Four launches innovative placemaking services to support bid and host cities

Four Communications, the integrated marketing and communications agency based in the UK and the Gulf, has launched an innovative placemaking service to improve the value of places that brings together sector expertise across property, tourism, retailing, culture, sport, social purpose, public affairs, sustainability and digital insights.

The new Four service, called Place+, harnesses innovative data-driven insights, expert strategic consultancy and marketing services to provide deeper understanding, analysis, strategy, execution and evaluation for organisations involved in placemaking.

Four’s clients include cities such as Aberdeen and Visit Singapore, developers such as Quintain and Argent, districts such as New West End Company and Kingston BID, and property organisations such as Limassol Marina and EuroCity. Sport clients include Birmingham’s successful bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, England Rugby 2015 World Cup and major events from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the Ryder Cup and Le Tour de France Grand Depart.

In the MENA region, Four’s clients include the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, Yas Island and Dubai International Financial Centre.

The agency’s recent work in placemaking has included the development of a three-year domestic tourism marketing strategy for London on behalf of the Domestic Tourism Consortium delivered by London&Partners, and a cultural communications strategy for Peabody in Thamesmead.

Dotti Irving, Chief Executive, Culture, and co-chair of the Four place task force, said:

Place matters. It’s where we live, work and play. But places are created and influenced by many factors including communities, culture, lifestyle, environment commerce, developers, tourism boards and government. Too often, place strategies are created in isolation without wider collaboration or sector knowledge. Our new Place+ service breaks the mould by combining specialist sector experience with innovative insight and smart strategic thinking to improve the value of place.

Debbie Hindle, Four Communications’ Chief Executive, Travel and co-chair of the agency’s place task force, said:

Organisations definitely want to be challenged to think differently, to think creatively and deliver new approaches to placemaking. The impact of COVID-19 requires a completely different skill set requiring collaboration with multiple place stakeholders, new research methodologies, audience evaluation and target setting. In travel it has hastened the move for tourist boards to shift from destination marketers to destination managers focused on urgently building back livelihoods for their industry partners and taking stock to ensure they use this time to build a long-term sustainable future for their citizens and visitors.

Four’s nine-step Place+ options include:

1. Place+ insight research and analysis services
2. Place+ audience and community including audience evaluation such a Mapper360^® Placemaker and Mapper360^® Persona, Four’s proprietary sophisticated digital consumer research service
3. Place+ urban planning and development DNA brings political and community insights to the process
4. Place+ social purpose helps places and the organisations interested in investing in a place to understand how social value can be added in that specific location based on their unique issues and needs.
5. Place+ strategy starts with deep insights and analysis to develop the strategic direction for a place to include mission, vision, long-term objectives and core target audiences.
6. Place+ branding
7. Place+ marketing including marketing strategies and executions, partnerships, activations and installations and creative “meanwhile use” identifying opportunities and partners for early stage developments
8. Place+ inward investment connects the world’s investment community with places. Four delivers strategic campaigns to raise the profile of a destination or an area in behalf of developers, cities or countries order to position it as an attractive place to invest for both overseas and domestic investors and purchasers.
9. Evaluation and training.  Four provides a clear structure for measuring and quantifying the effectiveness of place strategies across disciplines and sectors. This range from digital polls to support public planning, through to Footprints, a game-changing ROI-focused performance measurement and messaging methodology. Four also offers bespoke training for placemaking organisations supporting them on their placemaking journey.

The new Place+ service builds on Four’s power of together philosophy launched in 2018, which has seen it transform from a communications-led agency to a truly integrated consultancy where two-thirds of work is now digitally, data or creatively-led.

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The next edition of ALSD International – Europe’s leading event for the Premium Seat & Sports Hospitality sector – is being hosted at the home of the newly crowned Premier League champions, Liverpool Football Club’s Anfield Stadium, October 12 & 13, and will examine how to increase revenue through new builds, renovations, service expansions and technology, and how to recoup lost revenue post COVID-19.

The 2020 edition of ALSD International – organised by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors and Sports Venue Business – will feature a high-level conference, an exhibition hall showcasing the latest products, services & solutions, tours of Anfield, Everton’s Goodison Park and M&S Bank Arena, and numerous networking events, ensuring optimised opportunities to knowledge-share, network and do business.

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