Manou Nonnekes
As the leader for the branding program at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Manou Nonnekes coordinates national efforts to reposition the Dutch place brand.
 

With “New Dutch,” she helps shift international perception from clichés like clogs and cheese to innovation, sustainability, and societal impact. The campaign highlights how the Netherlands is contributing to global solutions in areas like tech, health, and climate. In her talk, Manou will explore how place branding can unite public and private partners around a shared story—and how a fresh narrative can enhance a country’s global relevance.​

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Manou Nonnekes will talk at Parallell Breakout 3.

 

What are you looking most forward to at PLACEx?

Difficult to pick just one thing! In general I’m looking forward to meeting up with peers, gaining valuable insights, getting inspired. I am particularly curious about the new place brand strategy of Sweden.

 

​What is the key topic of your talk?
 

Strengthening the international positioning of the Netherlands, through – for the first time! – cooperation with various domains and 16 cities and regions.

 

What are you most eager to discuss with the audience related to your talk?

- Governance: how to organize an effective collaboration around a place (nation) brand (initiative)?
- Branding vs. marketing: how could we ensure that New Dutch is – as it aims to be – a place branding initiative (besides a place promotion initiative)?
- Goals and KPI’s: how to measure the impact of the New Dutch initiative, balancing between long-term goals and the wish/need for short-term results among our stakeholders?

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From your job/organisation's point of view, what do you see as the most interesting industry developments or trends here 2025 when we talk about place attractiveness?

- International safety and economic resilience 
- Leveraging between collabs on different levels of scale (European collabs of increasing importance?)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Still, or even more so: the war on talent 

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For the remainder of 2025, what do you see as the biggest challenge(s) for your place to be attractive to your main target audience?

- The geopolitical climate and the uncertainty that comes with it.
- But, to also name something positive that we do have control over: I see opportunities for NL branding in the Netherlands' new National Technology Strategy (NTS). The NTS is based on targeted deployment of ten key technologies. Key technologies are various specific technologies that are crucial for future economic growth and in which the Netherlands excels scientifically. Companies, knowledge institutions, civil society organisations and the government will prioritise ten strategic technologies. These are necessary for future Dutch jobs and income, solving societal challenges and our national security. This will enable the Netherlands to participate in the lightning-fast technological developments in which other countries inside and outside Europe are making substantial and targeted investments.

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