Attended MIPIM this week in Cannes, the world’s largest real estate event, that attracts over eighteen thousand attendees from around the world. I was invited by my client Stockholm, The Capital of Scandinavia. It was a interesting experience wandering the many stands representing cities, regions and countries from around the world. Vast quantities of free food from each local country was on offer and I found I could have lunch in Munich (great weiss bier and sausages) an afternoon snack in Toulouse (amazing paté) but always ended up for the happy hour on the elegant and very busy Stockholm stand. What was striking was how many places really lacked cohesion and an ability to find a sweet spot for their brand. img_3342.JPG I had a fun day going around the exhibitor halls collecting tag lines. They mostly tended to make pretty bland and generic statements. Torino The Intelligent Location, Madrid About You, Only Lyon, and one which I can’t remember who it was but promised me it was the Land of Opportunities. I thought how empty and inappropriate a lot of these were and lacking the passion and central truth that any really great brand needs. One of the biggest stands was for Krasnodar part of the Russian Federation. Will I one day be whistling ‘I left my heart in Krasnodar?’ It’s not exactly Tony Bennet so probably not. But look it up on the map if you want to know where it is. In four years time we’ll all be watching Sochi, which is in Krasnodar, as they stage the 2014 winter Olympics. One city that does have its act together is Liverpool, European city of Culture in 2008. As I’ve said before Liverpool is a great place brand, and they held two of the most interesting talks I heard whilst at MIPIM. On the subject of great talks I had a front row seat at the sold out keynote address by the inimitable Boris Johnson, Mayor of London. He’s actually a remarkably witty and relevant speaker and I think sums up the spirit of London extremely well. He told us that London was so well ahead on construction work for the 2012 Olympics that he was considering staging a snap Olympics, a UK political reference, by bringing the games forward to 2011 to catch the rest of the world napping. He reckoned Britain could haul off more medals in doing so. London itself had a large separate hall at the show but was actually a little disappointing. Their hall held a number of individual companies and organisations each touting what they had to offer and the focus on the Olympics was pushed into one corner. It probably would have annoyed the Brits, but Paris on the other hand was well co-ordinated, on brand and had some dramatic projects in the pipeline around La Défense. When I compare any of the places I saw at MIPIM this week though with Stockholm, the branding and positioning work we’ve done over the past six years really stands out. It’s simple, immediate, relevant and witty. That’s some of the criteria I would use in measuring any great brand. Buy Windows 7 Ultimate Sale Windows 7 Ultimate Cheap Windows 7 Ultimate Cheap Windows 7 Ultimate Sale Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection Order Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection Sale Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection Sale Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus Discount Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus