Exploring Place, Culture, and Community at IPBA 2025

IPBA 2025

CTConsults was proud to join the International Place Brand Association’s annual conference in Manchester this year — hosted in partnership with the Institute of Place Management, where we’re a corporate partner. When the conversation turns to how places tell their stories and build belonging, we’re always keen to contribute.

Our consultant, Amy, has been working with Dr Shalini Bisani (De Montfort University) and Dr Laura Reynolds (Cardiff University) on research exploring how communities shape regional identity. Together, they’ve been developing papers and articles that connect academic insight with real-world practice — the space where CTConsults thrives.

At IPBA, the trio shared their work-in-progress: Re-framing the role of community capital in regional branding and development. Their research shows that some of the most powerful ways to build community capital come through events, storytelling, and even (counter)protest. Amy illustrated how these ideas translate into practice — drawing on exercises we use in place brand workshops, and examples such as Northampton Film Festival’s Bonfire Night collaboration, and M Shed’s Protest display in Bristol.

Amy also presented our case study with Future Humber, exploring how a private company took the lead in developing a place brand for an economic region during a politically volatile period. The session — When should the private sector step into a traditionally public sector role? — sparked strong interest from the audience, curious about how small teams deliver deep research and meaningful engagement in tight timeframes.

Key reflections from IPBA

• Place branding is growing fast. As cities and regions evolve, the need for clear strategy behind decision-making becomes essential.
• Change is accelerating. From climate shifts to digital transformation, places need to be ready — and positioned — to adapt.
• Focus beats broad appeal. It’s better to be meaningful to a well-defined few than generic to everyone.
• Collaboration matters. Practitioners and academics both gain when they share knowledge, especially with early-career researchers.
• Bridging the gap. We need more ways for research and practice to meet — turning ideas into tools that shape real places.

Taking part in IPBA reinforced why we do what we do: connecting people, evidence, and creativity to help places tell their stories with confidence. We left inspired – and looking forward to where these new conversations will lead…