Haft and sord factors in place branding: Between functionalism and representationalism

Abstract

This conceptual article intends to refine the understanding of place branding, in particular city branding, by framing place attractiveness as a mixture of haft and sord factors. This conceptualisation, by challenging the distinction ‘hard versus soft factors’ characterising the traditional place marketing discourses, allows to better look at the functional and representational dimensions interconnected in every brand and, even more, in every place brand. This article urges scholars and place managers to rearticulate these dimensions depending on the different groups of brand users involved, and claims for a closer collaboration between marketers and other professionals involved in policymaking. The advantages offered by these conceptualisations are explored with respect to some issues within the place brand literature, which still require to be fully understood, like the need to rearticulate the functional/physical and representational/symbolic dimensions in city branding.