How networks power the UK's most talked about cities
How networks power the UK's most talked about cities
18.11.21
Where do UK cities and conversations overlap most? ING’s latest data benchmarks the UK’s most important city networks – Core Cities, Key Cities and the Scottish Cities Alliance – alongside the country’s most global city, London.
ING Global Cities Digital Visibility Series 2021
ING Media’s global exploration into the impact of digital visibility on cities enters its third year. The data indicates that cities with fewer mentions across social media and online news tend to attract less investment, that digital visibility and global cities rankings converge over time, and that cities that work together outperform those that do not. However, the impact of the pandemic is unclear, with many rankings paused or not yet reflecting change. In this context digital visibility’s importance as a data point may be amplified in the short term.
As cities negotiate recovery and new forms of competition and change, knowing how to strategically work together may be of increasing importance. This edition focuses on the power of networks in the UK and explores how the reach and shape of a place’s conversations may provide an even stronger indicator of investment potential.
This edition is produced in partnership with Key Cities, a diverse network covering almost half the UK’s urban areas. It identifies where the UK’s brand assets are concentrated and how cities may work together more strategically to support the UK’s economic recovery and future prosperity.
“ING works with two of the UK’s three most important city networks, and with many cities in the UK and internationally. It is an unusual moment of solidarity for cities, almost all part of the same cycle of pause and reboot. We want cities to recover quickly and believe this kind of data, and leveraging the power of networks, is key to achieving their ambitions.”
The UK’s most talked about cities (2021)
Core Cities (11 members), Key Cities (25) and the Scottish Cities Alliance (7) are the UK’s three most important city networks. Their combined digital visibility provides the UK with a global competitive advantage, with only the USA, China and Japan producing greater visibility. London, which is able to consistently touch conversations internationally more than any other city globally, acts as a network in its own right.
Launch of the UK’s most talked about cities
18 November 2021
Speakers:
Moderator: Leanne Tritton, ING Media (@leannetritton)
John Merry, Salford and Key Cities UK (@johndmerry)
Peter Griffiths, ING Media (@petergriffiths_)
Paul Walker, Carlisle (@CarlisleCC)
Laura Wileman, Sheffield (@lwileman)
Gavin Smyth, Glasgow (@Invest_Glasgow)
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Produced by ING Media, this research is designed to help city policy and place makers understand how online presence impacts a city’s brand. At the cutting edge of communications, PR, digital media and wider urban cultural dialogues, ING works with over 30 cities in the UK and internationally including the West Midlands Combined Authority, Scottish Cities Alliance, Key Cities and Helsinki, as well as major developers, architects and other place makers to effectively communicate their stories by linking digital visibility into a wider communications strategy.
The full ranking of The UK’s most talked about cities (2021 edition) is: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Belfast, Cardiff, Nottingham, Southampton, Norwich, Sunderland, Coventry, Portsmouth, Aberdeen, Wolverhampton, Exeter, Doncaster, Salford, Gloucester, Dundee, Wrexham, Bath, Plymouth, Preston, Stirling, Bradford, Inverness, Medway, Hull, Lincoln, Blackpool, Lancaster, Newport, Kirklees (Huddersfield), Carlisle, Perth (Scotland), Southend-on-Sea, BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole).
If you would like to learn more about how ING works with cities email: cities@ING-media.com
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