When Brands and Places Align: Lessons from Columbia’s Berlin Trail
How destination marketers can think beyond the map.
You’re reading Talking Places, your creative briefing on how destinations talk, trend and grow.
Today, we explore Berlin with Columbia and Highsnobiety to understand how strategic brand partnerships can spotlight a city’s identity.
When Brands and Places Align
What happens when a hiking brand partners with a lifestyle magazine?
You get a trail that runs through Berlin — not mountains.
Columbia’s Hike Society redefines what outdoor means. In collaboration with Highsnobiety, the campaign turned Berlin’s brutalist corners and green stretches into a curated hike, mixing history, graffiti, and hidden city gems.
But the real genius lies in the partnership. Highsnobiety brought cultural capital, urban style, and a loyal audience. Columbia brought the gear, the outdoors, and a message: you don’t need alpine peaks to go hiking.
👉 For destination marketers, this is a sharp reminder:
The right collaboration can unlock new relevance, reach and resonance.
Ask yourself:
Who shapes cultural taste in your place?
What if your next tourism campaign wasn’t from a tourism agency — but from a fashion mag, a record label, or an artist collective?
Cities already live in the minds of locals and visitors alike.
The best collaborations help you reframe what’s already there.
Thanks for reading :)