This issue of Rewir Trend Review focuses on place branding and how it is evolving. Place branding helps locations identify their unique characteristics to optimize their relevance and attract businesses, investors, residents and visitors. Examples discussed include VisitBerlin's projection installation on the Berlin Wall to share the city's history, a Paris app mapping movie filming locations as walking tours, and an airport in Singapore being designed as a destination itself with indoor gardens. Successful place brands now integrate proven strategies with communication innovations to make deeper, more meaningful impacts and connections with people.

1. YOUR MONTHLY BRAND & BUSINESS UPDATE
THE MARCH ISSUE, 2015
REWIR TREND
REVIEW #04
Here, there,
everywhere.
Place branding
is going places.
Photo NikoNomad, Shutterstock

2. I want
that space
in your mind…
Here’s the question that’s muddling the minds of many:
if we now can be in any place we want to be, at practically
anytime we choose to, then why should we choose
to be in yours?
Communities, cities, destinations and countries
increasingly grapple with this mind-boggling conundrum.
Even as these places scurry to seduce businesses,
investors, potential residents and visitors alike. Whether
Vancouver or the Virgin Islands, Paris or Portland, places
are now understanding that it comes down to building
and managing their identities. In order to optimize their
relevance and, quite honestly, leave the competition
in tears.
Enter innovative place branding: with its power to help
a place identify, define, and effectively capitalize on its
strategic positioning and differentiating characteristics.
Welcome to this issue of the Rewir Trend Review, where
we serve up a cocktail of impressions and cases on how
place branding is going places – around the world, in our
own backyard, and most importantly, in the spaces of
our minds.
LANDSCAPE
Photo BortN66, Shutterstock

3. My place
…or yours?
Ultimately, it’s about resonating on different
levels with different audiences at home
and abroad. To do that a place needs to
come to grips with its DNA – what it stands
for, what are the stories that can be told,
and how can it engage with audiences’
aspirations today and for the future.
A place is also about a complex mix of
history, culture, geography, attractions,
infra-structure, communities, experiences,
and more. So much more, that is software
and hardware, said and unsaid, that come
together in a wild and wonderful mix of
energy, spirit, and aura.
Bits and pieces, mixes and matches that
together make a place… the place.
PERCEPTION
Photo topnatthapon, Shutterstock

4. Oh!
So off
the wall
June 2014 saw the birth of VisitBerlin as
unveiled by Flashback. This was a mind-
blowing installation projected along the
Berlin Wall. Invisible to the naked eye and
triggered by camera flashes, historical
images of the city were projected onto parts
of the wall still standing, along with the
message ‘Discover Berlin’s hidden history’.
Tourists were invited to share their photos
with friends via social media. This helped
build a real connection to the city and its
rich and colorful history.
RE-CREATION
Photo from the Inspiration Room

5. Last tango
in Paris
Cinemacity was launched in Paris in July
2013. This is a mobile app mapping the
locations where popular movies were filmed
around Paris. The free app compiles the
locations into ‘cinewalks’ – directing users
on a city tour based on the narrative of
various movies. Created in collaboration
with the city’s local government, the app
NEW PERSPECTIVES
Photo Usearchmedia
reveals the relevant film clip when the
user is less than 300 meters where it was
filmed. Walks can be filtered by movie,
actor, director or monument, and are
available in French, German or English.
It’s the romance of Paris captured though
wonderful walks down memory lanes…
in all their finest glory.

6. Love
the way
you sound
Sounds of Street View is a project from
UK-based hearing aid specialist Amplifon.
The app combines Google Maps with
audio footage. The free online experience
automatically adds site-specific sounds
to different locations, with three available
at launch: Avignon, Hawaii and California.
When users click around Google Maps
DEEP CONNECTIONS
Photo Joel Calheiros, Shutterstock
online, they automatically hear typical
sounds from each place, such as church
bells or crashing waves, for example.
In this way the experience is deepened,
and the user is transported to the actual
place, making past memories come alive
and kindling the urge to create exciting
new memories.

7. C’mon,
get on
the board
US-based skater brand Vans has opened
House of Vans: London’s only indoor skate
park. The park is located in a disuse space
underneath one of the city’s busiest train
stations, making it easily accessible to the
city’s residents and visitors. The venue
also includes an 850-capacity music venue,
a 160-seat cinema, a gallery, two bars and
a café. Skaters can book free two-hour
sessions via a dedicated website.
Way to go London!
RE-INVENTION
Photo Sam Oetiker

8. A jewel
in the
crown
Just when you thought it could not get
better, December 2014 saw work begin on
the Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore.
The 134,000-square-meter building adds to
the main Singapore airport, featuring public
spaces, a waterfall and gardens under a
glass dome. Designed by Israeli architect
REACHING FURTHER
Photo from Jewel Changi Airport
Moshe Safdie, the structure also includes
retail, entertainment and leisure facilities,
alongside a central 40-meter waterfall
and indoor walking trails for visitors. Who
would have thought an airport would be
a destination in itself.

9. Hey
people!
I’m living the Ö
The city of Örebro in Sweden was eager to attract
and keep residents, businesses, tourists and students
coming back for more. Rewir got down to it with a new
brand platform, positioning Örebro as the dynamic,
vibrantly open city that is the living embodiment of
its people. Hence, as the city’s people are alive with
an intense mix of ideas, energy and possibilities,
and as each person is so uniquely different and special,
this is what the city uniquely is. The brand identity
reflects this idea, beginning with the logo. Örebro
is always presented as ¨rebro, inviting each of the
city’s residents to add something of themselves in it.
Very symbolic, and as it turns out to be…
so very, very, catchy.
CO-CREATION
Brand innovation, design & strategy by Rewir

10. Brand innovation, design & strategy by Rewir

11. The big
bang theory
We all have that special, personal connection to our
locality – never mind if it’s a neighbourhood, a city, even
a destination. It’s our place to be, hang out, lay our hat.
Yet the manifestation of that connection – how it is
captured, shared, branded and experienced, is evolving.
And with it, the sum total of our expectations of the
experience. At the same time, consumer adoption patterns
are changing. Today we’re talking big bang disruption,
when once we whispered subliminal.
Let’s not also forget that competition is increasing
dramatically amongst both established and emerging
places to attract and retain residents, tourists and
investors. Since the demand for effective place branding
strategies has never been more intense, it’s time to wake
up and smell the roses. We must innovate. Yesterday’s
theme parks have lost their fun factor, business centres
are throbbing in other parts of the world.
Successful place brands need to integrate proven
strategies with innovations in communication and
marketing. Indeed it will be the smart brands that will
stand out from the crowd by making deeper commitments
and lasting, more meaningful impact. Speaking directly
to the hearts and minds of consumers in new, captivating
and unexpected ways.
Photo agsandrew, Shutterstock
BRAND INNOVATION

12. Behind
this issue
David Lillewarg, Editor in Chief
david.lillewarg@rewir.com
Ruby Windrup, Editorial content
ruby.windrup@rewir.com
Helena Brauer, Content design
helena.brauer@rewir.com
Anna Pensar, Content distribution
anna.pensar@rewir.com
Photo ImageShack