FDI Magnet / General

Place Marketing Forum 2014 – what role for a Diaspora in attracting FDI, Tourism?

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Organized by the “Regional Attractiveness and Place Marketing Chair” of Sciences Po Aix, for its second edition, Place Marketing Forum 2014 gathered more than 400 thought leaders, experts and professionals, from the public and private sector, all involved in territorial marketing and regional attractiveness. Katherine Loflin, Head of Loflin Consulting Solutions and international Expert in Place Making (USA), was guest of honour of this year edition.

The remarkable case of Connect Ireland / Succeed in Ireland was presented by ConnectIreland CEO Michael McLoughlin. Elian Carsenat, NamSor / @FDIMagnet had an opportunity to discuss the role of a Diaspora for FDI and Tourism during the ensuing rountable with digital tourism expert Ludovic Dublanchet, Michael McLoughlin and Caroline Isautier (San Francisco Consult).

How your country, your region, your city can use a Diaspora for its ambassadors strategy?

Firstly, you need to acknowledge your Diaspora and answer this perenial question: who are they, where are they and what are they doing. Below our key points on this topic.

To download the full presentation (PDF) 20141016_PMF2014_NamSor_FDIMagnet_Pitch_vFf.pdf

Secondly, you need to create communication channels and the appropriate conditions to activate and engage your Diaspora. Kingsley Aikins (DiasporaMatters) is a renowned expert on how to engage a Diaspora, you’ll find his pitch at TEDxVilnius below.

Additional thoughts on PMF2014

Place Marketing Forum 2014 was a great success. I was amazed by the quality of the place branding cases presented, such as OnlyLyon, IAmsterdam,  Our Miami and the innovative CRM approach deployed at Val Thorens Ski Resort. What also made this event particularly interesting is the transversal approach taken to country branding / place marketing, covering not just tourism but also foreign direct investments (FDIs) and attraction of talents / startup ecosystems. A cool takaway was found in the conference USB key, in the form of a 282 pages comprehensive report ‘Place Marketing Trends 2014‘ by Joel Gayet.

This event is set to grow and attract even more international interest. I look forward to PMF2015.

In the meantime, we look forward to see you at the Global Diaspora and Development Forum, Dublin.

Further reading

About NamSor

NamSor™ Applied Onomastics is a European vendor of Name Recognition Software (NamSor sorts names). NamSor mission is to help understand international flows of money, ideas and people.

NamSor launched FDIMagnet,  a consulting offering to help Investment Promotion Agencies and High-Tech Clusters leverage a Diaspora to connect with business and scientific communities abroad.

Photo Credits – PMF2014