Content area
Full Text
INTRODUCTION
Place marketing has attracted the interest of many academic commentators from various disciplines resulting in a substantial body of publications on the wider marketing process (for example Ashworth and Voogd, 1990; Kotler et al , 1999) as well as specific issues (for example Gold and Ward, 1994; Berg and Braun, 1999; Ashworth, 2001). Within the context of place marketing, places throughout the world are shifting the focus towards branding and are increasingly importing concepts and techniques of product and corporate branding into their own operational field. This shift towards branding is characterised as the current episode in the development of place marketing (Kavaratzis, 2007). So far, obviously the most common application of place branding focuses on the visual elements of branding such as the creation of a new logo, the incorporation of a new slogan and, at best, the design of advertising campaigns around those visual elements. Branding, however, encompasses other fields of activity and intervention that decidedly influence and form a place brand. In fact, Virgo and Chernatony (2006, p. 379) identify that '... many believe brand steerers are only able to use one part of the marketing mix, namely promotion because they have limited control over the product - the city, or customers' experience of it'. But that is not necessarily true and it shouldn't be the case, simply because branding does not equal promotion and brand management cannot be limited to promotional activities. Branding needs to be thought of as a complete and continuous process interlinked with all marketing efforts. Furthermore, as the last part of this article will demonstrate, many elements of the city other than promotional activities lend themselves to control, and it is possible to integrate them into coherent and effective city branding strategies.
Place branding is certainly a complex issue and what seems to be missing is a 'common language' that would facilitate interaction and further theoretical clarification of the issues involved. This article concentrates on the single aspect of branding cities, particularly contributing towards the clarification of city brand management. In order to better inform the practice, the literature on corporate branding and corporate-level marketing is reviewed and major lessons are extracted. A recent stream of publications has specifically dealt with the concept of corporate...