great. And it’s there, and we continue to work. So, thank you very much, Gonzalo, for sharing the details, and Jose for sharing your perspective and giving us a bit more depth to understanding.
And thank you, everybody, for listening to this podcast. As I said, the report is available for you to download. Do get in touch with Gonzalo if you have any questions. Gonzalo’s details are all over the Bloom Consulting website.
Thank you for listening.
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Published on 02.09.2025
