Towards a service-dominant place marketing logic

Abstract

A recurring theme in the place marketing literature relates to the inadequacies of traditional theory in accommodating the context specificity of places. Such special characteristics of place marketing relate to the complexity of place 'products', the complexity of the organizational mechanisms for their marketing, and the ways in which branding theory can be applied. This paper explores these three aspects through the 'mindset' of the service-dominant logic of marketing and its foundational premises. The paper concludes that, viewed through the lens of S-D logic, issues which have in the past been argued to create a degree of distinctiveness in place marketing theory and practice could actually have much resonance with more mainstream marketing. Thus, place marketing could be seen as being more similar to more 'mainstream' marketing practice than previous place marketing literature implies, and in some areas the specific place context may shed some light on issues relating to the service-dominant logic more generally. Key Words • place branding • place marketing • service-dominant logic

What's in a Name? Place Branding and Toponymic Commodification

“…This multistakeholder perspective accords with recent calls for a more cocreational view of place marketing in which every individual/agency is at once both producer and consumer of space, simultaneously integrating available resources to achieve this (Warnaby, 2009). Adopting this cocreational marketing perspective, place names are thus invested with multiple levels of meaning, a point long recognised in subject areas such as geography.…”

Towards a model of the Place Brand Web

“…The study found that brand architecture in place branding is applied within a political and geographical framework (Allen, 2007;Hankinson, 2009;Warnaby, 2009 Further, where the brand is attempting to establish a recognisable identity it was advisable to integrate communications under a branded-house strategy to denote gravitas (P12).…”

“…For instance, research conducted by Hankinson (2009) found that in regional branding (UK) conflicts could emerge between the region, its cities and towns, each protecting its interests in having its own brand. Similarly, Warnaby (2009) asserts that an area's boundaries are often unclear or overlapping, causing 'place fuzziness' where the territory marketed is not always the same as the territory consumed. Both authors argue that brand architecture is a political issue affecting cooperative structures and outcomes.…”

An exploration of the effect of servicescape on student institution choice in UK universities

“…Whilst Bitner's work considers the 20 discrete and deliberately crafted service environment created by the provider, place 21 branding literature argues that place is more fluid and is a relative concept (Hanna & 22 Rowley, 2011;Warnaby, 2009). Participants' perceptions of what was included within 23 the university servicescape often extended beyond university buildings, staff and 24 students, to include elements of the wider location: for example, the natural restorative 25 servicescape that was provided by the civic park or local coastline; the friendliness of 1 the local residents; the sense of 'fitting in' not just at the university but also within the 2 city or town.…”