Towards a model of the Place Brand Web

Abstract

This article contributes to theory concerning the relationship between the brands associated with a place, through a two-stage mixed method study involving interviews with place brand practitioners and web content analysis. The article, first reports on the challenges associated with managing place brand relationships and, then, discusses various aspects of the brand webs associated with places. On this basis, the article proposes, exemplifies and discusses the Place Brand Web Model. This model, which responds to the complex nature of the relationships between the brands associated with a place, is presented in two instantiations, the DMO perspective, and the more generalised perspective that views brands with associations with a place as contributing to the co-creation of the perceptual entity, THE Place Brand. The model is exemplified and discussed and with reference to a major UK city.Keywords Place branding; brand architecture; brand leadership; stakeholders; place brand web.

Branding the destination versus the place: The effects of brand complexity and identification for residents and visitors

“…Other researchers have expanded this concept into a more comprehensive strategy for not only targeting tourists, but also attracting and retaining residents (Hanna & Rowley, 2015)d while by definition destination branding targets solely tourists and place branding describes the general branding of places for all target groups (Kerr, 2006;Zenker & Braun, 2010).…”

“…Later, Palmer et al (2013) focused on residents' personal identity and identification with the place, and the influence of such identification on advocacy. Recently, Hanna and Rowley (2015) made a first conceptual attempt at developing a model for a more comprehensive strategy encompassing tourists and residents. These few studies make it generally clear that "residents (…) should be in the central interest of urban tourism planners and managers to ensure that residents are proud and satisfied with the city" (Wang & Xu, 2015, p. 248).…”

“…In response to the increasing competition for tourists, investments, companies, and well-educated residents, place branding has rapidly evolved as a research domain (Gertner, 2011) intended to help cities, regions, and nations become more efficient in their marketing and branding strategies (Braun, 2012;Hanna & Rowley, 2015). Through place branding, place marketers focus on building strong, favourable place brands that can be communicated to diverse target audiences and stakeholders (Merrilees, Miller, & Herington, 2012).…”

“…Through place branding, place marketers focus on building strong, favourable place brands that can be communicated to diverse target audiences and stakeholders (Merrilees, Miller, & Herington, 2012). While place branding often takes the form of destination branding in order to attract tourists (Park & Petrick, 2006;Qu, Kim, & Im, 2011), destination branding has also recently widened its focus to include other target groups such as residents (Hanna & Rowley, 2015;Palmer, Koenig-Lewis, & Jones, 2013) showing the close relationship of both concepts. Conceptually, destination branding targets solely tourists, while place branding describes the general branding of places for all target groups such as residents, companies and tourists (Kerr, 2006) e thus place branding could be understood as the family tree, with destination branding as one of the branches (Zenker & Braun, 2010).…”

“…Thus, residents' perceptions of tourism and attitudes towards tourists are often the focus of academic tourism studies (Sharpley, 2014). However, little attention has been paid to how place branding (including destination branding) affects both tourists and residents (with the exception of Palmer et al, 2013), especially in light of targeting both groups simultaneously (Hanna & Rowley, 2015;Zenker & Beckmann, 2012). In practice, place marketers try to promote the place to tourists and residents at the same time, aiming to strengthen the current residents' identification with the place and thereby transform them into authentic place ambassadors (Braun, Kavaratzis, & Zenker, 2013;Palmer et al, 2013;Zenker & Petersen, 2014).…”